Review of Ice Age (2002) by Filipeneto — 17 Mar 2018

This film is set in the Ice Age and tells how a mammoth, a sloth, and a sabertooth tiger join forces to return a human child to his father. Directed by Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha, has voice actors like Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Film.

This is not a film I consider remarkable, but it's funny enough to not consider for lost the time I spent watching it. Although not easy to understand for young children, the film is appealing enough. Playing with the animals existing at the time, the script creates a situation, implausible but funny, involving a human child and a group of animals, predators and preys, united in a joint effort.

The characters are not the most interesting but Diego, a tiger torn between loyalty to his brothers and friendship with fellow travelers, and Manfred, a mammoth mourning his dead family, deserve some positive highlight, giving the film a touch of maturity. The more negative note goes to Sid, an unpleasantly greenish sloth, which associates a grotesque aspect to an endless collection of stupid moments. Unfortunately, this creature is the largest attempt to make this movie something funny. The intelligent humor of other characters works better, making more digestible a film that, without it, it would be quite silly. The squirrel can also be very funny.

The work of animators is regular and fulfills its role. The voice actors did a good job, particularly Leguizamo, who gave voice to Sid. The soundtrack hardly exists or stands out in the film.