The rebirth of a dying franchise

Rating: 7/10 (19 July 2009)

The first sequel to 20th Century Fox's Ice Age, Ice Age: The Meltdown, was awful. There was nothing redeemable about the film. The writing was bad, the animation hadn't improved, and the story along with it's characters were rushed and predictable. The franchise was virtually dead in the water.
This summer brought Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, the company's first 3D endeavour. Since most animated films coming out nowadays are heading towards the third dimension, it seemed necessary that this would follow suit. After seeing a few of the 3D films this year this was nothing spectacular, but it was definitely on par with the rest.
The film starts off with Scrat (the squirrel) finding another female squirrel and the two of them fighting over the beloved acorn. Manny and Ellie (Ray Romano and Queen Latifah) are expecting their first child and Manny is not handling being a father very well. Diego (Dennis Leary), sensing that his time with the "herd" is almost up, is on the verge of leaving for good. Meanwhile Sid (John Leguizamo) tries to start a family of his own by swiping some idle dinosaur eggs. This opens up a whole can of worms, resulting in the mother dinosaur stealing her babies along with Sid and venturing back home to her world under the surface.
The remaining members of the herd follow him below the surface to a Journey to the Center of the Earth type realm where the meet their guide, Buck (Simon Pegg), a lone weasel whose cunning is almost as great as his madness. It is up to him to bring them safely through the jungle without being eaten by the dreaded monster Rudy.
The story is nothing out of the ordinary but it doesn't disappoint by any means. Where the film excels is in the writing. There are jokes here and there for the kids, after all it is a children's movie, but for the most part an adult will feel pretty satisfied on the whole with the humor. The problems the characters face are not that uncommon for most adults. There are family issues like pregnancy, fatherhood, and other issues like finding a sense of belonging and whether or not you can still keep up with the rest of the world.
The animation compliments the story quite nicely. There are some cheap gimmicks with the 3D effects but they aren't over the top. The layering of the objects in the background and foreground are excellent, giving the film great depth. There are some neat motion shots and point of view shots throughout the film that give it a cool feel.
I'm not really promoting you see this film but if you have the chance to I would say don't be scared. It's a cool little film that has a lot to offer for all ages. I don't think they should make another one, but after all the money this film is making tallies up I think they might have to. That could be very bad. Or not. We'll see.