Ice Age: Dawn of the DinosaursRelease Date: July 1st, 2009
Rated PG for some mild rude humour and peril
Running time: 94 minutes
Carlos Saldanha (dir.)
Mike Thurmeier (co-dir.)
John Powell (music)
Karen Disher as Scratte (voice)
Queen Latifah as Ellie (voice)
Denis Leary as Diego (voice)
John Leguizamo as Sid (voice)
Josh Peck as Eddie (voice)
Simon Pegg as Buck (voice)
Ray Romano as Manny (voice)
Carlos Saldanha as Dinosaur Babies / Flightless Bird (voice)
Seann William Scott as Crash (voice)
Chris Wedge as Scrat (voice)
(left-right) Ellie, Crash, Manny, Buck, Eddie and Diego aren't pleased with their chances of navigating the Chasm of Death.
Photo credit: Blue Sky Studios
Our reviews below:
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Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Review By John C.
***1/4 (out of 4)
As a fan of the Ice Age films, I found the third installment in the franchise, Dawn of the Dinosaurs, to be a highly enjoyable film. It’s technically the best film in the series, the 3D effects are amazing. I never saw a double image while looking through the glasses. A brilliant aerial chase scene atop pterodactyls is particularly amazing to watch.
The story finds Manny and Ellie expecting their first child. Sid is feeling lonely about being alone, and Diego wants to leave the herd in fears of just becoming a babysitter. Crash and Eddie are the sidekicks. Those familiar with the films will know that Manny and Ellie are mammoths, Sid is a sloth, Diego is a sabre tooth tiger, and Crash and Eddie are possums. They fall through a crack in the ice, and end up in a lost world full of dinosaurs. The lovable Scrat is of course here as well, still chasing after that pesky acorn. This time he’s joined by a female squirrel-rat named Scratte.
New character to the franchise, the one-eyed weasel, Buck (Simon Pegg), is very funny and very crazy. Spending his days chasing after the great white dino which he has named Rudy.
While this film is not just for kids, it will certainly be enjoyed by people of all ages. The dinosaurs are cool, but never too scary. Anyone over 5 or 6 shouldn't have problem watching it. It’s a fun summer film for all ages, that’s worth seeing in either 2D or 3D.
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Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Review By Erin V.
*** (out of 4)
This installment, the third in the (now) trilogy of Ice Age movies, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs follows much of the same pattern as the first two. I have enjoyed all three films. The films are what they are, and they know it. They aren’t trying to be anything else. The visuals in this movie are, clearly, the best in the series. New advancements in technology have allowed for that. The 3-D effect worked without a hitch for me, and there were certain scenes that were stunningly well done both in terms of use of 3-D and cinematographic effects. A scene in particular that you should know what I’m talking about in, is the pterodactyl chase sequence. The pterodactyls, being flown/flying like army fighter planes - complete with sound effects - were stunning to watch. The camera looped right along with the pterodactyls, without any real blurring of the 3-D effects.
As always in the Ice Age series, the characters can be kind of silly at times, but still fun to watch. Kids in particular will probably really enjoy this installment of the series. For those who love Scrat and his antics on the screen looking for his acorn, he is in this one as well, with a new edition - a female scrat, called Scratté. In the 3-D, Scrat with his furry bushy tail, and long nose employ the effect really well. There are certain elements that are quite nice to see in terms of the visual aspect of things.
The story is fairly simple. Manny the mammoth is ready to start a family with Ellie, his mate. Diego the sabre-toothed tiger wants to go out and have an adventure on his own, as tigers are less likely to live in a ‘herd’ anyway. This leaves Sid the sloth feeling quite left out and lonely, until he finds three (seemingly) unattended dinosaur eggs, and decides that he can be their ‘mommy’. Of course, once the eggs have hatched, they wreck havoc on the local playground, attempting to eat the other animals when they are hungry, etc. (Please note that this plot point is very unlikely to scare kids - it is played completely for laughs.) Then, to make matters worse, Momma Dinosaur comes looking for her babies. When Sid refuses to give them to her, (he thinks of them as his own), she takes both her babies and him back to her home by force.
