As the flagship franchise of animation studio Blue Sky, Ice Age prepares for its fifth cinematic outing since it first appeared on our screens in 2002. While naturally appealing to a new wave of children with every passing endeavour, it’s a franchise that, in a similar vein to Harry Potter, has grown up with its audience, always vying to reinvent itself and progress to match the loyal fan-base it has garnered across the years. With science fiction elements enriching this latest venture, here’s a film likely to be as much of a hit with the established, teenage fans, as it will the younger, new collective.
Returning director Mike Thurmeier is joined by newcomer Galen T. Chu, as we delve into the tireless and excruciating pursuit of Scrat, wanting only to be in the safe possession of his acorn. His commitment to the cause leads the unfortunate creature into a spaceship, swallowed up in a towering block of ice. Somehow, when vying to get his hands on the elusive nut, Scrat finds himself in space, setting off a cosmic set of events that lead to an unforgiving meteor, which is soaring directly at Earth, threatening the existence of the likes of Manny (Ray Romano), Sid (John Leguizamo) and Diego (Denis Leary). While the former is more concerned at the pending marriage between his daughter and her ungraceful fiancé, when the unhinged weasel Buck (Simon Pegg) alerts them to the forthcoming threat, they have to find a way to save the planet – and fast.
Though an adventure tale at its core, and one that is hardly committed to realism (unless cockney weasels wearing eye patches was a thing), with the complimentary sub-plot of Manny preparing, begrudgingly, for his daughter’s wedding, we’re able to connect to the characters on relatable, human terms – as we explore the notion of passing your daughter over to somebody else, coming to terms with the fact that it’s no longer you that she seeks protection from.
But where Ice Age has always come into its own is with the irrepressibly clumsy Scrat, and he offers such a wonderful means of deviation, intelligently devised in such a way that his own story, while informing the paramount narrative, remains seperate, like an interlude of sorts, breaking up the story as we cut to his slapstick endeavour to eat that damn acorn. Like a collection of short, silence films that are impossible to dislike, and funny no matter the age.
