A review of the latest "Ice Age" movie requires a fractal with "cold" or "ice in the title: this one has both so enjoy Cold As Ice as today's cookie.-
Movie makers know not to met with a good things (or at least something that brings in the dollars). For good or ill, Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs doesn't depart from the formula that made this franchise such a huge success. You got your sitcom characters, plot and dialog, gorgeous animation and a few "danger" sequences thrown in--in other words everything you liked (or disliked) about the first two "Ice Age" movies. All your favorite characters are back with a new character (more on that later) and dinosaurs too! What more could one want?
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Incipient father Manny the Mammoth (voiced by Ray Romano--reprising his character from Everybody Love Raymond) is going a bit crazy waiting for his mate Ellie (Queen Latifa) to give birth. Diego the Sabertooth Tiger (Dennis Leary) is worried about getting older and Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) has his heart in the right place but his head firmly up his--you knwo... Sid finds some eggs and decides to raise them as his own--but they are T-Rex eggs. Manny tells Sid to take the eggs back but he keeps them and when the eggs hatch--he has three hungry baby T-Rexs! Only then does Sid decide to take the little critters home--a "world within a world" filled with dinosaurs and wild adventure. Scrat the hapless squirrel returns for more hapless adventures with his acorn and this time he has a girl squirrel to contend with: these wordless sequences are probably the best and most original part of the movie.
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Buck the weasel (voice of Simon Pegg--crossing Captain Ahab and Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter) serves as guide to the hapless crew from the ice age world above. (He's also from the world above but has lived in the new world below for years.) He's completely and apologetically bonkers--and probably the best thing about the third offering. Sadly, Buck won't be joining the "Ice Age" crew for a fourth installment if/when they make it.
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If you liked the first to "Ice Age" movies you'll probably enjoy the third installment. I found it pleasant enough but I didn't love it. (The sitcom characters, plot and dialog are kind of getting to me after three movies...) The movie is pretty and harmless fun for the whole family. Parents can take their kids and enjoy the gags without worrying about having to explain some jokes. You don't need to run to the multiplex to see this but it's a pleasant diversion for a hot weekend afternoon.
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FINAL GRADE: B
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