Ellie wants to rescue Sid, so she leads the rest of the gang through a crack in the ice to a hidden world of dinosaurs that has (somehow) survived the brunt of the ice age. Manny thinks it’s too dangerous to be chasing a t-rex mother under the ice, and he is most probably right. Once there, they meet a strangely funny weasel named Buck, that fell into the ice-chasm years ago, only to meet up with a huge albino dinosaur named Rudy, who almost ate him and took out his eye. Determined to find the beast, he spends his days searching for his ‘Moby Dick’. Crash and Eddie, Ellie’s Possum ‘brothers’ think that Buck is really cool, and Buck agrees (reluctantly) to help them all find Sid.
This movie is fun, and the visuals are great to watch. This is probably the most family-friendly wide release movie in theatres right now, which means that it probably will earn lots considering that school is out. If you’ve watched the trailers for this movie you pretty much know what it’s going to be like. Not the most intelligent movie, but fun nonetheless. It’s good Summer family fun.
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Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Review By Nicole
*** (out of 4)
The newest Ice Age sequel is a lot of fun. Manny and Ellie are expecting a baby. Sid the sloth also wants a family, so when he finds three mysterious eggs under the ice, he draws faces on them, and calls them his babies. Trouble occurs when they hatch. The are baby t-rexes, and when the mother dinosaur comes around, she wants her babies back. Now the rest of the gang have to rescue Sid. In doing so, they discover a lost world under the ice, where dinosaurs still roam. They meet up with a lovably nutty dinosaur hunting weasel named Buck, who is searching for a huge, white dinosaur named Rudy. And of coarse, Scrat is back, this time with a female squirrel named Scratté. Now who will get the acorn?
This movie is fun. There are a lot of funny lines and quirky characters. The visuals are good, and the score by John Powell fits the movie well. The scariness in this film is limited to some animal/dinosaur combat. There is a lot of cartoon action as well. This movie seemed to be well received by children 6 years old and up, but this film will appeal to adults and teens as well. The 3D worked well. Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs is a fun, light summer movie that the whole family will enjoy.
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Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Review By Maureen
*** (out of 4)
Ice Age 3 - Dawn of the Dinosaurs is Blue Sky’s third animated installment in the ‘Ice Age’ series and the third on’s a charm. All the regular characters form the first two movies are back and a really funny new character, Buck, a slightly crazy weasel, is introduced. Also introduced to the story are a whole bunch of assorted dinosaurs. Scrat also meets his female counterpart, Scratté.
The story begins with Ellie and Manny expecting their first little mammoth. When Sid the sloth is feeling left out he decides to adopt three dinosaur eggs that he thinks have been abandoned. Trouble begins and the Ice Age gang discover the dinosaur world under the ice when Mama Dinosaur comes looking for her babies.
This isn’t a complicated story, but it its a whole lot of fun. There are a lot of lines that only the grown-ups will laugh at but there is also plenty of humour for the little ones as well. There is also plenty of action with dinosaur chases that is scary for only the youngest of viewers. Also throughout the movie is the ongoing drama of Scrat, Scratté and their ever elusive acorn.
I really enjoyed Ice Age 3 - Dawn of the Dinosaurs. The animation s excellent, especially in 3D, there are a lot of laughs, the voice acting is great and there’s enough action to keep things interesting. Overall, this is a fun way to spend a summer afternoon or evening with the whole family.
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Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Review By Tony
*** (out of 4)
A disclaimer up front: Ice Age films put me to sleep. There is really nothing wrong with them. They just don’t interest me as much as faster paced animated features from Pixar, Dreamworks, and other studios, which appeal to adults as much as to children. To its credit, my nodding off was less frequent for Ice Age 3, and what I saw was beautifully rendered and one of the best examples of 3D so far. For example, there is a breathtaking flying chase scene with fighter plane sound effects.
At a morning showing with a fixed low price we saw the 3D version without having to pay the 3D price premium. Since there was no problem following the simple plot, we didn’t mind the constant running commentaries among parents and their little kids all around us.
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Sid is delighted about the imminent hatching of three dinosaur eggs - and becoming a parent to dinosaur triplets.
Photo credit: Blue Sky Studios
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Consensus: The newest installment in the Ice Age series, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs has some of the best uses of 3D seen on screen so far. While the plot is simple, the visuals are great. This is one movie that will be a lot of fun for families this Summer. *** (Out of 4)
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Scratte and Scrat find themselves in another fine mess.
Photo credit: Blue Sky Studios
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