"Why is it called the Gorge of Death?
- We tried calling it The Big Smelly Crack but people kept giggling."
'Ice Age: The Meltdown' is one of the most successful animations (or movies for that matter) ever made. The critic it got wasn't nearly as good as with… More
"Why is it called the Gorge of Death?
- We tried calling it The Big Smelly Crack but people kept giggling."
'Ice Age: The Meltdown' is one of the most successful animations (or movies for that matter) ever made. The critic it got wasn't nearly as good as with the first one, which can, at this point, be called a classic. So why not make a third installment to the franchise as it is obvious that animations have rarely failed during the last ten years. The production of 'Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs' began much faster than with the second one. It hit the theatres in the summer of 2009 and continued the success of the films.
In the previous 'Ice Age' movie, Manny met Ellie and their relationship has lead to her being pregnant. Manny is obsessed on making everything safe for the family whilst Sid is yearning for a family of his own. One day, Sid finds three abandoned eggs and starts to take care of 'em. He names them humourously as Eggbert, Shelly and Yoko. Little did he now that they're dinosaur eggs.
The mother of the hatched baby dinosaurs, returns and takes the baby dinos and Sid underground, where there lies an enormous jungle populated by dinosaurs and other reptiles which were thought to be extinct. Manny, Diego and Ellie go on a rescue mission to get their friend back. All kinds of dangers lie ahead...
New characters are introduced, mainly the one-eyed weasel called Buck, played by Simon Pegg. Because the main scenery for the movie is a jungle, it's obvious that the filmmakers have had to make a loose copy of Indiana Jones, or something like that.
Scrat, the awesome sabretooth squirrel has found a target of interest of his own in a female squirrel. Like in the earlier films, this sequel also has an important subplot for Scrat's own adventures. Does the acorns still win his affection or can the enchanting female squirrel be the one and only?
I don't know. At times, the movie feels very entertaining but I had some troubles to fully enjoy it. There is a distinct theme in the movie of friendship but if we put aside the themes and all, it feels as if the filmmakers were empty on ideas. I know the film is placed in an era of the ice age but the era is not of importance anymore. They've shown us the ice age in the first movie, a global warming in the sequel and now the idea is to show us, or so we thought, an extincted species and mix the two eras together. I know that the era is not the main part of the movie but the characters, but I think that the story is the weakest part of 'Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs'.
This film is clearly for the kids and it has it hilarious moments but for me, I found it hard to understand why Manny would endanger the life of his pregnant partner? I know, it's stupid to even bring up this fact but what can you do? If something bothers you, it simply stays so.
In overall, 'Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs' is a nice addition to the franchise but I hope that the filmmakers have come up with greater ideas for the fourth film, 'Ice Age: The Continental Drift', that is coming out in 2012. I'm pretty sure that there's ice nowhere to be seen in that movie anymore...