Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs [U]

Truly an exception to the rule of diminishing returns in sequels. Ice Age 1 made me cry, Ice Age 2 was a teensy bit dull, but this is absolutely wonderful - warm, funny, unbelievably fabulous animation - and it's definitely worth paying the extra money to see it on the 3D screen, because the 3D effects are just AWESOME - and basically a delight from beginning to end. The story of the oddly mis-matched 'herd' of Manny, Sid, Diego and their new friends is interwoven with one about Scrat, that little ratty-squirrel creature hitherto confined to the credits, but now joyfully released into the main body of the film. The herd is uneasily adapting to a new dynamic, as Manny and his lady are expecting a baby. Sid, keen to experience parenthood but not filled with hope by Manny's reassurance that he will one day find a lady sloth with low standards, adopts three large eggs that he finds in a cave. I don't think I've ever laughed so much in a cartoon as in the glorious scene where Sid admonishes the resulting baby carnivorous dinosaurs that eating their friends is wrong and makes them cough up the poor bedraggled herbivores.
A must-see for adults and kids.

Andrea Hopkins (DI Reviewer), 07/07/09

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