Film Review: ICE AGE 3 -- DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS

The 3-D process is like cheese on your vegetables. Everything tastes better with cheese (cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, etc.). We LOVE cheese on our vegetables, don't we? And likewise, you can’t go wrong with 3D because it’s fun. Just watching 3D movies is like peering into a viewmaster like you did when you were a kid. 3D may have once been a cheesy gimmick to get people to fill seats, but with advent of new technologies, it has become respectable and it isn’t just something reserved for IMAX theatres, and when done properly, helps create a mood for telling the story. Which may be one of the reasons James Cameron decided to use it for his next film (AVATAR) -- 3D has definitely become a mainstream technique for seriously artistic filmmakers. George Lucas apparently is considering releasing the first three STAR WARS movies in 3D thanks to a conversion process developed by a company called In-Three (much like how the NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS was reissued in 3D, as well as the upcoming TOY STORY 1 and 2). 3D transcends genre. Action, adventure, sci fi, comedy, horror – you name it, you can put 3d on anything. JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, BEOWULF, BOLT, UP, MONSTERS VS ALIENS, CORALINE, and MY BLOODY VALENTINE. Now, having acknowledged how wonderfully fun the 3D process can be, unfortunately, the 3D process is about the only reason to see ICE AGE 3, DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS. ICE AGE is one of those films that spools off the Hollywood assembly line like an enigma, something that looks good on paper and should be good, but in the end isn’t. The voice acting is good; the characters certainly have personality, and the animation is phenomenal. It even has 3D! But in the end, the movie is flat and uninventive and well ... boring. The storyline is forced and the jokes feel even more forced, as if the plot is servicing the jokes instead of the other way around. Definitely cute, but definitely no CARS or WALL-E or FINDING NEMO or MADAGASCAR.