BOTTOM LINE: Perhaps the best looking entry in the series yet, “Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs” is a delightful animated kids flick, although it is a fairly simple excursion aimed squarely at children.

THE GOOD: Taking a leaf out of the ‘Lost World’ concept book, the film introduces dinosaurs in to the equation, and in the process, adds a layer of colour to this otherwise very cool, white and blue franchise. With the loveable and unlikely herd now breaking up with the impending arrival of a new baby from Ellie (Latifah) and Manny (Romano), Sid (Leguizamo) goes in search of a new herd. After falling through a crack in the ice, he stumbles across some eggs which eventually hatch in to dinosaurs. Sid adopts them, but it is not long before their mother comes for them, and takes Sid with her. The troupe then re-assemble to go rescue Sid, and in the process, come across an entire lost world of dinosaurs living beneath the ice. They are assisted by the manic and insane weasel Buck (Pegg). “Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs” is visually the best looking entry in the franchise to date. The visuals are quite rich, particularly in the land of the dinosaurs, and also in the character detail with every strand of hair and fur visible on the mammoths (as an example). The characters are all loveable as one might expect, and the humour is not forced. The introduction of Buck is a welcome surprise, particularly with his insane behaviour generating more than a laugh or two. The crazy antics of Scrat and his new female love interest Scratte is highly amusing, and works just as well as in the other films. The film is fun and delightful, enjoyable for all ages.

THE BAD: The film does not aim for any audience other than children. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but the effect of watching this as an adult is that it comes across as a simple excursion. In this respect, the film does not break with tradition for the franchise, which is a shame considering Pixar films by comparison work on multiple levels and have a depth to them, both narratively and visually, that the ‘Ice Age’ films cannot match. That said, “Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs” is not a bad film, but perhaps not that special either.