Review: Ice Age (2002)
Laura Clifford
-------
Wooly mammoth Manny (Ray Romano, TV's "Everybody Loves Raymond") is trekking
south when he spies a sloth in a scrape. After taking on a couple of rhinos
to save Sid (John Leguizamo, "Moulin Rouge"), the usually solitary beast
can't shake off his grateful companion. Meanwhile, saber-toothed Soto
(Goran Visnjic, "The Deep End") is getting revenge on a human 'herd' by
targeting baby boy Roshan for breakfast, but a brave mother thwarts him.
Right hand tiger Diego (Denis Leary, "Final") is sent to rectify the
situation,
but finds Manny and Sid planning to return Roshan to his people in "Ice Age."
Academy Award winning director Chris Wedge, whose Blue Sky Studios
produced the digitally animated short "Bunny," doesn't break any new
ground with his prehistoric comedy, but scores on the old-fashioned merits
of entertaining characters in a simple story interspersed with Wile E.
Coyote-style mayhem. "Ice Age" may recall "Shrek" with its giant beast
pestered by unwanted companion and "Monsters Inc." with its baby returning
plot, but it's not up to those films' standards. Still, this is a cute
flick with charms of its own.
Diego sizes up the unexpected turn of events as an opportunity to make Soto
doubly impressed - not only will he deliver Roshan, but he'll guide the
mammoth into an ambush of salivating saber tooths. Diego makes nice and
soon Roshan finds himself with an odd trio of male guardians, a filmic
device used from John Wayne Westerns to French farces. The three have
adventures ranging from stealing a melon from a pack of idiotic,
self-extincting dodo birds to a wild slide through a glittering glacial
tunnel. Of course, they bond, with Diego having a change of heart
after his life is saved by a particularly selfless and courageous Manny.
The artistry of the animation is almost entirely focussed on the characters.
Manny's marble eyes convey a wide range of emotion while Sid's cartoonish
contortions are always slothlike. Humans are drawn more simply, resembling
modern renderings of vaguely Neanderthal American Indians. Backgrounds
and landscape are pretty drab in comparison, although an animated cave
drawing which explains Manny's melancholy is nicely done. Blue Sky's
best creation is Scrat, a prehistoric squirrel-rat whose efforts to bury
his precious acorn are woven in and out of the main storyline as well as
bookending the film.
Casting and voice work is spot on, with the unusual choice of Romano
working surprisingly well for the majestic loner with a big heart.
Leguizamo injects a bit of 'sufferin succotash' spit and sputter into
Sid's spewings while Leary tames his usual roar with some smooth smokiness
for the two-sided tiger.
B
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Christopher Null
A film review by Christopher Null
Copyright 2002 filmcritic.com
Only in the unique cosmology of animation do we find a world where animals can
talk… and humans cannot.
Ice Age is in many ways the archetypal animated flick – updated for the computer
era, of course. It’s a road trip populated by quirky and mismatched characters,
all on an unlikely quest that they’ll never complete unless they somehow manage
to work together. Ray Romano voices a burly mammoth named Manfred, who stumbles
upon a lost human baby (well, homo erectus at least) shortly after rescuing a
useless sloth (John Leguizamo). Manfred is content to leave the thing alone,
but along comes a saber-toothed tiger (Denis Leary) intent on taking the baby
back to his pack as vengeance for his brethren killed by human hunters. Unable
to convince himself to leave the baby to the tiger (who claims he will return it
to the humans), Manfred and co. all venture out together as part of an uneasy
alliance… while the tiger schemes to lure Manfred into a trap where he may
become dinner for a hungry pack of tigers back home.
Considering Dinosaur was a disastrous attempt at explaining extinction and
evolution to kids, it’s no surprise that Ice Age fares only marginally better at
that task. As a buddy/road trip movie, the plot is surprisingly
straightforward, a straight shot (and a mere 74 minutes until the credits roll)
from introducing a gaggle of uncooperative species to the point where we are
left with a scrappy little gang walking into the sunset (…of their species’
existence).
