The Croods franchise is an animated media franchise consisting of animated movies, shows, and even two video games. Since its introduction in 2013, the DreamWorks Animation franchise has grown into a globally popular series about the Croods family, who live in the fictional, prehistoric time period called the Croodaceous.
The show follows their lives as they navigate the harsh environment with primitive technology, battling weird hybrid animal species. The cave people try to survive while traveling through the dangerous prehistoric lands after their original home is destroyed. Here’s a complete overlook of the fan-favorite franchise you and the entire family would enjoy.
How many Croods movies & shows are there?
There are two movies and two TV shows in The Croods franchise so far. Also, the franchise includes two video games – one for mobile and one for Nintendo systems. The mobile game is titled The Croods, developed by Rovie, while The Crood: Prehistoric Party! is a game for Nintendo systems that didn’t really have great reviews.
We’ll focus on the movies and TV shows throughout the rest of the article.
Croods movies & shows in order (at a glance)
As mentioned, there are two movies and two TV shows in The Croods franchise so far. They are as follows:
- The Croods (2013)
- Dawn of the Croods (2015-2017)
- The Croods: A New Age (2020)
- The Croods: Family Tree (2021-)
All the shows and movies revolve around the same family as they travel through the harsh prehistoric environment to find a new home after their original home was destroyed.
Are Croods movies & shows connected? Do you need to watch them in a specific order?
All the Croods movies and shows are connected to each other in the sense that they follow the same fictional prehistoric family of cave people on their adventures as they search for a new home, find new friends, battle strange prehistoric animals, and more.
You can understand each movie and show in the franchise separately without necessarily having to watch the others, but there are two ways to watch the Croods franchise. You can either watch by release order or chronologically, based on when and where within the fictional universe does the story take place.
What is the best way to watch Croods movies & shows?
As mentioned, you can watch Croods movies and shows in either the release order or chronological order of the story. If you choose to watch the franchise chronologically, you should first watch Dawn of the Croods (2015-2017) and then continue watching the rest by release date.Â
However, I recommend watching the entire franchise by release date, as that’s how it was designed to be watched, and you meet the characters and their development in the best possible way if you watch the Croods by release date.
Croods movies & shows in order (by release date)
1. The Croods (2013)
The Croods (2013) is the first installment in the franchise, getting us acquainted with the Croods family. They are an eccentric, quirky cave family who lives in the fictional Croodaceous era. The Croods survive their harsh reality and still manage to have fun, but they have to live under a strict set of rules to survive.
However, even the rules can’t save their home, as a disaster happens and their home is destroyed. So, the Croods are forced to get up and leave their home, traveling through the treacherous wilderness to find a new place they can call home.
Watch the trailer here.
2. Dawn of the Croods (2015-2017)
Dawn of the Croods is the only 2D, hand-drawn animation within the Croods franchise. It’s a Netflix original for children, revolving around the Croods family and their adventures over four seasons and 52 episodes in total.
Each episode is around 23 minutes long and deals with a separate topic. Thunk, Grug, Ugga, Eep, Gran, and others fight new creatures, meet new friends, go to the world’s first school, have a first slumber party, host the first elections, and so much more. It’s a fun, educational show for the younglings.
Watch the trailer here.
3. The Croods: A New Age (2020)
The second movie of the Croods franchise has the Croods family still searching for a new place they can call home. Suddenly, they stumble upon a secluded, almost hidden garden where there is plenty – of absolutely everything. It looks like heaven filled with food and riches – the issue is, it’s actually occupied by an evolved family called the Bettermans.
The Bettermans reluctantly accept the Croods and shelter them, but tensions quickly arise due to their differences. However, a greater enemy threatening both families’ survival might just push them closer together…
Watch the trailer here.
4. The Croods: Family Tree (2021-)
The Croods: Family Tree is the latest franchise installment that is still airing and isn’t finished after five seasons of action. Season 6 is set to arrive on April 7, 2023.
The show follows the life of the Croods and the Bettermans after the events of The Croods: A New Age. The two families do their best to coexist and learn how to live together on their heavenly farm.
Watch the trailer here.
Where to watch Croods movies & shows?
The Croods (2013), Dawn of the Croods (2015-2017), and The Croods: A New Age (2020) are all available for streaming on Netflix in most countries. If, in some cases, you don’t have these three Croods franchise pieces on your Netflix, try using a VPN and access Netflix from another country, and you’ll certainly find The Croods that way.
On the other hand, The Croods: Family Tree (2021-) is available for streaming on Hulu and Peacock. If you don’t have any of the available streaming platforms, you can always buy or rent The Croods on Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, Google Play, or Vudu). The price is usually around $3.99 on all the aforementioned platforms.
Will there be more Croods movies & shows?
While there’s no official word from DreamWorks about a potential new Crood movie (The Croods 3), fans believe that the franchise is bound to continue and that it’s only a matter of time before we get a new Croods movie. The ending of the previous movie, The Croods: A New Age (2020), certainly left enough room for a new storyline to develop.
That being said, The Croods: Family Tree is a TV show based on the second movie that’s still airing on Hulu and Peacock. It will be interesting to see where it ends and if it could lead to another Croods movie or a new show.
However, until DreamWorks gives us an official confirmation, we can only speculate if there will be more Croods movies and shows after The Croods: Family Tree ends.
