Ice Age - You'll Laugh, You'll Cry and Laugh Some More

One might think that my now seven-year-old nagged me to the theater on opening day. If you are the one, you are wrong. No, my 22 year-old- brother drug me there. He might as well be seven though, if that counts for something.

I thought oh great just what I need a long line, and a kiddie flick. As if I don't get bombarded enough at home by all things animated. Let me say right off the bat that I was wrong.

Ice Age set 20,000 years ago, opens up with Scrat, the saber-toothed squirrel hopping along the ice. Scrat, perhaps aptly named for he is a little rat, and a little squirrel just wants to bury his nut. Literally. According to the official Ice Age website a Scrat spends most it's life trying to bury acorns, and the other half trying to find the buried treasure. So, that alone shows that a Scrat has little in the way of brains.

Let's be realistic here, how successful can one be at burying something in a frozen bed of ice? After one last attempt to conceal his brown, nutty treasure Scrat starts a sort of ice avalanche that sends him flying into the grassy knoll. Of course this opening bit sent the miniature and full sized adults in the theater to rolling laughter. Poor Scrat's bad luck doesn't stop there, he makes several appearances throughout the movie either seeking, or trying to bury the elusive nut.

While somewhere in another frame, a pack of Saber-toothed tigers plan their revenge on a human. A human that wears their skin, and hunts them. The brilliant leader of this pack whips up a revenge plot that is sure to have him licking his chops.

They plan to take the human's son, by ambush. Storming the camp where the human's had set up shop the saber-toothed tigers fail at their attempt to harm the humans or their baby. What stood in the packs way was a mom determined to save her baby, even if it meant careening off a cliff and nudging him to shore for a Woolly Mammoth named Manny(Ray Romano) a loner Mammoth and a Sloth named Sid (John Leguizamo) who was abandoned by his family, to care for him.

Of course the two loners go through a almost Shrek like road to friendship. With Sid being the annoying chatterbox who just won't stop following Manny. And, Manny being the big oaf who just wants to be left alone, cause that's all he knows.

Enter Diego (Denis Leary) the saber-toothed tiger assigned to bring back the baby to the leader. For, the leader wants the satisfaction of an eye for an eye. For in order to get the baby back to the pack, he will have to befriend both Manny, and Sid. Gain their trust so he can ensnare the baby. Diego does set off to do just that but along the way he hits a few snags. Namely a growing fondness for the baby and the unlikely pair of Sid and Manny.

What starts out as a quest to return the baby to his human owner ends up as a tale about friendship and how far one will go for said friendship.

There are a few nail biting moments in this movie that might make parents want to exercise caution when taking the very young. The cutest three-year-old sat next to me and there were times where he dug into my arm for rescue! My son at age seven had no problem with the peril, although he did cry a bit at a sad point.


Ice Age is a cute movie that really tells a few different stories. Each character has some extremely funny moments that get even the hardest to laugh person holding their side. The voices are matched well. Ray Romano's usually dry voice adds to the character of Manny. As does John Leguizamo's voice for Sid. It's a pairing I might not have ever thought of, but wouldn't change for the world.
I'd recommend this to anyone seeking a tale of laughter and friendship.

Does poor Scrat ever get the nut? Better hit the theater to see!
(this short-concise review was brought to you by the still recovering from hand surgery EricaAnn...do you know how hard it is to type with one hand?!)