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.

Ice Age (2002)

Most of the prehistoric creatures are undertaking their annual migration, heading for warmer climes during what some are calling an ice age, others a chilly era.

Most, that is, except for a select few. One, Manfred the woolly mammoth (Ray Romano), is all too happy for some peace and quiet. Until he runs into Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) who overslept and missed the migration yet again.

While escaping two rhinos, they run into sabre-toothed tiger Diego (Denis Leary), who is on the hunt for a human baby, in order to take it back to his pride who are seeking revenge against the baby’s family for slaughtering a number of them for meat and fur.

As luck would have it, Manny and Sid have found the baby, and are trying to get it back to its family. Together, the three of them venture out, albeit with different ends in mind.

I won’t say anything else about the plot, I’ll leave that for you to experience; this really is a fun film, and I wouldn’t want to take anything away from your enjoyment and discovery.

The first thing I want to say about this film is the music. As with a lot of animated movies, there is a lot more scoring to this film than you would generally find in any live-action film. Which of course means a lot more music is required; a lot more composing needs to be done. And composer David Newman has met this challenge head-on, and in my view, has succeeded exceptionally well. The music is just right in every scene, highlighting not only the action on screen, but the internal and psychological struggles of the characters.

Speaking of the characters, the casting of this film is also truly inspired. The three leads have incredible chemistry on screen, which is no easy feat in an animated film. Consider for a moment the fact that, as with almost all animated films, the cast are recording their lines individually in a recording booth, oftentimes never encountering their co-stars until it is time to promote the film. So the fact that these three work together so well is first of all a testament to the casting team.

But it is also a testament to the abilities of each respective performer, in that they are able to convey so much with only their voice. We don’t see their expressions, we don’t see their body language (not that it’s easy for me to read these cues anyway!), and they don’t have each other to react to. Their delivery of their lines is so accurate and realistic, it is easy to forget that they are not recording their parts at the same time.

This is also a display of the skill of the directorial team. Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha in this instance have also done their jobs exceptionally well. Being able to draw out the necessary performances from all the cast, as well as oversee the entire process of all departments, is not an easy task. The two of them have pulled out all the stops here, and given us a truly enjoyable piece of cinema, that will delight not only children, but audiences of all ages (I love animated films like this that have plenty for the grown-ups to enjoy too!, great work by the scriptwriters Michael Berg, Michael J. Wilson and Peter Ackerman achieve this).

A great film that has been followed by several sequels (stay tuned for reviews of these coming up later in the year) that in some cases, even surpass this the original.

7 out of 10.