New home video releases of The Croods offer interactive activities.
DreamWorks also worked with Angry Birds creator Rovio Entertainment on a free-to-play mobile game set in the world of The Croods. The iOS and Android game allows players to build a manage their own world using the Croods hunting and gathering abilities. The game is constantly receiving new updates, like the ability to explore friends’ worlds, which keeps the brand fresh. It also runs on Rovio’s new account platform, which means the millions of Angry Birds and Angry Birds Star Wars fans can seamlessly log into this game.“A lot of times we actually supervised the stuff that went into the video games,” said Sean Sexton, supervising animator, DreamWorks Animation. “They would send their cycles of how Sandy runs in the game or how she gets attacked and we’d offer input. They used a lot of the same software we used to make these characters in the film. It’s very closely integrated.”
“One of the cool things about these games is they’re not going to really further the characters as part of the story,” said Sanders. “They’re based on the movie that was already made, but because these films take quite a long time to make, you want to keep them alive in people’s memory and imaginations while you’re off making the second film. So anything like a TV show or a video game that’s out there is great. There are a lot of kids out there that, by the time we make the second film, are going to be old enough to see it that are either not born yet or are just very, very young right now. So you want them to learn about it and know about it by the time the second one comes out so they want to go see it.”
“Video games are great because it keeps the characters alive in people’s minds so they can become the characters and it will bridge the gap until the next movie,” said Sexton.
In addition to the free mobile game and the console games, the new Blu-ray version of the film offers up interactive art experiences to get kids of all ages drawing some of the prehistoric creatures from the movie. All of this interactivity should keep people busy for awhile. And during that time, DreamWorks is developing The Croods 2, to take the big screen adventure forward.
