Just so...so bad

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It's a short, simple story with a strong structure and three somewhat stereotypical yet superbly crafted central characters, set against a unique backdrop of prehistoric permafrost strangely unexplored on film considering its interesting inhabitants and splendid scenery (not to mention the artistic licence inherent with a narrative that takes place so very long ago); the animation (and general graphic) style is rough around the edges but ultimately snappy, lively and aesthetically pleasing, with the picture painting a stylistic yet consistent world full of envelope-pushing environmental effects (ala snow and water) that ground the cartoon- esque physics and give them a proper weight, but it's really the interplay of the main players that marks this piece as a cut above the rest as each of them arise as distinct individuals with believable arcs and interesting dynamics - not to mention the fact that the feature is much more emotionally affecting than you'd expect and is pretty funny too (especially in a couple of stand-out set-pieces, most notably 'the dodo debacle.') 7/10

This film is set in the Ice Age and tells how a mammoth, a sloth, and a sabertooth tiger join forces to return a human child to his father. Directed by Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha, has voice actors like Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Film.This is not a film I consider remarkable, but it's funny enough to not consider for lost the time I spent watching it. Although not easy to understand for young children, the film is appealing enough. Playing with the animals existing at the time, the script creates a situation, implausible but funny, involving a human child and a group of animals, predators and preys, united in a joint effort.The characters are not the most interesting but Diego, a tiger torn between loyalty to his brothers and friendship with fellow travelers, and Manfred, a mammoth mourning his dead family, deserve some positive highlight, giving the film a touch of maturity. The more negative note goes to Sid, an unpleasantly greenish sloth, which associates a grotesque aspect to an endless collection of stupid moments. Unfortunately, this creature is the largest attempt to make this movie something funny. The intelligent humor of other characters works better, making more digestible a film that, without it, it would be quite silly. The squirrel can also be very funny.The work of animators is regular and fulfills its role. The voice actors did a good job, particularly Leguizamo, who gave voice to Sid. The soundtrack hardly exists or stands out in the film.

This is one film that my family has had for a while, and we have no regrets about it whatsoever. The story, despite (just in my pointless opinion) its lack of decent humor (while there are some occasional chuckles), has enough touching moments and action to make it an excellent diversion for audiences. The animation is very well done by 2002 standards, utilizing the help of brand new rendering technology that can render minute details like fur very well (despite how in some areas, it was still quite primitive, such as dug-up ice not leaving holes where it came from). The characters aren't exactly funny: rather, they're touching, cold, dark, and overall characters that will be appreciated or depreciated for the right reasons. Despite having some references that are obviously out-of-place in its timeline (including possible foreshadowing in the cave scenes), it sums up to one of the better animated movies of 2002. It isn't Lilo and Stitch, but a view is as warranted as an Ice Age migration (which may come soon).

Ice Age is a good movie with a well developed storyline and a terrific voice cast. It's certainly a very original animated film, focusing around a group of animals as the ice age begins, it's quite funny and the characters are very likable, it also has a lot of heart and the ending of the film is very sweet, I also really loved Scrat's scenes, being my favourite parts of the entire franchise. It's a fun movie, but it's definitely much more entertaining for kids, I loved it when it first came out, I probably would have rated it ten back then, but now I'm giving it a seven as it just dosen't hold up as well when you're older, it dosen't have enough humour for adults to laugh, something that is evident in all the best animated films, such as Monsters Inc and Shrek, it's understandable that it wanted kids to be its target audiences but there should have been more in it for an older viewer. The ending is very anti-climatic, as the story finishes, we are left feeling there should have been more, it definitely could have been at least ten minutes longer, to give us a better idea where the characters were headed, how their relationship has changed over the course of this movie and give them more closure with the child. It's certainly not the finest animated film, but Ice Age is still sure to entertain and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good family film. As the ice age begins, three animals discover a lost human infant, they must travel far and wide to find his tribe.