My take: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

HD Goofnut

Title: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
BD-50 Dual-Layer Disc/Three Disc Set
Video: 1080p/AVC MPEG-4
Audio: 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Aspect Ratio: 1:85:1
Subtitles: Many Languages
Run time: 94 minutes
Studio: Fox Home Entertainment
Rating: PG
Region Coding: Region A Only
Player used for review: LG BH200

Cast/Crew Info:
Ray Romano as the voice of Manny
John Leguizamo as the voice of Sid
Queen Latifah as the voice of Ellie
Denis Leary as the voice of Diego
Seann William Scott as the voice of Crash
Josh Peck as the voice of Eddie
Simon Pegg as the voice of Buck
Directed by Carlos Saldanha & Mike Thurmeier

My take: (the breakdown)

I have been a fan of the Ice Age franchise since the original was released in 2002. Compared to the original I was actually kind of let down by the second installment, but this third installment is actually a bit better than its predecesor. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs brings back all of the same actors to portray the same characters from the first two movies. The story opens with Manny and Ellie expecting a baby mammoth sometime in the upcoming weeks. Everything seems to be going well until Sid stumbles upon some dinosaur eggs, which he begins to take care of. This becomes a highly volatile situation when the mother comes looking for her babies. Sid is captured and taken back to where the dinosaurs are from so it is up to the rest of the herd to find Sid and bring him back home. Luckily with the help of a guide named Buck they may just find him. I found this to be nearly as good as the original and better than the last Ice Age movie. It is a must own for Ice Age fans and a rental for everyone else.

I was just about blown away with the stellar quality of this Blu-ray release. The first two movies were MPEG-2 while this one is MPEG-4 and it must have made a difference because it looks even better than the first two. Colors instantly create a three-dimensional environment and are well saturated throughout. Fine detail is also top notch as every little hair is visible on each character. Because of the digital nature of the source there is no grain whatsoever just like the first two installments. In my opinion this is right up there with Cars, Ratatouille, Kung Fu Panda, and Wall-E.

We are supplied with a 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track that is actually very well done in the majority. Dialogue is clear and understandable throughout the entire run time and never struggles to heard. Your sub will also get quite a workout throughout the movie as there is quite a bit of action. My one complaint is that the surrounds did not see as much use as I hoped they would. Except for just a couple explosions, discrete effects, and music this is mainly a front heavy mix. I am not sure if it was intentional, but I know have heard better 7.1 lossless mixes from titles such as 3:10 to Yuma and Crank.

There is an extensive amount of supplemental material to wade through and most of it is actually quite interesting although some of it is not. Most of the features are in 1080, but there are a few in 480. There is also a DVD copy of the movie on disc two and a Digital Copy of the movie on disc three.

Movie: 7.5/10
VQ: 10/10
AQ: 8/10
Supplements: 8/10
Final word: A Must Own For Ice Age Fans

As always thanks for reading folks.

__________________

Chris Gerhard

I bought this one but haven't played it yet except to check if the LG BH200 would load it since I read someone indicate their BH200 did not play it. I will play it soon but it was clear it is another great Blu-ray animation example.

Chris

HD Goofnut

I didn't have problems playing it on my BH200. I did however have problems with Role Models. It would load the disc and then it would say disc error. I tried it three times and it kept doing the same thing. I then it put it in my PS3 and it loaded right up. I think I have had two titles now that have refused to play in my BH200, Sunshine Cleaning and Role Models. This is why I keep my PS3 hooked up to my home theater because it plays everything you throw at it.

__________________

Chris Gerhard

We watched it last night and I thought it was very good. Great video and audio quality with 7.1 DTS-HD MA. Bitrates often hit around 44Mbps, first rate use of the format to my way of thinking.

Chris

Chris Gerhard

Now that I think about it, this series of 3 films is very good. I am not anxious to see a 4th but I won't be surprised if a 4th one is made.

Chris

HD Goofnut

I agree that it looked and sounded great. It was right up there with all of the other animated titles that have been released on Blu-ray.

__________________

Nevada_MO_Guy

It looks like Walmart will be selling this for $10 on Black Friday

__________________
Sony KDS-60A2000 bulb hours ..... Yamaha RX-V1800 ..... Dish ViP 622 DuoDVR temps .... Toshiba HD-D1 ..... Philips BDP7200 ..... Mirage OMNISAT v2 FS .... Mirage OMNISAT v2 CC ..... Mirage OMNISAT v2 .... Mirage OMNI S12 (19Hz) ..... (2) Sony SA-W3000 (20Hz) ....Home Depot

Chamillitary

I can't wait to show this movie to my 3 year old niece this movie this next weekend. I don't know if she will quiet understand it all but I know she will love the characters.