Ice Age – Dawn of the Dinosaurs
July 5th 2009 12:55
Dir: Carlos Saldanha and co-director Mike Thurmeier
Genre: Animation,Humour,Adventure
Running Time: 94 mins[
This is a family film in more ways than one. Not only is the intended demographic the ankle-biters amongst us, but Blue Sky have involved the younger family members of the cast and crew to provide some of the younger character voices in this latest Ice Age offering.
The attraction of this latest animation is much more than a predictable storyline. Blue Sky have clearly wanted to experiment with some new visual options, made possible with the ‘Land that time forgot’ scenario. Certainly some of the creature creations for the dinosaurs are truly spectacular and the designer’s imaginations have run riot with the paint box. The design of the dinosaur underworld is a visual feast.
This script has some great lines, one in particular referencing ‘The Flintstones.’ The animators have also played games with some of the images, one of which echoes the brontosaurus scene in Jurassic Park. Music too, plays a critical role in this movie. The opening scene with Lou Rawls ‘You’ll Never Find’ tells the adults in the audience that this is not just a kid’s film. Indeed it isn’t, with lines like “I knew him when he was a caterpillar, before he came out!” and “Let me tell you about the time I turned a Tyrannosaurus Rex into Tyrannosaurus Rachel!” It’s all pretty tame in reality.
For children, and there were plenty in the audience when I saw this film, it clearly works. For adults too, there was a great deal of laughing out loud. So it clearly hits the mark on more than one level. For anyone looking for something new, this is not the film, this is a well-worn storyline, which is both comfortable and predictable. The magic in this film is definitely the animation, which is truly stunning – the Blue Sky team has stretched its technical skills and artistic creativity to weave an amazing fantasy world.
It would be easy to critique this film only on the basis of story or voice talent, but that would be pedestrian and dismissive of the artistic and technical talent that has come to bear on this film. It is not simply a cartoon; it is hours and hours of careful design and creative problem solving, thought out with care and precision. The facial features, the falling snow, the fur, the lava, all demonstrate technical developments, which the late Walt Disney could never have imagined prior to today’s CGI.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film for it’s humour, design , but mostly for it’s technical artistry. The voice talents of the Romano family, the Leguizamo family, the Saldanha family as well as the voice talents of Latifah, Pegg, Disher and Leary all hang together well and they all clearly had a great deal of fun with this latest Blue Sky offering.
Rating: 3/5
Genre: Animation,Humour,Adventure
Running Time: 94 mins[
"Don't move a muscle!
This is a family film in more ways than one. Not only is the intended demographic the ankle-biters amongst us, but Blue Sky have involved the younger family members of the cast and crew to provide some of the younger character voices in this latest Ice Age offering.
The attraction of this latest animation is much more than a predictable storyline. Blue Sky have clearly wanted to experiment with some new visual options, made possible with the ‘Land that time forgot’ scenario. Certainly some of the creature creations for the dinosaurs are truly spectacular and the designer’s imaginations have run riot with the paint box. The design of the dinosaur underworld is a visual feast.
This script has some great lines, one in particular referencing ‘The Flintstones.’ The animators have also played games with some of the images, one of which echoes the brontosaurus scene in Jurassic Park. Music too, plays a critical role in this movie. The opening scene with Lou Rawls ‘You’ll Never Find’ tells the adults in the audience that this is not just a kid’s film. Indeed it isn’t, with lines like “I knew him when he was a caterpillar, before he came out!” and “Let me tell you about the time I turned a Tyrannosaurus Rex into Tyrannosaurus Rachel!” It’s all pretty tame in reality.
For children, and there were plenty in the audience when I saw this film, it clearly works. For adults too, there was a great deal of laughing out loud. So it clearly hits the mark on more than one level. For anyone looking for something new, this is not the film, this is a well-worn storyline, which is both comfortable and predictable. The magic in this film is definitely the animation, which is truly stunning – the Blue Sky team has stretched its technical skills and artistic creativity to weave an amazing fantasy world.
It would be easy to critique this film only on the basis of story or voice talent, but that would be pedestrian and dismissive of the artistic and technical talent that has come to bear on this film. It is not simply a cartoon; it is hours and hours of careful design and creative problem solving, thought out with care and precision. The facial features, the falling snow, the fur, the lava, all demonstrate technical developments, which the late Walt Disney could never have imagined prior to today’s CGI.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film for it’s humour, design , but mostly for it’s technical artistry. The voice talents of the Romano family, the Leguizamo family, the Saldanha family as well as the voice talents of Latifah, Pegg, Disher and Leary all hang together well and they all clearly had a great deal of fun with this latest Blue Sky offering.
Rating: 3/5
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