Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

Directed by: Carlos Saldanha, Mike Thurmeier | 96 minutes | action, animation, comedy, romance | Original voice cast: Seann William Scott, Queen Latifah, Josh Peck, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Ray Romano, Joey King, Atticus Shaffer, Chris Wedge | Dutch voice cast: Humberto Tan, Carlo Boszhard, Daphne Bunskoek, Tygo Gernandt, Jack Wouterse, Filip Bolluyt, Tony Neef

The arrival of a second sequel of an (animated) film in the cinema can understandably be accompanied by some skepticism on the part of the viewer. Words like “milking” and “creative poverty” will probably come to mind, and indeed it is often the case that with a third film in the series there is little more fresh or original to expect. This also applies to ‘Ice Age 3’ to a certain extent. Plot structure, story elements, and theme are familiar from the earlier films, as are most of the characters, and again (as in the first film) they seem to borrow from competing films like Pixar and Dreamworks. Still, the film manages to do fun new things with old elements, such as the original insertions in the first film of the old Warner Brothers cartoon-like episodes with the saber-toothed squirrel Scrat, who tries in vain to grab a precious acorn in its claws. to get. At the same time, the humor is non-stop and contains more hits than ever, with Sid the Sloth, the two possums, aforementioned Scrat, and the new character Buck the Weasel all in top form. The unsurprising plot and the sluggish family values ​​theme then become of secondary importance. ‘Ice Age 3’ just does what it’s supposed to do: provide excellent entertainment.

Even though dinosaurs suddenly appear in the film, the basic structure of ‘Ice Age 3’ is the same as that of part 1 and the message is the same: everything revolves around family (feeling). In their theme, most Western animation films seem to come down to the same thing. We must stay together and maintain mutual love and family feeling. In ‘Lilo & Stitch’ this message was expressed very explicitly with the adage “”Ohana” means family. Family means no one is left behind.” Disney has also built pretty much its entire empire on stories of children or parents falling away from the family dynamic and the ensuing mission to restore it. And this formula – which can always count on emotions from the public – is still widely used. In ‘Finding Nemo’ a father and son had to be united, in ‘Ice Age’ a human baby had to be returned to its biological family while a loving bond was formed between the responsible and unusual herd (consisting of a mammoth, a saber-toothed tiger, , and a sloth). In ‘Ice Age 2’ there were more sidekicks, but also a partner for the mammoth, further expanding the theme of the family/family bond. In ‘Ice Age 3’, the mammoths are expecting their first child, sloth Sid is a surrogate father for a bunch of baby dinosaurs, and he is in turn separated from his “own” herd, and – how could it be otherwise – his friends must come to him. looking to mend their old bond. The outcome can be guessed.

But while there’s little surprise in the story and several elements have already been seen in other animated films – Sid’s unusual role as the parent of three small dinosaurs is reminiscent of the similar relationship between Donkey, the female dragon and their children in the ‘Shrek’ movies – the movie provides great entertainment. The humor is delightful and the jokes come quickly and often. Practically any joke – visual, physical, or verbal; subtle or large-scale – hits the mark. The dry facial expression of a baby anteater; a wisecracking gazelle who challenges and humiliates an exhausted Diego by bouncing right in front of him, the three adorable baby dinosaurs who imitate Sid’s every behavior—whether he’s stretching or scratching his bum—and the other, tamer “children ” (almost) eat in the playground; the gooey Sid’s gooey demeanor; the nice one-liners of the possums: ‘Ice Age 3’ never gets boring. An important new character arrives in the guise of the slightly schizophrenic weasel Buck, who, with an eye patch, a heavy British accent, and a lot of tall tales, must guide our friends through the dino jungle. It turns out that he has been without social contacts in the jungle for a little too long when he suddenly picks up a rock, presses it to his ear and pretends to be on the phone with someone. Yet he is of great value to our friends because on the one hand he knows his way around the jungle and on the other hand he has already had a confrontation with the great enemy in the film, a bloodthirsty dinosaur named Rudy, who will of course make an appearance in the last act. to make.

The fight with this supreme villain, which the entire film is being worked towards, is unfortunately a bit disappointing. The beast has an interesting appearance – a kind of T-Rex with a flat mouth, ferocious gaze, and bloodshot eyes – but is barely bigger than the real mother of the three dinosaurs that Sid takes under his wing (while he plays like an animal throughout the film). giant monster is dropped), and is defeated fairly quickly and effortlessly. So it’s an anticlimax. Fortunately, the rest of the film has enough momentum and action, and there are also some encounters with “lower” enemies to keep the viewer busy. But above all, as said, humor offers salvation. One of the most pleasant surprises is that the scenes with Scrat – after the uninspired, obligatory song-like antics in ‘Ice Age 2’ – are again old-fashioned hilarious and original. The scenes with this neurotic animal are fresh again because of the addition of a female congener, who presents our little hero with a difficult choice: the acorn or the female? In the first instance she is a competitor whom he finds very attractive, but who is also after the asshole and which he therefore has to keep at a distance. What follows are interesting love-hate encounters with entwined grabbing claws, flashing eyelashes and tails fluttering in slow motion, and passionate tango sessions, in which the two critters alternately try to trump and court each other. A brilliant find, and a development that seems to run parallel to the central theme of the film. At the same time, the punchline of this movie-long joke – when it turns out that a relationship or marriage can have quite a few snags – is a perfect counterbalance to the sweet family values ​​message. For Scrat, there is always room for acorns in this world, as it turns out. That is fantastic news for the ‘Ice Age’ viewers.