Review Ice Age (2002)

[Doctor Omega]

Ice Age is a 2002 American computer-animated buddy comedy road film directed by Chris Wedge and co-directed by Carlos Saldanha from a story by Michael J. Wilson. Produced by Blue Sky Studios, it was released by 20th Century Fox on March 15, 2002. The film features the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary and Chris Wedge. The film is set during the days of the ice age

• Manfred "Manny", a woolly mammoth, is voiced by Ray Romano
• Diego, a Smilodon, is voiced by Denis Leary
• Sid, a giant ground sloth, is voiced by John Leguizamo
• Scrat, a "saber-toothed" squirrel, is voiced by Chris Wedge
• Soto, a Smilodon, is voiced by Goran Višnjić
• Zeke, a Smilodon, is voiced by Jack Black
• Oscar, a Smilodon, is voiced by Diedrich Bader
• Lenny, a Homotherium, is voiced by Alan Tudyk
• Carl, a Brontops, is voiced by Cedric the Entertainer
• Frank, a Brontops, is voiced by Stephen Root
• Rachel, a female giant ground sloth, is voiced by Jane Krakowski
• Jennifer, a female giant ground sloth, is voiced by Lorri Bagley

Ice Age was met with generally positive reviews from critics (making it the best reviewed film in its later-existing franchise). Rotten Tomatoes gave the film 77% approval rating, based on 164 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Even though Ice Age is treading over the same grounds as Monsters, Inc. and Shrek, it has enough wit and laughs to stand on its own." Similar site Metacritic had a score of 60% out of 31 reviews. The film was nominated an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, but lost to Spirited Away Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 stars out of 4 and wrote "I came to scoff and stayed to smile".

Ice Age later received four sequels, making it the first theatrical computer-animated film to do so.

• The first sequel, Ice Age: The Meltdown was released on March 31, 2006. The film focuses on the melting of a dam (due to, as Sid puts it at the end of the first film, global warming) and the impending flood.
• The second sequel, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs was released on July 1, 2009. The film focuses on the herd finding dinosaurs being discovered underground.
• The third sequel, Ice Age: Continental Drift was released on July 13, 2012. The film focuses on the continental drift on Earth.
• The fourth sequel, Ice Age: Collision Course was released on July 22, 2016.