EARLY MAN is a gentle, cosy watch. It’s Aardman and Nick Park sticking firmly to his house style, playing it very safe. There’s maybe three cracking jokes in the whole thing, but all the Bristol claymation house’s usual handmade imagination is in evidence everywhere you look. I do think we should be past the laziness of having a “slow” character with crossed eyes in 2018 and I don’t think any of these cavemen or women we spend our time with will be as memorable as the scatter-brained inventors, organised chickens or insecure pirates that Aardman have gifted us with before. I challenge you to name any one of them that’s not voiced by Eddie Redmayne or not an intelligent pig. I’m sure Early Man could become a Sunday afternoon staple for families, but you expect something more memorable from an animation studio so meticulous and committed to doing things the old-fashioned way. SSP