by: Betsy Kikay Arvesu

The Ice Age is one of the ecstatic films produced following the movies Shrek and Monster's Inc. The film excelled in visual effects with its jaw-dropping animation technology. The Ice Age is a fast and funny picture. It is full of gags and amazing imagery of vast glaciers, endless landscapes and snowcaps. In the all-animated feature cartoon, the film has become an enjoyable slapstick children romp.

The film started with the awesome running gag, Scrat, a half-squirrel and a half-rat who spends a new Wile E. Coyote version of disaster after another in the entire scene trying to ram an acorn in the ice fields. The ice begins to crack and move, the glacier rolls down, and soon Scrat is rushing to save both his life and his acorn.

The Ice Age begins then, humans and animals start to migrate. We gradually meet the other characters, including Sid and hard-faced mammoth Manfred. We also meet a nasty band of saber-toothed tigers led by sadistic Soto (Visnjic) who attacks a human tribe. There a mother and her baby girl, Roshan were endangered ending up in a cliffhanger, near a waterfall. Roshan falls into the hands of squabbling couple Sid and Manfred. They march off together with Roshan trailing in search of her parents. Finally Diego, the saber-toothed who has been tasked to spy on them, joins them and leads them into a trap.

Unfortunately, the film lacks the intricacy and the brilliance it deserves. The plot, has nothing new to give taking bits and pieces of plots and characters, putting them together in one humorous film setting.

As a kids' movie, the film is a success, with a good mix of slapstick, humor and one-liners. The film is predictable making it a passable family film that won't win mature audience.