Catherine Keener as first modern mom in 'The Croods'

Percy Jackson's onscreen mom Catherine Keener puts on her maternal acting instincts once again in the big family 3D animated adventure "The Croods," lending her voice along with Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds and Cloris Leachman. 

 

From her numerous and notable works such as her Academy nominated roles in "Being John Malkovich" and "Capote," to diverse movie roles in "Percy Jackson and the Olympians," "40-Year-Old-Virgin," "Out of Sight," "Where the Wild Things Are," "The Interpreter" and "S1mone", Catherine Keener marks her debut voice role in the family romp "The Croods."

 

Set to embody the cave mom Ugga in directors Kirk De Micco's and Chris Sanders' prehistoric adventure "The Croods," Keener is wife to Grug (voiced by Cage) and earth's original matriarch in the movie. Along with Grug, their daughter Eep (Stone), son Thunk (Clark Duke), mother Gran (Leachman) and baby, they search a new world as theirs become devastated by an earthquake. Along the way, they get help from a nomadic loner Guy (Reynolds) as they head out in search of a new life and plenty of adventure. 

   

As the Croods experience the eventful changes that accompany Guy’s new ideas, Ugga scrambles to hold the group together. “In a family that sometimes acts a little nutty, she probably has her head screwed on a little tighter than the rest,” says Catherine Keener.  “Ugga is loving, caring and a great mom, but at the same time she’s every bit as physically solid and tough as Grug. I think that she's a classic film mother. I always feel a little resistance when I hear it's the mom role because generally - and I'm stereotyping - it means there’s not a lot to her individuality. I've found Ugga to have more of that - I think she's a little eccentric, and I think she was probably more evolved than the other cave women who came before her.”

 

Still, during their many years together raising their family, Ugga has always deferred to her husband’s authority.  But a change in their housing situation triggers big changes in their relationship.  “By the end of the story she’s the one who tells Grug he must change his thinking,” says Sanders.

 

“Their marriage and family life is not unlike those of today,” adds Keener. “We understand the Croods. The family discovers the universal truth that it’s difficult to change and to let go of things.  But when they approach the new world, it’s stunning. And they literally have to jump off a cliff to get there. Life for everyone is very much like that. You need to take risks.”

 

When asked what she thinks is the universal message of "The Croods" -  "Love. I know that it has a lot to do with family but it has to do with accepting one and another, and when you accept one another, you feel loved and you can love," concludes Keener. 

 

"The Croods" (3D) is a DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox presentation to be distributed by Warner Bros. in cinemas nationwide on March 22.

 

Like Ugga, we all know that a mom's schedule can get pretty crazy sometimes, let her try out this game from The Croods to unwind for a few minutes. Press release and photos from 20th Century Fox