How Did The Croods Deal With Change?

Can we learn how to deal with change from the recently released movie The Croods? I definitely think we can. This is a great film with a powerful message for any audience (particularly those who are still in touch with their inner child).  

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to take two young friends to see “The Croods” a the film Produced by Dreamworks. The movie is about an old school caveman that needs to rapidly adapt to change as his world (the cave he inhabited with his family for ever) is destroyed due to earthquakes, volcanic activity and a prehistoric re-arrangement of the land.

Led by a young and a more innovative caveman -full of ideas-, the over-protective caveman struggles to accept his new reality as he journeys towards a new “tomorrow” with his family, something he has difficulty in visualising.

While watching the movie I could not help feeling that the script had been written by a change management consultant trying to explain how useless it is to try to stick to what we know when the world around us is changing rapidly.

Traveling across a beautiful new landscape, the family discovers an incredible new world filled with fantastic creatures and their outlook is changed forever.

A few take-away key points from the movie:

• Resisting “the inevitable” causes us more pain than dealing with the fear that sometimes arises when attempting new things.
• Things change, even if we do not want them to change.
• Safety and rules are not always the answer for a brighter future.
• Curiosity helps us discover new possibilities, which may be better than what we think we have.
• Stepping outside the comfort zone is good for us since sticking to what we know and the environments we live in may not last forever.
• Adapting to change is how you are going to survive in life
• Story telling is magical in terms of transmitting a message.
• Be brave even when you have to jump into the unknown.
• Make sure you say “I love you” to those you love before the world ends!

The movie finishes with the old school cavemen settling down with his family in the new land, becoming less protective and letting them be more adventurous and risk-taking, thus bringing happiness to them all.