Unfortunately, a straightforward plot may make this more palatable for the kids
(though the one sitting behind eventually became more interested in kicking my
seat and going home than in watching “that little guy” on screen), but it
ultimately makes it a substantially dull experience. There are virtually no
surprises in the story – and even Romano (who is sadly miscast in a role that
should have gone to John Goodman) sounds bored. Even the animation, which
admittedly makes the animals look good, gets monotonous, with almost every scene
set against a backdrop of snow. Snow ought to present a curious animation
challenge, but in Ice Age, it has all the complexity of white paint.
Altogether the movie’s dull enough to merit a pass, though ironically most avid
moviegoers will probably end up seeing it because it’s a virtual non-investment
of time and energy (and thought)… and because it will be the only place you can
see Fox’s trailer for the super-hyped Star Wars: Episode II.
RATING: **1/2
[* = lowest rating / ***** = highest rating]
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Carlos Saldanha, Chris Wedge
Producer: Lori Forte
Writer: Michael Berg, Michael J. Wilson, Peter Ackerman
Starring: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Goran Visnjic, Jack Black
---
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Susan Granger
With its first full-length, digitally-animated feature, 20th
Century-Fox joins Disney and DreamWorks in the ever-growing race for the family
audience. This adventure revolves around a trio of prehistoric, sub-zero heroes
- Manfred, a moody, misanthropic mammoth (voiced by Ray Romano) who refuses to
join the southern migration; Sid, a manic, loquacious Sloth (voiced by John
Leguizamo); and Diego, a sneaky saber-tooth tiger (voiced by Dennis Leary) -
traveling together on a perilous quest to reunite an abandoned baby with its
human tribe while the daunting and dangerous forces of nature close in around
them. "We're the weirdest herd I've ever seen," comments Sid. The most amusing,
diverting character is Scrat, a hapless saber-tooth squirrel-rat (voiced by
director Chris Wedge) who inadvertently cracks a glacier while trying to bury an
acorn and is obsessed with his precious nut. And the most sinister is Soto
(voiced by Goran Visnic), leader of the lean, mean saber-tooth tigers. The
original computer-animation by the artists of Blue Sky Studio, located in White
Plains, NY, is more hard-edged and realistic, perhaps, than usual but it suits
the theme of teamwork & trust in this frosty setting. Particularly impressive -
and appreciated by the young audience - is the exciting ice funnel-slide
sequence. Writers Michael J. Wilson, Michael Berg and Peter Ackerman's
returning-a-lost-child-to-its-family plot is similar to "Monsters Inc." but that
shouldn't bother kids at all, particularly since the voice work is so effective.
Nor will the fact that they've seen many of the funny gags and one-liners on the
TV commercials. So on the Granger Family Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Ice Age" is a
slick 7. Cool.
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Rose 'Bams' Cooper
ICE AGE (2002)
Rated PG; running time 85 minutes
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Genre: Animation (CG)
Seen at: Celebration Cinema (Lansing, Michigan)
Official site: http://www.iceagemovie.com/
IMDB site: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0268380
Written by: Michael Berg, Peter Ackerman, Michael Wilson
Directed by: Chris Wedge
Cast: voices of: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary,
Goran Visnjic, Cedric The Entertainer, Stephen Root, Kristen Johnson,
Jane Krakowski, Diedrich Bader
Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2002
Review URL: http://www.3blackchicks.com/2002reviews/bamsiceage.html
As lovely and as fun as ICE AGE was, I kept getting hung up on one
thought: it's deja vu all over again.
THE STORY (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**)
In the Ice Age, a trio of unlikely compatriots - surly Manfred The
Mammoth (Ray Romano), wacky Sid The Sloth (John Leguizamo), and scheming
Diego The Sabre-toothed Tiger (Denis Leary) - reluctantly team up to
deliver a human baby they call "Pinky" back to its tribe, after Diego's
tiger packmates, led by Soto (Goran Visnjic), raid the baby's family's
village and chase the baby and mother off into the wilderness.
