Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

The whole gang are back for yet another adventure in this next instalment of the popular Ice Age franchise.

Mammoths Manny (Ray Romano) and Ellie (Queen Latifah) are expecting their first child, and Manny is incredibly nervous. Every time Ellie feels even the slightest twinge, he goes into a panic, certain the baby is on its way.

But at the same time, he is excited to become a father, and has prepared a playground for the coming child.

Sabre-toothed tiger Diego (Denis Leary) is starting to feel like he needs to move on, that he doesn't really belong in the group anymore. Possum brothers Crash (Seann William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck) are excited along with Manny and Ellie about the impending birth, but still keep to their same antics.

Manny (Ray Romano) and Diego (Denis Leary).

But poor sloth Sid (John Leguizamo) feels the most out of sorts. Not wanting to feel left out, he is anxious to prove that he can be responsible enough to be a parent, and when he discovers three unattended eggs, he takes them for himself.

Soon after, the eggs hatch, and Sid now finds himself the proud (adopted) parent of three T-Rex babies.

And when the young dinosaurs' mother returns, and finds her children with Sid, she takes all four of them (yes, including Sid) and returns back to her home.

Now, the rest of the gang must track her down to bring Sid back. Venturing underneath the ice after her, they discover a entire undiscovered world filled with dinosaurs of all kinds.

Guided along the way by a weasel named Buck (Simon Pegg), they encounter all manner of obstacles in their quest to rescue their 'friend' and return to safety, hopefully before the baby is born.

Sid (John Leguizamo) with his three 'adopted' children.

The screenplay written by Peter Ackerman & Michael Berg & Yoni Brenner & Mike Reiss, is a decent addition to the overall storyline of the series of films. The characters are as clearly defined as ever, and the resulting plot draws much from the personalities of the characters, which are the same as they have ever been. And with a cast that have all returned to voice their same characters, the film feels very much like it belongs with the preceding parts.

John Powell's score is well-written, the perfect accompaniment to the on-screen action and the emotion and tension of the scenes throughout. When it comes to animated movies, the score is perhaps an even more important element than it would be in a live-action film. Powell clearly understands this, and brings a whole new dimension to the story with his music.

The performances of the voice cast - as mentioned in reviews of the two previous instalments - are perfect, and all the actors are well-suited to their roles. Voice-over acting is a very different 'beast', and not every actor can pull it off in a way that works effectively. However, all the performers in this film bring their all to their roles, and portray real characters with only the use of their voice.

Buck (Simon Pegg), with Crash (Seann William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck).

As a part of a series - that has at the time of writing a further two instalments following it - I have to say that it is not my favourite of the films so far. It is still a decent film, but is by no means the best of the first three.

Directors Carlos Saldanha & Mike Thurmeier have made an enjoyable film here, but as I have mentioned, not the best of the series so far. If you enjoyed the previous two films, though, I would certainly recommend you watch this one, too; there is still much to be enjoyed. The story is entertaining, but it starts to feel like the appeal of these characters is wearing thin.

5 out of 10.