Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs review

Boy am I glad that I'm not a kid anymore. How would I be able to keep the lessons of Earth's history straight when films like 'Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs' mixes them all up?

The first film 'Ice Age' made sense ... we see a bunch of now-extinct mammal species fighting for survival during the coming Ice Age. Then, somehow, these same characters survived long enough for 'The Meltdown', but THEN comes the 'Dawn of the Dinosaurs?' I thought the dinosaurs came first? How can they be dawn-ing?

Granted, we don't go to the movies for history lessons. Sure they can be kind-of accurate when you're dealing with figures like Patton or Forrest Gump, but shouldn't there be some kind of rule?

Nevermind.

The dinosaurs in the film prowl in a world beneath the thick level of ice where our heroes live. Manny the mammoth (voiced by Ray Romano who didn't have to change his voice much to make it sound like he's talking with a long trunk) and his wife Ellie (Queen Latifah) are expecting a baby, and excited about their future. That leaves Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) and Diego the Sabretooth cat (Dennis Leary) wondering about how they will fit in this new family. Also, Diego is starting to feel old, domesticated and frustrated that he doesn’t seem to have the energy to catch his prey the way he used to ... will he be able to regain his killer instinct? And after Sid finds three abandoned eggs in an ice cave he adopts them so he can have his own family ... will he be able to prove that he can be a good father?

No points for guessing right on either of those questions. You already know how most of these storylines will end early in the film, but that's okay because along the way we have a lot of fun.

Sid's eggs hatch early and out pops three little Tyrannosaurus babies. When Momma T-Rex comes to reclaim her children, Sid refuses to let them go, and he winds up in the underground dinosaur world. This is a surprise for Manny and the herd because, somehow, even they know that dinosaurs are supposed to be extinct. The group is helped by a one-eyed weasel named ‘Buck’, a master dinosaur hunter who is also a bit crazy since he hasn’t had any other mammals to talk to in this lost world. Which begs the question, “Why don’t the dinosaurs talk?” Also, how can there be plants growing if they are all below a thick layer of ice which would block the sun?

There I go again!

The new setting gives director Carlos Saldanha a chance to breathe new life into this franchise. Even Scrat, the long-toothed squirrel/rat with the acorn obsession has more to do after he runs into Scratte, a female foil who is after the same acorn, and uses her feminine wiles to get her way. Will Scrat forget about the acorn when presented with the possibility of true love?

Once again, no points for guessing right.