The critics are mildly enchanted by this third animated instalment in the adventures of a motley crue of prehistoric creatures living in a frozen world. It's evidently entertaining stuff, though no one seems to be able to rouse themselves to get particularly enthusiastic about the movie. Nevertheless, there's a definite consensus that this is exactly the right film to go and see if you have very small children in tow. Ice Age 3 sees Manny the mammoth, Elle the lady mammoth, Diego the sabre toothed tiger and Sid the sloth venturing into a newly-uncovered lost world beneath the ice, where dinosaurs roam and the snow is nowhere to be seen. The hook this time is that Elle is pregnant, a situation which causes Sid to develop his own broody feelings, and Diego to wonder whether it's time he move on to pastures new, now that his pal Manny has some fathering to do. Meanwhile, Scrat the sabre-toothed squirrel is still desperately trying to hold on to his acorn, though this time he has to choose between his beloved seed and an attractive new romantic prospect. "Sure, this threequel is more plasticine than Pleistocene, but as a zippy summer diversion it'll do more than nicely - in fact, it's comfortably the best of the series," writes the Daily Telegraph's Tim Robey. "[However] school trips to Carlos Saldanha's film aren't recommended, or teachers will spend the next week trying to explain that dinosaurs didn't live in a vast hothouse under the glaciers, and woolly mammoths called Manny probably weren't on chummy terms with sabre-toothed tigers called Diego." "Dawn of the Dinosaurs is a sometimes lively, sometimes listless wilderness adventure that will keep the kids cool and mildly entertained for a little while," writes the LA Times' Betsy Sharkey. "You'll have to decide for yourself if that's worth the pumped up price it will cost to experience the mood swings in 3-D." "Here is the second sequel to this pleasant and likable animation, now on release in both 2D and 3D, which interestingly caters for an under-exploited audience: really little kids," writes our own Peter Bradshaw. "Very few of the smart new wave of animations get U certificates: but the Ice Age series comes fully endorsed as a safe ride for all ages." "Some have expressed displeasure at the design and voices of the leads. I disagree – but I do think Simon Pegg's Artful Dodger-like weasel is a vocal cliché too far," writes Time Out's Derek Adams. "Similarly, some of the anarchic, comical segues featuring Scrat the squirrel and a newfound love are beginning to feel overfamiliar. As with the two earlier films, it's all a mite disorderly in tempo but often highly amusing and great fun in the main." I found Ice Age 3 a distinctly by-the-numbers affair. The sidestory antics of Scrat aside, there were precious few laughs and no real feeling that anyone aside from the animation team was really pushing themselves. You can pretty much tell exactly what's going to happen, and what each character is about to say, at least 20 seconds before they do so. I actually found myself almost drifting off at one point, which would never happen when watching a movie from Pixar, or even one of the better films from another stable such as Dreamworks' recent Monsters Vs Aliens. Did you manage to catch Ice Age 3 over the last week? Do you agree that it's much-needed entertainment for the under eights? Or are you holding out for Pixar's Up to provide the animated real deal? Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is a welcome game and one that doesn't just follow the tried and trusted formula of the 'movie tie-in' video game. To all parents: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is a must-have title for your children on the Xbox 360 – don’t hesitate any longer, rent or buy the prehistoric video game as soon as you can. There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review. For the child and the child in all of us, give it a whirl, but if you steadfastly insist you grew up a long time ago, please move along; there's nothing for you to see here. In the videogame adaptation of the Ice Age 3 movie you'll get to control several characters from the movie. Most levels have a unique flavor of their own which leads to a varied but also somewhat splintered experience. Everything from Indiana Jones inspired levels to controlling dinosaur spaceship is represented in the game. Though it might be a somewhat uneven experience Ice Age 3 is still the best movie based game for kids thus far. Most adults will want to look for more sophisticated fare. [Oct 2009, p.82] If you are a parent who is looking for a game to play with their child that both of you can enjoy: this succeeds quite admirably. It even offers a multiplayer mode if you want to compete together, although this consists solely of mini-games rather than any co-operative sections within the game. |
