Ice Age

Theatrical Release Date: 2002 03 15 (USA) / 2002 08 23 (USA - Rerelease)

UPC: 024543046646

Studio: 20th Century Fox

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Mild Violence, Excellent For Children]

Summary: A team of "sub-zero heroes" band together to save a human infant in this digitally animated feature from Oscar-winning director Chris Wedge, whose unique lighting software (called "Ray Tracing") sets his visual style apart from earlier CGI efforts. Twenty thousand years ago, the Earth is overrun by freezing temperatures in an Ice Age that is sending all manner of critters scattering in the path of encroaching glaciers. When a lost human infant is discovered, an unlikely quartet of misfits forms to return it to its mother: Manny, a depressed woolly mammoth (Ray Romano); Sid, a fast-talking sloth (John Leguizamo); an acorn-crazed squirrel named Scrat (Wedge); and the devilish saber-toothed tiger named Diego (Denis Leary). Before they can complete their mission, the reluctant compatriots will brave pits of boiling lava, dangerous caverns of ice, and even a traitorous plot within their midst. Ice Age (2002) also features the voices of Jack Black, Jane Krakowski, and Goran Visnjic. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Category: Children's/Family

Awards: Best Animated Feature – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Animated Feature – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Animated Feature – Broadcast Film Critics Association

Features: ccFull- length audio commentary by directors Chris Wedge and co-director Carlos Saldanha
3 all-new interactive games
8 DVD-ROM games/activities
Anamorphic widescreen (aspect ratio 1.85:1)
Pan & Scan version (aspect ratio 1.33:1)
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby surround, French Dolby surround, Spanish Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Disc two:
"Scrat's Missing Adventure"
"Behind the Scenes of Ice Age" HBO special
6 deleted scenes in English, French & Spanish
6 production featurettes
"The making of Ice Age" documentary
Scene-specific commentary by John Leguizamo as Sid
3 interactive animation studies
International (Multi-language) clip
Scrat's mini promo spots
Blue Sky studios' Oscar winning animated film: "Bunny" (with optional director's commentary)
Ice Age theatrical teaser, trailers & more!

Ice Age

Format: DVD

Release Date: 11/26/2002

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope, 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DS Dolby Surround (4.0)

Runtime: 81 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. A Squirrel's Life [3:51]
2. The Big Chill? [1:28]
3. All Alone [:44]
4. A Great Team [3:25]
5. Tigers on the Prowl [2:57]
6. Save the Child [2:12]
7. Taking Care of the Baby [3:05]
8. Food! [:45]
9. Bedtime [6:01]
10. Where's the Baby? [:48]
11. A Shortcut [2:17]
12. Cave Drawings [2:58]
13. The Searchers [:47]
14. A Hot Foot [3:33]
15. The Tiger's Plan [1:39]
16. Fire Starter [5:47]
17. Ambush! [:45]
18. Reunited [5:01]
19. 20,000 Years Later [1:00]
20. End Titles [2:33]

Derek Armstrong

Riding a wave of good feeling toward animated films, The Ice Age made a jaw-dropping $46 million in its opening weekend, in turn setting a new March record and reversing the fortunes of Fox's animation wing following the disappointing Titan A.E. (2000). An instant contender for the 2002 Best Animated Feature Oscar, The Ice Age can be viewed as derivative in its approach nonetheless. The central relationship between a dyspeptic woolly mammoth (Ray Romano) and the talkative sloth who follows him (John Leguizamo) is Shrek all over again, their guardianship of a lost human baby has shades of Monsters, Inc., and the prehistoric migration milieu even triggers unfortunate Dinosaur flashbacks. But beyond its basic structure, which must hew closely to standard guidelines to be successful, The Ice Age is a glittering fiesta of images bolstered by clever, laugh-out-loud set pieces. The animation itself is edgier than its closest digital contemporaries, mingling styles that recall claymation and old Hanna-Barbera cartoons into a finely detailed, visually arresting patchwork. The fact that it doesn't directly resemble an existing style is rare in an industry where imitation is not only commonplace, but expected (see Dreamworks' first forays into Disney-style animation). The film's great running joke finds a squirrel chasing an acorn between converging glaciers, avoiding extinction in improbable ways. It also scores with set pieces in which the characters slip down a sort of ice cavern water slide, and steal melons from a band of apocalypse-fearing dodos, who have a hard time staying alive. The Ice Age shows mastery of how to underuse its dialogue, as well, including the fascinating choice to leave the humans voiceless. The comic relief role usually has a high irritation quotient, but Leguizamo's lispy, slurring voice is surprisingly tolerable. And the moments of complete silence are the most notable, as when a wall of cave drawings recounts the sad loss of the mammoth's family. The complete package is one of the more satisfying, not to mention technically accomplished, family movies to come along in years. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: David Newman  Composer (Music Score) 
Christopher Meledandri  Executive Producer 
Chris Wedge  Director 
Peter Ackerman  Screenwriter 
Lori Forte  Producer 
Carlos Saldanha  Director 
Michael J. Wilson  Screenwriter 
Michael Berg  Screenwriter 
Ray Romano  Actor 
John Leguizamo  Actor 
Denis Leary  Actor 
Goran Visnjic  Actor 
Jack Black  Actor 
Tara Strong  Actor 
Cedric the Entertainer  Actor 
Stephen Root  Actor 
Diedrich Bader  Actor 
Alan Tudyk  Actor 
Lorri Bagley  Actor 
Jane Krakowski  Actor 
Chris Wedge  Actor 

Country: USA