The comic tone set at the beginning of “Ice Age” is one not maintained throughout the film. In the opening sequence, a squirrel tries feverishly to preserve his acorn for the winter. As he tries to stash it, he causes an avalanche. As a result, he loses the acorn, and goes chasing after it. He himself becomes caught in a southward migration of animals. Throughout the film, we see the squirrel from time to time, continuing his never-ending quest to save his food.

Meanwhile, most of the creatures of the region are migrating southward to warmer climates. That is not the case with Manfred the mammoth (Ray Romano). He’s a mammoth who has been on his own for quite a while. He’s used to looking out for, and taking care of, himself. That changes, though, when he rescues Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) from a pair of angry rhinos. Sid is so much of a sloth, he slept through the southward migration of his family. Sid, though, finds a reluctant companion in Manfred.

This animal odd couple finds themselves as the rescuers of a baby, whose mother had fled with him from a pack of sabertooth tigers. Although they’re unable to rescue the mother, Sid and Manfred take care of the child and intend to return him to his tribe. However, they need a skilled tracker, and meet one in Diego (Denis Leary), a tiger from the pack that had besieged the humans. The leader of his pack, Soto (Goran Visnjic) has ordered Diego to bring that baby to him. Diego promises to help Sid and Manfred reach the humans, but only as a means of setting a trap for the sloth and mammoth. Diego is in for some valuable lessons from Manfred and Sid before that occurs.

It seems, in “Ice Age,” that the directing team of Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha did anything but work together on this project. It seems one of them directed the lighter scenes, while the other handled the heavier scenes. The heavier scenes have no place in this movie. The tigers are the heavies, but they’re too heavy. There’s absolutely no comedy in the way Soto preys upon the humans, and in his single-minded effort to get the baby for himself. I also didn’t care for the rhinos who wanted to harm Sid over eating a dandelion. Manfred stops them, and gives them a lecture in not killing for sport. In the film’s climax, one of the characters seems to be mortally wounded, only to rise a few minutes later for a happy reunion with his other friends. The drama does not mesh with the other story elements. The near death experience has become a tired ploy in live action films, and it’s just as tired here.

“Ice Age,” however, does have amusing moments besides the moments with the squirrel. When Manfred isn’t in the mood for the baby’s curious and playful moods, he puts the infant on a tree branch, where he can’t cause any mischief or harm. I also enjoyed the scene where Manfred, Sid, and Diego battle a flock of dodos for some food. None of them was prepared for the dodos’ knowledge of martial arts. The best sequence, though, comes when a frozen mountain cave becomes a frozen water slide. They are so caught up in the fun of the moment, Diego asks them if they’re ready to try that again once they stop. Sid and Manfred look at him as if he were crazy.

The computer animation is good, but is not nearly as good as the CGI seen in “Shrek” or any Pixar film. In those films, the creations come very close to looking real. In “Ice Age,” the creations look like toy action figures. Sometimes, they seem rather plastic, especially in close-up shots of their claws. The animation never looks as meticulously created as that in other popular features. Still, it is not unattractive. The lead actors also do a good job, especially Romano. He may, at times, spurn contact with others, but he’s really a good mammoth who’s been on his own far too long, and never abuses others with his size or muscle. I also liked Leary, especially in his attempts to play peek-a-boo with the baby that wind up scaring the young one.

“Ice Age” is a film filled with equal parts of delight and disgust. I’m sure a lot of kids will enjoy both of these aspects. However, I felt the elements of danger in this film were not handled well. Animated features that handled the mixture of comedy and drama much better include “Bambi,” "The Iron Giant," and “The Lion King.” “Ice Age” presents its comedy and drama in a disjointed fashion. Had the makers of the film lightened up a bit, they would have had a film I enjoyed, and could recommend. I can only say, though, that I enjoyed this movie in spots, and that the uneven tone of “Ice Age” left me out in the cold.

Recommended:
No

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8