Recently, my kids and I have been enjoying a lot of movie-watching at home. Between one getting hit with H1N1 and the other's never-ending sniffles, couch time and some great kids' entertainment is just what the doctor ordered! The folks at Fox & MGM Home Entertainment provided me with a copy of Ice Age III: Dawn of the Dinosaurs for review, and my kids squealed with glee when I opened it. They're big fans of the Ice Age movies but hadn't seen this one. With John Leguizamo as the voice of Sid, Ray Romano as Manny, Queen Latifah as Ellie, and Denis Leary as Diego, I was pretty sure I'd be entertained, too; I hadn't seen the other Ice Age movies and was eager to see what all of the hype was about.
Fortunately, Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs did not disappoint; in fact, at the end of the movie, my 9 y.o. Petunia proclaimed this the best of the Ice Age trilogy. That said, she lost some focus in the middle, as did I; the story seemed a bit disjointed, more a combination of parts than a flowing tale; but the ending of the movie ties up the loose ends in a way that will make it more enjoyable to watch a second time. My 4 y.o. Dash loves anything with dinosaurs, so that was a home run for him; the fantastic animation kept him glued to the screen, too.
From this mom's perspective alone, I appreciated how the question of "what makes a family" pervaded the movie, adding a nice, progressive social commentary angle that I'd never expect from a Fox-branded film. That said, the movie also rankled me a little in that its historic accuracy was off; for example, mammoths and dinosaurs didn't co-exist, but they do in this movie. (Alright, alright, it is a cartoon...!) Thinking again, the whole concept of an Ice Age lying beneath the earth's surface is beyond a stretch, so I won't get too hung up on the accuracy angle; after all, I don't think that one movie is going to mess up my kids' understanding of earth science forever... will it?
All in all, this is a movie to watch more for the animation than for the story, though it's all a decent way to spend a couple of hours on a sick day. On a scale of 1-10, this movie came in around a weak 7 for our family, which is not a bad rating but is below many of our other animated (mostly Pixar) films. If your kid gets this movie for Christmas, (s)he won't be disappointed, but will (s)he return to watching it as often as, say, Toy Story? Time will tell; my 4 y.o. son has requested it enough that I think I'd consider it as a gift for a younger boy, but there are other movies I'd choose for the school-aged set. If you do choose to purchase this movie, one nice thing is that you can do so in a three-disc combo pack: DVD, Blu-ray, and digital -- a plus if, like us, you're contemplating the move to Blu-ray and want to be able to watch your kids' favorite movies in that format. Enjoy the show!
Disclaimer: Fox-MGM Home Entertainment did not compensate me for this review other than providing a copy of the DVD for my family's enjoyment. The opinion written here is mine alone (with some feedback from my kids, obviously).
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