Hollywood hues
 Age of adventure

Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is a straight-from-the-heart story of
survival, even of the weakest, writes Ervell E. Menezes

Remember noting that animation in the first Ice Age wasn’t so life-like but that was compensated by the warmth and humanity (or is it animality?) of its characters. It even countered the barren whiteness of the Arctic landscape. That trend continues with Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and it is surely more adventurous with the entry of the dinosaurs and the "save Sid (voice of John Leguizani)" operation gives it a racy, thrilling twist.

The narrative of Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs has equal measures of action and suspense
The narrative of Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs has equal measures of action and suspense 

The herd is on the move and it is a straight-from-the-heart story of survival, even of the weakest. The vibrant, woolly mammoths Manny (Ray Romano) and Ellie (Queen Latifah) are about to be proud parents that makes Diego (Denis Leary), the saber-toothed tiger’s position a bit insecure and so he goes his own way. The two precocious possums Eddie (Josh Peck) and Crash (Seann William Scott) are in a similar quandary.

This leaves Sid, the dimwit sloth somewhat confused as he wanders into a cave to find three giant eggs. Scrat (Chris Wedge) continues to play hero in his everlasting search for the elusive acorn. The drama really begins when the giant eggs hatch into dinosaurs and the angry mother walks off with Sid and hence the rescue mission which is the highlight of the film.

The 3-D technology makes its presence felt even though one may not jump out of your skin or seat and director Carlos Saldanha is able to imbue the narrative with equal measures of action and suspense. There are, of course, some glitches like the sudden shift from the Tundras to the tropical forests but eventually it is Scrat who carries the film through.

On the debit side is the film’s verbosity and inordinate length. Even animation films are subject to the attention span and a more concise story would have made a world of a difference. But the serialisation helps as these characters tend to grow on you, however whimsical some of them may well be. So, go and see Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, it’s the most action-packed of them all.

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