The makers of Ice Age seem to understand well the likability of the character of Scrat, which is why they made this short, presumably as a bonus short on the Ice Age: Meltdown DVD and as an Academy Award nominated work unto itself. In making this short, Fox Animation is taking a page from Pixar and including separate entertaining works for moviegoers in addition to the feature, which is a method I stand behind because I really enjoy short films and I really want there to be a wider recognized market for them.
That said, Scrat's slapstick-style existence doesn't really get much more here than he had before. It would seem that a time-traveling Scrat would provide a lot of opportunities for some interesting situations, which I guess they do, but they're more surprising in how reserved and predictable they are than the wide range of other situations he could have gotten in. I guess it was a funny short, but it often seemed to miss some grand opportunities while searching for more obvious visual gags.
I think the best part of this short entirely is Scrat's sudden acquaintance with himself. I think that one part entirely redeems this short, because it's not only really funny but has reactions that fit perfectly with Scrat's character... and what he'd think of himself. Being that Scrat never has any dialog, the mirror-like movements and the animation of his facial reactions are spot-on in interpreting both the hilarity and confusion of an already spastic character.
--PolarisDiB
That said, Scrat's slapstick-style existence doesn't really get much more here than he had before. It would seem that a time-traveling Scrat would provide a lot of opportunities for some interesting situations, which I guess they do, but they're more surprising in how reserved and predictable they are than the wide range of other situations he could have gotten in. I guess it was a funny short, but it often seemed to miss some grand opportunities while searching for more obvious visual gags.
I think the best part of this short entirely is Scrat's sudden acquaintance with himself. I think that one part entirely redeems this short, because it's not only really funny but has reactions that fit perfectly with Scrat's character... and what he'd think of himself. Being that Scrat never has any dialog, the mirror-like movements and the animation of his facial reactions are spot-on in interpreting both the hilarity and confusion of an already spastic character.
--PolarisDiB