Film
Ice Age
- Director
- Chris Wedge
- Certificate
- U
- Running Time
- 80 mins
When Fox put out the very first Ice Age teaser trailer in which unfortunate, snuffling scrat (part squirrel, part rat, all pent-up frustration) desperately attempted to bury his solitary nut before the big freeze, test audiences couldn’t get enough of the little fella. So his role was expanded to allow his ongoing nut misery to punctuate the film at regular intervals (make sure you stick around for the payoff after the story seems to have ended). Trouble is, it ends up looking like a brilliant animated short carved up and pasted on to a formulaic, moderately entertaining talking animal adventure.
https://youtu.be/SOFC3h7oZPU
Ice Age opens with a bunch of prehistoric beasts, including the curiously Aardman-esque tortoise-like Glyptodons and pig-like Trunkless Starts, setting off on their migration south as ice grips the landscape. Left behind is Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo), whose family abandoned him when he overslept but would probably have used any excuse to scarper without the lazy, annoying big-mouth. After a couple of scrapes, he attaches himself to reluctant, world-weary Manfred the mammoth (Ray Romano). Meanwhile, a pack of evil sabretooth tigers are pursuing a human infant, who is intercepted by the mismatched duo. When they decide to undertake the hazardous journey to return the brat to its parents, scheming sabretooth Diego (Denis Leary) offers to lead the way, intending to lead them into an ambush.
is needed now More than ever
Yes, it’s The Jungle Book on ice, but Oscar-winner (Best Animated Short for Bunny) Chris Wedge’s feature debut offers plenty of entertainment on its own limited terms. John Leguizamo’s wise-cracking sloth ain’t no talking donkey but he ably fulfils the comedy sidekick job description, bouncing plenty of funny lines off Ray Romano’s sarcastic mammoth. There are also occasional excellent interludes owing much to the frantic style of Chuck Jones, notably a flock of dodos who succeed in making themselves extinct through their own stupidity. (“Oh no! – there goes the last breeding female!”). The voice cast is well chosen, avoiding big names who might distract from the characters, while the animation wisely sidesteps the Pixar photo-realistic approach to offer a curious but mostly effective blend of 3D characters against 2D backdrops. Oh, and there’s a suitably uplifting message about the joys of collective organisation and the natural superiority of herbivores over carnivores.
Deckchair seating will be provided on a first come, first served basis for this We The Curious Big Screen event in Millennium Square, but you’re invited to bring along your own blankets/camping chairs/beanbags. Picnics are welcome too.
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