Early Man is the new prehistoric comedy adventure from four-time Academy Award®-winning director Nick Park and Aardman, the creators of Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep. Shot in Aardman’s own distinctive style, the film will take audiences on an extraordinary journey into an exciting new world, unleashing an unforgettable tribe of unique and funny new characters voiced by an all-star British cast.
Dubbed in Slovenian language.
story
Set in prehistoric times, Early Man follows the story of courageous caveman hero Dug, living in a thriving valley together with his best friend and sidekick Hognob and a tribe of fellow eccentric and lovable tribe members, headed by Chief Bobnar.
While ambitious Dug aspires to hunt mammoths and go on adventures, Bobnar is quite happy with the tribe leading a quiet, unperturbed life chasing rabbits. However, their peace is shattered suddenly when their valley is invaded by an enemy the likes of which they have never encountered before, in the form of the pompous Lord Nooth, governor of the Bronze Age town, and his army. A money-loving tyrant, Lord Nooth has found bronze in the tribe’s beloved valley, and so invades with an army with armoured mammoths in-tow, forcing the cavemen to flee and take shelter in the inhospitable Badlands.
In the drama of the invasion, Dug is accidentally captured and ends up in the unknown, intimidating world of Bronze Age Town, where he first meets Goona, a spirited young girl who sells bronze pans. Dug, swept up by the Bronze Age townspeople, eventually finds himself in a huge stadium filled with a ravenous crowd, seemingly there to attend a cult spectacle - which he soon discovers is in fact a game called football. Spotting an opportunity to win back his home, Dug challenges Real Bronzio, the imposing local team full of football stars, to an almighty football match as the ultimate clash of civilisations.
critics
»It’s impossible not to laugh at the inspired silliness and charm of Park’s universe. Early Man is a family film that doesn’t just provide gags for adults and gags for children: it locates the adult’s inner child and the child’s inner adult. It’s a treat.«
- Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
»A first solo feature outing for Nick Park, and his first film since Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), Early Man returns to the classic Aardman template with some enjoyably squishy claymation. Palpably handmade, it is packed with child-pleasing puns and sight gags, and has an overtly British, artisanal feel. A deliciously tactile and nostalgic feat of clay.«
- Kate Stables, Sight & Sound
»The result is a welcome return to a form of stop-motion that takes pride in the technique’s inevitable imperfections (such as thumbprints in the modeling clay), while putting extra care into the underlying script, with its daffy humor and slightly-off characters.«
- Peter Debruge, Variety
»Aardman have once again created a true family film. It can be enjoyed by anyone of any age, on your own or in a group. The story picks up on the themes of family, teamwork, self-belief and what can be achieved if you put your mind to it. It is also possible to think of the Stone and Bronze Ages as metaphors for social class or cultures and how we can come together for something great. It is a very funny film with comedy ranging from top-class slap-stick to some cracking jokes. There is a wonderful perspective-related joke that was so unexpected I was in tears of laughter in the theatre. At times you think they are stretching something just a little too far but the punchline is delivered at the perfect moment with a final flourish. Hitchcock did this with tension in his thrillers, here Nick Park does the equivalent with comedy.«
- Christophe Harvey, Animation for Adults
»Early Man, the latest animated feature from the Aardman studio’s star director Nick Park (creator of the Wallace and Gromit franchise, and the recent Shaun the Sheep Movie), is about as warming, homey and distinctly British as a mug of hot, sweet, milky tea on a rainy day. Park and his team of animators have aptly married form and function by pairing the stop-motion method, a technique as old as cinema itself, with a story about a tribe of Neanderthal cave dwellers confronted by Bronze Age colonizers with European accents. (Anyone for hidden Brexit allegory?) In the end, it’s all worked out through a game of football, or “soccer,” as Yanks like to call the "Beautiful Game."«
- Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter