Ice Age (2002)

Set during the Ice Age, a sabertooth tiger, a sloth, and a wooly mammoth find a lost human infant, and they try to return him to his tribe.

Directors:

Chris Wedge, Carlos Saldanha (co-director)

Writers:

Michael J. Wilson (story by), Michael Berg (screenplay by)

Stars:

Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Ray Romano

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 29 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ray Romano	...	Manfred (voice)
John Leguizamo	...	Sid (voice)
Denis Leary	...	Diego (voice)
Goran Visnjic	...	Soto (voice)
Jack Black	...	Zeke (voice)
Cedric the Entertainer	...	Carl (voice)
Stephen Root	...	Frank / Start (voice)
Diedrich Bader	...	Oscar (voice)
Alan Tudyk	...	Lenny / Oscar / Dab (voice)
Lorri Bagley	...	Jennifer (voice)
Jane Krakowski	...	Rachel (voice)
Peter Ackerman	...	Dodo / Macrauchenia (voice)
P.J. Benjamin	...	Dodo (voice)
Josh Hamilton	...	Dodo / Aardvark (voice)
Chris Wedge	...	Dodo / Scrat (voice)

Storyline

Back when the Earth was being overrun by glaciers, and animals were scurrying to save themselves from the upcoming Ice Age, a sloth named Sid, a woolly mammoth named Manny, and a saber-toothed tiger named Diego are forced to become unlikely heroes. The three reluctantly come together when they have to return a human child to its father while braving the deadly elements of the impending Ice Age.

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Plot Keywords:

prehistoric times | road movie | first of series | campfire | child | 

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Taglines:

They came. They thawed. They conquered.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild peril

Did You Know?

Trivia

Supposedly the reason Don Bluth refused to make the film is when 20th Century Fox said they wanted it to be CG after the failure of 2D animation, Bluth refused due to his personal hate for fully CG animation and angrily walked away from the project.

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Goofs

In the ice cave, Sid turns around a bend, looks right (heaves a sigh of relief), and then looks left to find the scary fish fossil. Then he turns right and immediately sees the dinosaur fossil. There was no dividing wall or corner between the 2 fossils, so the dinosaur should have been visible to Sid even before he saw the fish.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Freaky Mammal: Well, why don't they call it The Big Chill? Or The Nippy Era? I'm just sayin', how do we know it's an Ice Age?
Freaky Mammal: [irritably] Because... of all...
[shouts]
Freaky Mammal: ...the *ice*!
Freaky Mammal: Well, things just got a little chillier.

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Crazy Credits

Other than the film's name, there are no opening credits.

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Alternate Versions

An alternate scene of Sid in the hottub with the ladies shows him saying to them "Let's jump in the gene pool and see what happens." One of the female sloths then kicks him in the groin. This was cut because it was not suitable for children and may have gotten the film a PG-13. Other innuendos with Sid were also cut from the film.

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Connections

Referenced in AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: The New Shrek Era (2020)

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Soundtracks

Send Me on My Way
Written by Liz Berlin, John Buynak, Jim DiSpirito (as Jim Dispirito), Jim Donovan, Michael Glabicki, Patrick Norman & Jenn Wertz
Performed by Rusted Root
Courtesy of The Island Def Jam Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

CGI fun for all.

This is obviously aimed at the same market as Monsters Inc and Shrek, but is different in its less cartoony feel (despite the deliberately cartoony characteristics of the lead creatures). The story is not one that had a massive in your face moral at the end (its more like its tugging at your shirt sleeves) but chooses just to tell a story about relationships between different "animals." You know the outcome, but you can't help being drawn in.

The characters themselves are far more than their voices (the advantage of less famous actors doing the voices), unlike most Disney movies. They are well rounded and completely believable, strangely. The group dynamics are brilliantly well presented and the character revelations and quirks are subtle and enjoyable. You will find yourself rooting for them far sooner than you would like to think.

The animation is brilliant, as you would expect, and you will be praying for the opportunity to go on the ice slide in the movie. You will fall in love with the characters, especially the comic relief of the prehistoric squirrel and its desperate attempts to bury its nuts. I came out wanting the obligatory merchandise, especially the sloth toy, only to be disappointed the next day when I couldn't find anything vaguely related.

Which, strangely, makes the movie all the more pure.

Better than Monsters Inc or Shrek.

Details

Official Sites:

Stream Ice Age officially on Disney+ Hotstar Indonesia Twentieth Century Fox [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 March 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ice Age

Box Office

Budget:

$59,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$46,312,454, 17 March 2002

Gross USA:

$176,387,405

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$383,257,136

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Blue Sky Studios, Twentieth Century Fox Animation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1