The threesome have Wacky Adventures along the way, due mostly to Sid's
encounters with other creatures like Silvia & Jennifer Sloth (Kristen
Johnson and Jane Krakowski), and Carl & Frank Rhino (Cedric The
Entertainer and Stephen Root). But the scheming Diego has a wee
surprise in store for Pinky - and Manfred...
THE UPSHOT
One of the funniest recurring bits in ICE AGE was Scrat, the cute little
squirrel, tryin'a get a nut. Unfortunately,except for that recurring
bit, not much differentiated this movie from blockbuster animated flicks
of recent years. The opening (and admittedly cute) montage? Been there
in DINOSAUR. The (admittedly fun) ice slide? Done that with the
rollercoaster door ride in MONSTERS, INC. The (admittedly funny) Wacky
Schmoozing Sidekick? See for example: SHREK.
Though in that latter case, Shrek himself was heads and shoulders cooler
than his ICE AGE equivalent, Manfred The Mammoth. Contrary to what CBS
would like you to believe, Everybody *Doesn't* Love Ray...Romano. I
found his Manfred to be a complete buzz kill; I vastly preferred Sid
(voiced by the brilliant John Leguizamo) and Diego (voiced by the
almost-as-brilliant Denis Leary) as a mismatched couple in "the oddest
pack I've ever seen". But even I was Moved by the scene explaining why
Manfred was so surly. My Non-Loving of Ray aside, that was a fine piece
of storytelling, as was the funny - but a wee bit too long - Dodos
scene. "Dinner *and* a show"; very cool.
The videogamish look of ICE AGE worked to its advantage. Going for a
grand fantasy world instead of photorealism (though some images, such as
the waterfall, looked incredibly real), ICE AGE certainly dazzles the
eye. But I had Issues with the whole layout of the story, from start to
finish. Even given an understanding that no, animals don't really talk
and yes, a saber-tooth tiger wouldn't really hook up with a wacky sloth
and a surly mammoth, and no, Early Man probably didn't make designer
winter suits...needless to say, my Belief got quite a workout, being
Suspended as long as it was.
Giving props where props are due, 20th Century Fox definitely improved
on their previous attempt: 2000's TITAN A.E. - and all without the
irritating production numbers that far too many Disney cartoons force on
the audience. But ICE AGE just felt like a nicely animated copycat,
with a bummer of a lead mammoth. Still, if the hoards of kids at
Podunkville's sold out hour-on-the-hour showings are any indication, you
can count on a sequel..."Ice Age 2: Pinky The Predator".
BAMMER'S BOTTOM LINE
While this movie is certainly cute enough, there's not enough new stuff
in ICE AGE to make it worth running out to the theater to see it right
away. Younger kids might disagree - and who am I to argue with the
target demographic? But animation-loving adults who've Seen This Before
in movies like SHREK and MONSTERS, INC, might want to save ICE AGE for a
rainy day.
ICE AGE rating: flashing yellowlight
Rose "Bams" Cooper
Webchick and Editor,
3BlackChicks Review
Entertainment Reviews With Flava!
Copyright Rose Cooper, 2002
EMAIL: ba...@3blackchicks.com
http://www.3blackchicks.com/
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Mark R. Leeper
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: During the Ice Age a sloth, a mammoth, and a
saber-toothed tiger join forces and go on a trek to
return a human baby to its tribe. The story is weak on
logic, but the writing is warm and frequently
laugh-out-loud funny. Three-dimensional animation
continues to improve from film to film. The short
75-minute length seems a little stingy. Rating:
6 (0 to 10), high +1 (-4 to +4)
ICE AGE is set just when the title tells you it is set, the
Pleistocene Era about 11,000 years ago. There has been new
interest in this period. Why? As far as storytelling is
concerned, filmmakers are probably sensing that the Age of
Dinosaurs has been very much mined out. Fresher and less
familiar is the Pleistocene, with its own really weird animals.
