52. Early Man; movie review

EARLY MAN
Cert PG
89 mins
BBFC advice: Contains infrequent mild bad language, threat

A pal of mine has described January as a golden month for cinema but, amid the classic releases, reckons Early Man was the biggest disappointment.
I know what he means. I made the schoolboy error of listening to Mark Kermode's review before Mrs W and I took in Nick Park's movie.
Kermode loved it, claiming he was laughing from the opening scenes and gave the film resounding approval despite not knowing anything about football (his words not mine).
Our expectation was, therefore, too great. For the first 30 minutes, both Mrs W and I were wondering what the fuss was about. We were fearing the equivalent of a tepid 0-0 draw.
Thankfully, like a graceful centre-forward, the movie leapt and scored in a much more entertaining second half.
I know it may seem like sacrilege but I am not a huge fan of Park's claymation - and didn't really get Wallace and Gromit.
But there are football references which I just lapped up here (there is a wonderful 'they think it's all over moment' which prompted me to laugh for a full minute).
The premise of the film is that a small Stone Age community are being thrown out of their lush valley by the much more advanced people of the Bronze Age who happen to be soccer fanatics.
The Stone Agers have little appetite for the battle but an enthusiastic youngster called Dug (voiced by Eddie Redmayne) believes they can see off their powerful neighbours.
Indeed, he finds himself challenging their dictator (Tom Hiddleston) to a footy match against the Bronze Age champions to earn the right to live in peace.
There is only one problem - the Stone Age team has no concept of football and their opponents are the equivalent of Real Madrid.
Non-football fans will enjoy the way in which Dug's team try to grapple with a game which makes no sense to them while supporters will, like me and Mrs W, have their bigger laughs nearer the end when a Bedknobs and Broomsticks-style match becomes the movie's focus.
I was particularly taken with a commentary team which is based on John Motson and Alan Hanson.
Early Age benefits from high-quality voicework from Redmayne, Hiddleston, Maisie Williams and Timothy Spall to complement its quirky clay characters.
But typically of Park, pets steals the heart of the audience - this time in the shape of a hog and messenger bird (Rob Brydon).
As said, by its conclusion, I had laughed enough to claim it a winner.

Reasons to watch: reminded me of that wonderful Bedknobs and Broomsticks football match
Reasons to avoid: not as many laughs as I expected

Laughs: six
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 8/10

Director quote - Nick Park: "I was a big Ray Harryhausen fan when I was a kid and saw A Million Years BC and that was one of the first films which made me want to pick up a camera."

The big question - when and where was football invented?

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