Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Carlos Saldanha and Mike Thurmeier, 2009) Review

Okay, so apparently Ice Age was good enough to get a whole trilogy dedicated to it. Ok..I'm fine with that if it can hold up. I was disappointed with the last one and thought that it was very forgettable. Now it's time for the third film in the series, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Aww yeah! Everyone loves dinosaurs! With a prehistoric franchise it was inevitable that dinosaurs would be used eventually so it's good to finally see them. Without further ado (adieu?), let's take a look.

After the melting of the ice and snow, our heroes have now coped with the change in climate (it's like science or something). Ellie (Queen Latifah) is now pregnant and Manny (Ray Romano) has already become a over protective father even before their child is born! Sid (John Leguizamo) grows jealous of their little bundle of joy and finds a few eggs which he adopts. A couple of days later, the eggs hatch and it's revealed they are dinosaur eggs. When the mother breaks out from under the ground, she kidnaps Sid and takes her children back. Now Manny, Ellie, Diego (Denis Leary), Crash (Seann William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck) have to travel down below and get Sid back with the help of a crazy weasel called Buck (Simon Pegg) who lives with the dinosaurs.

The characters have really improved since the last one. Every film seems to add new main characters and this one brings in the best of the bunch. Buck is an excellent character. He's funny, he's developed, he has a back story and acts as an importance to the plot as he's their guide in the dinosaur world. He is a very likable character and I think his voice has something to do with that. Simon Pegg is great as Buck and helps add to the comic relief due to his high level of insanity (he uses rocks as a phone and is married to a pineapple...yeah). He really makes this film. The rest of the characters are basically the same but Manny's new character of 'over protective father' suits him. The use of characters is really where this film shines. Sure, the setting is good and the dinosaurs are cool but Buck...it's his film. He's what you will remember and that's a good thing. There is also the relationship with Scrat (yeah, remember him?) and his new rival Scratte which is basically Scrat x2 as they fight over the acorn as always. 

Is there a dinosaur expert here? I know one but he's not here at the moment. I'm not a... palaeontologist (I believe that's correct) but I thought dinosaurs came before the ice age...again, I'm no expert. It is justified as the film basically says that the only living dinosaurs are stuck under the ground. I dunno but now I'm just trying to find problems just because I probably can't except that, and I truly believe, this is the best Ice Age film in the entire series. There are problems but, then again, what film doesn't (except the ones I already said are perfect...errrrr).

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is the best of the series. No questions asked. The new characters are great (or...new character...) and the plot is actually relevant to the narrative of the whole series because of Manny and Ellie's baby for plays a big part in the next one. The underground setting looks really good, the use of dinosaurs is really awesome and the Scrat/Scratte relationship is hilarious and offers the best of Scrat. Most people have given up on the Ice Age franchise by this point and that's sad seeing as they gave up right before it got good.

8/10
The best film in the series. New settings, characters and plot points are great and help the series progress.