Geez. I am really on the prehistoric movie beat as of late. If it's got cavemen or dinosaurs, I'm there.

This week's trip back in time is courtesy of "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs." (I saw the 2-D version of the film, though 3-D is available in Waterloo.)

"Ice Age" goes the "Journey to the Center of the Earth" route in its third installment, with our protagonists exploring a giant cavern under the ice containing a lush, tropical jungle filled with supposedly extinct dinosaurs.

Manny, a very pregnant Ellie, Diego and the two possums head off into this bizzarro world in search of Sid - abducted after adopting a trio of dinosaur eggs, of course.

Simon Pegg really lights up the movie with his off-the-wall turn as Buck, a weasel living in the underground jungle. He's the only mammal about, but he's a little nutters as a result; this, however, provides the needed carbonation to what could have been a stale serving of a tried-and-true formula.

You don't get a lot of zingers from an overprotective mammoth or his slightly less stiff wife; Sid says some stupid things, but they aren't always funny; and Diego is so given to wallowing in his own self-pity that he only cracks wise in the midst of action. Buck is around to say off-kilter things and generally push the other characters out of their comfort zones.

Overall, this isn't a Pixar-quality animated film. "Ice Age" seems like more of a child's movie than, say, "Wall-E" or "The Incredibles," which manage to strike a balance between adult humor and kid humor. That's not to say you'll snooze while the young ones laugh; I enjoyed it well enough.

Oh, and no worries - that cute little prehistoric squirrel thing that's always chasing after the acorn still pops in for a breather between scenes; somehow, it seems, his shtick never gets old.

'Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs'

Starring: Voices of Simon Pegg, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, John Leguizamo

Directors: Carlos Saldanha, Mike Thurmeier

Run time: 1 hour, 4 minutes

Rated: PG for some mild rude humor and peril

Now playing at: Crossroads, College Square, Waverly Palace

3.5 stars out of 5