Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs DVD Review

Ice Age: Dawn of The Dinosaurs is a semi-eductional (e.g. only one of the types of dinosaurs is told to us) children’s animation entertainment film, which many parents themselves are coming to love more and more, and this DVD release on Sunrise Family Entertainment is on October 27, 2009. This film is intended to be watched by families together (where the parents can ask the children questions, although of course the kids can also have fun watching the idiosyncratic characters themselves), and the high quality of these films (this is the third one in this series) appeals to the adults. Some of these films were first seen in the theater with 3D stereoscopic glasses, while other theaters didn’t utilize these glasses.

Watching the Special Features and hearing the commentary is inspiring, as the Sky Blue Team constantly strives for new angles, light, camera shots and continuity. Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs particularly focuses on birth and parenthood, a silly creature named Sid first finding three dinosaur eggs (whose mother dinosaur is meat-eating, aggressive and protective of her children) while Sid wants them to raise on his own. The Wooly Mammoth family (who have been in the other two films) experience a pregnancy and birth on their own, before which the father, Manny, creates an animal ice-mobile for his soon-to-be-child plus an entire park in which the child and varied child members of the animal group can play. Manny and Ellie name her Peaches, after a code they establish for the beginning of the birth (because Manny loves peaches), and Ellie tells him that with his child park he’s trying to child-proof nature!

Also in the other two movies, the Wooly Mammoths are the largest animals, while in Ice Age we see a resplendent array of the largest dinosaurs there have ever been (in the forest). The angles are changed and Buck, a funny adventurer-type weasel-like creature who wears a leaf for an eyepatch, tells the group about his previous wanderings and helps them out when Manny and Ellie are separated by the large mother dinosaur. One gets the impression that Buck, also perceived as loony or a tad crazy, will be going on these adventures forever. Most families will like this film, and those who like animation (for which our society is now primed) will especially find it comedic and informative.

The voices of the characters are many, including that of Ray Romano and Queen Latifah, and executed in great range with much care. An excellent rendition all round, aimed at that child’s age group that has always liked dinosaurs and their slightly younger brothers and sisters.

MPAA Rating: PG
Running Time: 94 minutes
Date: October 27, 2009

Grade: A

Starring Voices: Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, Dennis Leary, John Legouzamo, Sean William Scott and Josh Peck

DVD Review by Christina of Movie Room Reviews