Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

Director: Mike Thurmeier

Cast: Eunice Cho as Madison (Diatryma Girl) (voice), Karen Disher as Scratte (voice), Harrison Fahn as Glypto Boy (voice), Maile Flanagan as Aardvark Mom (voice), Jason Fricchione as Adult Molehog Male (voice), Bill Hader as Gazelle (voice), Kelly Keaton as Molehog Mom / Shovelmouth Mom (voice), Joey King as Beaver Girl (voice), Queen Latifah as Ellie (voice), Denis Leary as Diego (voice), Allegra Leguizamo as Aardvark Girl (voice), John Leguizamo as Sid (voice), Lucas Leguizamo as Aardvark Boy / Beaver Kid #2 (voice), Clea Lewis as Start Mom (voice), Jane Lynch as Diatryma Mom (voice)

--Some minor spoilers, skip the part that describes the plot if you
don't want to know anything about it--

Personally, I didn't like the second "Ice Age" movie that much. I
thought it just wasn't original enough, and couldn't make an impact
compared to the great original. So, since movies franchises often have
the tendency to get worse with each sequel, I wasn't expecting very
much of the third Ice Age movie "Dawn of the Dinosaurs". But, I have to
admit, it was quite entertaining and funny, with many jokes and funny
situations. The change of location from the white ice world, the main
characters inhabited in the first two films, to the lush and green
jungle, also did the movie some good, because the optic is just
different and more exciting. While the first Ice Age movie still
remains unreached by either of the sequels, the third one considerably
improves on the second one, with more humor, better action and
interesting ideas.       

Manfred and Ellie, the two mammoths, are expecting a baby, and Manfred,
who is really happy to become a father tries everything to make his
wife more comfortable and happy. Meanwhile, the saber-toothed tiger
Diego, has to deal with the fact, that he is not the youngest anymore,
and that his instincts and reflexes are getting worse. He decides to
leave his herd, because he feels his life is coming to an end. Sid, the
sloth, wants to have children of his own, and when he discovers three
abandoned eggs in a cave, he decides to take them with him. One
morning, he realizes that three dinosaurs have hatched from the eggs,
and to make matters worse their mother is already looking for them. She
attacks Sid and her three babies and abducts them to her world, a
large, lush and green jungle, that is located directly under the thick
layer of ice. Manfred, Ellie, the two opossums Crash and Eddie, decide
to save Sid and eventually meet up with Diego on the way again. They
are then joined by the mad wannabe pirate Buck, a weasel, who lost his
eye to a gigantic monster, named Rudy, that lives somewhere deep in the
jungle. Sid, meanwhile, tries to convince the dinosaurs' mother, that
he can provide more for the children than her, but eventually has to
accept that children belong to their real mother. The squirrel Scrat,
once again reunited with his precious nut, has to deal with an entirely
new problem. A femme fatal squirrel, who uses her charm to take Scrat's
nut away from him. Being a lot smarter and trickier than him, she gets
to keep the nut for most of the time, but eventually falls in love with
Scrat, after he saves her from deadly lava. But what is more important
to Scrat, his nut or his new girlfriend?

With so many animated movies flooding the market these days, it becomes
quite hard to come up with new ideas. Talking animals certainly isn't
one, but if the characters have enough history and emotion, it really
doesn't matter. "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" really profits from a
slightly new approach to the material, which includes some very obvious
parodies. The new character of Buck was most definitely inspired by
Jack Sparrow from "Pirates of the Caribbean" and the final battle could
have directly come from one of the "Star Wars" movies. Then we have the
dinosaurs, who are, of course, extremely evil and always hunt down the
main characters. All in all, the movies appears slightly stretched and
has some relatively slow bits, for which the beginning and ending
compensate, though. Especially the first 20-25 minutes, are some of the
funniest in any Ice Age movie. And the scenes involving Scrat and his
new girlfriend are just as funny as they have always been.

Then we have once again, the actors who give the characters their
voices. Ray Romano, who has such a unique voice, speaks Manfred, Denis
Leary is Diego, John Leguizamo is Sid and Queen Latifah is Ellie. Buck,
the pirate, is voiced by British actor Simon Pegg. Animated movies can
never be judged according to acting, because the true leading actors
here are the animators. But just as we are used to, the previously
mentioned actors put their best effort into providing their character's
voice.

So, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is entertaining and enjoyable, but
certainly not the best animated movie of the year. Still it is a good
90 minute time filler, and those who enjoyed the previous Ice Age
films, will definitely also like this one. (3.5/5)

The third installment in the Ice Age movie franchise is funny and
entertaining, with some very original ideas, but certain lengths
throughout the entire film.