The first movie, 2002’s "Ice Age," was definitely the best. The second, 2006’s "Ice Age: The Meltdown," was cute, and this one is cute, too. They just seem to be losing their steam. But the animation continues to be fantastic, with every snowflake and furry animal popping off the screen at you. 

This third movie, released on DVD and Blu-ray Oct. 27, 2009, finds Manny (Ray Romano) and Ellie (Queen Latifah) preparing to have a baby Mammoth. Manny is nesting big-time, creating a beautiful little playground full of ice-figure mobiles, play structures, and teeter-totters.

It leaves Sid (John Leguizamo) wishing for a family of his own, and he gets just that when he stumbles upon a trio of large eggs. He doesn’t realize they’re dinosaur eggs, and their mom wants them back.

More after the jump…

Diego (Denis Leary) has his own issues. With all this family planning going on, he feels like he’s losing his touch in the wild. He can’t even chase after a nimble gazelle without gasping for breath.

When Sid accidentally falls into a strange underground world full of lush tropical foliage and creatures of every shape and size, the rest of the gang heads down to try and rescue him. They get some help from a one-eyed weasel named Buck (Simon Pegg) who’s like an animal version of Crocodile Dundee. 

The journey puts the group in grave danger, especially Ellie, who’s just about ready to have that baby Mammoth.

Of course, we can’t forget Scrat (Chris Wedge), who’s still on the hunt to grab and hold onto that elusive acorn. But that dream is seriously hindered by the appearance of a female sabre-toothed squirrel named Scratte. 

This movie is cute as all get-out, and the storyline moves along fairly well. But there’s not a lot of new ground here (well, aside from the lush new ground beneath the ice floes). If you have kids in the 5- to 8-year-old range who like cute, animated movies, this is a good choice.

NOTE TO PARENTS: The violence is mainly cartoonish, with Scrat’s quest to get the acorn and a few close calls from other characters (a gazelle being chased, but not caught and eaten). Some of the dinosaurs are pretty scary, but for the most part, they don’t inflict any real damage on any characters.  Sexual innuendoes are limited to Scrat and his new love interest, as well as Manny and Ellie acting sweet towards each other. In one scene, Sid tries to milk an animal that turns out to be male, and in another scene, he thinks a baby mammoth is a boy until Diego says, "That’s a tail." Language includes mild insults, usually directed at Sid, as well as "poop" and "barf."

DVD Bonus Features:

• Trailer: Alvin and the Chipmunks:The Squeakquel
• Trailer: Percy Jackson 
• Trailer: Aliens In The Attic
• Trailer: Night At The Museum 2
• Trailer: Glee
• Filmmaker Commentary
• Marley Meets Purina Puppy Chow

Photo Credit: Blue Sky Studios, TM and © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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The studio is pairing up with Electronic Arts to turn “Spore” into an animated feature film, with “Ice Age” director Chris Wedge attached to helm. Greg Erb and Jason Oremland, who also penned the upcoming “The Princess and the Frog” and “The Return of King Doug” are writing the screenplay.

Released in September 2008, “Spore” the video game lets players create their own creatures and interact with other creatures in a Spore universe. "I’m always looking for unique worlds to go to in animation," Wedge told Variety. "From every perspective — visually, thematically and comedically — the world of ‘Spore’ provides the potential to put something truly original on the screen."

Maybe so, but since most people probably aren’t familiar with the game, I wonder if it has enough of a built-in audience who will flock to theaters. A lot of it will depend on who they get to voice the characters; hopefully, we’ll see some new voices rather than the standard Ben Stiller, Wanda Sykes, Kiefer Sutherland fare.

Image: Amazon.com

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Movie: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs * Trailer * Official Site	In Theaters: Sept. 18, 2009
Runtime: 90 minutes	Directed by: Phil Lord
MPAA Rating: PG for brief mild language	Gecko Rating:

Based on the popular children’s book by Ron and Judy Barrett, “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” is a cute movie, but rather forgettable in the big scheme of things.  The graphics and animation are interesting, not to mention the idea of being able to order up whatever food you want and have giant amounts of it fall from the sky. So there’s that. But truth be told, it was more boring than I thought it would be.

Despite the impressive voice cast, there’s really only a couple of voices you’ll probably recognize. Mark Mothersbaugh, the lead singer of Devo, is the composer, but I never would have known that unless I looked at the credits. The music seemed somewhat canned.

The story follows a kid named Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader), who’s always been sort of a misfit. He’s a nerd who’d rather spend time in his makeshift lab inventing things than develop relationships with people. The kids at school make fun of him, and his bushy-browed dad (James Caan) would rather he work in his bait shop than on all his goofy inventions. Flint’s mom is more encouraging, but she passes away when he’s a kid, so he’s left to his own devices, so to speak.

