Iceberg Ahead!

Rating: 7/10 (30 March 2002)

From the realm of digital animation, this is a film that is geared to the younger set, but one that most adults will find pleasantly entertaining, as well. Heavy on visual humor, with a few one-liners thrown in for good measure, `Ice Age,' directed by Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge, is a fairly pedestrian, family comedy that is viewer friendly and has a heart as big as it's main character, who just happens to be a mammoth named Manfred.
It's the Ice Age, and the migration is on; but as the mammals begin to move, three very distinct individuals are about to be thrown together by circumstances of fate: Manfred the Mammoth (Ray Romano) insists on going against the tide of the migration movement (literally), and it brings him in touch with Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo), who awakens from his slothful slumber to find that he's been left behind by the other sloths. Meanwhile, a pack of Sabertooth Tigers, led by the ruthless Soto (Goran Visnjic), is about to exact revenge on the humans, the hunters he feels are responsible for the decimation of his pack. An attack is planned, with Soto especially intent on claiming a human baby as his prize. But during the attack, one of Soto's pack, Diego (Denis Leary), fails to prevent the baby's mother from escaping with her child. Outraged that the baby has escaped his grasp, Soto charges Diego with the task of locating the baby and bringing him back, alive. What Diego does not know, however, is that the baby has ended up in the care of one of the most unlikely duos imaginable, Manfred and Sid, who have joined forces in an attempt to locate the humans and return the baby to it's herd. When Diego realizes what has happened, he decides that his best shot at getting ahold of the baby is to join Manfred and Sid in their quest, which he does by convincing them that they need him-- a tracker by nature-- if they are to succeed in finding the humans, who are also on the move. And so they begin their journey, with Manfred and Sid unaware of the treachery at hand, lying hidden in their very midst.
Unlike other prominent films of this genre, such as `Shrek,' or even `Monster's Inc.,' `Ice Age' is not terrifically clever or witty; nor does it try to be. The strength of this film, in fact, lies in the very straightforward manner in which it is presented, and the filmmakers obviously made some very deliberate choices as to what they wanted to do with their film, and what exactly they wanted it to be. Rather than go for the hip and hilarious, they chose warm and funny-- and it works. There is some subtle humor, but for the most part the jokes are what they are; Saldanha and Wedge do not employ the double entendre, for example, so you don't have to go looking for what they're trying to say. It's a matter of what you see is what you get.
What they do give you are some engaging characters (especially Manfred and Sid) and a number of things that visually stimulate the funny bone, beginning with the hapless squirrel who mugs his way through the opening frames with a nut in tow (and who pops up occasionally throughout the film), whose bug-eyed looks and frantic antics are enough to start you chuckling and take you right on into some full-blown gales of laughter. And it's all tempered so that it never goes too far over the top into `Road Runner' type slapstick, relying instead on some imaginative touches (such as the stages of evolution of the sloth preserved frozen in ice, with Sid falling into frieze briefly at the end of the tableau) and a basic story that's involving enough to sustain interest.
Anyone familiar with the TV show `Everybody Loves Raymond' will know what to expect as far as the Manfred character, whom Ray Romano infuses with the same wry persona as his Raymond TV character. But Romano does it well, his Manfred is quite likable, and he even manages to create a couple of truly poignant moments with him. Simply put, he gives you a mammoth to whom you can actually relate. And that's a pretty good piece of acting.
As Sid, John Leguizamo gives a distinct voice to the film, creating a personality that definitely fits the wall-eyed looks of the sloth. Like Romano, Leguizamo has a unique comedic style, and the contrast between the two works beautifully for their respective characters and the way in which they play off of one another. And when you add Denis Leary to the mix-- which offers yet another distinct style of comedy (a bit more on the caustic side)-- the result is quite an interesting and diverse combination that in the end works extremely well. It should be noted, too, that Leary is comparatively subdued with his character, while Leguizamo gives a stream-of-consciousness type performance, though he manages to stay just this side of Robin Williams territory (which is a positive within the context of this film and this particular character). Most importantly, all three create characters that succeed in effectively telling the story, and they do it in a way that is not only inoffensive, but which enables the audience to embrace them, as well.
The supporting cast includes Jack Black (Zeke), Tara Strong (Roshan), Stephen Root (Rhino), Diedrich Bader (Saber-tooth Tiger) and Jane Krakowski (Jennifer the Sloth). Entertaining, feel-good family fare, `Ice Age' is guaranteed to put a smile on your face and provide you with a satisfying cinematic experience. And I dare not neglect to mention the educational significance of this film, too; I mean, where else are you going to find out what really happened to the Dodo Bird? It's the magic of the movies. I rate this one 7/10.