YOU ARE HERE: LAT HomeCollectionsMovies_now  Review: 'The
Croods' lacks a spark of fire  Even with a stellar cast of
voices and striking 3-D effects, the animated film about a
prehistoric family on a road trip during the continental divide
is short on substance, fun and heart.    • A scene from "The
Croods." A scene from "The Croods." (DreamWorks Animation )
PHOTOS: Hollywood backlot moments  The movie does deliver some
Crood amusement thanks to its cast — no pun intended, this is
about as innuendo-free an animated movie as we've seen in a
while.  The animation, Stone Age-enticing, isn't the problem
either.  In fact, animation turns the cataclysmic times that
created the continents and frame "The Croods" into an
imaginatively striking 3-D experience — lava flows, earthquakes,
crumbling mountain ranges, fleeing beasties. The cataclysm also
works to expose all the fractures and fissures among the Croods
clan too. It's a family crisis! It's a global crisis! It's a
road trip! Huh?  No one really expects anima