A generally wholesome and entertaining confection. The animation is state-of-the-art, but the simple plot mechanics and often rather tired jokes could have benefited from some rewriting.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 30, 2018

Aardman has always done this layering of humour, so that adults can enjoy their stories as much as children, but this one pushes the volume up to 11. The glee runneth over from the first shot.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 28, 2018

The story is thin, allowing little room for imaginative engagement, and the comedy uninspired. Early Man contains a nice anti-sexism message, but delivers it half-heartedly.

| Feb 22, 2018

Early Man is not so much a return to form as it is a long overdue comeback -- and a welcome one at that.

| Feb 20, 2018

Early Man may not have the punch or pizzazz of a mainstream Hollywood cartoon feature, but it has a tangible charm all its own. As a fan, I wouldn't have it any other way.

| Feb 17, 2018

Aardman is a haven for creatures that hail from other species but match us or even outstrip us in proficiency and grace. Early Man, though, is stuffed with men and women...whereas the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air are reduced to extras.

| Feb 16, 2018

At least there's director Nick Park's playful Silly Putty visual imagination to take your mind off just how thin the story is.

| Original Score: B- | Feb 16, 2018

"Early Man" is a sly, unexpectedly emotional comedy with lots of goofy laughs and the occasionally inspired bit of business. But fair or not, it's hard not to compare this prehistoric laugher to Aardman's (and Park's) brilliant past.

| Feb 16, 2018

Mostly, "Early Man" plays like an overstuffed episode of "The Flintstones," riffing on caveman accessories, as well as soccer fandom and hooliganism.

| Feb 16, 2018

Maybe Early Man isn't Aardman's best work, but it's so wholeheartedly kind and clever that it's impossible not to embrace the ride.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Feb 16, 2018

The pun-fueled dialogue is a perfect match for the visual ugliness.

| Original Score: 0/5 | Feb 16, 2018

You know full well whether or not you're the audience for this film. Consider yourself either warned or enabled.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 16, 2018

There's a quaintness about the film, from the animation style to the wholesome jokes, that is refreshing for this pop-culture-obsessed animation era.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Feb 16, 2018

"Early Man" is lovingly crafted down to the smallest detail. But its story, a farcical tribute to the early origins of soccer, isn't nearly as sturdy as its presentation.

| Original Score: C | Feb 16, 2018

Aardman Animations gives viewers what we didn't know we needed: a football origin story. Early Man is eccentrically funny and mostly warm-hearted.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 16, 2018

Among its abundant delights, Early Man doubles as Park's sly statement about his own process, which may seem exceedingly crude and outdated, but has the warmth and personality of a homemade, hand-crafted production.

| Feb 15, 2018

If just hearing animator Nick Park's name doesn't bring an anticipatory smile to your face, watching a few minutes of the thoroughly amusing "Early Man" will do the trick.

| Feb 15, 2018

Lesser Aardman but a pleasant little treat.

| Original Score: B | Feb 15, 2018

Another gentle charmer from the "Wallace and Grommit" folks.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Feb 15, 2018

As always, Park is delightfully absurd with his stop-motion tomfoolery, although the story by Mark Burton and James Higginson only occasionally reaches the heights of Aardman films past.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Feb 15, 2018