As much as I am a fan of this film, I also wished Pixar would’ve make history in Estonia. Seriously, a Blue Sky animated film breaking the box-office record for biggest opening of all-time? Bigger than even, say, Dark Knight or Titanic? 
I’m afraid you haven’t, 1986. I’m surprised they managed to keep much of the dino world scenes under wraps, but I did get annoyed they spoiled most of the Scrat scenes. But you’re entitled to your own opinion. 
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Anyhoo, I just watched it yesterday on Cheap Tuesday with a couple of my animation buddies. The 3-D surcharge was almost twice that of conventional, so I saw the normal 2-D version (I’m saving my money for Up’s 3-D anyway).
Most of you reading this thread would know the synopsis by know, so I’ll spare you the details. Now as much as I enjoyed this movie, it is only fair that I tell you that this movie has good and bad points (pretty much like any film, really). Try to keep with me, cos’ I tend to ramble a bit since I’ve been looking forward to this film for a long time.
The storyline is much more action-packed than the first and second. Althogether, there’s probably about three to four action setpieces, mostly involving the characters slipping, sliding or flying through mortal peril. The two standout for me were Sid’s egg scramble and the climatic pterodactyl chase. There’s lots of neat parodies to genre conventions and film references, like [spoil]Ellie’s Flintstones holler, the red wire/blue wire conundrum in the pitcher plant, and the airplane sound effects in the pterodactyl chase.[/spoil]
Character development-wise, Blue Sky has at least made an attempt to give each character an arc (even the possum twins have one, which is their admiration of Buck), but sadly, nothing much comes out of most of them. It’s mostly the case that with each addition of a sequel, more cast members get added, and they all have to compete with screentime with respect to their own storylines. I must laud them for Sid’s touching story of ‘maternal’ love, which most members here say is the strongest plotline. A lot of people complained about the first half hour being boring, but I fail to see how that is true. The opening scenes serve to introduce the characters to newbies and update fans on what the herd has been up to since we last left them, and it’s important that they set the emotional groundwork for Sid’s attachment to the dino babies for what is to come later on. Indeed, the scenes where he [spoil]protects the eggs, raises the hatchlings, and even stands up against Momma Dino[/spoil] are both endearing and heartwaming, and this all takes place within the first act! They had to establish what the characters have to fear or care about as a precursor or foreshadowing of what they would have to face later on. And although it was predictable, I almost teared when he [spoil]had to leave them in the end[/spoil]. For once, you actually get emotionally-invested in Sid’s attempts to raise a family, instead of him being relegated to being the comic relief, and his story ironically forms the emotional backbone of the film, IMO.
Manny and Ellie’s storyline is slightly underwhelming, since most of the time Manny, as I predicted, suffers from Marlin (from Finding Nemo)-parental-anxiety. His fears for Ellie’s safety are made pretty explicit throughout the film, but when it comes to the moment where he has to ‘let go’, it is not as dramatically-impactful as the climax in Finding Nemo.
Diego is also pretty underutilised, his problem of him ‘losing his touch’ feeling forced and unnecessary, not to mention [spoil]it, too, being conveniently solved at the climax[/spoil]. The possum brothers have little to do beside making wisecracks and admiring Buck, but they never had much to do in the previous installment anyway, either. I was disappointed, because one of the quotes on the official website made it sound like there would be sibling jealousy whereupon the younger of the twins would look up to Buck instead of his older bro, but that never happened. Maybe I was reading too much into it, but the fact still remains that the possum brothers have nothing much to do in this sequel either.