It is something like discovering a new age of brand new
dinosaurs. Television has brought us the British import WALKING
WITH PREHISTORIC BEASTS that has shown viewers, many for the
first time, the strange creatures of the recent prehistoric past.
Now we have a comic animated film set in this era.
The great glacier is advancing and causing animals to migrate to
warmer climates. A mismatched group of Manfred the Mammoth, Sid
the Sloth, and Diego the Sabertooth (voiced by Ray Romano, John
Leguizamo, and Denis Leary respectively) find a human baby and go
on a quest to return the baby to its parents. The story of
sacrifice for a human is a bit far-fetched (not to under-rate a
surprising number of documented cases of elephant altruism), but
the script is good-hearted and frequently darn funny. The
relationship of the strong hero and the uninvited and unwanted
wise-cracking sidekick seems at times modeled on SHREK just as
the relation of the shaggy beasts and the human baby will remind
some of MONSTERS, INC. Skillful animation of facial expression
well-integrated with voice characterizations give real
personality to the principal characters. Manfred the Mammoth is
outwardly as stolid as he is solid, but as the story progresses
we see into his character. The story is made marginally more
believable as it progresses in that Manfred starts trusting
humans and not knowing of the relationship between humans and
mammoths. The facial animation helps a lot as it does for Sid, a
most un-sloth-like sloth. He is active and curious. Diego has
his own agenda which this viewer knows but the trusting Manfred
does not suspect. The other major character is really just a
background creature who just keeps showing up as a running gag.
The squirrel-like thing with his acorn may be the funniest thing
in the film. There are some logic questions as to where he found
an oak tree and why he is burying an acorn in a place he is
migrating away from.
My reviews of animated films are getting a sort of sameness to
them. Every new film that comes out I seem to notice new feats
of animation that have not been done before. I still think of
SHREK as a recent film and it was impressive that the computer
could handle the surface texture of a furred animal, tracking
each hair. It made a furry animal a full character for the
entire length of the film. That was impressive. Now ICE AGE is
an adventure about furry animals. Everything but the humans (who
are minor characters) and the dodos are furry. The wizards can
do that in animation now, I guess. Animated film continues to
discover itself and broadens what it can do one film after
another. It is going through an inventive stage that much like
live action film did in the 1910s when directors were discovering
things like that a film can have a close-up on an actor's face
and the audience will understand it. Where work still needs to
be done in animation, apparently, is in making the human figures
believable. Humans know their own kind and while we accept an
animation of a sloth or a mammoth, the animated humans still look
a little stiff and statue-like.
ICE AGE is pleasant and funny. It offers adults a little less
than SHREK or MONSTERS, INC did, but a lot more than QUEEN OF THE
DAMNED or a film based on a video game ever could. I rate it a 6
on the 0 to 10 scale and a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mle...@optonline.net
Copyright 2002 Mark R. Leeper
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Robin Clifford
Twenty thousand years ago, as climate changes thrust the northern regions
of the earth into a frigid, endless winter, creatures of all shapes and
sizes migrated to the warm safety of the south. A giant wooly mammoth,
named Manny (voice of Ray Romano), eschews the migration, as does a lazy
sloth named Sid (voice of John Leguizamo) that tries to be buddies with the
prodigious pachyderm. When the life of a human baby becomes their
responsibility, they go against their very nature and trek the frozen land
to bring the child home in "Ice Age."
Oscar winning director Chris Wedge (for the animated short, "Bunny") takes
the tried and true three-men-and-a-baby story, with specific ties to John
Ford's "The Three Godfathers," and pits Manny, Sid and a sinister
saber-toothed tiger named Diego (voice of Denis Leary) against the elements
and more to save a little baby. An attack on the sleeping human camp by a
pack of tigers forces the mother of baby Roshan to flee to protect her
helpless child. She escapes, but at the cost of her own life. In her last,
dying effort, she thrusts her little bundle into the trunk of Manny - human
and mammoth, for a very brief moment, join minds on Roshan's safety.
