Scrat steals the show. Everything else is just fine.

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2009)

My Take: Nowhere near SHREK on the level of craftsmanship, but amusing and energetic enough.
ICE AGE may not be a much for SHREK nor TOY STORY 2, but with fine characters, an appealing (of somewhat familiar) story and terrific animation (fur has never been this accurate), ICE AGE earns its place in the animation milestone. A trio of Pleistocene critters including Manny the moody Mammoth (voiced by Ray Romano), a talkative sloth named Sid (John Leguizamo) and a shady sabertooth tiger named Diego (Denis Leary) come together when they come across a baby Neanderthal whom they plan to bring back to his tribe. While on the other hand, Diego's pack of hungry sabers, led by its vengeful leader (Goran Visnjic), look on the little human as a snack (while also looking at the mammoth as a little bonus).
There's really not much of a story, partly being the main plot itself has already been done on MONSTER'S INC., released almost the same time as this film. Basically, it's just an environment-hopping adventure moving from one place to another, encountering critter (a pair of grumpy rhinos) to critter (a flock of dimwitted dodos who plan the biggest hibernation of their lives, with a stock of only three melons). The animation is fairly well, with the computerized fur almost nearing its perfection. The comedy is surprisingly sharp, with great help from the always reliable Ray Romano on the helm. ICE AGE is yet to be on the level of SHREK or other competitions, but it's a fine start for (hopefully) great things to come.
Rating: **** out of 5.