A Era do Gelo: Especial de Natal

This short animation is about a young mammoth going to the North Pole to search for Santa Claus because she wants to prove to her father that Santa Claus exists.

Just as you think all tales about Christmas have been told, "Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas" comes up with yet another idea regarding the festive season. The animation is fun and entertaining. The characters are cute as usual, and they are up to much merry, harmless mischiefs. The atmosphere of the animation is warm, positive and has a strong family theme. The ideas about how Christmas traditions come about in the Ice Age world is fun as well, making it a great film for children.

It's normal for highly successful franchises to have Halloween, Christmas, and other specials, but was this really necessary? The decline of Blue Sky Studios and the Ice Age saga was more than evident. This short film is an example of that.

"Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas" is a special that tries its best to recapture the essence of its previous movies, but falls short. "A Mammoth Christmas" is a special that does everything possible to recapture the essence of its previous movies, but it falls short. Here, the radical change in the story and especially in each character within the franchise is evident, with absurd, convenient, and very weak narrative arguments. That simplicity and exceptional comedy was lost.

Karen Disher tried and ended up with a simple Christmas short film with not much to offer. The story feels very underdeveloped and possibly boring for many viewers. Those who can fully enjoy this special are the little ones at home, of course, it is made for them, but for true Ice Age fans, it leaves much to be desired.

It is understandable that one wants to exploit to the fullest a saga that left great moments in animated cinema, but sometimes those are negative points with very strong consequences and we already know the result.

From my perspective, it entertains in a simple way, they make every effort to add the essence of the first movie, and they succeed for a few seconds in various scenes. Our prehistoric friends embark on another adventure, not so epic but conventional to add the Christmas spirit. Without a doubt, the best and most notable might be Sid the sloth, with his characteristic comedy and very bizarre eloquence. Another one that brings a brief smile is Scrat and Prancer.

On the part of Manny, Diego, and Ellie, very forced, they greatly lost their essence. Crash and Eddie don't stand out as they should. Each of them is treated in a perfunctory manner. The animation has small changes and at times it seems a bit strange, but its fluidity of movement is great.

Even so, it barely passes for that attempt to capture its main essence. It deserves a chance if you like Christmas and the adventures of our prehistoric mammals.

It's Christmas season for the Ice Age gang. Sid accidentally destroys Manny's heirloom Christmas rock. Manny lies to Sid that he's now on Santa's Naughty List. Sid seeks to go to the North Pole to convince Santa to take his name off the Naughty List. He's joined by Peaches, Crash, and Eddie. They fall off a cliff and rescued by flying reindeer Prancer. Manny, Diego, and Ellie set off to find them.

It's an Ice Age thirty minute Christmas TV special. It is what one expects out of that. It's fine for little kids. Santa and his minions are not necessarily the happy, jolly group. Ice Age is not the greatest animation franchise but it does work for its level.

I enjoyed the first two movies, was mixed on the third and liked Scrat's Continental Crack-Up. I was anticipating Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas, and found it did live up to expectations. While short, perhaps a little too short, it is festive and fun, with the animation as great as ever especially in the beautifully detailed backgrounds and the music jaunty and putting you in the mood for the festive season. The writing even with the odd forced moment is mostly witty and funny(with Diego having the best lines), and the story is engaging and heart-warming with a warm atmosphere. I have always liked the characters and they are still entertaining, with Scrat stealing every scene he's in and Peaches is adorable, and the voice acting is solid across the board.

All in all, a lot of fun and perfect for the Christmas season. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This is quite decent Christmas Special in the manner of films that precede it and at about the same level. Not so original, but satisfying fun. If you wonder how Santa Claus got the flying reindeer and you have twenty minutes to spare, take a look.

6/10