The Croods is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It features the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, and Cloris Leachman. The film is set in a fictional prehistoric Pliocene era known as The Croodaceous, a period which contains fantastical creatures, when a man's position as a "Leader of the Hunt" is threatened by the arrival of a prehistoric genius who comes up with revolutionary new inventions, like fire, as they trek through a dangerous but exotic land in search of a new home.
The Croods was written and directed by Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders, and produced by Kristine Belson and Jane Hartwell. The film premiered at the 63rd
Berlin International Film Festival on February 15, 2013, and was released in the United States on March 22, 2013 As part of the distribution deal, this became the first film from DreamWorks Animation to be distributed by 20th Century Fox, since the end of their distribution deal with Paramount Pictures.
The Croods received generally positive reviews, and proved to be a box office success, earning more than $578 million on a budget of $135 million,and launching a new franchise, with a sequel and TV series already put in development.