Manny and Sid vow to return the baby, now dubbed Pinky, to the human herd
and set out across the bleak landscape in their quest. They are joined by
an unlikely helper, Diego, who says he can show them a shortcut to the
humans. (Diego, we know, has a hidden agenda made by his leader, Soto
(voice of Goran Visnjic), to bring back the human child as a special, tasty
morsel, with a stack of mammoth burgers as additional incentive.) In true
buddy/road movie, the trials and tribulations the odd little herd must face
brings them close together, so much so that even Diego foregoes his blood
kinship with Soto and the other saber-tooths for the protection of his
adopted herd.
The screenplay, intentionally or not, does cover the same ground (with
frozen tundra replacing blazing desert) as Ford did in his 1948 classic
starring John Wayne. (There is a lot of similarity, now that I think of it,
between Manny and the Duke.) The three prehistoric amigos replace the
western characters, but their mission is still the same - to get Pinky back
to his herd. Along the way, they must deal with ornery Rhinos with a grudge
against Sid, poopie diapers, Diego's blood-lusting clan, and a gang of
you'll-understand-why-they-became-extinct Dodos. A side story about a
solitary prehistoric squirrel/rat/raccoon named Scrat (although the rodent
doesn't talk, director Chris Wedge gives the little critter a distinctive,
amusing sound to go with the Wiley Coyote-like characterization), with his
efforts to bury his precious acorn, to catastrophic ends, is an amusing
thread that the kids seem to love. Scrat is, if anything, the familiar icon
for the flick and his efforts are bookends in the film.
Vocal talents aren't stellar, but they are provided by a bevy of known
actors, all of who provide fine voice. Ray Romano's laconic delivery
perfectly suits the slow, deliberate lumbering movements of Manny. Sid,
giving, by Leguizamo, a "thufferin' thucotash" sound akin to Sylvester the
cat, is reminiscent of Art Carney's Norton in "The Honeymooners" TV show -
Manny, too, comes across strongly as the Ralph Cramden type foil to Sid.
Denis Leary gives the sleek, sinister voice of Diego a hissing quality, but
puts nuance into his character as Diego bonds with his oddball herd. Other
actors, such as Jack Black, Cedric "The Entertainer" and Stephen Root, give
voice to the other critters the heroes come across.
The animation of all the creatures fleeing the frozen north for warmer
climes, and our heroes, gives them a stuffed animal, artsy quality that
keeps your eye from looking for the mistakes - "realistic" animation, like
"Dinosaurs," comes under the scrutiny of the dino fans for accuracy and the
makers of "Ice Age" avoid this analysis by forsaking accuracy for art. By
giving Manny and Sid a cuddly quality makes this a pretty sure bet with the
younger kids. The humans are drawn as a strong-featured, noble folk of
budding intelligence. The production design, by Brian McEntee, doesn't
strive for the realistic backdrops that the mark other CGI animation
efforts such as "A Bug's Life," where attention focused down to the
individual blades of grass. Instead, a stark, frigid background depicted in
the sharp angles of steep, snow-covered cliffs is used to contrast, and
bring out, the little troupe of mammals struggling to bring little Pinky
home - Pinky (voice of Tara Strong) is a cute little guy and deserves to be
saved.
The sweet story of three mammal's quest to return a baby to his clan may be
slight, but it is very entertain for kids of all ages. There is enough cute
to suit the younger kids and enough intelligent humor and visuals to keep
the adults interested. It is not of the same knock out caliber of "Shrek"
or "Monster's, Inc." but "Ice Age" packs a respectable punch of its own. I
give it a B.
