Ice Age (2-Disc Special Edition)

The first hint I had of what "Ice Age" would be was a preview long before the movie ever came out. The preview featured a squirrel trying to bury an acorn in the snow, but nothing was working and in the attempt to bury the acorn, the poor little squirrel inadvertently caused an avalanche. It was funny, and it was the one of the best previews that I had seen. Fortunately, this squirrel makes several appearances throughout "Ice Age" and steals every scene that he appears in (which is saying something for a piece of animation). However, the main story of the film has nothing to do with the squirrel.

A pack of saber tooth tigers are seeking to attack a human settlement in revenge for some of their own being killed by human hunters. The plan is to take the human baby of the lead hunter. The tigers attack, but the baby's mother manages to escape and dives into the river. With her last breath the mother places the baby at the feet of a mastodon who is standing by the riverbank.

This much is still set up for the primary story being told, and that is the story of Manfred the mastodon (Ray Romano) and Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo). Since the world is in the middle of an ice age, the animals are migrating south to get out of the cold. Manfred is initially going north to get away from everyone else when he comes upon Sid. Sid was left behind and he also needs protection. He's a sloth, but rather than being exceptionally slow, he appears to be more clumsy than anything else. The two animals end up traveling together (over the objections of the mastodon), and it is then that they come across the human baby. Manfred is ready to leave the baby behind, but Sid insists on keeping the child until they can find another human settlement. Enter Diego (Denis Leary). Diego is a saber tooth tiger who has been sent by his pack to reclaim the human baby as revenge for the pack. Even a tiger fears to go up against a mastodon, so Diego pretends to have the best interests of the baby at heart and now we have the rather strange group of Manfred, Sid, and Diego all trying to return the baby (except for Diego, who is only pretending).

"Ice Age" is a very cute movie, suitable for children of all ages. It is funny at times (any time the squirrel gets to make an appearance is a highlight for me), and it should be enjoyable for children and adults. Excellent animation and excellent voice acting. "Ice Age" is a good movie that should not be overlooked (even though it was overlooked in the theatre because of Pixar's "Monsters Inc").