Just as A Bug's Life was a computer-animated comedy inspired by Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai, the funny and often enthralling Ice Age is a digital re-imagining of the Western Three Godfathers. The heroes of this unofficial remake (set 20,000 years ago, during the titular Paleolithic era) are a taciturn mastodon named Manfred (voiced by Ray Romano), an annoying sloth named Sid (John Leguizamo), and a duplicitous saber-toothed tiger, Diego (Denis Leary). The unlikely team encounters a dying, human mother who relinquishes her chirpy toddler to the care of these critters. Hoping, against all odds, to return the little guy to his migrating tribe, Manfred and his associates need to establish trust among themselves, not an easy thing in a harsh world of predators, prey, and pushy glaciers. Audiences that have become accustomed to the rounded, polished, storybook look of Pixar's house brand of computer animation (Monsters, Inc.) will find the blunt edges and chilly brilliance of Ice Age--evoking the harsh, dangerous environment of a frozen world--a wholly different, and equally pleasing, trip. Recommended for ages 4 and up. --Tom Keogh
Product Description
They came... they thawed... they conquered the hearts of audiences everywhere in the coolest animated adventure of all time! Heading south to avoid a bad case of global frostbite, a group of migrating misfit creatures embark on a hilarious quest to reunite a human baby with his tribe. Featuring an all-star voice cast, including Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary, ICE AGE is "a pure delight" (New York Daily News) for all ages!
Another re-release for "Ice Age" (this is the third counting the single disc edition of the film) to coincide with the sequel, this edition essentially is the previous two disc edition with some minor features added that don't make it any more worthwhile to pick up. The DVD ROM printables and "Scrat's Frozen Facts" appear to be the newest features on this set. Most of the featurettes are recycled from the previous edition.
No issue with the transfer per se since it is a digital cartoon this edition appears to be from the same source as the previous edition. Should you upgrade? Not if you have the previous two disc edition but if you have the single disc edition and you want the extras, this is the way to go. Sound is crystal clear with nice use of 5.1 effects.
The DVD ROM printables and "Scrat's Frozen Fun Facts" an interactive feature that can be accessed during the film appear to be the newest features on this set. The latter has behind-the-scenes clips you the film in various stages of production while also including comments from experts on natural history discussing the what scientist believe the world was like then. Most of the featurettes are recycled from the previous edition. Otherwise the commentary tracks, deleted scenes and just about everything else is imported from the previous two disc edition of the film. There's also theater money that can be presented for "Ice Age 2".
If you purchased the previous two disc set of this movie, I'd take a pass on this one. There's no improvement in this edition vs. the earlier two disc set in my mind.
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is as cool as it gets!, May 3, 2006
First, a great character driven story with a positive message. The heroes in this story don't start out as heroes at all. Sid is an annoying and rather pathetic sloth who is left behind when all his friends migrate. Manfred is a mammoth with "issues" who at the beginning is walking the wrong way for some reason. Why? Does the scene with the moving cave drawings explain this? Was his wife and offspring killed, and was he walking the wrong way to end his own life? Diego the sabertooth tiger is an order following killer on a mission.
Each of these characters grow beyond themselves to save a human baby. Sid assumes responsiblity and develops courage. Diego learns to think for himself and do the right thing. Manfred overcomes his grief and self-centerdness and endures all kinds of trials to save a baby who may grow up to be a hunter of mammoths. This is a story how anyone, regardless of how non-heroic they may be, can rise above themselves and do what is right when they have to.
Second, this DVD lets you watch the movie five different ways: Widescreen, Fullscreen, "Nutty Movie" mode where you can watch the deleted scenes as if they'd been spliced back into the movie, commentary mode, and "extreme cool" mode where you watch the movie in a window while documentary material plays in another window. How cool is that?
Third, the deleted scenes are actually very interesting. They have their own commentary too. Sylvia is a great character (a sloth girlfriend of Sid's) who was going to be in the movie but was cut out and replaced. The commentary tells why.
Fourth, the two shorts are great. Gone Nutty is more of Scrat chasing acorns, and Bunny is a brilliant short about an elderly female rabbit's last minutes of this life and the transition to the next.
And there's a lot more. It make take until the next ice age for me to get through all the stuff on this DVD!
58 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 starsA very funny movie!, March 17, 2002
Clever jokes, some slapstick, fairly well developed script, good animation, solid story development, and good music.
Review:
Ray Ramano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary create a good team together and a touching story.
Story: In the beginning of the ice age, 3 unique animal adversaries are drawn together to bring a human baby back to migrating father. A depressed wooly mammoth (Manfred - Ray Ramano), a good natured, happy go-lucky, but less than intelligent sloth (Sid - John Leguizamo) and a mean saber-toothed tiger (Diego - Denis Leary) put up with each other during their journey Northward and the entire animal world goes south; with a squirrel unsuccessfully capturing his acorn.
Audience Reaction:
The entire audience seemed to liked / loved the movie. My daughter liked it so much that two other movie goers noted how much fun she had during the movie. (She often gets noticed because she is severely handicapped, but very charming).
Children:
Seems ok for young children as well. Not as scary as Jimmy Neutron (as a comparison). But, there are a couple of animal fighting scenes, and the final fight scene could be a bit much for sensitive children under 3 or 4 years old.
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5.0 out of 5 starsBlu-ray movie
Will buy from seller again in future if he has items I need. He sent the blu-ray move to me in a timely manner. Good and professional service.
Published 1 month ago by Lola M. Martinez
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat Flic!
Movie was great for me, my wife, and our 2 boys, ages 5 & 3. Funny & smart with a happy ending.
Published 2 months ago by fpmatt44
5.0 out of 5 starsOne delicious nut...
Friendship, loyalty...danger, adventure...love, family; these are all just some of the many themes presented in delightful form in this crowd pleasing animated feature staring...
Published 5 months ago by Andrew Ellington
5.0 out of 5 starsAwesome
what can i say this is a great movie and always will be should be enjoyed by everyone. if you have not seen it then you should
Published 7 months ago by David A. Smith
4.0 out of 5 starsAnimated Prehistoric Animal Buddy Tale
Ice Age is a family film that is computer animated. It is full of delightful characters and clever jokes.
Published 8 months ago by Loyd E. Eskildson
5.0 out of 5 starsgood movie
I am sure the movie description written for the product is better than anything I could ever write, so I will just leave it as this is a good movie that I got a great deal on the...
Published 8 months ago by C. Stroud
5.0 out of 5 starsI was pleasantly surprised!
As one who can't stand many CGI-animated films that have been released in the new millennium, Ice Age really had me hooked.
Published 10 months ago by Eric S. Kim
5.0 out of 5 starsIce Age Review
Quirky story about how opposites can sometimes work together to achieve a common goal. Subtle humor between Manny, Diego, and Sid!
Published 10 months ago by Michael Knoll
5.0 out of 5 starsIce Age DVD
GREAT MOVIE!! A MUST WATCH FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES! EVEN WE ENJOY WATCHING IT EVERY TIME...STRONGLY RECOMMENDED....IT WAS SHIPPED FAST AND IN VERY GOOD CONDITION....
Published 12 months ago by S. Gowda
5.0 out of 5 starsA wonderful experience in Blu-ray
I now have the trilogy of Ice age movies. I most recently bought this, kind of 'backtracking' so to say.
![Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (DVD + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]](http://www.prcommentary.com/images/i/51hgk2egtll_sl500_ss90_.jpg)
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