Ice Age Reviews

I think too many people compare this to Monsters' Inc and Shrek in terms of animation quality. I also think that this film would have been a lot more successful, had it not been released too soon to Monsters' Inc. I thought it was a well-written film and in some case sweet too. The animation is spot on, and when I saw it at the cinema, the whole room were in hysterics in the first five minutes, because of Scrat, who was one of the funnier characters. The voice work is highly commendable, especially Ray Romano as Manny and Denis Leary as Diego. John Leguizamo has his moments as Sid. The script was well written, very funny, but sometimes especially towards the end, when the humour could have been more focused. I actually liked the sentimentality brought into the story. The baby, is one of those characters you love or hate, I warmed to him, but i never empathised with him. Although, I was really moved by the bit where Manny is seen staring at the drawing with the hunters killing mammoths. Anyway, the music score was perfect. All in all, a funny and sometimes touching picture, that had a tendency to get a bit slow, but overall this is misjudged by people. 8/10 Bethany Cox

I remember watching this movie when I was 10 years old. I loved it. I never watched the next 4 Ice Age movies because I know that the original movie was a classic. Giving this film a 10/10!

Seriously, who would have expected 'Ice age' to become one of the biggest franchises ever made ? Indeed, it has become so huge that only 'Shrek' has been more successful among the animated features. To be honest, I don't think I really cared for any of the sequels but this first installment was actually pretty neat. If I recall it correctly, I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released at the time. Back then, it was a surprise success at the box-office and Blue Sky was the first company which seemed to be able to challenge the 2 giants Pixar and DreamWorks animation. Sure, 10 years later, the animation seems a little bit outdated but I still like its minimalistic charm. Concerning the plot and the characters, it was actually quite generic but still entertaining enough. Eventually, the real masterstroke was really Scrat. Indeed, this sabre-toothed squirrel was just hilarious and it is thanks to him that the whole thing really stood out from the rest of the competition. To conclude, even though I don't think it is really something amazing, it is still a really solid animated feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

In the animation field, Pixar, Disney & Dreamworks all triggered their success after their very first film itself. This can also be said of Blue Sky Studios. Unfortunately, this was the only film I liked by this studio but I did also enjoy Robots and, to some extend, the Ice Age sequel. The animation is very gorgeous and the storyline, simple as it may seem, is very touching and moralistic. Expert viewers may notice several similarities between this and Monsters, Inc. and/or The Lion King.

Opening off with arguably one of the best cartoon characters, Scrat, we are quickly thrown into the real storyline and from there, I think this line would be appropriate, the laughs just snowballs. With a rather impressive voice-over (check out Ray Romano, Jon Leguizamo & Goran Visnjic) and excellent pop-culture references (seriously, the part where Pinky gives a Vulcan salute to the spaceship), Ice Age is here to stay for a long time and very well could be the Three Musketeers of our generation. Like I said above, it's also very touchy and it gives you no reason to dislike the film. All in all, this film is fun to watch and is very easy to swallow and if you're a fan of simple settings, great dialogues and close friendships, then this film is not to be missed!

8.3/10

I don't know about you guys, but we are the weirdest herd I've ever seen.

Amen to that. But thank God that this herd is also the funniest herd in existence. You may not go for cartoons which involve talking mammals, and if you ever have the folly to decide to skip this film, then it's your loss. :p
The film starts with a prehistoric rat named Scrat (I reckon he's a cross between a squirrel and a rat) running after an acorn. His efforts result in a huge crack on the side of the mountain, and he his catapulted through the air and in the path of migrating mammals. Although most of the animals are headed south, one woolly mammoth by the name of Manfred (voiced by Romano) is headed in the opposite direction. Another mammal, a sloth named Sid (voiced by Leguizamo), suddenly wakes up to find that his entire family has left him... for the umpteenth time. After messing up the salad of two rhinos, Sid frantically bumps into Manfred and asks for help. Manfred refuses at first, but when the rhinos confront him, he has no choice but to defend himself. Sid and Manfred end up bickering the entire way (Sid hangs with Manfred - who we now know as Manny - mainly to serve as his protection from bigger, tougher predators). In another part of the area, a human and his family are savagely attacked by a group of sabertooth tigers led by the vengeful Soto (voiced by Visnjic). One of the tigers, Diego (voiced by Leary) is assigned to retrieve the baby of the human who killed half of their pack. When Diego is unable to get the baby (the mother jumps off a cliff in order to save her son), Soto orders Diego to get the baby no matter what the cost - unless he wants to be the one killed in place of the child. Diego immediately sets off to find the baby, but Manny and Sid find the kid first. After failing to convince the two that the baby belongs to him, Diego agrees to lead Manny and Sid to the other side of the pass, towards the human settlement. What the two don't know, however, is that Diego has sent word that he is bringing the baby along with a mammoth, and his pack prepares for the ambush. Along the way, the unlikely herd encounters wacky dodos, Scrat, explores an ice cave, and eventually form a close bond which ends in Diego defying his pack and saving Manny, Sid, and the baby.
Love this film. It's basically one of the most heart-warming animal-based films I've seen, and the funniest as well. Who would imagine a mammoth, sabertooth tiger, and a sloth teaming up together and forming one of the closest friendships in animal movie history? If you're into happy endings and laughs along the way, this film is definitely for you.

I am not a big fan of animated movies, but Ice Age was fun. I don't think I will ever understand Hollywood stars' obsession with bringing animated characters to life with their golden voices but what can I say, that's Hollywood egos for you.