ICE AGE: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Blu-Ray Review
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By Ron Henriques on
November 06, 2009
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ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS
20th CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT
2009/ Rated PG/ 94 mins
Now Available – List Price $39.98
After disasters like 'Titan AE' and 'Anastasia', the original 'Ice Age' probably saved Fox's animation division, but proved to be another nail in the coffin of traditional animated films. Thankfully, Pixar's new deal with Disney means we'll be seeing a return of those films like the upcoming 'The Princess and the Frog', while Fox and Blue Sky Studios continue to trail them with tired formulas. The characters in the 'Ice Age' films are endearing and that's probably due in large part to the vocal efforts of Ray Romano, Denis Leary and John Leguizamo. Yet despite box-office success there are a number of missing factors preventing these films from being put on a pedestal and praised like any work that comes out of Pixar.
Blue Sky Studios have provided no just wonderful animation, but incredible visual effects for films by directors like James Cameron. The characters in their animated films are likable and even the stories are simplistic and easy to identify with. So why haven't films like the 'Ice Age' series, 'Robots' and 'Horton Hears a Who' held in high regard? The the stories in their films are good, they just don't cross over with audiences of all ages. Much of the box-office success of their films is solely dependent on kids dragging their parents to the movies, but unlike Pixar, Blue Sky's films aren't made for adults as well. It's doubtful that you'll see a businessman seeking out a showing of 'Ice Age' during an extended lunch hour like he would for 'Wall-E' or 'Up'. Trust me, I've seen it.
Knowing a good thing when they see it, Blue Sky has produced another installment of 'Ice Age' and though the series has grown long in the tooth, the film is a visual marvel. When we last saw Manny the Mammoth (Romano) he had found love with another of his kind in the form of Ellie (Queen Latifah). Now that she is pregnant with their first child, Manny has become an extremely overprotective nervous wreck the point where he's constructed a baby proof playground. Time has taken its toll on sabretooth tiger Diego (Leary) who is beginning to feel the effects of aging and isn't the fierce predator he once was. He's slowing down and knows it, feeling as if he should leave the herd and strike out on his own. As for Sid the sloth (Leguizamo) he's feeling left out because his friends are too preoccupied with their own problems.
After he stumbles upon an underground cave, Sid discovers three eggs and decides to become a parent just like Manny. Little does he know these are dinosaur eggs and when the babies do hatch, they immediately take to him as if he were their mother. The problem is he's not their mother and when the real mccoy shows up she obviously wants them back. Though the original 'Ice Age' was set in a time long after the extinction of dinosaurs, the filmmakers have somehow found a way to bring them back just to serve the purpose of having Manny and Diego rescue Sid from another ridiculous situation. Having an underground rainforest serve as a habitat for the dinosaurs is a plot device that will no doubt cause more than a few eyes to roll, but children will get more excited for the action sequences that take place within.
Things get familiar very fast with this film, but thankfully there's plenty of Scrat the squirrel, still chasing after acorns and even managing to find a romantic interest. There's also the introduction of Buck (Simon Pegg) a weasel who serves as a guide for the group having lived in the wild for too long. Pegg's vocal work is top notch, making Buck a more likable character than the annoying possum brothers Crash and Eddie (Seann William Scott and Josh Peck) introduced in the last film. Eventually 'Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs' stumbles, but its a decent piece of family entertainment that features likable characters and intriguing animation. The comparisons to Pixar films are inevitable, yet despite never finding a strong, winning formula Blue Sky Studios do make entertaining and engaging films.
Video: This is a remarkable 1080p AVC encoded framed in the 1.85 to 1 aspect ratio that was no doubt made directly from digital files the animation was rendered on. 'Dawn of the Dinosaurs' is perhaps the best looking film in the series and not only could the textures and individual hairs of characters be visible, but every frame is razor sharp.
Audio: To my surprise this blu-ray features a DTS Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack which adds two additional rear channels. It's not really a neccesary addition since the mix isn't as expansive as I hoped and the average home theater enthusiast has a 5.1 set-up. There's a welcome level of bass and low frequency effects during action sequences or whenever dinosaurs walk about, but this is basically a front heavy sound mix, missing much needed rear effects for ambiance.
Extras: Directors Carlos Saldanha and Mike Thurmeir, character designer Peter DeSève, art director Michael Knapp, supervising editor Galen Tan Chu and producers Lori Forte and John Donkin all provide an audio commentary, that despite having so many participants is not as informative as I hoped. The discuss the direction they wished to take the series as well as the evolution of the characters and the creation of new ones, but it often seems like they're just watching the film and enjoying each other's company.
Storybook Maker (HD): A nifty feature that may be a little difficult for children. Divided into three levels--Bronze Age Storybooks (for ages 1 and 5), Stone Age (for 6 and 11) and Ice Age (for 12 and up) children are given access to a series of film scenes from which they can capture screenshots. They not only have to choose page layouts, but manipulate their images, insert text, and create multiple pages creating a library of their storybooks.
Evolution Expedition (HD, 18:00 mins): A fact filled trip to the George C. Page Museum at the La Brea tar pits where representatives discuss the animals featured in the film and their real life counterparts on exhibit.
Unfinished Deleted Scenes (SD, 5:00 mins): Two sequences that would have added little to the film told with black and white storyboards.
Buck: From Easel to Weasel (HD, 7:00 mins): The development and design of the character featuring interviews with Saldhana and Pegg.
Falling for Scratte (HD, 9:00 mins): A look at Scrat's new female love interest.
Addtional extras include the behind-the scenes featurette Unearthing the Lost World (HD, 9:00 mins), four Scrat Featurettes (SD, 14:00 mins) "The Saber-Toothed Squirrel" ,"From Head to Toe", "Breaking Story" and "News Report", five basic Fox Movie Channel Featurettes (SD, 28:00 mins): "Making a Scene", "In Character with John Leguizamo", "In Character with Ray Romano","In Character with Queen Latifah" and a second "Making a Scene", the "Walk the Dinosaur" Music Video (HD, 2 minutes): A "Walk the Dinosaur" music video comprised of clips from the film and two hilarious Scrat Shorts (HD, 12 minutes) "Gone Nutty" and "No Time for Nuts."
Introduced on the 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' blu-ray, this disc also contains the BD-Live feature Live Lookup that allows you to access actor filmographies and Dawn of the Dinosaurs info from the Internet Movie Database. There's also a Standard DVD Version as well as a Digital Copy of the Film.
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Tags: 20th Century Fox, Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, Simon Pegg, Carlos Saldanha, 20th Century Fox, Animation, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, News |
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