Reviews:
In the first instalment, we saw our sub-zero heroes protect a lost human infant, then nail-bitingly watched them escape from the massive flood caused by the melted iceberg in "The Meltdown" and now they've discovered a whole new underground world in "Dawn Of The Dinosaurs." The third instalment of "Ice Age" serves up as a refreshing animation featuring many new exciting characters: Scratte, a female sabre-tooth squirrel, Buck, a one-eyed dino-hunting weasel and a wide variety of giant dinosaurs (this time, Manny and Ellie aren't the only large mammals we see). It was a wise move from the award winning creators as they managed to keep the film fresh and exciting, whilst keeping the charm of the original stars: Manny the woolly mammoth, Sid the sloth, Diego the sabre-toothed tiger and Scrat the hapless squirrel/rat.

The new world that we see here in "Ice Age" comes across as a highly upgraded version of the classic 2-D cartoon "The Land Before Time." The scene where they enter into the Dinosaurland really seemed to take from the scene of The Land Before Time featuring when Little Foot and his friends reach the Great Valley. It is rich with vibrant colours and beautifully detailed scenic landscapes of waterfalls and the prehistoric terrain. From here, the insane character Buck is introduced and is a joy to watch because of his wacky antics of living alone for so long. Making this film into 3-D is an attractive gimmick for fans, but it doesn't really live up to the in-your-face 3-D experience as only one or two scenes have the objects protruding out of the screen. It might not be worth the fraction increase of the 3-D ticket pricing, but it does make the colours stand out more. Some bloody tall guy just didn't realise that he's so tall that he was blocking the back where I was sitting. So my bottom view of the 3D experience was blocked by his stupid head. Don't expect too much when you watch Ice Age in 3-D cause it's not like those effects you normally see in 3-D simulator rides.

The scenes involving Scrat and Scratte are irresistibly adorable as the creators played around with exaggerated expressions and comical actions. Watching them chase after the elusive acorn is a good escape from the search-and-rescue mission that our heroes are going through. Lastly, the soundtrack tunes and lyrics are witty, funny, melodic and influenced from the 1970's, which paired up well with the story. Overall, a good movie for the whole family.

Ratings:
Story: 8/10
Animation: 9/10
Direction: 8/10
Visuals: 9/10
Overall: 5/5 stars