If you’ve considered seeing The Croods, don’t do it unless you have to.

Before you judge me for even writing this brief review, thus implicating myself to have watched what might be one of the most horrendously scripted ‘family films’ of the year, give me a moment to explain. I didn’t want to watch it, and I avoided it all year. I rolled my eyes at the horrid name, and scoffed that it received a nomination for Best Animation.

Cue one Saturday night (I swear, I’m really not this lame in real life) where my roommate and I decide to multi-task and knock another must-watch off my list. I couldn’t tolerate the storyline of The Croods well enough to actually watch it, but I kept one eye on the screen, and one on my computer. Even with owning a MacBook Pro with Retina, I must admit that the eye on the movie got a much better show.

Yep, you heard me: there are some amazing moments of animation in this movie, including the one screencapped above. For an amateur movie-goer, you’ll see animation styles, tips, and tricks that you’ve probably never seen before. You’ll get the impression that there was some incredibly talented creative storyboard artist who was able to get a few moments of glory, and reap the reward of an Academy Award nomination as a result.

All I can hope is that whomever that storyboard artist is, they get more jobs with better scripts and more engaging stories. I’d love to see this animation move forward, but I sincerely pray it isn’t in some terrifying incarnation like “The Croods 2: The End, AGAIN!”

Knock wood.