DVD MOVIE REVIEW:
ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS
by Brian Savage


Manny, Sid, Diego, and Ellie are back in this third film in the computer-animated Ice Age series. With those creatures in starring roles, fans also get another dose of the vocal talents of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, and Queen Latifah, who are joined by Shaun Of The Dead’s Simon Pegg. In Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaur, Manny and Ellie are expecting their first baby, while Sid the sloth tries an unconventional way of starting a family that gets him into trouble. With all this talk of babies, Diego might be losing his saber-toothed edge, but a journey to save Sid may just turn the whole group into heroes. In addition to all that adventure, it wouldn’t be an Ice Age film if Scrat weren’t on a desperate hunt for an acorn, but he might get distracted by a shapely female squirrel.

Even though Ray Romano stars again in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, I have to say, 'Everybody Doesn't Like' this film. This third installment is long, tedious and redundant. Is this a movie about the mammoth herd or prehistoric squirrels? The squirrel chasing the nut gag was cute in the first movie but just gets more and more tedious as this version rolls on. It's a never ending gag of chase the nut!

The only creative and fun part is Buck (voiced by Simon Pegg) the crazy weasel that loves to hunt Rudy the giant dinosaur. His antics help the movie get going, but he doesn't arrive until about half way through. Otherwise, this is a tale of finding Sid the lost sloth who adopts three eggs that turn out to be dinosaurs. He ends up in an underground dinosaur world trying to care for his "kids". When he disappears, the herd goes on a trek to find him. With the help of Buck, Sid is rescued and they return back to the "Ice Age".

After the movie, I didn't even have the energy to look at the special features. Who would like this film? Those from 6-9 years old. If you don't fit in that category, skip it.

DVD EXTRAS:

  • Audio Commentary with director Carlos Saldanha
  • Two Scrat Shorts
  • The Saber Toothed Squirrel: Nature's Nutty Buddy
  • Scrat: From Head to Toe (Learn How to Draw Scrat - Tutorial!)
  • Scrat: "Breaking Story"
  • Scrat: "News Report"
  • Fox Movie Channel presents Making a Scene
  • Falling for Scratte
  • Buck: From Easel to Weasel
  • Unearthing the Lost World
  • "Walk the Dinosaur" music video

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