Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

(2009)

Short

Great movie! Minus one or two inappropriate jokes, this is the most fun kid’s movie of the summer. It’s a roller-coaster of excitement that bests its predecessors by far. Not being a fan of the previous two installments, this movie was a delightful surprise. Good family fun recommended for those who enjoy animated movies.

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Full

Simply put, I had a lot of fun watching this movie. The roller-coaster feel of the action sequences and the fun humor make this movie well worth the watch. And as Pixar has demonstrated before, animation is made even better with babies. Baby animals are cute whether they are animated or not. Though there is nothing historically acurate or geographically correct, about this cartoon, you’d have to be a pretty crotchety to hate it.

The plot

Sid and gang are back in another prehistoric adventure. With Manny and Ellie starting a family, and Diego returing to he wild, Sid has no one to hang out with. That is until he accidentally finds three dino eggs. Though the eggs are his best friends for a time, it's when the eggs hatch that the real fun begins. Having no place in the Ice Age, it is only a matter of time before momma dina seeks out her children. When Sid and the dino babies are kidnapped by mama dino, the rest of the crew must come together to serach for their friend in the land of the lost.

Reasons to see it

It’s adorable.
Ellie and Manny have a baby, Sid with the dino eggs, and the Scrat the saber toothed Squirrel gets a girlfriend, Scratte. All of these story fragments are cute and funny. And unlike its predecessors, everone is happy in this installment. No mammonth longing for his lost family, no conniving saber tooth, no world changing flood, etc. There is no excessive drama at all and none of the characters are ever helplessly in harms way. If there are ever moments of intensity, the situation is always made light by humor.

More Scrat!
I don’t know about you, but my favorite parts of the 'Ice Age' movies have always been the saber-toothed squirrel and his battle with acorn. Those who are with me will be delighted to know, that this movie literally features about 15 minutes of on screen time of the epic chase, and each showing is a smile inducing adventure. Things are made even more interesting now that he has competition. Scratte is smarter, faster, and more advanced than her male counterpart. Let the race begin. Does he finally get the acorn…you’ll have to watch the movie to find out.

It's fun!
While 'Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince' was as boring as dirt (especially for those with a short attention span), 'Ice Age 3' is non-stop fun and visual stimulation. Afterall, kid's movies don’t generally have enough story to fill 2 hours, so much of the movie is just tomfoolery.

The Negatives

One or two child inappropriate jokes are the only blemishes on this kid’s movie. But I think this is something familes will have to get used to as it seems no kids movie is complete without some 'adult' humor. I think we can blame 'Shrek' for that.

In summary…

...I recommend this movie even to those who did not enjoy the previous films. This movie to me is 'Ice Age' done right.