Ray Romano and Queen Latifah: 'Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs'
How the latest installment of the 3D animation franchise measures up
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs "is the best of the three films about our friends in the inter-species herd of plucky prehistoric heroes," said Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times. This time around, wooly mammoths Manny and Ellie (voiced by Ray Romano and Queen Latifah), saber-toothed tiger Diego (Denis Leary), Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo), and the rest of the gang wind up in a mysterious underground world, and the adventure is eye-popping—"it involves some of the best use of 3-D I've seen in an animated feature." (watch the trailer for Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs)
The latest installment of the Ice Age franchise franchise "brings more visual cuteness, action and frivolity centered around the importance of friends and family," said Louise Keller in Urban Cinefile. But although it "has an appealing energy and is abundantly cute," the movies targeted "kiddie" audience "may become restless," as "some of the sequences feel repetitive."
Not to mention "lazy, transparent, disposable and at its worst, boring," said Mack Rawden in Cinema Blend. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs "is a sometimes beautiful piece of animation," so it's too bad that it's "consistently ruined by unfocused directing, bizarre editing choices, phoned-in voice acting, and a script which is neither witty nor filled with momentum."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Film reviews: ‘Send Help’ and ‘Private Life’Feature An office doormat is stranded alone with her awful boss and a frazzled therapist turns amateur murder investigator
-
Movies to watch in Februarythe week recommends Time travelers, multiverse hoppers and an Iraqi parable highlight this month’s offerings during the depths of winter
-
ICE’s facial scanning is the tip of the surveillance icebergIN THE SPOTLIGHT Federal troops are increasingly turning to high-tech tracking tools that push the boundaries of personal privacy