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David N. Butterworth
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2002 David N. Butterworth
**1/2 (out of ****)
A wooly mammoth, an emotional sloth, and a saber-toothed tiger form an
unlikely alliance in "Ice Age," a computer-animated, post-dinosaur kid's
movie with the emphasis very much on kid. It's part "Dinosaur" (that
Disney movie from the summer of 2000), part "Shrek" (no explanation needed
there I hope) and, whenever that bug-eyed prehistoric squirrel's on screen,
trying to bury his acorn (if you haven't seen the hysterical coming
attractions for this film at least a dozen times you're obviously on the
wrong planet), all fun.
As it turns out, that clever preview provides "Ice Age" with its
spectacular opening sequence before the film settles down into its less
inventive--and certainly less consistently amusing--plotline, as the
afore-mentioned herd of critters attempts to reunite a foundling with its
human tribe. It's "about" fitting in but there's very little else below
its icy surface.
Slow and lumbering Manfred the Mammoth (slow and lumbering-ly voiced by
Ray Romano, from TV's "Everybody Loves Raymond") is heading South (actually
North!) before the Ice Age hits. It's not the Ice Age that hits, however,
it's Sid, an irritating hammerhead of a tree sloth whose family has upped
and migrated without him (we soon find out why; he's *irritating*) and
who's gotten himself into a bit of a pickle with a couple of thorny rhinos.
Sid gloms onto Manfred like there's no tomorrow, figuring there's safety
in numbers, especially when the numbers are this large; John Leguizamo
("Moulin Rouge") provides Sid's constant wisecracks. Manfred and Sid are
soon joined, reluctantly at first, by a sly and shifty sabertooth named
Diego ("The Job"'s Denis Leary, who's much-needed sarcasm, unfortunately,
is kept well in check). Diego claims to know the quickest way to the
humans' happy stomping ground yet has other plans, dinner plans, for his
hapless companions.
Sid is, without a doubt, the most "animated" of the trio, as without his
pratfalls and whining and head-smacking stupidity the company would be a
pretty dull lot. But even Sid (and Leguizamo's crafty interpretation
thereof) can't compare to that squirrel, which reappears from time to time
and elevates the humor to a higher level. Had the squirrel served as one
of our three protagonists then "Ice Age" would get a much bigger
recommendation; as it is, children will find it fun but there's not much
more than the occasional slapstick chuckle for adults (Sid cracks his head
on something approximately once every five minutes you should be
forewarned). No songs though and *that's* a blessing.
The film is missing the sophisticated humor of, say, "Toy Story," and is
not as technically astute as other Pixar productions ("Monsters, Inc."
being the most obvious example). But "Ice Age" does have a look all its
own, especially in its depiction of the human characters, who appear as
animated wooden figures, well-honed and angular, as if chiseled out of
blocks of discarded lumber. And the backgrounds--especially whenever water
is involved--are often times magical and quite stunning.
If you miss seeing that furry little critter scurrying around with the
hyperactivity of a three-year-old before the main feature, check out "Ice
Age." As a pre-historical document it's more than a little suspect but its
signature rodent more than makes up for it.
--
David N. Butterworth
d...@dca.net
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online at http://members.dca.net/dnb
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Edward Johnson-Ott
Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Goran Visnjic, Jack Black, Tara
Strong, Cedric the Entertainment, Stephen Root, Diedrich Bader, Alan
Tudyk, Lorri Bagley, Jane Krakowski, Peter Ackerman, P.J. Benjamin, Josh
Hamilton, Chris Wedge. Screenplay by Michael Berg, Michael J. Wilson and
Peter Ackerman. Directed by Chris Wedge.
Rated PG
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly http://www.nuvo.net
E-mail: ejohn...@prodigy.net Archive reviews at
http://reviews.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?Edward+Johnson-Ott
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with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
Remember the wonderful teaser for "Ice Age" that started its run last
year? Playing less like an ad and more like a short cartoon unto itself,
the piece followed a twitchy, bug-eyed critter called a Scrat (half
squirrel/half rat), as it desperately looked for a spot in the Arctic
clime to bury an acorn. The wordless slapstick mini-feature had the
spirit of a vintage Warner Brothers cartoon. The big question raised by
the teaser was "Can 'Ice Age' possibly live up to this?"
