We were first introduced to the Croods family in the DreamWorks animated feature The Croods and the prehistoric family met the allegedly more-evolved Bettermans in The Croods: A New Age. Both are back and up to their usual antics in The Croods Family Tree, which continues the ever-evolving story as the Croods and the Bettermans learn to live together on the most idyllic farm in prehistory. The Croods have been introduced to all kinds of new foods since first arriving at the Bettermans’ farm, and now they’re learning about bounce berries, which are very hard to catch.
While the Croods adapt some of the Bettermans’ way of life, like living on the farm and growing their own food, they are still cavemen. This means when a new food like the bounceberry is introduced, The Croods feel more than prepared to run up some berries using their hunter-gatherer roots. See their plan in action in the clip below.
This clip is a good indication that The Croods Family Tree will keep us laughing just like the films did, as it opens with a humorous exchange from the Croods lack of understanding. Mr. Betterman (voiced by Matthew Waterson) warns the Croods that while the berries may look fun, they aren’t, and Grug (voiced by Kiff Vandenheuvel) guesses this is because they’re heavy while Eep (voiced by Ally Dixon) guesses they’re poisonous. Of course, Mr. Betterman is only referring to the fact that the berries bounce, explaining that the moment the berries leave their bushes they bounce for the hills.
The bouncing berries are no setback for the Croods, who instantly spring into action. Grug is the leader, as per usual, and he draws out the plan on a rock like he’s laying out a football play. He breaks the Croods and the Bettermans into various roles in the berry capture, but he leaves out Dawn Betterman.
Kelly Marie Tran reprises her role of Dawn Betterman, and she has quite the breakout moment in the above clip. After questioning what her role will be in the berry collection, Dawn is told by her mother to sit this one out because it’s too dangerous. Not having it, Dawn pushes back with an eruption from deep within and says she can’t be stopped from living her life. She immediately adjusts her calm, and it’s hilarious.
After Dawn’s outburst, Mr. Betterman suggests a dry run before they harvest for real, but of course the Croods ignore him and take off running. He also warns not to eat the berries while harvesting them, which none of the Croods do in the clip, but I have a sneaking suspicion someone will break that rule. We’ll have to watch The Croods Family Tree to find out! As The Croods: A New Age was the perfect sequel to The Croods, we have no doubt the team at DreamWorks has created a fantastic continuation series.
Season 1 of The Croods Family Tree debuts with six episodes on Peacock and Hulu September 23. The journey from sparring rivals to unlikely friends is fraught with hilarious misadventures as the two families slowly overcome their differences to turn a tree house divided into a tree home united.
