Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” released in 2009, looks like it’s going through a freezer burn. Claudia Puig said in her review, “Once fresh, the story is now buried under a hoary coating.”

The theme of making unlikely families worked well the first time from both a funny and narrative way. Its constantly sweet message despite, the repeated plot is so dull.

Puig admitted, “The 3-D animation is something new for the franchise. And while it's eye-catching, the saga doesn't hold a candle to Pixar's Up, which integrates 3-D images artfully into a compelling story that elicits emotions and captures the imagination.”

The species are more abundant this time, but “Ice Age” goes for bathroom humor and nasty bodily fluids to fill the area.

Life is becoming serious for Manny and his wife, Ellie, as they await the birth of their first child. Manny’s fearful tendencies are at its peak. Puig said, “Diego, the saber-toothed tiger, is annoyed with Manny's domesticity.” Sid, wanting for children, steals three giant eggs and cares for the hatchlings as if they were his own. Sid has gender and identity issues, calling himself “a single mother” to very little laughter.

Sid’s new family is actually infant dinosaurs, all voiced by Carlos Saldanha, and he is taken into a scary parallel, underground universe. His friends – Manny, Ellie and Diego – must rescue him. Along the way, they meet a dinosaur-hunting weasel named Buck, voiced by Simon Pegg. Puig is right when she said, “But their perilous adventure is not unlike what we've seen in Jurassic Park movies: a T. rex storms around, raptors loom and pterodactyls swoop.”

Scrat the squirrel shows up again, trying to grab on to his favorite acorn. Puig stated, “He meets a comely female squirrel (Karen Disher) who joins in the chase. Romance clouds the hunt, but the acorn reigns supreme.” Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader and Jane Lynch give humorous vocal talents to nonessential animal characters.

However, rather than evolving, “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” is on familiar and barren areas.

Like I had stated, this one clearly showcased that the series was going on a downhill slope. Despite giving very little in terms of hilarity and new stuff, it’s basically the same formula repeated again. If you want to see this one, you may, but bear in mind, it’s forgettable.

Want to know more about how downhill this franchise went, look out next week for the next installment in “Ice Age Month,” where we look at a clear cash-in on the series.