To be honest I was bitterly disappointed with this movie because the trailer had let me to expect Eep to be a heroine who actively leads her own story. But no, the most important active role she took was sneaking out at night and meeting Guy. Afterwards she spent most of the movie making googly eyes at him while he come up with ideas to save everyone.

Now, I don’t think falling in love would make Eep a weaker character. But she could have worked TOGETHER with Guy as EQUALS. She made no contribution of any of her own ideas, and for the most part, just listened to Guy. Whenever the family is facing danger/crisis, it’s always Guy or Dad that eventually saves the day.

The Croods also doesn’t pass the Bechel Test. Although the Mother, the Grandmother, and Eep all seem to be interesting characters on their own. They have never spoken to each other. Whenever Eep have a fight with Grub, the mother is always shown counseling her husband. There isn’t even a scene where she SPEAKS to her upset daughter, even though it would make perfect sense for her to give her daughter a word of comfort.

Overall, I think things like armpit hair and caveMEN are just minor details. The most important problem is that the females are not given active role in storytelling.