Excellent.

Rating: 10/10 (2 April 2002)

Ice Age is a wonderful film. The main characters are so lovable and developed (a rarity in film these days.) that you can't help but be engaged and totally absorbed in their adventures. The key to good film isn't plot, story or effects. It isn't even good animation. It's CHARACTER, and this film's got that in spades. There are also deep and emotional messages about family and friendship, morality and betrayal. Contrary to what you may read in some reviews, this film is not for little kids. It is totally adult in feel and execution, full of maturity and perspective. The humor is a great touch, even the "poop" humor, because it is dealt with in a sophisticated, adult way, not a Shrek-Ohh!-Someone farted!-That's so FUNNY!-way. I would know because I HATE childish "humor" like that. Movies like Dr. Dolittle 2 make me want to walk out. It ISN'T funny. It is just stupid and talks down to the audience as though we're all fourth graders. What IS funny is three Prehistoric beasts arguing about who is going to look at the "baby thing" the baby is wearing and be the "poop checker"... These are adult animals having to deal with a human baby, and that is just plain funny, especially when they conclude from it that "humans are disgusting." To put a scene like this even NEAR the immaturity of Shrek's is unbelievable. One is realistic and reflective, the other is just rubbish from some writer with a six year-old mentality. "Ice Age" is light years beyond Shrek in its approach to real themes like death, loss and sacrifice, and all of it is carried off with perfect results. There are a couple of very brief moments where the emotion is excessive, but it is so meaningful that this is hardly a complaint. The story is wonderful and, unlike other great films like The Lion King, the quality of the humor and emotion is uniform to the very end. I love this film because it is full of terrific dialogue.. The characters discuss everything with absolute honesty and realism, which rounds out all their personalities and provides lots of humor. I went into this movie thinking it was going to be awful-- (Hearing things like, "If you liked Shrek, you'll love Ice Age" only confirmed my dread.) I couldn't have been more wrong. Ice Age was amazing and moved me to laughter and tears, and I'm going to see it again today. If you're a big Shrek fan, you might not like Ice Age. But if you like an adult movie with a great, emotional story and rich characterization, I highly recommend "Ice Age."
My score: 9.8