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by Sandra Olmsted

In Early Man, director Nick Park and Aardman Animations, the creators of the Wallace and Gromit films among other stop-motion features, strut their stuff in a creation fable about the origins of soccer. “Somewhere near Manchester, England,” a group of cavemen lives among dinosaurs until a meteor wipes out the dinosaurs and delivers a rock shaped like the modern polyhedron soccer ball. Thus, the deep roots of loving the game are planted in Manchester.

Unfortunately, by the time Dug (voice of Eddie Redmayne) and his faithful “dog” Hognob hunt for rabbits in the verdant valley created by the meteor, his family group has forgotten soccer. Even more unfortunate, the Bronze-Agers who plan to strip the valley and push the Stone-Agers into the rocky wilderness, have made soccer the holy battlefield where anything can be settled with only the occasional human sacrifice. The Bronze-Agers work for Lord Nooth (voice of Tom Hiddleston, who delivers his lines in a French accent reminiscent of Monty Python’s trope characters). Nooth supposedly works for British Queen Oofeefa (voice of Miriam Margolyes); however, Nooth is stealing to fatten his own treasure chest. The wise Queen Oofeefa frequently sends her instant messager bird (voice of Rob Brydon) to collect information on the none-too-bright Nooth.

When Dug’s heroics get him into Nooth’s walled city, he meets Goona (voice of Maisie Williams), who dreams of playing soccer but isn’t allowed because only the anointed can play on the sacred soccer pitch. Eventually, through a series of goofy, silly, pun-laden events typical of Aardman films, a soccer game pitting the Store-Agers against the Bronze-Agers’ professional team, complete with foreign ringers. Dug returns to his tribe and tries to rally them into a winning team, without much success until . . . well, seeing Early Man is about the fun and just not worrying about historical accuracy and plot construction or if mallard ducks were once the size of a passenger plane.

With nods to the Flintstones, Manchester United fans, all things soccer, and plenty of British humor, Park and screenwriters Mark Burton and James Higginson provide plenty of laughs, gags, and fun, which will require several viewings of the film to get them all, and, possibly for the American audience, not even then. For those used to learning from the inferences in cartoons, Early Man pays homage to Manchester United and reveals deep feelings for the game, and, just in time for the World Cup mania, Park lovingly lampoons soccer fandom. Early Man, a Lionsgate release, is rated PG for rude humor and some action and runs a fun, fast-paced, and enjoyable 89 minutes. Early Man is in theaters now and a must-see for every soccer and Aardman Animations fans.

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