Sid, Diego, Manni and Scart are back! The heroes from the first two "Ice Age" films, which have thrilled a total of well over 10 million moviegoers in Germany alone, return for a third big-screen adventure: and this time it's not the ice that's the biggest danger, because the dinosaurs are loose!
There's a lot of excitement: Manni and his beloved Ellie are expecting the birth of their first child. Sloth Sid is almost as excited about the mini-mammoth as its parents, hoping to spend lots of time with the little rascal as a babysitter. Only sabre-toothed Diego suspects that the times of carefree togetherness will now change drastically and draws the consequences: he leaves the group. Now Sid also realizes that he will not be part of the new mammoth family in the way he had hoped. Luckily, the dorky sloth finds three eggs apparently abandoned by their mother. Sid now wants to protect them as a foster mother until "sein" offspring hatch. Too bad the eggs are baby dinosaurs, and their mother is furious with Sid and takes him away with the babies.
In search of their friend, Manni and Ellie reunite with Diego. Together they find themselves in a mysterious underworld where many unexpected dangers lurk. But with the help of the one-eyed weasel Buck, Sid's rescue is to end successfully after all...
"Ice Age 3" is, with minor reservations, an extremely positive surprise. Whereas Part 2 was really just a faster, more colorful and louder version of Part 1, the creators have come up with some very nice new ideas for the third Ice Age adventure. With the heroes descending into the underworld populated by dinosaurs, prehistoric plants, and all manner of strange critters, the film gets the momentum it needs in a new direction, offering the viewer a perfect blend of the old familiar and a lot of new.
In addition to the main storyline itself, there is of course, as in the first two films, an amusing subplot revolving around the beloved rodent Scrat and his desperate attempts to finally get a hold of his oh-so-beloved nut. Here, too, the makers have come up with something new and put Scrat alongside his potential great love Scratte. Some absolutely delicious situations ensue between the two, at times absolutely touching, at others hilarious.
The film's humor remains largely well-behaved and family-friendly, but it does offer some edgier fun for adult viewers, especially with the introduction of Buck. Especially the numerous allusions to the usual action clichés and some popular representatives of this subject make the fun perfect. This is also supported by the animations, which are again a bit better than in the predecessor. What's especially positive is that the characters have kept their cartoonish charm, while smaller details, like Manni's fur or Scratte's beguiling eyelashes, have been animated absolutely perfectly. This blend of animated world and photorealism works well the third time around, making the viewer only too happy to immerse themselves in the fabulous world of "Ice Age 3".
Although not every gag works and many a moment feels a little overused, "Ice Age 3" has enough new ideas to justify a trip to the cinema. The again very successful dubbing, the cute dinosaur babies, Scrat's amorous adventures and newcomer Buck make the animated fun a must for all fans of the first two films. While it's not the best animated film of the year (that title goes to the soon-to-be-released "Coraline" and Pixar's "Oben"), it's a lot of fun.
In select theaters, "Ice Age 3" also opens in 3-D. Some scenes, such as Sid's adventurous slide with the three dino eggs or even a flight through the underworld, are clearly designed for 3-D exploitation and are then, of course, especially fun to watch here. But the bottom line is that the film works really well in both traditional 2-D and 3-D.
Original title: Ice Age 3 - Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Directed by Carlos Saldanha & Mike Thurmeier
Length: approx. 94 min.
FSK: o.Al.
Ein Artikel von Frankfurt-Tipp
