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DVD previews: ‘The Croods,’ ‘This Is the End’

Here’s a look at DVDs coming out Tuesday, Oct. 1:

“The Croods” (PG, 92 minutes, Fox): Think of this as the back story of “The Flintstones,” before that modern Stone Age family got modern. Hunter-gatherers Grug Crood (voice of Nicolas Cage) and his wife, Ugga, live in a dark, depressing cave. They’re raising their kids — Eep, Thunk and Sandy — as best they can, considering there’s no Internet. Driving the story forward is the character of Eep, a restless teen who chafes at her father’s dictum, “Never not be afraid.” Sneaking out of the cave one night, Eep encounters Guy, a more advanced, Homo-sapiens-like adolescent who already has discovered such conveniences as fire, shoes, pants and belts. Guy has discovered something else, too: The world as Eep knows it is coming to an end, thanks to shifting continental land masses. “The Croods” is light fare, but it explores a serious theme: the importance of cooperation — and the evolutionary advantage of altruism — in the formation of human society. “The Croods” is also just good, goofy fun. Contains mild peril. Extras include deleted scenes, “Belt’s Cave Journal” and “World of DreamWorks Animation” featurette. Also, on Blu-ray: “The Croodaceous Creatures of Croods!” and “Be an Artist” featurettes and an app that allows children to color characters and scenes from the film, add text and voice to the story, and share the result on their TVs at home.

“This Is the End” (R, 107 minutes, Sony): This apocalyptic satire, made for admirers of Seth Rogen and James Franco, is an alternately sly and wildly indulgent exercise in omni-referential humor. As both homage and sendup, it presents viewers with the image of a comedy genre eating its own tail. That genre, for the uninitiated, has been perfected by Rogen and Franco — along with “End” co-stars Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson and Danny McBride — in films that brim with marijuana-fueled disquisitions, sophomoric sex jokes, graphic gross-outs and gratuitous violence. The epitome of the form was the 2008 stoner action comedy “Pineapple Express,” which suffered from overkill. The same excesses come into play in “This Is the End,” which Rogen wrote with “Pineapple Express” writer Evan Goldberg, here making a game if uneven directorial debut. As the film opens, Baruchel is just landing in Los Angeles for a visit with best friend Rogen, who promptly lays out a welcome feast of weed, soda, Starbursts and 3-D television. The premise of “This Is the End” is that everyone is playing themselves — a bunch of over-privileged young actors hanging out in L.A. when a sudden spate of earthquakes, fires and mysterious disappearances sends them into a panicked scrum of survivalist hoarding and doom speculation. Contains crude and sexual content throughout, brief graphic nudity, pervasive profanity, drug use and some violence. Extras include commentary with Rogen and Goldberg, “Directing Your Friends” featurette, marketing outtakes, cast featurette and cast “confessionals.” Also, on Blu-ray: deleted scenes and gag reel; “Meta-Apocalypse” featurette of cast discussing challenges of playing versions of themselves; “Let’s Get Technical” look at the visual effects; a behind-the-scenes look at the party scene at Franco’s house; “The Cannibal King” with McBride and Channing Tatum; “Pineapple Express” sequel making-of and “Jay & Seth vs. The Apocalypse” original short that inspired the film.

“A Fierce Green Fire” (unrated, 101 minutes, First Run Features): A sweeping history of the environmental movement, “A Fierce Green Fire: The Battle for a Living Planet” is both a cautionary tale and a triumphant one. The documentary focuses on the individuals who halted deforestation and saved baby seals, but filmmaker Mark Kitchell also delineates the imminent dangers of climate change. Unfortunately, the sprawling documentary’s lack of focus tempers the overall force of the individual stories. The film is divided into five chapters, each with a different narrator. Robert Redford, Ashley Judd, Isabel Allende, Van Jones and Meryl Streep fill in the gaps on narratives that range from the founding of the Sierra Club to Love Canal and Greenpeace’s war on whaling to the Kyoto Protocol. Contains images of violence against animals. Extras include resource guide, timeline and a biography.

Also: “The Frozen Ground,” “Morning,” “Branca’s Pitch” (documentary), “So This Is Christmas,” “Cold War” (aka “Laan jin,” Hong Kong, Lionsgate), “Treasure Guards,” “With Love ... From the Age of Reason” (2010, France/Belgium), “The Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary Collector’s Edition,” “Going Underground: Paul McCartney, the Beatles and the UK Counter-Culture,” “North America” (Discovery Channel documentary), “Dead Before Dawn,” “Fright Night 2: New Blood,” “Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!: Best of Collection” and “Shaquille O’Neal Presents All Star Comedy Jam — Live from Atlanta.”

Television series: “Glee: Fourth Season,” “How I Met Your Mother: Season Eight,” “Downton Abbey: Seasons 1, 2 & 3,” “New Girl: Season Two,” “Murder, She Wrote: The Complete Series” (1984-1996, 63-disc set), “Beauty & the Beast: First Season,” “Awkward: Seasons One & Two,” “Magnum P.I.: The Complete Series,” “Jack Irish, Set 1” (Guy Pearce in a 2012 Australian crime drama series, Acorn Media), “Agatha Christie’s Poirot, Series 7 & 8” (2000-02, British ITV Studios series starring David Suchet, Acorn Media), “China Beach: Season One,” “Teen Mom: First Season,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Ultimate Showdown” and “Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel.”

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