When I ask you to think of great animation studios I’m sure you’ll think of Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, maybe Sony Pictures Animation & Warner Animation depending on your age, and if you’re really cool you’ll bust out the short lived but incredibly talented Fox Animation Studios. There are loads to choose from and they’re all really good at what they do but one that often slips people’s minds is Blue Sky Animation. You might say, who the hell is Blue Sky? Well, they only went and made Ice Age.
Ice Age sees Sid, a sloth of little intelligence cross paths with Manny the mammoth, who unlike the rest of the animals is heading towards the encroaching blizzard in the hopes of finally getting the solitude he desperately seeks. Unfortunately due to Sid’s inability to be anything other than a pain the backside, the duo end up stuck together as Sid comes to terms with his abandonment issues. The two stumble across a young human boy who has been separated from his colony and so set about to take him back. But when Diego, a sabretooth tiger, insists that he knows where the boy came from and how to track down the humans before they cross a point of no return, Manny & Sid realise they must trust Diego, despite his intentions being less genuine than they seem, in order to track down the humans before it’s too late.
Ice Age sees Sid, a sloth of little intelligence cross paths with Manny the mammoth, who unlike the rest of the animals is heading towards the encroaching blizzard in the hopes of finally getting the solitude he desperately seeks. Unfortunately due to Sid’s inability to be anything other than a pain the backside, the duo end up stuck together as Sid comes to terms with his abandonment issues. The two stumble across a young human boy who has been separated from his colony and so set about to take him back. But when Diego, a sabretooth tiger, insists that he knows where the boy came from and how to track down the humans before they cross a point of no return, Manny & Sid realise they must trust Diego, despite his intentions being less genuine than they seem, in order to track down the humans before it’s too late.
For me, Ice Age always reminds me of Christmas. It was something I remember watching every year when I was younger, and even now nearly twenty years later it’s still hilarious every time I re-watch it.
What really sets Ice Age apart from the rest of the crowd when looking at the early years of 3D CG animation (Toy Story, Shrek etc.) is the chemistry between the voice actors. Now sure both examples I gave also have great chemistry, but they pale in comparison to Ice Age. John Leguizamo is incredible as Sid and proves to be the butt of many jokes. Ray Romano is quick witted and brutally blunt as Manny. Whereas Denis Leary as Diego is clever, confident, and crafty in equal measure. The three achieve a perfect balance of what each joke needs, meaning that what starts as a throwaway visual gag has the ability to grow into an entire scene that mixes multiple different types of comedy ensuring the laughs are always coming from places you don’t expect, and just keep rolling until you’ve got tears in your eyes and your sides hurt.
Add to this the occasional scene with Scrat the squirrel that tend to exist as non-sequiturs to allow the main story a moment to breathe and Ice Age really does have something for everybody in terms of comedy.
The animation quality for the time is also pretty good, on par with Dreamworks at least. So whilst you won’t get many of the technological advances that Pixar were making around the same time such as realistic looking fur in Monsters Inc., or ground-breaking water physics in Finding Nemo; you do get some excellent facial animations, as well as some great depth of field work that was considerably ahead of its time.
Ice Age may not be one of the first films you think of when you think of early 3D CG animation, and its sequels certainly weren’t as memorable as the first film. But Ice Age is a film that in terms of its story and performances hasn’t aged a day. Nearly two decades later it’s still as fresh as the day it released; and whilst the animation has aged, it still holds up relatively well when compared to the standard for the time. I suggest it’s about time you returned to this forgotten classic!
What really sets Ice Age apart from the rest of the crowd when looking at the early years of 3D CG animation (Toy Story, Shrek etc.) is the chemistry between the voice actors. Now sure both examples I gave also have great chemistry, but they pale in comparison to Ice Age. John Leguizamo is incredible as Sid and proves to be the butt of many jokes. Ray Romano is quick witted and brutally blunt as Manny. Whereas Denis Leary as Diego is clever, confident, and crafty in equal measure. The three achieve a perfect balance of what each joke needs, meaning that what starts as a throwaway visual gag has the ability to grow into an entire scene that mixes multiple different types of comedy ensuring the laughs are always coming from places you don’t expect, and just keep rolling until you’ve got tears in your eyes and your sides hurt.
Add to this the occasional scene with Scrat the squirrel that tend to exist as non-sequiturs to allow the main story a moment to breathe and Ice Age really does have something for everybody in terms of comedy.
The animation quality for the time is also pretty good, on par with Dreamworks at least. So whilst you won’t get many of the technological advances that Pixar were making around the same time such as realistic looking fur in Monsters Inc., or ground-breaking water physics in Finding Nemo; you do get some excellent facial animations, as well as some great depth of field work that was considerably ahead of its time.
Ice Age may not be one of the first films you think of when you think of early 3D CG animation, and its sequels certainly weren’t as memorable as the first film. But Ice Age is a film that in terms of its story and performances hasn’t aged a day. Nearly two decades later it’s still as fresh as the day it released; and whilst the animation has aged, it still holds up relatively well when compared to the standard for the time. I suggest it’s about time you returned to this forgotten classic!