Ever sat there watching a bunch of prehistoric misfits outrunning a lava flow and thought, "Wait, I know that voice"? It happens to the best of us. When DreamWorks dropped The Croods: Family Tree on Hulu and Peacock, it wasn't just a continuation of the movies. It was a whole new beast. People get confused because the croods family tree cast is actually quite different from the A-list Hollywood lineup we saw on the big screen.
If you're looking for Nicolas Cage or Emma Stone in the TV series, you're gonna be disappointed.
The show is a direct spin-off of the second movie, A New Age. It picks up right where that film left off, with the Croods and the Bettermans trying to share one farm without killing each other. It’s chaotic. It’s loud. And honestly, the voice cast they assembled for the show does a terrifyingly good job of mimicking the original movie stars.
The Core Crood Clan: Meeting the New Voices
Let's look at the actual people behind the microphones for the TV show. It's a mix of veteran voice actors and some folks who have been with these characters longer than you might realize.
Grug Crood
In the films, Grug is peak Nic Cage—paranoid, overprotective, and somehow lovable. For the series, Kiff VandenHeuvel stepped into the caveman loincloth. If you close your eyes, you’d swear it’s Cage. VandenHeuvel has this specific gravelly desperation down to a science. He's also known for work in BioShock Infinite and Star Wars Rebels, so the guy has range.
Eep Crood
Emma Stone’s raspy, energetic Eep is hard to replace. Ally Dixon is the one who took over for the Family Tree series. She brings that same rebellious teenage "I want to see the sun" energy without making it feel like a cheap imitation.
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Ugga Crood
Ugga is the glue holding the family together. While Catherine Keener voiced her in the movies, Amy Landecker (from Transparent) took over for the series. Landecker has mentioned in interviews that she’s a huge fan of Keener’s work, and she really tries to keep that same grounded, maternal spirit alive.
Thunk Crood
Here is a fun fact: A.J. LoCascio has actually been voicing Thunk for a long time. While Clark Duke did the movies, LoCascio voiced Thunk in the 2D prequel series Dawn of the Croods and then returned for Family Tree. He’s basically the definitive Thunk at this point.
The Bettermans: Modernity Hits the Stone Age
The whole "civilized vs. wild" dynamic is what makes the show work. The Bettermans represent the future—or at least, they think they do.
Phil Betterman
In the movie, Phil was Peter Dinklage. In the series, Matthew Waterson takes the reigns. Phil is condescending, "evolved," and incredibly insecure. Waterson plays the "pretentious farm dad" vibe perfectly. You might recognize his voice from Trollhunters or various Call of Duty games.
Hope Betterman
Leslie Mann brought a very specific "passive-aggressive neighbor" energy to Hope in the film. Amy Rosoff stepped in for the show. She handles the transition from "I hate these cavepeople" to "maybe we're friends" with a lot of comedic timing.
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Dawn Betterman
This is where it gets interesting. Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars' Rose Tico) actually voiced Dawn in the second movie AND stayed on for the first four seasons of Family Tree. It’s rare to see a movie lead jump to the TV spin-off. However, by season five, Abby Trott took over the role. If you’re a fan of Demon Slayer (she voices Nezuko), you’ve definitely heard her before.
The Rest of the Menagerie
You can't have a Croods story without the weird animals and the eccentric grandmother.
- Gran: Cloris Leachman was iconic as Gran. For the series, Artemis Pebdani (who you might know as Artemis from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) takes over. She’s loud, she’s mean, and she’s hilarious.
- Guy: Ryan Reynolds is a tough act to follow. Darin Brooks handles Guy in the series. He captures that fast-talking, "I have an idea" optimism that Ryan Reynolds popularized in the first film.
- Sandy: The feral baby of the family is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. If there is a weird animal or a baby making noises in a cartoon, it is almost always Dee Bradley Baker. He also voices Belt (the sloth), Chunky, and Douglas.
Why the Change in Cast?
Usually, it comes down to budget and scheduling. Having Nicolas Cage and Ryan Reynolds record 52 episodes of a TV show would cost more than the entire animation budget of the series. That’s just the reality of Hollywood.
But honestly? The Family Tree cast is great because they are professional voice actors. They know how to maintain a character's "sound" over dozens of episodes while doing physical comedy with just their lungs.
The show has run for eight seasons now, ending its original run in late 2023. It’s become its own thing, separate from the movies, and a huge part of that is because the cast stopped trying to "be" the movie stars and started just being the characters.
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Quick Reference: Movie vs. TV Series
| Character | Movie Actor | TV Series Actor (Family Tree) |
|---|---|---|
| Grug | Nicolas Cage | Kiff VandenHeuvel |
| Eep | Emma Stone | Ally Dixon |
| Guy | Ryan Reynolds | Darin Brooks |
| Ugga | Catherine Keener | Amy Landecker |
| Thunk | Clark Duke | A.J. LoCascio |
| Phil | Peter Dinklage | Matthew Waterson |
| Hope | Leslie Mann | Amy Rosoff |
| Dawn | Kelly Marie Tran | Kelly Marie Tran / Abby Trott |
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that the TV show is a prequel. It’s not. Dawn of the Croods (the 2D one on Netflix) was the prequel. The Croods: Family Tree (the 3D one on Hulu/Peacock) is a sequel to the second movie.
If you're watching the show and wondering why the voices sound "almost" right but not quite, now you know. It’s a group of incredibly talented voice-over specialists doing their best impression of A-listers, and after a few episodes, you kind of forget the difference anyway.
If you’re looking to dive deeper into the world of the Croods, your best bet is to start with the 2020 film A New Age to understand the Betterman dynamic, then jump straight into season one of Family Tree. It bridges the gap perfectly and gives characters like Thunk and Dawn way more screen time than they ever got in the films.
Next Steps for Fans:
- Check out The Croods: Family Tree on Hulu or Peacock to see these voice actors in action across all 8 seasons.
- Compare the vocal nuances by watching A New Age followed by the first episode of the series, "Joined at the Hip."
- Look into A.J. LoCascio's other work if you enjoy his take on Thunk; he’s a staple in the voice-acting community.