Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs DVD Review

I missed Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs AKA Ice Age 3 when it was released to theaters this summer, so I appreciated getting the opportunity to see it on DVD (released October 27, 2009). This, the third part of the Ice Age stories, is an imaginative animated what if adventure centered around colorful dinosaurs. Queen Latifah’s song “Walk the Dinosaur” set the mood.

To recap the story briefly, Sid comes upon three eggs and decides to keep them. The babies hatch. FYI, they are baby t-rexes. Their mother tyrannosaurus rex searches for them and when she finds them with Sid abducts him to an underground yet to be discovered lost world. Of course, his friends follow and rescue him. Ellie has her baby. Scrat finds Scrattle.

Here is the cast:

• Mammoth Manny (Ray Romano) is a carried away freaked out daddy.
• Mate Ellie (Queen Latifah) is her practical self.
• Sloth Sid ( John Leguizamo) wants a family too.
• Saber-tooth Diego (Denis Leary) feels it is time to move on.
• Opossums Krash and Eddie (Seann William Scott and Josh Peck) bring lots of laughs.
• Rudy (Chris Wedge) is the bad one.
• Insane one-eyed weasel Buck (Simon Pegg) plays hero and saves the day.

The DVD has many bonus features including two must see Scrat shorts, “Gone Nuts” and “No Time for Nuts”. I just love funny cartoons.

Here’s the rest of the details.

THE HILARIOUS HERD RETURNS WITH AN ALL-NEW EPIC JOURNEY FOR THE AGES

The Outrageous $800 Million + Animated Adventure, Arrives On Three-Disc Blu-ray Disc/DVD Combo Pack October 27 From Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Blu-ray Disc/DVD Combo Pack Loaded With “Mammoth” Special Features Including A Digital Story Book Maker, Deleted Scenes, Exclusive Shorts On Making Of The Film And Digital Copy

LOS ANGELES, CA. – Get ready, for the dawn of a new age! Manny, Sid, Diego and Ellie are back for more pre-hysterical hijinks when Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs stomps onto Three-Disc Blu-ray Disc/DVD Combo Pack October 27 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. The third film in the outrageously popular Ice Age franchise, the sub-zero heroes return another wild and fun adventure. Scrat is still trying to nab the ever-elusive nut (while maybe finding true love); Manny and Ellie await the birth of their mini-mammoth; Diego the saber-toothed tiger wonders if he’s growing too “soft” hanging with his pals and Sid the sloth gets into trouble when he creates his own makeshift family by hijacking some dinosaur eggs. On a mission to rescue the hapless Sid, the gang ventures into a mysterious underground world, where they have some close encounters with dinosaurs, battle flora and fauna, run amuck, and meet a relentless, one-eyed dino-hunting weasel named Buck. The coolest animated comedy of the year, Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs features hilarious performances from Ice Age veterans Ray Romano (“Everybody Loves Raymond”), John Leguizamo (The Happening), Denis Leary (“Rescue Me”), Queen Latifah (The Secret Life of Bees), Seann William Scott (Planet 51) and Josh Peck (“Drake & Josh”), along with newcomers Bill Hader (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Kristen Wiig (“Saturday Night Live”), Jane Lynch (“Glee”) and Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead).

The Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs Three-Disc release includes the BD, DVD and Digital Copy and provides hours of extra fun for the entire family including an Ice Age digital story book maker, commentary by director Carlos Saldanha, deleted scenes, making-of featurettes, two special Scrat shorts, a how-to-draw Scrat tutorial with the filmmakers and much more. The Three-Disc BD/DVD Combo Pack will be available for a suggested retail price of $39.99 U.S./$49.99 Canada. Additionally, the Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs standard DVD will be available for $29.98 U.S./$43.48 Canada.

The Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs “Scrat Pack” Double DVD Pack, a great value for moms and fun for kids, will also be available for a limited time only featuring an overload of special features focusing on the determined squirrel including three “Scrat” games exclusive to the disc. The “Scrat Pack” will be available for a suggested retail price of $34.98 U.S./$45.98 Canada. Prebook is September 30.

Three-Disc Blu-Ray Disc/DVD Combo Pack Special Features: (Catalog #2262252)
Disc One:
• Blu-ray Disc Feature Film
• Ice Age Story Maker
• Filmmaker Commentary
• Evolution Expedition
• Buck…Easel to Weasel
• Falling for Scratte
• Unearthing the Lost World
• Two Unfinished Deleted Scenes
• Walk The Dinosaur Music Video
• Two Scrat Shorts
o Gone Nutty – Scrat’s Missing Adventure
o No Time For Nuts
• The Sabre-Toothed Squirrel: Natures Nutty Buddy
• Scrat: From Head To Toe – learn how to draw Scrat tutorial
• Scrat: “Breaking Story”
• Scrat: “News Report”
• Fox Movie Channel Presents: In Character with John Leguizamo
• Fox Movie Channel Presents: In Character with Ray Romano
• Fox Movie Channel Presents: In Character with Queen Latifah
• Fox Movie Channel Presents: Making A Scene
• Fox Movie Channel Presents: Making A Scene (Ice Age 2)

Disc Two:
• Digital Copy

Disc Three:
• Standard DVD Feature Film

“Scrat Pack” Double DVD Pack Special Features: (Catalog #2263214 – Brick / #2262566 – Side-By-Side)

Disc One:
• Filmmaker Commentary

Disc Two:
• Two Scrat Shorts
o Gone Nutty – Scrat’s Missing Adventure
o No Time For Nuts
• The Sabre-Toothed Squirrel: Natures Nutty Buddy
• Scrat: From Head To Toe – learn how to draw Scrat tutorial
• Scrat: “Breaking Story”
• Scrat: “News Report”
• Fox Movie Channel Presents: Making A Scene
• Buck…Easel to Weasel
• Falling for Scratte
• Unearthing the Lost World
• Walk The Dinosaur Music Video
• Activities
o Scrat Pinball
o Eggshell
o Bubble Trouble

Standard DVD Specs: (Catalog #2262512)
• Filmmaker Commentary

On October 27, 2009, to coincide with the release of the Ice Age 3 Dawn of the Dinosaurs Blu-ray disc and DVD, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment successfully broke the Guinness World Record for Tallest Ice Sculpture at the opening of the ice skating rink, ICE at Santa Monica. To do this they used a team of 14 skilled sculptors from Ice Bulb LLC. The world’s Tallest Ice Sculpture was built over a 4-day period with a Guinness World Records™ adjudicator  present to oversee the attempt.

Fun Facts:
• The Scrat Ice Sculpture stands at 45 feet tall
• Over 133,000 lbs. of ice was used, gathered across 4 states
• Months of preparation went into the logistics
• Artists from Blue Sky Studios developed the look of the model
• The current record for the Tallest Ice Sculpture is 40.28 feet and was achieved by Michel Amann (France) in Ski Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on April 20, 2006.