I saw this film on the big screen when I was a pre-teen. I recently saw it again and was reminded what a great movie this is.
You don't need to know the languages to understand what is going on. (The characters from different tribes don't know the other languages and they often act out what they need.) This is a movie about the primal fight to survive and how even though they are forced to travel to find a new fire, their experiences expand their horizons in ways they could never have anticipated. If their own fire hadn't gone out they would never have met the cannibals or the clay people, who ultimately hold the key to their survival.
At its core, this is a movie about how although we may look different and have different customs we are all human and what we can learn from each other is irreplaceable.
You don't need to know the languages to understand what is going on. (The characters from different tribes don't know the other languages and they often act out what they need.) This is a movie about the primal fight to survive and how even though they are forced to travel to find a new fire, their experiences expand their horizons in ways they could never have anticipated. If their own fire hadn't gone out they would never have met the cannibals or the clay people, who ultimately hold the key to their survival.
At its core, this is a movie about how although we may look different and have different customs we are all human and what we can learn from each other is irreplaceable.