ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS
Honey I Amused The Kids
by Vishal Verma

A 20th Century Fox release of a Blue Sky Studios production

Produced by : Lori Forte, John C. Donkin
Executive producer : Chris Wedge
Directed by : Carlos Saldanha
Co-director : Michael Thurmeier
Screenplay : Michael Berg, Peter Ackerman, Mike Reiss, Yoni Brenner
story by : Jason Carter Eaton
(Deluxe color, 3-D)
editor : Harry Hitner
music : John Powell
Target Audience : Family
Genre : animation (3D)

Voices:
Manny - Ray Romano
Sid - John Leguizamo
Diego - Denis Leary
Buck - Simon Pegg
Ellie - Queen Latifah
Crash - Seann William Scott
Eddie - Josh Peck
Gazelle - Bill Hader
Pudgy Beaver Mom - Kristen Wiig
Scrat - Chris Wedge

Technical Analysis

Yummy!! Hmm! choo chweet and entertaining. Was thoroughly amused by this lively burst of nonsense that has little agenda except to amuse. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - the third entry in this animated family-friendly franchise is a worthy addition with just enough fresh ideas and new characters to keep things rolling merrily along.

A colorful new character named Buck (Simon Pegg), a one-eyed, swashbuckling, dino-hunting weasel, leads the "herd" on this exciting adventure through the Chasm of Death and the Plates of Woe to their ultimate destination, Lava Falls.

The squirrel Scrat is also back in an alternate story running simultaneously throughout the movie. He continues to go after the elusive acorn, but a new wrinkle involves romance with a female saber-toothed flying squirrel named Scratte. The CGI animation from Blue Sky Studios is first-rate with creatively designed, vibrant creatures. Despite a few dull spots, the filmmakers hold your interest while adeptly juggling three stories (the search and rescue, the impending birth, and balancing love and nut-gathering desires) in one movie. A variety of popular children's games are referenced in the easy-to-follow narrative.

This fun and exciting crowd-pleaser generates lots of laugh-out-loud moments. Kids will be able to identify with the distinct personalities of these familiar lovable characters. Love and romance are the driving themes in the Scrat segments, which feature a choreographed tango and appropriate mood music including the Lou Rawls hit single "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine."

The main storyline's message is that being a parent is a lot of work. The kiddies should gain a thankful appreciation of everything they take for granted provided by mommy and daddy.

The arrival of the new baby mammoth named Peaches should set the stage for a fourth installment in the near future. Maybe it's the assembly line of direct-to-video sequels that Disney cranked out or just the saturated state of franchise filmmaking, but you hear that the third of this or the fourth of that is coming out, and you just assume that it will be some lifeless rehash of the original. This reflex makes Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs all the more fun.

"Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" impresses with vibrant CGI imagery and animation by the wizards at Blue Sky Studios. The addition of 3-D adds even more depth and detail to the mix, along with allowing the viewers to enjoy the amusing illusion of snouts, paw, claws and beaks extending off the screen.

As was the case in the two earlier "Ice Age" toons, the vocal casting is excellent across the board. Romano and Leary are again standouts along with Queen Latifah with their individual styles of sarcasm, but other returnees -- including executive producer Chris Wedge as Scrat, the hyperactive rat/squirrel who this time finds something even more attractive than that elusive acorn -- also are up to their usual high level.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs scores 3&1/2 out of five.
One for the wizkids at Blue Sky Studios for super animation.
One for the wonderful voices by Ray Romano, Leary, Simon Pegg & Queen Latifah.
One for being a family entertainer aimed for the kids & kids at heart.
& the last ½ for being everything from tango to wango
The movie losses on giving more attention to action rather then the words behind.

The Story

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.

Business Analysis
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – the third entry in this animated family-friendly franchise will cater to those toon struck family auds, with more concentration on action & fun thingie, this clever use of 3-D enterprise is likely to complete a hat trick of success at the B.O.

Character designer, Peter De Seve; art director, Michael Knapp; sound designer (Dolby DTS), Randy Thom; supervising sound editor, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle; CG supervisors, Bryan Useo, Michael Eringis; supervising animator, Galen Tan Chu; lighting supervisor, Haji Uesato; casting, Christian Kaplan. Reviewed at PVR, Phoneix Mills, Mumbai on July 01, 2009. Running time: 93 MIN.

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