"For a second there, I actually thought you were gonna eat me."

Rating: 7/10 (1 May 2005)

The computer animation revolution took off after Shrek broke box office records in 2001, prompting all studios to produce their own pop culture rich computer animated features of their own. The first Fox Studios entry was this one, Ice Age, a funny movie following Manfred the Mammouth (Ray Romano) and Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) as they go the wrong way during the seasonal migration. Manfred has always been an outcast in this chilly society, and Sid just annoys everyone to the point that he's out there by himself as well. The plot takes off when Manfred and Sid find a baby human after saber-tooth tigers attack an early man settlement. Manfred and Sid decide to take the baby back to the humans. One problem is that one of the attacking saber-tooths, Diego (Denis Leary), travels with them, his motivations unclear. The movie follows the traveling party in mainly good cheer and with outstanding animation. The scene where the party slides through an ice shield is especially effective. Ice Age is a good movie that has funny moments, lead mostly through the comedic chemistry that exists between Romana, Leguizamo, and Leary. However, when compared to the Shrek movies, the overall laugh-out-loud humor just does not measure up. However, that is not to say Ice Age is a bad movie, it's just not as good as the contemporary gold standards. The animation, however, is top notch, even the humans, though have their own style, look good enough to do well. Ice Age is quality entertainment, just not to the level of Shrek.