Aardman’s latest stop-motion film Early Man goes into interesting territory when here it takes us back to prehistoric times. Dug, for example, voiced by Eddie Redmayne, is a perfectly innocent archetype, having to step up for his tribe when they face possible annihilation from Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston), unless they can beat them in a football match.
More interesting’s the director Nick Park linking football to tribal unity. As an idea this definitely works, but how it’s executed is a bit more of a let down. Although Aardman still don’t lack for detail, especially when it comes to gags, the story depth lets us down.
Simply really, while additional characters like Goona (Maisie Williams), even Nooth, shine in their own ways, others, unfortunately including Dug, don’t seem to get similar attention. At the least though, Aardman’s creative voice still shines through, despite Early Man feeling like a weaker package.
Mad About Movies 