“Early Man” Bumbling yet Charming

As the caveman tribe in “Early Man” is quick to point out, they are rabbit hunters, not mammoth hunters. These Stone Age characters’ simplicity reflects the arc of the film, as the filmmakers shoot for laughs, rather than deep themes. However, like its characters, “Early Man” maintains a charm that powers the movie through to the end.

The tribe’s attempts at rabbit-hunting show that they are not the sharpest bunch, as the hare they are chasing outwits them at nearly every turn. The protagonist Dug (Eddie Redmayne) is clearly the brightest of the tribe, showcased by his attempt to convince Chief Bobnar (Timothy Spall) that the tribe should hunt for something bigger. In addition to Dug’s superior intelligence, he upholds a strong belief that his people can be more than just rabbit hunters. So when the antagonist Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston) from the Bronze Age attempts to annex the tribe’s territory, Dug is quick to challenge the more advanced society to a soccer match for the fate of the cavemen, despite the fact that he and his fellow tribe members have never played the game before.

From the opening sequence, it is abundantly clear that this is a film by Nick Park, the British director who created “Wallace and Gromit” and “Chicken Run.” If the stop-motion animation style was not a dead giveaway, the British cultural references confirm Park’s touch as we see dinosaurs and cavemen brawling, with the subtitle “Earth… near Manchester… around lunchtime.”

The film’s strengths lie in its wide range of humor and the expressiveness of the claymation characters. Hognob, Dug’s pet boar, like Park’s famous character Gromit, lacks the ability to speak, but he is exceptionally emotive nonetheless. He is skeptical of the tribe’s chances in the big match, angry at Lord Nooth as he bad-mouths the Stone Age citizens, and fearful as the Bronze Age soldiers approach. While Gromit is much more of a modern day intellectual, Hognob is a simpler character from a simpler time.

The humor in “Early Man” ranges from slapstick to full-on parody. In one scene, Dug is hit in the face with a large fruit. In another, we see that the Bronze Age version of instant replay involves a crew putting on a puppet show about the soccer players. Wordplay jokes are frequent, some more successful than others. As Dug eats stew, contemplating the tribe’s upcoming match, Chief Bobnar queries, “Not enjoying your primordial soup?” While not every joke is a winner, the variety in humor ensures there are laughs to be had for any age group.

However, the film fails to develop any individual characters other than Dug. Goona, a Bronze Age soccer enthusiast played by Maisie Williams, highlights this weak point in the film. While Goona’s impressive soccer skills push the story forward, her relationship with Dug and the rest of the cavemen is mostly glossed over through a series of montages. Furthermore, the criticism of the antiquated idea that women are not supposed to play soccer in the Bronze Age appears to be a hasty insertion, checking a box rather than actually attempting to create any significant feminist themes. That said, Goona fits well into the ragtag bunch of cavemen in a group setting. The tribe as a whole manages to exude enough charm for anyone to root for them in the end.

“Early Man” is not groundbreaking by any means. The plot is relatively predictable, and the themes of believing in yourself and fighting for respect have been seen in countless films before. However, the film’s humor and delightfulness shine, despite a stumble or two along the way. The filmmakers clearly realize that while they did not catch a mammoth, there is no shame in hunting rabbit if you do it right.