Defying every science book imaginable, the third Ice Age becomes the most surreal of the trilogy.

Rating: 7/10 (8 July 2009)

The Ice Age franchise is the lone wolf in the computer-animated franchises since its not from Pixar or Dreamworks yet however makes a fantastic amount of money and receives a good amount of praise. As a matter of fact, the original Ice Age remains one of the better non-Pixar efforts since 1995, when Toy Story started it all. Unfortunately, the sequel failed to live up to the original, despite the best efforts from Scrat, the unofficial mascot of the franchise. In the third installment though, the amount of believable material slips to a dangerous low as we have dinosaurs underneath the ice in a totally different atmosphere. Then with more characters introduced, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs was beginning to look like Shrek the Third: too many characters, not enough plot, and too many futile attempts at humor coming from multiple different angles.
Despite my predictions coming true loosely, the movie is surprisingly enjoyable. As a matter of fact, it was a few quips away from topping the original, while surpassing the second installment in every possible way. Scrat is as funny as ever, and some of the unfunny characters from The Meltdown have their shining moments in this film. The animation is beginning to lag behind Pixar though, when before they were getting close quality-wise (especially with Horton Hears a Who).
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is about the entire crew discovering an entire ecosystem full of dinosaurs underneath the ice. Both worlds collide when Sid (John Leguizamo) accidentally takes some dinosaurs eggs while looking for new ways to entertain himself and find new friends; after seeing Manny (Ray Romano) focusing all his attention to closely being a father, and Diego (Denis Leary) suddenly leaving the pack. Along their travels, they'll meet a hyper and bizarre weasel named Buck (Simon Pegg). The other portion of the movie has to do with the lovable Scrat chasing an acorn along with a female squirrel that may or may not want him.
Dawn of the Dinosaurs is a highly unbelievable movie, and it was crafted in a way that made it obvious that the writers wanted to milk the franchise even more yet couldn't find the proper way of doing it, so they dwelled even deeper in fiction. The first two Ice Ages were at least loosely scientifically realistic. This one breaks all rules covering which animals thrived in which time periods. Luckily for us, the dinosaurs were not the main focus of the film as much as the heavy assortment of main characters. Just like in the second part of the trilogy, the chemistry amongst the cast just wasn't there, and the voice acting yet again isn't to blame. Poor Ray Romano and Denis Leary, they just have no material to work with, and it hinders their voice work. They do deliver more laughs this time (even the opossums), but it's still not as present as the first Ice Age.
The writers ruined and saved the movie. The concept itself was bizarre, surreal, and just didn't mesh well with the rest of the series. But they did craft some clever sequences of peril and did throw in some hilarious obstacles, especially the bit with poisonous gases. We also have a decent amount of modern-day references to Star Wars and even current issues. Then of course, every scene Scrat was in was comic gold. I stated this in my review of The Meltdown, but Scrat (just like the penguins of Madagascar) needs his own movie immediately. His Road Runner-Coyote-like antics just make the film and remain the top reason to ever watch an Ice Age movie.
The director of the original was not present in the second, or in this one. This is probably why the original remains the best. Chris Wedge, the voice of Scrat, proved to mesh emotion and comedy best with his work on the award-winning short Bunny and his lead director duties in Ice Age. The third installment is directed by Carlos Saldanha, the co-director of the first and main director of the sequel. His strengths and weaknesses are the same here, as he doesn't mix emotion with comedy well, and gives the wrong characters too much screen time. Buck's (the main new character) antics themselves were very hit-and-miss, with the misses being quite painful.
Don't let all the bad news bring you down though, the movie is indeed funny, and if you liked the previous efforts, there's no need for you to skip this one. It's just that with the bar in quality being set higher and higher as animation and storytelling is beginning to evolve in a much more mature manner, it's harder and harder to claim that this movie stands out amongst the mediocre ones.
Bottom Line: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is a grand step forward from the second part with superior humor, superior pacing, and more Scrat hilarity. However, the emotion still doesn't mix well, especially with Up's incredible ability to rip you to your emotional core a few months back. More characters doesn't necessarily mean more humor, and its time that everyone learns this. Madagascar 2, Shrek 2, Shrek 3, Cars, Shark Tale, Ice Age 2, Ice Age 3 all suffered from the same fate of having too many characters, and then cutting back on the characters that we enjoy watching most. Dawn of the Dinosaurs: Surprisingly funny, but not fulfilling and ultimately quite forgettable.
Quote of the Film: "I don't speak wind"