Craig Williams is the shy new kid in town. Little does he know, he’ll soon set off on the biggest adventure he could ever dream of: treasure maps, pirate ships, and a villain who wants to destroy the Creek.
In true Cartoon Network style, the spin-off prequel film from the show “Craig of the Creek,” “Craig Before the Creek” follows suit of previous CN spin-off films such as “Steven Universe: The Movie” and “We Bare Bears: The Movie” of sweet, lighthearted films that complement the original series and entertain old and new audiences.
The titular character, Craig (Philip Solomon), has a problem: after living in the same town all of his life, he and his family move to the creekside town of Herkleton, where he doesn’t feel he belongs. The following day, Craig takes his younger sister, Jessica (Lucia Cunningham), to a playground where he finds a group of oddball misfit children lurking. After becoming acquainted with the squad, the ensemble is attacked by a rogue pirate group led by Serena (Vico Ortiz), who takes Jessica’s prize possession, a persimmon-shaped stuffed toy.
During the night, Craig finds a diary tucked away in his new room, which details how to locate a fortune teller, where the user can make one wish, and it must come true. The note also specifies how to hide it from Serena, who wants to use the fortune teller for their own evil purposes. Craig rallies up Jessica and his newfound friends to find the fortune teller to retrieve Jessica’s stuffed toy and banish Serena and their pirate crew from the creek for good.
For the casual viewer, the film is lighthearted and fun. A few references to the main show here and there will go over the heads of non-show watchers, but not enough to make the viewer lose interest. Vico Ortiz, the voice of the pirate Serena, and Phil LaMarr, the voice of Bernard, are standouts and make the movie much more entertaining and enjoyable with their voice acting. It’s definitely a movie to put on if kids are around to keep them entertained and happy for ninety minutes.
Now available on DVD and Digital
