Slapstick, heart, and more laughs than I've had in a while

Rating: 9/10 (27 March 2002)

Having been disappointed by the overrated Shrek, I was delighted to find the fun and whimsy in Ice Age that's been missing in recent films, particularly animated ones. Yes, there are moments, particularly at the beginning, that feel somewhat cliche, but how many ways are there to kick off a journey picture? The characters are strong, the voice acting is excellent, and the plot far more emotion-driven than one would expect from the previews. That being said, the reason I love this picture is the slapstick. It features, in the form of a bizarrely shaped buck-toothed squirrel and his eternal crusade to bury a nut, one of the most original and hysterically funny opening sequences and running gags I've ever seen. Watching Ice Age is like watching an hour and a half of Shrek's Gingerbread Man. I have not laughed this hard in a movie theatre in an extremely long time, and I'd recommend Ice Age to anyone of any age. Nothing too scary for little kids or too intense for the older crowd and enough wit and heart for everyone in between.