Ice Age Dawn Of The Dinosaurs – Scrat Pack Bonus DVD Set

Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs is one of those incredibly rare third installments, because it’s far better than the first two films. Though I’m not sure that’s true for the little ones, it’s certainly true for me. The first films were fine enough, but they overused the gags they built up, and some of the angles that played toward the smaller crowd went on too long.

As we open this one, Manny is in worried father mode as Ellie is about to expand the herd. Diego is feeling out of place in the new “settling down” arrangement that our curious herd is adopting, and Sid stumbles upon some eggs and decides to start a family of his own. These turn out to be dinosaur eggs, and our little group soon learns that there is another world going about its merry existence below them, and this one is filled with all manner of dinosaurs and prehistoric plants.

When the T-Rex mommy comes looking for her eggs, she takes Sid along with her, and the gang have to venture down into the past to try and rescue their friend. They soon meet Buck, and weasel of uncertain description who has been living down with the dinosaurs for years, and has gone a little batty.

The overall plot is a lot more compelling and interesting, and the laughs are a lot less silly. There’s still a lot of fun for the younger audiences, but the pace works far better, and there is a lot more to the characters this time around.

The release is a nice one, and is available with the nice option of the standard DVD plus Scrat Pack which will let those without Blu-Ray into some of the bonuses there.

There’s a filmmaker commentary track, and it is probably going to surprise a lot of people in how interesting it is. As a general rule a commentary on an animated film is a bonus just for the sake of having one more bonus, but this is a good one. There’s a lot of focus on trying to overcome the many hurdles of a third film, creation of new characters, and so on.

You’ve also got two Scrat shorts: Gone Nutty – Scrat’s Missing Adventure, and No Time for Nuts. Both are good efforts, and give fans a little more time with the largely unsung hero of the films.

Buck…Easel to Weasel is a featurette detailing the creation of the new character, and it’s not a bad piece of work. Those with any interest in the creation of animated characters will enjoy.

Falling for Scratte goes behind-the-scenes to give us a look at another of this film’s new characters, Scratte. Scrat has more on his mind in this film than just that pesky nut. Now he has competition, and whether it’s competition for his nut, or his attention, Scrat suddenly has a lot to think about.

Unearthing the Lost World is probably the most interesting featurette, and it gives us a complete look at creating the world the dinosaurs roam. From the creation of the general scene, to the plant and animal life, it really is amazing how much has to happen to put this together.

Scrat: From Head to Toe is a tutorial that teaches you how to draw Scrat.

Adding to the Scrat Pack disc are several educational and news report clips that are a bit of a laugh, though none of them run very long.

The Sabre-Toothed Squirrel: Nature’s Nutty Buddy gives us a documentary-style look at this curious prehistoric animal, and some viewpoints on where he fits into history. Then we have a couple of news reports following the adventures that follow the thawing of a subject of this rare creature.

Thrown in for good measure are a couple of deleted scenes that never made it to completely finished versions, and a music video for Walk the Dinosaur.

All in all, this is a nice release, and a real surprise of a third installment in a franchise. The Blu-Ray has some more bonuses, a couple that are great for the kids, but I really like that there is this option so that you aren’t completely left out if you don’t have Blu-Ray.

Own it on Blu-Ray and DVD today!

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• Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Review (wii.ign.com)