L'Âge de glace

`Ice Age' emerges as one of the better animated films of recent years, cleverly designed and even more cleverly written. Scenarists Michael Berg, Michael J. Wilson and Peter Ackerman have devised a story set 20,000 years ago about an unlikely trio of companions who find themselves making a long trek through a harsh environment in an effort, ostensibly, to return a baby human to the tribe from which he has become separated. The triumvirate is made up of a deadpan, cynical mammoth, a wisecracking, over-the-top sloth (whose mile-a-minute mouth more than makes up for his legendary slowness) and a malevolent saber-tooth tiger, who learns a thing or two about friendship and teamwork before the adventure is over.

`Ice Age' is at its most amusing in those scenes in which the characters make prescient jokes about their own place in the evolutionary scheme of things. One particularly clever scene involves the three travelers discovering what looks like an underground museum of natural history encased in ice, replete with ancient creatures caught in naturally occurring, chain-of-life exhibits. Like most animated films set in the past, `Ice Age' derives much of its humor through the use of anachronism. We chuckle to hear these creatures applying modern, scientific knowledge to the pre-scientific era in which they are living.

The animators and designers have done a beautiful job in achieving just the right look for this tale. The backgrounds have a colorful, clean, streamlined look to them, and the animals themselves, in their appearance and design, provide a witty commentary on evolutionary history. Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary do superb voiceover work, each achieving just the right tone for the character he has been assigned to play. One could wish, perhaps, for a bit less sentimentality at the end, but that is a minor quibble in a film that works so well for both children and adults. The kids will revel in the cuteness of the animals and the clever action sequences, while adults will savor the sly knowingness of the evolutionary and historical in-jokes. Not bad in an era when most films can't find a way to please even ONE audience demographic.

In what amounts to a throw-back to the early, manually-animated cartoons, "Ice Age" chooses a very simple story around which is wrapped clever and exciting animation. Highly intelligent sabre-tooth tigers want to get revenge for the killing of one of their pack, so plot to steal the baby son of the human tribe leader. A goofy sloth (Lugiezamo) and a kind wooly mammoth (Ray Romano) rescue the child and attempt to find his parents, joined by a sly tiger (Denis Leary) who at first is planning to lead all of them into a corner so his tiger friends can help get the child back and eat the mammoth. But a series of events, and the tiger's being saved by the mammoth, causes all of them to "bond".

The DVD is flawless. The Dolby surround sound is remarkably good, truly surrounding you with sound. The direct digital to DVD video transfer is as good, colorful, and sharp as the other recent ones like "Toy Story 2", "Shrek", and "Monsters Inc." There is a whole second disk of "extras" which take you through the whole animated film-making process. Also a short animated film "Bunny" which won an oscar in 1998. Plus another "short" which shows the little squirrel, 20,000 years later, in an ice block drifting onto a deserted island, and his pounding of a coconut into the ground triggering the continental drift which resulted in the present day continents! Very inventive and funny.

Watching "Ice Age", my wife and I noticed that much of the action and pratfalls reminded us of the old "Roadrunner" cartoons. In the DVD extras the director mentions that those old cartoons of Chuck Jones were the insriration of many of the scenes. Yes, a throw-back to the old manually-animated cartoons, and a worthy tribute.

This was great. I liked it better than I did Shrek, by far. 'Manfred' and the Squirrel really take the cake here-excellant voice work, nice animation of the character faces, Denis Leary was a hoot too....with just the right amount of an edge, as is usual for him.

Some of the vignettes-the Dodos, (You've got three melons), etc are right up there with anything Pixar has done. I also thought that the little montage of Mannfred's parent's(cave drawings come to life) were done well too.

As for the messages-'Non-trad families are okay too-', people can work together, etc.-well, all are pretty obvious and all that-but it's not hammered home ala Disney, and you also don't have anyone breaking out into song, either.

See it for the Mammoth and the squirrel, though the Sloth is fun too. Cute kid baby too, not far removed from 'Boo' in Monsters Inc.

*** outta ****

Just saw ICE AGE, a very funny and especially nice looking film. The story is simple but effective, the characters lovable and nicely fleshed out but what really shines is the digital set design.

More inspired by traditional animated movies than reality, the designs give you a really, really nice looking world in a astounding use of colour. Sometimes the touches of reality shine through (especially the water was impressive), but nonetheless, it's a fantasy-world based on reality. Including loads of vast landscapes especially helps to minimise the costs of rendering.

Pixar films shine with technical brilliance, this one shines with effective uses of technical know-how.

Enough technical babble, the film's entertaining, family-friendly and sometimes just hilariously funny.

It always seems to be with these computer animated movies, to have a charm all it's own, humor that usually works all around, and (a flaw to be sure) the same plot elements fitted into different settings (notice how friendship, betrayal and a climax involving kids in some way fit into every animated movie in the past 7 years outside of Antz). Ice Age follows that tradition being the first 20th Century Fox computer animated movie from Bunny director Chris Wedge, and it has an undeniable sweetness that can strike young and old alike. This also goes with the laughs too.

Manfred (Ray Romano), Sid (John Leguizamo), and Diego (Denis Leary) join together, obvious un-wantingly at first, to return a baby to it's father. That's the plot-line and it works in it's typical way, borrowing from the two good computer flicks from last year as well (Monster's Inc. and Shrek). But what keeps young and old and inbetween alike in their seats is not the story but rather the good natured and silly humor, convinving if not always realistic surroundings and splendid voice work by the three leads. A fine movie.

One more note: while Leary, Romano and Leguizamo show off their capabilities, I jest to forget who steals a good chunk of the movie- a little squirrel chasing after an all important acorn nut throughout the pan of the movie. Truth be told, he deserves his own TV show. A-