SINGAPORE : They say third time's the charm. For someone who enjoyed the first two instalments of the hugely popular animated franchise but didn't think it warranted yet another outing, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the old adage rings true with "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs".

Neurotic woolly mammoth Manny (Ray Romano), lovably goofy sloth Sid (John Leguizamo) and sabre-tooth softie Diego (Denis Leary) are back in full impressive animation glory - this time in 3D-definition sharpness.

Cleverly keeping the well-paced story bubbling along within a snappy 93 minutes, everyone's favourite prehistoric trio's new adventure has Manny preoccupied by mate Ellie's (Queen Latifah) impending birth of their first child; Diego feeling the need to take off on his own to regain his lost edge; and Sid adopting some dinosaur eggs to raise as his own.

Which, of course, inevitably leads to a rescue-adventure to a lush land beneath the ice (and the animators' opportunity to go crazy with colour) when Mama Dino comes to reclaim her kids and takes the silly sloth along with her.

Superb inventive animation aside, the voices (particularly Leguizamo's) are, as before, effectively spot on, with new addition Simon Pegg as the hilarious, scene-stealing one-eyed weasel Buck.

Adding a love interest for the long-suffering Scrat to contend for his beloved acorn rejuvenates the long-running side-joke, but the overall plot doesn't scream originality.

And as nice a touch having it in 3D, one wonders if it was necessary at all.

That said, this is a warm-hearted family outing that has the right mix of humour and memorable one-liners that will engage both adults and kids alike, keeping everyone entertained enough to not have to explain in depth why the "Ice Age" never ends.

- TODAY/yb