CEBU, Philippines – Rise and shine for “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” the 3rd installment of filmdom’s ageless franchise “Ice Age” wherein the sub-zero heroes are back, on an incredible 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; Sid the sloth gets into trouble when he creates his own makeshift family after finding some dinosaur eggs; and Diego the saber-toothed tiger wonders if he’s growing too “soft” hanging with his pals.
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 amok – and meet a relentless, one-eyed, dino-hunting weasel named Buck.
“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” has everything audiences loved about the first two films, adding even more comedy, action, spectacular visuals – plus the movie magic of 3-D. Our beloved heroes live on, with some memorable new characters thrown into the “Ice Age” mix.
Also new to the “Ice Age” franchise is an incredible and immense underground world populated by dinosaurs. The lush world provides a sharp contrast to the wintry environs of the first two “Ice Age” films, and dwarfs even the vastness of the above-ground Ice Age.
It’s a land of danger, massive creatures, mammal-eating plants, a daredevil weasel, a wily romantic foil for Scrat, named Scratte – and areas with names like the Chasm of Death, and the Plates of Woe. Even Manny the Mammoth – the B.M.O.C. (Big Mammal on Campus) in the Ice Age – feels puny in this immense world.
“When the dinosaurs show up, Manny is no longer ‘king of the jungle,’” says comedy legend Ray Romano, who returns as the voice of filmdom’s most famous woolly mammoth.
The new world points to the filmmakers’ desire to put the Ice Age characters in different situations and give them unexpected challenges in each film.
“We always want to see how far we can push the characters,” says Lori Forte, who in 1999 had pitched the idea for “Ice Age” and has produced all three films.
Adds director Carlos Saldanha, who helmed “Ice Age: The Meltdown”: “ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS is the most ambitious of the three pictures, by far. We plunk our heroes – who know only the Ice Age and a melting Ice Age – into a world that they’re not equipped to handle.”
Co-director Michael Thurmeier says that the film has a new, more expansive look. “It almost feels like a genre movie, and that really drew me in. It’s still a smart, character-based comedy, but the underground world and characters provide an epic sweep and adventure that’s new to the ‘Ice Age’ franchise.”
“Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” opens July 3 in theaters nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.