Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Review

Published on July 1, 2009 by Craig Sharp · View Comments

Manny, Sid, Diego, Ellie, and Scrat encounter a dinosaur population which survived extinction in its tropical paradise, which existed below the thick layers… until now.

Meanwhile, Crash and Eddie are up to their usual crazy selves. Manny and Ellie have since become an item are going to have their first baby, and Manny wants everything to be perfect when his baby arrives. Diego is tired of being treated like a “House-cat” and ponders the notion that he’s being too laid back. Sid starts to wish for a family of his own, and so steals some dinosaur eggs which leads his herd to go and to try to rescue him while dodging dinosaurs and facing danger left and right; they also meet up with a new friend who’s a one-eyed weasel known as Buck, who hunts Dinosaurs intently.

Scrat also meets a squirrel named Scratte and could find a possible romance with her.

If I’m honest (which I sometimes brutally am), I wouldn’t have chosen to buy tickets for this film purely based on the family-friendly vibe of the series – not my kind of movie at all. And while I did find the film tediously childish in places, the children in the audience were lapping it up without a doubt!

Ice Age 3 has been entirely developed in 3D, which allows for a far richer and more immersive cinematic experience, and with the occasionally subtle adult one-liners this film did have a certain comedy charm about it.

The simple fact is that this is a film developed for families with children – meaning I couldn’t be further away from the target audience if I tried! But while I didn’t enjoy this film myself, I could see the strong appeal that this series has with it’s younger demographic.

In short, if you enjoyed the first two instalments in the Ice Age series, then you will certainly enjoy this latest adventure. One of my concerns cantered on the introduction of the latest character – Buck, but in all honesty Buck is now my favourite character of the series and the perfect character for a spin-off movie should the feeling take them. The action-hero weasel expertly voiced by Simon Pegg is certainly a scene stealer, and one that every child will fall instantly in love with.

Go and see this film with your children, or just take your over-developed inner child, either way you’ll have a ball! Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is in UK theatres everywhere.

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