I loved this film!

Rating: 10/10 (19 March 2002)

What I think is a testament to this animated film is the fact that I forgot it was an animated film while watching it.
The artwork is beautiful and captivating, but the antics and cameraderie of the cast are what take it to a higher level. The storyline is not unique, but how many films are these days? What is unique is how well the writer, producer, director and cast all work together.
Despite the superficial resemblance to "Three Men and a Baby," this is a buddy film in all respects. The characters continually play off each other in subtle ways lacking in such other films as "Monsters, Inc." and even "Shrek."
Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, and Denis Leary work so well together that it's hard to believe this was their first, joint project. The only flaw I found in this trio was Romano's voiceover of Manny (which was no different from his "Everybody Loves Raymond" character). As plain, bland, and easily recognizable as Ray's voice was, it was more than compensated by Leguizamo's quirky-sounding Sid and Leary's cool-cat rendition of Diego.
From the moment the movie begins, the gags flow fast and furious, thanks to the addition of the adorable Scrat (voiceover by Director, Chris Wedge). Scrat is the Pleistocene's answer to Wile E. Coyote, but much funnier. There are other throwbacks to previous animated fare (such as Tarzan and Lion King), but, for the most part, Ice Age avoids the strictly formulaic approach to toon films that Hollywood seems to lazily adopt. Sure, there are those intentionally sentimental moments you have come to expect in every Disney film ever made. Yet, they are not so weighty as to put a drag on the comic continuity of the film.
There are also moments in the film where you can see homage being paid to the great animator and gagster, Fred Avery, as when all the characters make their imprint on a snow bank as they crash into it at high speed.
This is a film that has something for all age groups. It has silly toon humor for the kidlets, and sly innuendoes for the adults. I cannot wait to see it again.