On one of my marathon Netflix days last summer I watched the Croods... 3 or 4 times straight.... I rationalized it as research. I loved all the opportunities to use this in my classroom. I could hit tons of standards in one unit, but I questioned how much of it to show. So my intro students watched it. All of it. And my high school kids LOVED it. I had no idea how many had never seen or heard of it. I also hadn't shown a video like this since to high school students, well ever. We analyzed how the characters were developed and how the artists matched the physicality up to the personality of the character. Analyzed color and how it affected the mood of the video, created contrast and the use of color symbolism. Observed symbols that were repeated and discussed how repetition in a video can be similar to repetition in an artwork. We discussed anthropomorphism, citing specific examples on how the artists created human traits in the creatures and animals. We identified themes:growing up, change and tolerance to name a few. It was a great dissection and very insightful look at the movie and my students. And a great opportunity to introduce arts careers for students. We ended the unit by designing and creating our own creatures for the movie. While some students created fantastical animal mash ups, some went realistic and some went very stylized. They had to physically stand, connect to the viewer, attempt a human emotion and use texture somehow. They are almost finished, but I can't wait to share a few in progress. AND my students have already suggested a movie for the next group of Intro kids....
