No prior knowledge is required to enjoy Craig Before the Creek, the prequel to the Cartoon Network television series Craig of the Creek. This movie is the perfect jumping in point for newcomers, and for long time fans, what’s presented doesn’t change up what’s previously known. Philip Solomon voices the titular character, and everything we know from the series is given further development in this work! Here, we get to see how he met Kelsey (Michael Croner) and J.P. (Noël Wells).
That also includes revealing why his parents decided to relocate to the small town of Herkleton. Duane Williams (Byron Marc Newsome) is a computer programmer, able to work at home, and Nicole (Kimberly Hebert Gregory) is a school counsellor. She most likely got a job at the school Craig goes to, but little is shown about his time there. Instead, it’s all about those adventures that go on after school, at the creek. What’s revealed in this film is that he generally gets along well with his siblings, Jessica (Lucia Cunningham) and Bernard (Phil LaMarr), and after accidentally knocking his sister’s precious stuffed doll deep into the woods, he “promises” to find it and what he discovers at the creek is wonder and kids of his age having fun.
The only thing different between this reintroduction to what the series reveals is how Craig hasn’t developed those essential friendships yet. While he comes through as a bit self-centred in the beginning, his attitude changes when he realises that he’s not alone. What’s presented shows just how many cliques have staked out the various parts of this park. Unlike the series, what’s presented here is more ambitious. I’m watching Craig embark on a Goonies style adventure. There’s a wish maker hiding under the creek, the only other person who is aware of it is Serena (Vico Ortiz).
This magical piece of paper is said to be able to grant anyone using it their fondest desire. For Craig, that’s return to that life that he’s been uprooted from, and for this pirate, that’s to flood the creek! Her motives are rather sad, but thankfully her story arc shows that even this villain can gain some redemption.
In Craig Before the Creek, the adventure is not limited to what gets imagined. The real world action is rather fun, and after watching this film, I had to start watching the television series again. Aside from the two characters whom Craig identifies as the Witches of the Creek, there really isn’t anything magical about them at all. It’s a shame they didn’t have more of a role in the film, as they’d be perfect to explain why such a strange playground exists at all! But to know more about why it exists at all requires another film than to accept the story at face value. When Serena knows about this creek’s history, this plot hole really needs to be circled back upon in the season five finale to the series.
4 Stars out of 5
Craig Before the Creek Trailer
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