I went to see Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. I really enjoyed the first two movies and I've been wanting to see this one for a while. It is in 3D in some theaters, and that is the version I saw. There weren't as many images used to take advantage of the 3D images, but it was still done well. The animation is wonderful overall. The hair on the animals was done really well. Ellie looks so soft and cuddely.
The plot isn't that complex, but it is entertaining. Manny and Ellie are preparing for the birth of their child. Diego is thinking that he needs to head off on his own and Sid is feeling left out. He ends up in a cave where he finds 3 eggs that he believes have been abandoned. He decides to take the eggs to raise as his children. It turns out they are dinosaurs and they don't get along well with the other children. Then Mommy dinosaur tracks down her babies, and is not pleased that Sid has them. She takes the babies and Sid back through the cave. Manny, Ellie, Diego, Eddie, and Crash decide to to after Sid and they discover another world where dinosaurs are still alive. They meet Buck, a sort of crazy weasel who has been living in the jungle a long time.
While all that is going on, Scrat the squirrel is still chasing his precious acorn. He gets distracted when he meets Scratte, a female flying squirrel, also after the acorn.
I think this movie can mostly stand alone, though certain things tied to the characters will make more sense if the first two movies have been watched. Things are rather predictable, but the movie is still entertaining and enjoyable. There is a tiny bit of suspense in a few places and one or two surprises.
During this movie, Scrat and Scratte pop up every so often and they do come into some contact with the main characters. I've always loved Scrat and his attempts at getting the acorn, and I continued to enjoy him in this movie. He's just a cute, funny character.
The movie is very funny overall, though some of the humor is silly and won't appeal to some viewers. Some of the humor is a bit gross or crude, though it isn't too graphic. There is a bit of action and some mild violence in a few sequences as well, so parents will want to keep that in mind when deciding on if this is a good movie for their children.
Overall, this is a really cute, entertaining movie that I enjoyed. I'm sure I'll be adding the DVD to my collection once it is out. I would have rated it 4.5 stars at Epinions when I did my review there if I had the option, but since I didn't, I rounded up to 5. I'll use the same rating here.
I did get a review posted on Epinions if anyone would like to take a look.
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
