OnDVD: Third ‘Ice Age’ survives with slapstick

Scratte has more competition for the acorn in the latest Ice Age sequel

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (20th Century Fox), which will be released on DVD Tuesday, didn’t start out as anything more than just another entry into what’s become a very lucrative animated franchise.

The early scenes revolved around a new addition to the family for the mammoth Manny (voice of Ray Romano) and Ellie (voice of Queen Latifah). There were also some melancholy sequences where Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) and saber-toothed tiger Diego (Denis Leary) were exchanging laments about their place in prehistoric society and loss of strength and power.

But midway through, thanks to a dumb decision Sid makes to steal dinosaur eggs and the appearance of a rampaging mother T-Rex, it switched over and became an entertaining combination of slapstick comedy and survivalist theater.

Besides the running gag with the familiar character Scratte and his quest to finally capture the acorn, there were also encounters with fierce dinosaurs, the wild and weird Australian weasel Buck (Simon Pegg) and a series of other alternately dangerous and absurd events and adventures that made it both a hit with kids and tolerable for adults. 

However, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs proves far more a comedic jaunt than a message-filled presentation.

While there are some commendable themes interspersed throughout about such things as the true definition of courage and the real meaning of friendship, this is still predominantly a funny work rather than a serious one.

The DVD can be purchased either as a single disc, in Blu-ray, or in a two DVD set Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs + The Scrat Pack that contains more individual encounters with Scratte and his female counterpart.

Other releases

For those interested in true crime and real, rather than fictional gangsters, there’s the informative and often chilling Il Divo (MPI), that’s also being released Tuesday.

It spotlights the life and times of Giulio Andreotti, Italy’s most powerful and scary politician. He’s been at the helm of power more than five decades, and over that time his cronies and friends have been accused of many vicious and brutal deeds, including the kidnapping and assassination of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro.

The subsequent scandal and trial ensnares not only Italian government officials, but also the Mafia, Vatican and a mysterious organization known only as Masonic Lodge P2.

The film makes several implications regarding the amount of corruption and crime in Italian politics, but it isn’t a documentary and doesn’t operate like one, despite spotlighting real people and events. Still, it does dramatically show the difference between fictional gangsters and real ones, particularly in terms of the impact and influence they can have in shaping the social and political agenda of a nation.

TV on DVD

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (Universal), which comes out on DVD Tuesday, is neither a prequel nor a sequel. Rather it’s an addition and side venture for one of the best dramas in recent television history.

Executive producer/writer Jane Espenson and director Edward James Olmos (who also portrayed Adama in the series) go back in time to present the story of the Cylons creation. They show how inventions originally designed to serve humanity instead almost destroyed it.

The movie also reveals exactly what the Cylons wanted to do in terms of reshaping the universe in their image, and the people responsible for the carnage documented in the early seasons of Battlestar Galactica.

Those who purchase the Blu-ray version also get lots of extra features include interviews, commentaries, even a trivia game. It’s a wonderful campaign to go along with the massive boxed set housing the complete series, plus the companion DVD Caprica.