The new character Buck is the most intriguing of the lot, and I must give kudos to Simon Pegg for doing a brilliant job voicing this tortured, demented, but streetwise enigma of a character. Obviously his many months spent in the hostile dino world has unhinged his personality a fair bit, and his quirky mannerisms, deluded ramblings, and sinewy animation (reminscent of Chuck Jones’ Rikki Tikki Tavi) make him one of the most intriguing and enigmatic characters in modern 3-D animation to date. While we’re on the topic of character animation, I must give kudos to the animators, who, believe it or not, seem to be beating Dreamworks and Pixar at their own game. [u]Aspiring animators should watch this purely for studying Buck, Scratte and Sid’s body movements alone.[/url] They’re all fantastic, and the most entertaining I’ve watched from an animated film in a long while,
As for the Scrat x Scratte love story, it was adorable for what it was worth. I got most of the scenes spoiled by the stupid TV spots, but it is still fun to watch the two compete for the cursed acorn and each other’s affections. [spoil]The Tango dance[/spoil] was beautifully done with a hint of cheekiness, and their [spoil]kiss against the lava backdrop[/spoil] is just as breathtaking as [spoil]Wall-E and Eve’s smack in space.[/spoil] In fact, much of their courting reminded me of the robots, there was even one scene in a montage where [spoil]they rowed down a river in almost the exact same angle as Wall-E’s shot in “First Date”![/spoil] But I was disappointed that Scrat didn’t exactly work to win the heart of Scratte, in fact, [spoil]his rescue of her was pretty much an accident![/spoil] It would be better if he had to choose between the item he desires (the acorn) and the person he cares about (Scratte), like John Silver in Treasure Planet (the ship of gold or Jim) or Kuzko in Emperor’s New Groove (the potion or Pacha). Their relationship merely served as brief comic interludes in between scenes, but Sky could’ve lifted it beyond being mere comic fodder. It’s ironic that Sid and Scrat have seemed to swap places in who the audience is more emotionally-invested in. The end was also annoying, [spoil]since we all know deep down Scrat was always in love with the acorn and yet was never destined to get it (he ditched Scratte when she became too controlling, and yet he lost the acorn to her), but I still would’ve preferred a more definitive and happy ending for him (he hooks up with Scratte, and he finally lets go of chasing that elusive acorn). But then again, people find his misfortunes funnier than his successes, I suppose. It’s why Looney Tunes was so successful as a cartoon series.[/spoil]
I guess the overall gripe I have with the movie is that Blue Sky did a good attempt at giving their character’s personalities, their inner demons to struggle with, and a spectacular world for them to explore. But they don’t quite pull it off with as much courage or finesse as Pixar, instead, [spoil]resolving the story with an “Everything is back to normal” lame conclusion. Nothing has changed (except with the addition of Peaches to the herd), maybe the characters come off a bit wiser, having learnt their lesson of the day (and indeed, as Manny points out at the end, the movie did take place over the course of one day), but they’ll forget about all this in the next movie. Even Scrat didn’t get Scratte or the acorn in the end![/spoil] I guess what I want to say is, is that the stakes are not raised high enough storywise, which is a shame really, seeing that if they wanted to, the ending was pretty definitive and it could be the conclusion to the franchise (although I wouldn’t say that a fourth could still be made). My theatre buddy turned to me at one point after [spoil]the velociraptor fight was over and whispered “I’d rather have Diego die protecting Ellie. That would be more devastating” or something like that.[/spoil] Granted, it might be a bit morbid for the kids, but you get the idea. Even the much hyped [spoil]Rudy who menaces the group throughout the entire movie gets defeated too easily in an epilogue showdown, almost like an afterthought.[/spoil] For a wild adventure into the great unknown, it’s a bit tame.
Overall, if you’re a fan of the franchise, or want to study some interesting animal movement animations, or just want a fun night out at the movies (I seriously had more fun and laughs with this than Transformers), then this adventure is worth taking. Just don’t expect Pixar-level storytelling or characterizations, though I must say, Blue Sky came pretty close. I give this:
4 out of 5 Acorns
On a side note, they showed the international trailer for Up again. The audience was the most responsive I’ve experienced yet, gasping when the house floated away, cooing when Dug talked, and guffawing when Russell was dragged along the window. They laughed especially hard at Russell’s throwing of the GPS out of the window, for some reason. In comparison, the reaction was more subdued when they played the trailer for Aliens in the Attic and the Chipmunks Squeakquel teaser.
Did you know with adjusted numbers for ticket prices 