“Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”
D: Carlos Saldanha
S: Voices of Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary and John Leguizamo

“ICE AGE’S” wacky prehistoric gang is back, as they welcome new friends and family members, battle new foes, and embark on an incredible pulse-pounding adventure in a beautiful but strange underworld—crazier, noisier and more lovable than ever!

Excitement

Manny the woolly mammoth (Ray Romano) and his mammalian paramour, Ellie (Queen Latifah), can’t contain their excitement as they await the birth of their first daughter, Peaches. Ellie’s cocky possum “siblings,” Crash and Eddie (Seann William Scott and Josh Peck), are likewise caught up in Manny and Ellie’s baby fever.

For his part, the lovably witless squirrel-rat hybrid, Scrat (Chris Wedge), finally puts an end to his lonely solitude in his quest for the ever-elusive nut when he meets worthy female competitor, Scratte (Karen Disher)—and unwittingly finds his romantic match to dance the tango with!

Feeling like a fifth wheel in the mammoths’ date with the stork, Diego the saber-toothed tiger (Denis Leary), decides it’s time to move on, and get his savage edge back. Not to be outdone, the relentlessly impressionable Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) “finds” a family of his own after he stumbles onto three untended eggs and claims them to be his. But, the eggs soon hatch into needy, cuddlesome baby dinosaurs, who think that the clueless green sloth is their mommy!

It’s only a matter of time before the reptilian threesome’s real mom finds out about her lost eggs—and she’s not very pleased about it! Sid finds himself going mano a mano against the humongous biological mother, with disastrous albeit hilarious results! The uneven squabble leads him underground, and his friends have to rescue their hapless buddy.

Rough terrain

The brave pack soon discovers an exciting underworld inhabited by grouchy T-Rexes, meat-nibbling velociraptors, high-flying pterodactyls, and carnivorous flora and fauna, and venture into the Chasm of Death and the Plates of Woe.

Unfamiliar to this alien world’s rough terrain, Manny and his friends don’t stand a chance—until they meet the one-eyed, dino-slaying weasel, Buck (Simon Pegg)! Then, the real adventure begins.

World in transition

With spectacular visuals (aided by the latest in 3D technology), nonstop action, wholesome comedy and imperfect but well-meaning furry characters as lovable as they are zany, Saldanha and his team conjures up a magical world in transition—from the icy confines of the Ice Age to the drier era that follows the melting of earth’s massive ice caps.

Truly, the age of 3D technology that Jeffrey Katzenberg, James Cameron and Michael Bay have been talking about for years is finally upon us. In fact, Metro Manila is expected to have 14 digital-3D cinemas before the end of the year. Whoa.

Indeed, modern technology has truly refined the erstwhile dizzying errors of three-dimensional viewing. But, “Ice Age 3” has more than just jaw-dropping cinematic advancement going for it—it’s funny, heartwarming, relentlessly entertaining, and stresses the indispensability of family and friendship over ambition.