The Romantic Tension Between Grug and Phil In The Croods: A New Age

The Romantic Tension Between Grug and Phil In The Croods: A New Age

On November 25th, 2020, a movie was released that shook me to my core: The Croods: A New Age. This movie is an absolute trainwreck, with constant shifts in conflict, too many subplots to keep track of, and a confusing moral (if there even is one). The movie was chaotic enough to give me a migraine, but I found myself captivated by a singular aspect of the film: the intense tension between Grug and Phil.

Ha-Ha, Hetero’s

Eep, the daughter of Grug, was smitten by Guy, the man who convinced her to escape her cave and bring her family with her. The first film centered around the family and Guy traveling across the world to find “Tomorrow”. 

They are the obligatory heterosexual teenage couple that every movie seems to need – the sequel, however, deviates from this slightly with the addition of the Betterman’s, an advanced family that hesitantly takes the Croods in. They only allowed them to stay because they knew Super Hot Man (AKA Guy) when he was a child and they want him to have a relationship with their daughter, Don (AKA Super Hot Girl).

Banana Bros

Grug and Phil have a different type of tension at the beginning of the movie than the ending. When we first meet the Betterman’s, the adults are extremely condescending towards the Croods – calling them Cavepeople, staring at them in disgust, and dumbing themselves down to try to communicate with them. They apologize for this, then continue to behave in the same way.

Grug and Phil’s relationship begins a little bit after we’re introduced to the Betterman’s when Grug tries to eat a banana, of which the Betterman’s have many. This angers our lord Grug, and a bitter rival festers between the two fathers.

Phil and his insignificant wife try to convince Grug and his insignificant wife to leave their home. Phil takes Grug to his “man cave”, which is practically a sauna, to try to get Grug hot enough to agree to leave. This has unforeseen repercussions, though, and their rivalry grows stronger.

Grug and Ugga (his stupid wife) eat all of the bananas in retaliation to this. Phil throws a tantrum and has a breakdown. After this, Grug, Guy, and Phil proceed to get kidnapped by the Punch Monkeys.

The three of them are taken to the lair, and Grug and Phil fall in love. They twirl each other around, get all up in their faces, and even forget that everyone they know is literally about to get eaten by the Monkey God himself.

Sad Boi Hours

Sadly, they don’t end up getting together on screen – that would be too risky. Earth’s first gay couple is just too extravagant of a plot for DreamWorks, a studio completely created because of how salty Jeffrey Katzenberg was that he lost his job at Disney. What could we expect?

Besides all of that nonsense, the facts are undeniably there – Grug and Phil (better known as the Banana Bros) are in love, and should leave their stupid wives for each other. That’s that, and it’s an undeniable fact. 

I can only hope that we see the Banana Bros have a true love story, perhaps in another movie or a spinoff. Enough with Eep and Guy, we want Banana Bros. 

Broadway Records Releases Its First Album With Averno Creators

Broadway Records Releases Its First Album With Averno Creators

Averno, a fictional universe created by TikTok stars Morgan Smith, August (Auggie) Greenwood, and Sushi Soucy, has signed a deal with Broadway Records – they’ve released the first of three albums they’ve recorded with them.

Broadway Records signed a deal with these composers not even a month ago on September 9th. These young creators have individual albums that are connected. The albums are Willow, Bittersummer, and Over and Out. Willow was released on September 25th. 

Willow

Willow, a musical that takes place under a willow tree, is about two couples, a little girl, and her imaginary friend. The musical takes place in three different timelines – 2006, 2011, and 2012. They all connect through one thing – the willow tree they meet under. They released the concept album for this musical on Spotify, Google Play, Tidal, and more

Willow was recently featured in a Playbill article about one of the songs in the album. Christy Altomare, known for her role as Anya in Anastasia on Broadway, sang the tenth song from the album – “How To Let Go”. The song is sung by Cassia, a daughter of the forest, to Grace – a wild, sharp girl. 

Averno

Averno was created by Morgan Smith in 2019. It is a transmedia, interlocking universe that spans across social media, comics, musicals, and more. Since it was created, the team has expanded to include 60 other artists from 14 countries. Many people on the team and in the fanbase have described Averno as the feeling of belonging and home. 

The Averno team hosts events that have to do with the small town, ranging from an online summer camp to school. They have street teams, discords, Instagram group chats, and more. 

Come Home 

Another album they’ve released is Come Home. Come Home was a massive event within the fanbase, with vague promotions about “August 27th” flooding through TikTok and Twitter. 

The EP consisted of three different songs, each from different musicals. “The Forest Hymn”, the first song on the EP, gives more insight into the lore of Averno. It’s cryptic and vague, leaving listeners with an odd sense of peace and fear. The second song, “How To Let Go”, was one of the first listens we got into Willow. “Nova Phone Home”, the final song, is from the musical Over and Out, which will be released later this year. It’s about Nova and how she feels lost and alone at A New School, Averno’s college. 

Morgan, August, and Sushi have expressed their excitement for their musicals on social media, and the fandom is showing no less, if not more, enthusiasm as for what’s to come. 

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