Meanwhile, the town of Chew and Swallow is surviving on a steady diet of sardines, so Flint spends his time working on a device that will create food out of water. It isn’t going well, and Flint suffers through many embarrassing defeats. But the town makes news when his invention actually begins working, and an ambitious young weather girl named Sam Sparks (Anna Faris) is there to document it. If you saw “The House Bunny,” you’ll recognize her voice. She has just the right voice for a cartoon character – fun and enthusiastic.

Turns out that Sam is a nerd just like Flint, only she doesn’t want anyone to know it, so she hides her true self in order to make it as a weather girl. But she’s fearless and ready to help her new friend when his invention goes horribly wrong. It’s an adventure that takes them into space!

Other voices include Andy Samberg as Baby Brent, a bullying kid who has a change of heart; Bruce Campbell as Mayor Shelbourne; Mr. T. as Earl Devereaux, an over-enthusiastic cop; as well as Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris, Al Roker, and Lauren Graham.

The best part of this movie is the creative ways food can be, well, created. Cheeseburgers fall from the sky, kids have snowball fights with ice cream, and Gummi Bears frolic like so many cute creatures. One of the best scenes is when Flint creates a giant Jello mold for Sam, who loves Jello, and the two make a giant bounce-house out of it.

But things quickly get out of control, as the machine starts making bigger and bigger food, until one pancake covers the entire school (the kids don’t mind). So action has to be taken, and a crew heads for space, where they encounter jagged peanut brittle (Sam’s allergic) and zombie-like chickens out to get them.

I would say to read the book instead, as it offers more bang for your food buck, but this movie is ok-fun, especially for kids in the 5- to 9-year-old age range. It’s offered in both 3D and conventional formats. I saw the conventional, although I would imagine this might be one of the rare movies that is actually better for being in 3D.

Note to Parents: Most of the PG rating comes from language such as “jerk,” “knuckle scrapers,” and “stupid,” as well as “hell hole.” There’s some flirting, and a kiss plays into the storyline throughout the movie. Violence includes a “perfect food storm” which threatens to wipe out Chew and Swallow, as well as other cities. Some peril involving a trip into the clouds to stop the storm, including Flint being lowered into a cavern by a string of licorice, as Sam tries to avoid being stuck by brittle (but fails, sending her into anaphylactic shock until she receives a shot). Flint creates “rat-birds,” which are creepy but don’t hurt anyone.

Image: Sony Pictures Animation

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The big screen version of Ron and Judi Barrett’s classic children’s book features the voices of Anna Faris, Bruce Campbell, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, James Caan, Tracy Morgan, and Mr. T. Looks like good fun! Check out the trailer here, and watch the stars on the red carpet. 

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Movie: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs * Trailer * Official Site	In Theaters: July 1, 2009
Runtime: 94 minutes	Directed by: Carlos Saldanha
MPAA Rating: PG for some mild rude humor and peril	Gecko Rating:

They’ve really mined everything they can out of these "Ice Age" movies, haven’t they? That’s not to say they’re not cute and fun and all that stuff. Just that maybe they’ve come to the end of the line on these particular characters and stories. Then again, they’ve added a few new characters in this movie, and let’s face it, they’re just at the dawn of the dinosaurs, which means this franchise could go on into infinity.

The first movie, 2002’s "Ice Age," was definitely the best. The second, 2006’s "Ice Age: The Meltdown," was cute, and this one is cute, too. They just seem to be losing their steam. But the animation continues to be fantastic, with every snowflake and furry animal popping off the screen at you (the 3D animation helps, too). 

This third movie finds Manny (Ray Romano) and Ellie (Queen Latifah) preparing to have a baby Mammoth. Manny is nesting big-time, creating a beautiful little playground full of ice-figure mobiles, play structures, and teeter-totters.

It leaves Sid (John Leguizamo) wishing for a family of his own, and he gets just that when he stumbles upon a trio of large eggs. He doesn’t realize they’re dinosaur eggs, and their mom wants them back.

Diego (Denis Leary) has his own issues. With all this family planning going on, he feels like he’s losing his touch in the wild. He can’t even chase after a nimble gazelle without gasping for breath.

When Sid accidentally falls into a strange underground world full of lush tropical foliage and creatures of every shape and size, the rest of the gang heads down to try and rescue him. They get some help from a one-eyed weasel named Buck (Simon Pegg) who’s like an animal version of Crocodile Dundee. 

The journey puts the group in grave danger, especially Ellie, who’s just about ready to have that baby Mammoth.

Of course, we can’t forget Scrat (Chris Wedge), who’s still on the hunt to grab and hold onto that elusive acorn. But that dream is seriously hindered by the appearance of a female sabre-toothed squirrel named Scratte. 

