![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
The Croods: A well developed animated film – 4/5 stars
April 2, 2013
Following the footsteps of other DreamWorks films such as Ice Age and Shrek, The Croods delivers an engrossing and humorous story aided by brilliant animation and CGI.
The Croods is a story of discovery led by Eep (Emma Stone), who is the daughter of the Crood family. One night, Eep gives into her inquisitiveness and leaves the cave, sparking the beginning of action in the movie. She meets an intelligent caveboy named Guy who predicts the end of the world. Sure enough, giant earthquakes force the Croods to leave their comfortable cave-dwelling into a jungle filled with fierce animals.
Aside from the plot-line, the visuals of this film are outstanding due to the layout of the terrain and exoticism of the creatures. The film seems to borrow some of the designs of animals from James Cameron’s Avatar and manages to use them in an animated setting. Not only are the characters energetic, but also the forests and deserts are glowing with life and activity.
The Croods offers a relatively tension-less atmosphere for the viewers. Life in the so called “Croodaceous era” is portrayed as extremely dangerous with vicious, overly intelligent animals roaming the forests and deserts who make the land virtually uninhabitable for the weak. Despite such obstacles in life, the Croods comically avoid each predator and effortlessly traverse jaw-dropping heights and crags without a hint of fear.
With a relatively smaller set of voice-actors, the cast manages to flourish and contributes to the overall humor in the movie. The father of the family, Grug Crood (Nicolas Cage), is particularly amusing in his bumbling attempts to keep his family safe and is accompanied by his son Thunk Crood (Clark Duke) who is clueless, but nevertheless funny. The daughter of the family, Eep is well portrayed as curious, intelligent, and adventurous.
Despite all the commendable points of The Croods, it contains little depth and more slapstick comedy; the movie is not very deep and offers cliché character development.
The Croods still offers an array of brilliant animation, superb voice-acting, and a clever plot-line–an ideal family movie. However, it is not the best choice if one desires a thought-provoking movie or a film that has reasonable depth.
