A blast for folks of all ages

Rating: Null/10 (22 October 2002)

My expectations for ICE AGE were not great; after the pretty uninspired trailer, I rented the movie primarily for the kids. But then I always say that, and much like TOY STORY before it, ICE AGE is much more than a film that's just for the nippers. Indeed, it's a charming, heartfelt tale that will appeal to people of all ages. The animation is outstanding, and ICE AGE is yet another example of the shift within the genre away from the painstakingly hand drawn, classic Disney cartoons of old to the modern, computer-assisted animated features of today. (Although the work in animated flicks such as ICE AGE is no less impressive. Check out the DVD behind the scenes features for an eye-opening look at the  ahem  mammoth' task involved in bringing such a project to life.)
Set 20,000 years previously in the midst of an Ice Age, the film opens with a look at the most amusing character in the movie: Scrat, the sabre-toothed squirrel. Poor Scrat wants nothing more than to bury an acorn, his food source for the winter, and throughout the film we're treated to his exploits as he attempts to do this supposedly simple task. Yet, no matter what he does, no matter how hard he tries, he is continuously foiled by the elements, his fellow beasts, or just plain bad luck. Scrat is a hilarious creation and his scenes are the highlight of the entire movie. (Scrat, incidentally, is voiced'  a series of screeches, grunts and screams  by ICE AGE director Chris Wedge. Make sure you check out the extra Scrat animated short on the DVD  it's the best of the lot.)
The true story of ICE AGE centres on the tale of three unlikely friends: Manfred (Ray Romano), an enormous mammoth who decides that, unlike the rest of the world, he'll migrate North this winter; Sid, a lazy, good-for-nothing sloth who talks a mile-a-minute (voiced by the hilarious John Leguizamo); and Diego (Dennis Leary), a fierce, sly sabre-toothed tiger who doesn't tolerate fools  or anyone else  lightly. The trio are brought together by the discovery of a human baby. Sid decides that the right thing to do is to return the child to its father, and talks the reluctant Manfred around. Diego's motives are more sinister  his secret mission is to return the child to his pack.
The story progresses as the three battle increasingly harsh conditions, including snowstorms, wind, volcanoes, a theme park inspired ice-ride through a cave, and more, as they move on towards their destiny. Along the way they become closer to each other and to the man-child, particularly the confused Diego, who begins to question his motives. Manfred, meantime, battles with inner demons about his own feelings towards mankind, while the upbeat Sid blunders in regardless of the dangers around him.

The principle cast of ICE AGE provide a significant amount of character in their respective parts. In particular, John Leguizamo's Sid is very funny indeed, and the extra on the DVD that shows us how Leguizamo came up with Sid's very unique, toothsome voice, is worth the price of the DVD alone. In his other work, Ray Romano, a massive star in the U.S. thanks to his EVERYONE LOVES RAYMOND series, but a virtual unknown outside of the States, isn't as funny as he thinks he is. But his nasally, thick voice is perfectly suited to the gruff, no B.S. Manfred. Denis Leary is always good value, and his sixty-a-day croak of a voice is ideal for the sly Diego. As stated above, however, it is the priceless Scrat that steals ICE AGE.
Beautiful animation is almost a prerequisite nowadays; if a movie cannot deliver in that sense, it's almost a failure irrespective of the quality of the story (i.e., POKEMON). ICE AGE has some of the best quality work you will see. The team behind the animation talked of their desire to replicate the work of Chuck Jones ROADRUNNER style of animation  that being, simply, sketched backgrounds with the focus on detail applied completely to the characters in the foreground. Whilst the background detail is a million miles above that seen in Jones' classic work, the ICE AGE team have succeeded in making the foreground so visually appealing that you'll hardly notice anything else. But you should, as some of the background scenery, particularly in long shot POV, is breathtaking.
But it's the animation on the main characters that you've paid to see and it doesn't disappoint  little things, like the attention paid to Manfred's eyes, the lone source of all of his emotion and feelings, are handled with the utmost in care and detail. Likewise Diego's smooth, graceful yet twitchy mannerisms beat that seen of the big cats in Disney's THE LION KING. Sid, of the three main leads, steals the show with his endless repartee and exaggerated goofiness, and that's mostly thanks to Leguizamo, who clearly had a blast with the character.
The movie is somewhat predictable, but don't let that spoil your enjoyment. It's enormous fun. As I said, I came in expecting little cause of the poor trailer but had a blast. Which is a very good sign.
To conclude, this falls just short of the overall quality of TOY STORY or TOY STORY 2 but is miles better than any Disney film post THE LION KING. If you have kids, this is highly recommended, but also give it a look yourself. And the DVD is a must buy if you have already seen and enjoyed the film.
Rating: **** (out of five)
DVD Review: So much! Hours and hours of extra animated clips, deleted scenes, behind the scenes, commentaries, etc. So much that you'd do well to buy this DVD if you had an interest in getting into computer animation  it's that thorough, and they provide that much background detail. Highly recommended.
DVD: ***** (out of five)