This movie is cute as all get-out, and the storyline moves along fairly well. But there’s not a lot of new ground here (well, aside from the lush new ground beneath the ice floes). It probably could have gone straight to DVD, but if you have kids in the 5- to 8-year-old range who like cute, animated movies, this is a good choice.

NOTE TO PARENTS: The violence is mainly cartoonish, with Scrat’s quest to get the acorn and a few close calls from other characters (a gazelle being chased, but not caught and eaten). Some of the dinosaurs are pretty scary, but for the most part, they don’t inflict any real damage on any characters.  Sexual innuendoes are limited to Scrat and his new love interest, as well as Manny and Ellie acting sweet towards each other. In one scene, Sid tries to milk an animal that turns out to be male, and in another scene, he thinks a baby mammoth is a boy until Diego says, "That’s a tail." Language includes mild insults, usually directed at Sid, as well as "poop" and "barf."

Photo Credit: Blue Sky Studios, TM and © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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The animated big screen version hits theaters Sept. 18, 2009, and features the voices of Anna Faris, Bruce Campbell, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, James Caan, Tracy Morgan, and Mr. T. Yes, Mr. T! It’s directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who’ve done some episodes of “How I Met Your Mother” and other TV shows and a few movies.

The official site doesn’t give a lot of clues about the story, other than the raining-food part, but it still looks cute as all get out. And of course, on the site you’ll find fun downloads and games, like 3D Food Fight, Stump the Monkey, and Sticker Studio. Here’s the trailer playing in theaters right now:

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Directed by Ron Clements, the Disney romance features the voices of Terrence Howard, John Goodman, Keith David, and Oprah Winfrey. It’ll hit theaters just in time for Christmas, on Dec. 11, 2009.

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Gecko Rating:

There’s really only so much you can do with a kids’ movie these days. There’s usually an evil guy, a main character with issues, some kooky supporting characters, and a big crisis that needs to be stopped.

"Monsters vs. Aliens" has all of these elements, but what puts it a notch above most kids’ movies is the animation. The movie is offered in both 3D and regular versions. I saw the 3D version, and while most 3D movies don’t measure up, this one did. The filmmakers really made good use of the 3D, with balls (and sometimes slime) being thrown at the audience, planets swirling about, and an alien spacecraft filled with all manner of cool techie stuff.

The story follows Susan (voiced wonderfully by Reese Witherspoon), a girl who’s about to be married. In fact, the first scenes are at the church where she’s to be married to a self-involved TV weather guy, Derek (Paul Rudd). But outside the church, a giant mass hurtles towards her from space, and later at the alter, Susan starts to emit a greenish glow.

A few seconds later, she grows in size to nearly 50 feet, crashing through the church roof and scattering the wedding goers everywhere. The government immediately shows up, capturing Susan – now known as Ginormica – and locking her up in a secret facility where other monsters also reside, including a blue blobby guy named B.O.B. (Seth Rogen), the techie Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie), and a big furry guy named The Missing Link (Will Arnett).

When an evil alien named Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson) invades Earth with a giant robot, the government, including President Hathaway (Stephen Colbert) and General Monger (Kiefer Sutherland), realize they don’t have the forces to defeat it alone. So they call upon the quartet of monsters to stop the invasion and put things right again.

The story takes place in California, and one of my favorite scenes occurs on the Golden Gate Bridge, where Susan and the monsters must try and save motorists from falling to their doom because of the alien robot. The animation in this scene was top-notch down to each little detail, from Susan realizing her newfound strength to the peril involving the collapsing bridge. I got a little anxious during this scene!

Aside from the awesome animation throughout the movie, I also loved the growth of Susan. I’m not talking about her growth to nearly 50 feet. I’m talking about her growth as a woman. She realizes that she doesn’t need to rely on a man for her happiness, and that’s a great message to send to young girls.

At first, she’s depressed over the fact that she’s now ginormous, but she soon realizes how wonderful her new monster friends are, as well as what she has to offer the world with her new size. Maybe this is a little philosophical, but we get thrown a lot of curveballs in life, and the best thing to do is just move forward and work with what you’ve got. Sometimes, it’s a lot better than what you’ve lost. Thus ends the philosophical portion of this review.

My other favorite character is B.O.B. When he’s not falling in love with green Jello, B.O.B. has the ability to absorb things and humans, then spit them back out again unharmed. Voiced by Seth Rogen – who has the nerdiest laugh in the world – this character really jumped off the screen at me.

Note to Parents: The story includes a lot of peril, including the aforementioned bridge scene, the monsters being locked up (though you don’t feel like they’re being tortured or anything), the scene where Susan is captured at the wedding, and the government forces dispatched with heavy artillery at every turn. For this reason, I don’t recommend it for very small kids, but it’s ok for kids 7 and older.

Photo credit: Monsters vs. Aliens ™ & © 2009 DreamWorks Animation LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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