About the Soundtrack: I'm not sure how it was decided that the score for Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs should have been sliced and diced the way it was, but in the end, there were 44 tracks that appeared on this release. Wow. While this is perhaps not that big of a deal for folks who buy this score via a physical CD, it is a bit of a chore for those of us who bought it online. You see, the gaps in between each of the cues need to be calibrated so that the majority of the tracks transition directly into the next one without pause. On my the disc I burned on iTunes, the flow is interrupted regularly and it really did throw me off a bit. That said, this is a marvelous and exciting score from John Powell, hence, I'll probably go back out an engineer this thing to flow the right way.

What You Need to Know:  As I hope most of you know by now, John Powell is an extremely, EXTREMELY talented composer. I find myself continually impressed with nearly every outing of his. For this engagement, Ice Age 3 is as ambitious a score that I've heard from him, though one wouldn't expect such a grandiose effort from a campy 3D animated film such as this. Ironically, this is a complex score yet it's easy to digest. Between he, Thomas Newman, and Michael Giacchino, musical scores for films of this nature are becoming more and more sophisticated and it's a trend I welcome.

Ice Age 3 takes a bit of time to achieve its greatness, but like with most Powell scores, he heats up later in the game, so to speak. I tend to believe his style, which is at times complex, builds its way to something substantial later in his scores and these payoffs are usually worth the wait. On here, Powell's knack for energetic, thematic motifs find a graceful medium through Ice Age's campy underscore. It is important to note, however, that the music never strays toward all out silliness; this is a soundtrack that, in essence, is scored straight with touches of humor sprinkled atop it. It's a merry, captivating approach! There's even Holst-inspired statement near the end of the score that reminded me of the Jupiter movement from Gustav's. The Planets.

Though there is a good enough flow to the music early on, where Ice Age 3 truly takes off is from track 22 onward. There are sequences of music that are simply exceptional, full of blistering notes and rousing melodic statements. I marveled at the short bursts of energy intermixed with the light, humorous interludes. I also chuckled at the ominous notes that represented the dangerous predicaments and foes from this film. This score evolved into a completely engrossing experience and it became clear to me that even 44 tracks were not enough! And speaking of the track total...

As I eluded to in my intro, there is an odd structure to this soundtrack. I do know that there are segments of music that need to be short, quick bursts to accompany some of the fast-paced scenes, but having this score spill out into 44 tracks is unacceptable. I especially find it to be ridiculous for listeners who bought the soundtrack online and are forced to engineer the score to the specs of the physical release. What makes this all the more stupefying is that some of the cues could have converged to a singular tracks without any sweat at all. Just an odd circumstance that you should be wary of. Besides that, there should be nothing holding you back from this score...it's one of the better soundtracks of 2009.

Final Score: John Powell heats up the Ice Age with a spectacular effort for, Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Powell's work bests much of what you've heard from the animated films in 2009 thus far and stands up as a supremely entertaining effort that I am sure you'll appreciate.