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Movie:		6.0
Picture:		9.0
Sound:		9.0
Extras:		9.0
Score:		8.0

Director(s):	Carlos Saldanha • Mike Thurmeier
Writer(s):	Peter Ackerman, Michael Berg, Yoni Brenner, Mike Reiss
Starring:	Bill Hader • Denis Leary • John Leguizamo • Queen Latifah • Simon Pegg
Genre:	Adventure • Animation • Children & Family • Comedy
Website:	http://www.nickjr.com/ads/fox/video/
Release Date:	October 27, 2009
Rated:

List Price:	Blu-ray - $23.49
Amazon:

It’s perfectly fair to ask if Ice Age’s introduction of dinosaurs shows an utter disdain for any sense of chronological integrity. The answer? Yes. Clearly that’s not the point. In fact, if you’re only now asking that question after making it through the second Ice Age movie it’s no wonder you think this series has any scientific bearing. Although, if you want to make a movie about prehistoric times without pissing off creationists and scientists what better strategy is there than ditching both sides and just going balls to the wall with nonsense? Oh, and dinosaurs. You gotta have dinosaurs. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, desperate for a new plot device, introduces a secret underground world where time stood still (and oddly temperate) allowing dinosaurs to go on living. In theaters we received a rather impressive 3D presentation, however, for Blu-ray it’s been traded in favor of undeniably excellent great animation which looks tremendous in HD.

Even if it is all nonsense.

After introducing Queen Latifah as the wooly mammoth mate for Ray Romano’s dry and neurotic Manny, the series decided it needed to settle down and concentrated on themes of parenthood. And man, did it concentrate hard. With Ellie (Latifah) in a state of protracted and un-inducible labor, Sid (John Leguizamo) begins hankering for a family all his own and kidnaps a trio of eggs hidden under the ice. The eggs hatch and Sid finds himself the “mommy” of three spry T-Rex babies who don’t play well with others. Before he can settle into his role, Sid finds himself the subject of momma T-Rex’s wrath who takes the kids and Sid down into the lost world below. And so, because they’re the oddest family in existence, Manny, Ellie and Diego (Denis Leary) go down into the chasm to find and retrieve their slow friend.

The mammals realize they're out of their element and stumble about from one dangerous situation to another until joined by Buck (Simon Pegg), a weasel and the real reason this film got made. Equal parts parody of every action star ever and a man driven to madness by solitude, Buck fills in the void created by a lack of Diego and Sid being in the same scene for the entire movie. After all, that was the basis of the prior films’ comedy. Without those two making fun of each other and having Manny pull them apart, the voyage of the rescue party would have been woefully unfunny. Simon Pegg makes Buck something all his own and delivers a kids movie that’s unexpected considering its predecessors.

If you know anything about the series, you also know no Ice Age film is complete without the running gag of Scrat, a squirrel-like animal who just can’t catch a break (or acorn). This time he has a direct competitor for his long desired acorn – and a potential mate. It’s a rather impressively long shtick of slapstick and pratfalls, making him seem like the unquestionable predecessor of Wiley Coyote. However, once again Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs pulls a fast one on the audience and introduces an odd romantic element with traces of adult comedy that are at moments very stark and penetrating in the face of the film’s pro-family themes.

John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah and Ray Romano all make sense to me when it comes to casting for a children’s film. But Denis Leary? It’s always boggled my mind (sure, it’s probably for his kids to see him in something) and made me laugh. Either way, they’re all overshadowed by Pegg’s brilliance.

Visually, the movie looks stunning in high-definition. In theaters, whether you saw it in 3D or not, the movie was never quite as clear and brilliant as it is now. It’s a great way to show off your Blu-ray player’s abilities.

Blu-ray Bonus Features

Besides including the film on all three formats (Blu-ray, DVD and digital) there’s a smattering of extras on each. On the Blu-ray there’s an audio commentary, storybook maker, deleted scenes and the “Walk the Dinosaur” music video. In terms of featurettes there are quite a few covering subjects like the design of the movie’s lost world, planning the characters’ journey and a look at how they created Buck. Additionally, many of the little featurettes from the Fox Movie Channel have been included and, to their credit, they’re pretty decent viewing – but only the adults will really enjoy them.

What really makes the set worthwhile for parents is the addition of an extra set of animated features which will provide them with an extra few minutes of quiet as the kids watch all the shorts starring Scrat. There are a few featurettes for these as well, but don’t really expect the kids to be too enthused. They’re interesting for any adult mildly curious in the development but your average kid just won’t care.