Kirk De Micco is no slouch either, having been with the project since its Aardman days.
And the two of them spared us some time to chat about the movie.
Heres how it went, starting off with just Chris… Then, he pretty much let you choose what you wanted to do next.
But was it always the plan to go back toThe Croods?
Was that always the plan?
Every story, every movie has things about it that you get extremely attached to.
There was a story inThe Croodsthat I was really attached to, and I had to get it done.
You started onThe Croodsin 2007.
And you might decide whether you want to do this.
And I said, you know, I do want to do it.
And he said dont answer right now, take all this away and decide.
And I said I really think Im going to say yes.
And thats kind of unusual of me to do that.
To be that sure.
At that point Id only worked in traditional animation.
In the past, youve said the look of these films has caught up with the storytelling.
One thing that really struck me withThe Croodsis the colour palette is amazing.
Youve done a lot of heat and sun-drenched films, yet the shades here are outstanding.
Is that one of the subtle ways that technology has evolved in the making of these films?
Could you have got quite the same prolonged expanse of colour had you made this film in 2007?
You know, the technology was at the right place for us to build this world.
The most difficult thing about doingThe Croodswas no doubt the building of the world.
Every single thing in this film is organic.
Organic things are tough.
Very very labour intensive.
And we have no man-made structures.
You could argue that everything in this film is really an exterior.
Even the interiors of the cave are exteriors.
So building this world was the biggest thing of all, and the technology was there to do it.
There was a very important thing that somebody told me at the beginning.
And it was this: we can do anything, but we cant do everything.
So you’ve got the option to give us any task and well meet it.
We just have a cut-off in time, after which we cant keep building things.
You have to make up your mind at a certain point what you need.
For us, the surprising technological challenge was the tar pit.
We have no simulations for tar.
We have water simulations, but tar, we didnt know.
So we talked a bit about it, and they really, really delivered.
That tar is amazing.
It was actually a cloth simulation.
The animators are fantastic though.
Theyll shoot their own reference material, and just go into the car park or something.
And they might shoot a very funny scene, or sometimes a serious scene.
But theyre really just trying to work out the motion.
The funny thing about it is that I had no idea that Aardman was working on it before.
Nobody had told me!
It was about a month before someone mentioned it.
I started with what I saw.
The funny thing is that I never really questioned where it had come from, and perhaps I shouldve!
Kirk:The earlier one went pretty far, we were well into it.
I worked in Bristol on it for quite a while.
It was less about the film and more about the relationships at that point.
It didnt have the scope that we have now.
That was one of the biggest changes, because once it became CG, we had to rewrite it.
It was a different field.
The one piece of DNA thats never changed is that strong fear of change.
Was that there from the start too?
Or were you deliberately contrasting with the computerised visuals?
Kirk:We had to figure out a lot of ways to tell the story.
Theres no shortage of humour in the film.
But I want to talk about the action too.
Chris, the last third ofHow To Train Your Dragonwas exhilarating.
What you get it action it’s possible for you to follow.
Presumably, thats easier in animation, because it’s possible for you to go back and redo it?
Chris:Yeah, youre right.
We can go back and redo it.
The choreography of that opening egg chase sequence, that egg is what were tracking.
I feel like thats something animation is really suited for.
In a live action movie, they would have storyboarded it too, and then shot the board.
Was that the direction he was given?
Kirk:[Laughs] I dont know, we never said that to him!
It could have totally come from there!
Plus, you had Alan Silvestri doing your score this time.
Can you capture for us what it is about the scoring that really lifts if for you?
It really is for us the realm of magic and witchcraft.
Because its not just putting this pretty frosting on everything.
It really is the most powerful storytelling tool that we have.
Sometimes, you cant put dialogue on things that would ever be the right scale.
It would be so cardboard and flat and disappointing.
Sometimes, you keep the characters quiet, and let the music do the talking.
Its one of the things that Kirk and I can do as writers and directors.
I was in the high school band, and it took my ages to learn one piece of music.
I still dont understand how they do that!
Kirk:[Laughs] That would have been neat!
Your theme throughout a lot ofThe Croodsthen is about tomorrow.
So Im inevitably curious where the two of you are heading next.
Will you work together?
Chris, will you go off to make anotherDragonfilm?
Chris:Good question.
I think thats why Kirk and I are working out right now.
Depending on howCroodsperforms, theres always a possibility that well be doing moreCroods, which we would love.
So we have a little file of other things that we might want to do as well!
Chris and Kirk, thank you very much.
And Chris, congratulations on your twins!
The Croodsis out in cinemas now.
You canread our review here.
