Review of Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (English; Animation)
July 4, 2009 by TFSJ
On the whole, director Carlos Saldanha’s 3D adventure-romcom is hearty entertainment for the entire family, especially, the mommies and the moms-to-be. There’ll be quite some laughter in the house. However, the film has not opened too well and that would tell on its final tally as business these days is of the first few days mainly.
The huggable, saber-toothed characters from the Ice Age are back. In Blue Sky Studios’ Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs, the family instinct takes precedence. But the abduction of Sid (voice of John Leguizamo) brings the friends together. In their pursuit, they move out of the familiar neighbourhood; befriend a weasel, Buck (voice of Simon Pegg); and discover another world, inhabited by dinosaurs.
The elephants, Manny (voice of Ray Romano) and Ellie (voice of Queen Latifah), prepare excitedly for the arrival of their offspring. And the squirrel, Scrat, finds his match in Scratte. Meanwhile, age, and with it, gloom and loneliness, catches up with the tiger, Diego (voice of Denis Leary). And the sloth, Sid, who yearns for a family of his own, comes across three giant eggs and nurtures them tenderly.
The eggs hatch. And very soon, the angry mother of the eggs appears.
The puny, trembling Sid displays immense courage, standing his ground and holding onto the three baby dinosaurs. The gigantic mama picks up the four of them with her teeth, and storms off. Sid’s bosom pals, including the possums, Crash and Eddie, immediately set out to rescue him.
The story by Michael Berg, Peter Ackerman and Yoni Brenner is as warm and homely as the characters. It’s good to see friends who were on the verge of drifting apart adventuring together and standing by each other in times of need. Along with the dialogues, some of the situations are wildly funny too.
Leguizamo speaks like he has marbles in his mouth; the effect it produces is exactly what his character demands. Pegg delivers his dialogues in the manner of a bedtime storyteller. Leary has a wise, matter-of-fact tone. Romano’s is that of the stereotype American male. Queen Latifah sounds like a very demanding woman.
The images have sharp edges and the 3D layers are in perfect sync. The CGI brings out the depth of the characters, in particular, that of Sid, the lovable simpleton, and Buck, the endearing swashbuckler. Rather than shaking up the entire screen, the arrival of a dinosaur is announced by earth-quaking sound effects. John Powell’s music is light and lively.
On the whole, director Carlos Saldanha’s 3D adventure-romcom is hearty entertainment for the entire family, especially, the mommies and the moms-to-be. There’ll be quite some laughter in the house. However, the film has not opened too well and that would tell on its final tally as business these days is of the first few days mainly.
Released on 3-7-’09 at Inox (3-D; daily 4 shows) and 30 other cinemas of Bombay thru Fox Star Studios (I) Pvt. Ltd. Publicity: good. Opening: ordinary.
- Dalton L.
Issue dated July 5 – 11, 2009
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