ICE AGE

An old story recast with a woolly mammoth and CGI...

By Abbie Bernstein     March 15, 2002

Stop me if you've heard this one three guys who don't get along find themselves caring for an infant, falling for the little fellow even as they try to locate his rightful family. Of course, if you remove the bachelors your mind's eye has probably provided for this scenario and replace them with a woolly mammoth, a giant sloth and a saber-toothed tiger, you'll have a much better idea of what ICE AGE is like.

The story, created by Michael J. Wilson and fleshed out by Michael Berg, Wilson and Peter Ackerman, puts a few twists on the familiar tale, the biggest one being that one of our characters has a moral dilemma over whether to betray/outright eat the others, who in turn aren't sure whether they can trust him or not. Ray Romano (as the troubled mammoth), John Leguizamo (as the daffy sloth) and Denis Leary (as the sarcastic, conflicted tiger) are all well cast and put considerable energy into their roles without going over the top. Director Chris Wedge and co-director Carlos Saldanha do work up a few emotionally potent moments, but for the most part, ICE AGE feels comfortable, pleasant and unchallenging; albeit it has a reasonably cool, rather novel look.

Per its

title, ICE AGE is set in the era of giant mammals rather than that popular animation staple, the dinosaur millennia, which makes for a nice change in imagery. The CGI from Blue Sky is actually interesting, somewhere between the almost Claymation 3D effect of the Pixar creatures and more traditional animation. Fur blows and shapes have dimension, but the characters still seem to exist in a plane other than our own. The filmmakers do have fun with the notion of plains and mountains of ice a segment inside an ice cavern borrows from INDIANA JONES and IN SEARCH OF THE CASTAWAYS, while using the medium to give us a novel evolutionary tour. ICE AGE also introduces a strange little rodent, the Scrat with a worried voice provided by director Wedge whose incredible determination provides some of the movie's best running gags (although these get a bit sadistic in places).

It's hard to know what to say about ICE AGE. Most kids will certainly enjoy it, while adults who care about CGI animation will want to take a look at its variation on current techniques. As far as narrative goes, we can admire the way a tried and true formula has been adapted for innovative use and still wish that the movie had a little more storytelling life of its own.

ICE AGE

Grade: B-

Reviewed Format: Wide Theatrical Release

Rated: PG

Voices: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Jack Black

Writers: Michael Berg and Michael J. Wilson and Peter Ackerman, story by Michael J. Wilson

Director: Chris Wedge, co-directed by Carlos Saldanha

Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox