Age of the 'Blue Sky Studios'

Rating: 6/10 (25 December 2012)

'Ice Age' was the break which introduced Blue Sky Studios to the world; in other words it was their own lower class version of Pixar's 'Toy Story' and Dreamworks' 'Shrek'.
It cannot be compared to the original 'Toy Story' and 'Shrek' due to the fact they were and still are some of the finest movies to hit the big screen. They both have incredibly strong and likable story-lines as well as better characters with more developed personalities. However, 'Ice Age' is able to stand on its own two feet more than comfortably with numerous features such as its humour, its emotional presence and its strong visuals. Impressively, these fine features are consistent throughout the first three films although the fourth appears to be an anomaly in what was an entertaining franchise.
When Manny the mammoth (Ray Romano) makes an unlikely partnership with Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo), they attempt to return a lost child to its family. Sly sabre tooth Diego (Denis Leary) secretly pretends to join forces with the duo however his actual intentions appear to be with his herd.
As the audience, you will develop feelings for the characters and bond with them as the duration unfolds. Romano, Leguizamo and Leary provide fantastic voice works for the main trio of characters as they provide good on-screen chemistry as well as bags of enthusiasm.
Certainly one of the stronger animation collections out there, the original is awarded seven thumbs up!