‘Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs’

By John Mulderig
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) – The third installment of the "Ice Age" franchise, "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" (Fox) is, for the most part, a delightful animated epic.

A few touches of vaguely crude humor aside, director Carlos Saldanha's 3-D quest, which takes a sextet of established characters to a newly discovered underworld of tyrannosauruses and pterodactyls, is well calculated to charm viewers of all ages with its portrayal of loyalty and teamwork.

Returning from 2006's "Ice Age: The Meltdown" are mammoth couple Manny (voice of Ray Romano) and Ellie (voice of Queen Latifah), now expecting a child.

With worrywart Manny mistaking the new arrival's every kick for the onset of labor, and endearingly focused on fitting out a safe play area, his two closest pals, saber-toothed tiger Diego (voice of Denis Leary) and sloth Sid (voice of John Leguizamo), feel neglected.

Diego takes to the road in search of adventure, while Sid adopts three giant eggs he accidentally comes across after falling into a cavern under the ice. These, of course, turn out to contain baby dinosaurs, and their towering mother is soon on the scene to reclaim them, carrying off the terrified Sid as well.

Diego returns to join Manny, Ellie and their comically quarrelsome possum sidekicks Crash (voice of Josh Peck) and Eddie (voice of Seann William Scott) in the search for Sid. They cross paths with Buck (voice of Simon Pegg), a wacky weasel who has lived in the realm of the big lizards for years, and he becomes their guide.

Interspersed with the main adventure are scenes from the eccentric courtship of two prehistoric ratlike squirrels, Scrat and Scratte.

Both the computer-generated animation and the voice work are excellent, with Leguizamo and Pegg as standouts.

Sid's bond with his vulnerable brood is touching, as is the depiction of the strained but enduring friendship that keeps the rest of the ensemble on the hunt. They work together not only to retrieve Sid, but to protect Ellie as well.

A few jokes – such as one character's attempt to milk a yaklike animal, only to realize it's male – are in questionable taste for a family film. But the underlying values are solid.

Accompanying grown-ups will appreciate the clever use of 1970s standards "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" by Lou Rawls and Gilbert O. Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)," as well as a nod to "The Flintstones."

The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-I – general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG – parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

* Mulderig is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies.