Blu-Ray Review: Third ‘Ice Age’ Sticks to Frigid Formula

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CHICAGO – When did “gentleness” first become “unhip” in children’s films? Practically every studio in America, with the exception of Pixar, feels the need to make their “all ages” entertainment as abrasive, dumb and crude as their escapism targeted at teens and simple-minded adults. What’s the difference between a picture like “G-Force” and “Transformers”? A handful of swears and a few excessive shots of Megan Fox’s midriff. Kids movies in America can get away with endless mean-spirited gags and bathroom humor, just as long as there’s a sticky moral tacked on to the end. The “Shrek” series flourished under this principle, and so does “Ice Age.”

Blu-Ray Rating: 2.5/5.0

Yet while DreamWorks has found financial success with multiple franchises (“Shrek,” “Madagascar,” “Kung Fu Panda”), Blue Sky Studios still insists on focusing most of its moviemaking efforts on the decade-old premise of prehistoric creatures riffing through an arctic wasteland. Yet these characters are little more than placeholders for instantly recognizable celebrity personalities. Robin Williams’ pop culture-spewing Genie began this trend in “Aladdin,” and here we get Ray Romano as a wooly mammoth who embodies all the neuroses and idiosyncratic wit of…Ray Romano (his level-headed wife might as well be voiced by Patricia Heaton). Yet his dry barbs are a welcome relief from the shrill spectacle that consumes so much of these pictures.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on October 27th, 2009.
Photo credit: Fox Home Video

To be fair, the first two “Ice Age” adventures had a certain poignancy at their core, as they showed how a nontraditional family can form in the wake of an environmental crisis: starting with the dawn of an ice age, followed by the inevitable meltdown. But this latest installment was so hard up for fresh material that it decided to throw all credibility to the wind, and follow that tired sequel formula: “bigger equals better.” And what’s bigger than a wooly mammoth? Dinosaurs, of course! But how, you might ask, are dinosaurs resurrected during an Ice Age? Well, it turns out they never really were extinct—they just live under the earth’s surface, Jules Verne-style. Uh huh.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on October 27th, 2009. Photo credit: Fox Home Video

When silly sloth Sid (John Leguizamo) stumbles upon some baby dinos, he foolishly takes them under his wing. When their angry mom shows up, she drags them all to the land of the lost kiddie cliches, with Sid’s friends in hot pursuit. There they meet yet another excessive comic relief: a one-eyed weasel named Buck (Simon Pegg), whose delusional bravado is all-too-reminiscent of “Shrek”’s Puss In Boots. Of course, the real star of “Ice Age” has always been Scrat (Chris Wedge), a squirrel whose single-minded pursuit of his beloved acorn results in oft-inspired wordless slapstick. This film provides Scrat with a love interest, resulting in a silly montage where the acorn weeps out of loneliness. Well, that’s what happens when you play hard to get.

As contemporary children’s films go, “Ice Age 3” is relatively harmless, not to mention painless for adult guardians who aren’t easily prone to headaches. It’s a cinematic souffle as filling and nourishing as a McDonald’s Happy Meal. Unfortunately, the toys are sold separately.

“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” is currently available in a limited time combo pack offering the movie in multiple formats (Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital Copy). On Blu-Ray, the film is presented in 1080p High Definition (with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio), but it lacks the striking depth of its 3D presentation in theaters. It is accompanied by English, Spanish, French and Portuguese audio tracks, and includes six behind-the-scenes featurettes, unfinished deleted scenes, Live Lookup via IMDb and BD-Live, and a “storybook maker” for kids. There are also two shorts and five featurettes centering on the character of Scrat (clearly Blue Sky’s answer to Mickey Mouse), and a feature-length commentary in which the filmmakers attempt to justify the need for this unnecessary sequel, apart from the obvious motivation to cash in on a lucrative franchise.

By MATT FAGERHOLM
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com