Ice Age | Review

Delicious animated film is an enjoyable 90 minutes.

A long, long time ago, there was this man named Walt who created an empire through characters that were produced by the way of hand, pencil and paper. Today, with new technologies also known as: computer animation, big studios have decided to push the boundaries of a market that was formally referred to by many as- cartoons. With fabulous animated creations in films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit? & Toy Story, heavyweight studios such as DreamWorks and 20th Century Fox caught onto a new mass appeal for animation and the bank ability of reaching kids of all ages. With the combination of popular comedic actor voices in roles of furry little beings and the visual awe of today’s animation; Ice Age becomes yet another film in the same vague of big hits such as Monsters, Inc. and Shrek. But should it be spoken about in the same breath as the other two? Well, Chris Wedge’s film is a simple straightforward storyline a sort of Coppola’s The Outsiders meets Homeward Bound type flick.

The narrative lacks a little depth-with no surprises the story may seem too drawn in the sand, but this doesn’t deter from the overall enjoyment of the film and it’s main ingredient- the humour. The visual spoofs, the human-like reactions embodied in fluffy characters give the film a sort of Muppet Show appeal, but the centre of the attention (the big-ass grins and knee-slapping laughter) comes in the smallest of forms with the mini misadventures of a squirrel and his acorn troubles. The start of the film, popularized by the film’s movie theatre preview- is just as funny the second time around and his digging around in the in the snow is crisply digitally detailed that it comes across like true candy for the eye.

The featured voices of Ray Romano (his big-screen debut), Denis Leary (Wag the Dog) and the slurred speech of John Leguizamo (Moulin Rouge!) as Sid make for an ordinary cast trio. The quality of the animation is first-rate, perhaps not as fine-tuned as Shrek, but it does the job- I liked the backdrop reminiscent of old Coyote/Road Runner episodes touched up in monotone white. I think that the film’s strongest points is the length- clocking in at about 80 minutes and the blatant omission of not making the film into a big long sing-along. Ice Age is not the best that animation will have given us this year but it will most likely become a frontrunner in the best-animated picture category.

Rating 3 stars