The answer is yes and no. It turns out that Scrat has no part in the
computer-animated film's primary storyline. The Scrat footage shown in
the teaser opens "Ice Age," then the varmint disappears, only to make
additional appearances throughout the movie; always alone, always
fixated on finding a safe spot for its precious acorn. The Scrat
segments are very funny, funnier in fact, than the rest of the film.
That's not a problem, though, because the dynamic personalities of the
other characters more than compensate for any slight deficits in the
laugh department.
Set 20,000 years ago, the main storyline of "Ice Age" opens as all the
creatures of the era migrate southwards to avoid getting a world-class
case of frostbite. All, that is, except for a woolly mammoth named
Manfred (voiced by Ray Romano) that heads the other direction just to be
contrary. Along the way, Manny ends up the reluctant caretaker of an
abandoned human baby named Roshan and Sid (John Leguizamo), a mouthy
sloth eager to align himself with a massive protector. They are joined
by Diego (Denis Leary), a saber-toothed tiger that agrees to help Manny
and Sid reunite the tot with his family. In fact, he is present to steer
the others into an ambush.
OK, so the plot sounds a lot like "Monsters Inc." (Or "Three Men and a
Baby," as far as that goes). But plot is almost irrelevant in CGI
animated features. Basically, they're all about quests or rescue
missions. What's important in CGI films is the quality of the art, the
Wow! factor of the digital imagery and the quality of the voice work.
"Ice Age" delivers. The art is striking – the creatures are presented
with big, broad style, reminiscent of early Warner Brothers cartoon
characters, only with a lush, airbrushed covering. As for the Wow!
factor, the Fox artists take a different approach than their comrades at
Pixar and Dreamworks. Instead of focusing on bodily details, they
struggled long and hard on lighting techniques. Check out the very
impressive way the light plays off the snow and ice, or how it scatters
off the fur of the animals. According to the press notes, Blue Sky
Studios, the filmmakers' company, developed a new piece of software they
call Ray Tracing.
Director Chris Wedge explains, "Ray Tracing simulates the complexities
of real light, mimicking the matrix of colors and shadows that we
experience all the time in the real world. It's a kind of digital
cinematography that lets us use our computers like a photographer uses a
camera, making everything on screen look more compelling, inviting and
tangible." Thanks to the Ray Tracing, "Ice Age" effectively presents a
wide-open look unlike other CGI features, which mostly look like
animated storybooks.
First pitched in 1997, "Ice Age" was originally intended to be a 2D,
hand drawn feature, but following the success of "A Bug's Life" and
"Antz," Fox decided to give computer graphics a shot, turning to their
boys at Blue Skies. The filmmakers suffered a lot during production.
Funds were cut and a major character, a female sloth voiced by Kristen
Johnston, was removed from the movie, due to pacing issues or poor
reactions from test audiences, depending on which staff person is
talking. Look for her to turn up on the DVD.
Those characters that were retained are brought to life by very
effective voice work. "Everybody Loves Raymond" star Ray Romano mixes
authoritative tones with a drollop of world-weariness as Manny, the
woolly mammoth. During an appearance on David Letterman this week, he
said that he offered to "mammoth up" his voice, but was told to "just
talk like you." Good call. Denis Leary is strong as Diego, the
sabertooth tiger with questionable loyalties, and John Leguizamo hits
the right comic notes as Sid the sloth, giving the creature a lateral
lisp after finding out that sloths often store food in their cheeks.
While recent traditionally animated features have experienced trouble
connecting with viewers, CGI productions keep on hitting the bullseye.
Add "Ice Age" to the list.
© 2002 Ed Johnson-Ott
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