The Ice Age may be on its way out, but Manny, Diego and Sid aren’t extinct yet! As Manny and Ellie get ready to raise a mammoth family, Sid also gets a taste of parenthood when he adopts three unhatched eggs. Unfortunately they end up being dinosaur eggs and soon the group find themselves in an underground oasis where an entire world of dinosaurs has somehow survived.

It’s usually best to avoid discussing box office when reviewing a movie, because as we all know, quality and success arent’t always related. However, it’s hard to ignore the unpredicted ridiculous amount of money ICE AGE 3 has garnered around the globe. Its domestic take was a respectable, but not earth shattering $196 million, but worldwide ICE AGE 3 has made $682 million. That’s the third highest international gross of all time. Surely, that kind of success means the third movie must actually be good right?

Not necessarily. I can’t really tell what’s special about this flick that would warrant such an international phenomenon. Not only is it pretty much the same as the first ICE AGE movie, but it’s generic enough that it feels distractingly similar to a lot of animated movies we’ve been subjected to over the years. (Three movies in and they’re still learning the same lessons about being a family!) All the characterizations, plot points and even the jokes are all pretty standard and unoriginal. The jokes and gags are more “cutesy” and suited for young minds, which is fine but I wouldn’t expect adults to get a whole lot of entertainment out of it.

The film moves at a fast pace, which makes it easy to digest at least. There’s also some nice guest voice work from the likes of Simon Pegg, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig and Jane Lynch that will perk your ears up for a few seconds, even though in most cases they’re talents are wasted. And I do enjoy the character of Scrat, whose corny romance is the one dependably enjoyable recurring segment of the movie, reminiscent of the sorely missed Looney Tunes-style shorts.

ICE AGE 3 isn’t a horrible movie; it just doesn’t seem to be aspiring to be actually good. I made the mistake of rewatching UP the night before this movie and it only made its flaws more evident.

Video: 1.85:1 widescreen. At least the film looks incredible. The range of colors are vibrant and clear and I didn’t notice any flaws in the transfer. A perfect film for showing off high-definition.

Audio: 7.1 DTS-HD surround. Fantastic. All the action sound effects and quickfire banter are well preserved and presented in this great track.

You have your choice between Blu-Ray, DVD and a Digital Copy. The Blu-Ray boasts all the special features (the DVD only has the commentary) and is obviously geared towards the children.

Filmmaker Commentary: Director Carlos Saldanha and other various crew members discuss the making of the film in detail, with a few lighthearted anecdotes, but nothing that makes it really worth listening for the average viewer.

ICE AGE Storybook Maker: This activity feature for kids lets you use screenshots to create your own ICE AGE book, complete with your own story. It’s commendable they’re trying to put something more educational on a DVD, but I just don’t see a young kid (the target audience for this sort of thing) sitting down and actually making a storybook using a remote control.

Evolution Expedition: Learn about some of the actual animals that are featured in the movie, including a trip to the La Brea Tar Pits. I’m not a kid, but I still thought some of this was cool.

Buck: From Easel to Weasel and Falling for Scratte: Two short pieces on the creation of the film’s two newest characters, one of which (Buck) is voiced by the great Simon Pegg.

Unearthing the Lost World: A look at the dino-filled underground oasis and what the filmmakers went through to come up with it.

Deleted Scenes: There’s only two presented in storyboard format and neither were that interesting. Skip it.

Fox Movie Channel presents Making a Scene: These two featurettes are your standard behind the scenes pieces with talking heads and a quick tour through production from start to finish. Kind of bland, but kids might enjoy an intro in to the world of animated filmmaking.

Fox Movie Channel presents In Character: Three interviews with John Leguizamo, Ray Romano and Queen Latifah. (Yes, you read that right, no Simon Pegg!) All three seem ecstatic about their easy paychecks, I mean franchise.

Scrat Pack: This section is made up of different segments, including two shorts featuring Scrat, all of which are pretty entertaining. There are also a featurettes with the character, including one that shows you how to draw him. Kids will love it.

“Walk the Dinosaur” Music Video: Queen Latifah went from rapper to this. Wow.

There are also some Trailers and BD-Live material.

I’m going to be completely honest. I fell asleep half an hour in to ICE AGE 3 and woke up 45 minutes later as the film was winding down. And even though I missed the entire second act, within 30 seconds I could pretty much tell everything that had happened and was going to happen. And when I went back to rewatch the parts I missed, I was almost entirely right. ICE AGE 3 is that generic and predictable. Kids will eat it up no doubt, (as they will most of the kid-centric bonus material on this Blu-Ray), but its quality is definitely not correlated to its box office success.

Extra Tidbit: Roger Ebert gave this 3 and a half stars. What’s going on with that dude lately?