Starring -  Ray Romano, John Leguizamo,
Denis Leary & Jack Black.
Running Time - 81 minutes
Rated - PG

Ice Age is a very simple story combined with great animation and plenty of laughs. Cunning sabre-tooth tigers are seeking revenge on some humans for killing one of their pack. At risk is the children of the humans whom the sabre-tooths see as a equal return of justice. To the rescue is Sid the sloth (Lugiezamo), Manfred the woolly mammoth (Romano) and Diego the sly sabre-tooth tiger (Leary) who seek to reunite the lost infant with his father.

The team are confronted with various obstacles such as psychotic rhinos, Tae Kwon-Dodos and exploding volcanoes along the way. However all these obstacles result in the bond growing stronger and stronger between this mixed bag of travellers. Ultimately the film culminates in Diego facing a tough choice and one which almost has fatal consequences.

What makes this film so good is the lack of big stars adding the voice to the characters. I find in films such as Madagascar, you find it difficult to enjoy the characters because you can’t fit the voice with the character. In Ice Age though you feel like you’ve known the characters for ages and immediately become drawn to them and quickly adopt a favourite.

Despite the main characters, for me the star of the show is the peculiar looking rat/weasel thing called Scratch. The film is interspersed with Scratches attempts of tucking away his prized acorn to save once the snow has thawed. You cannot help but feel for Scratch but also laugh at him as each attempt is flawed, mainly due to his own undoing.

Best Bit: Sid the Sloth taking on the Tae Kwon-Dodos.

Rating: 5 out of 5, a great adventure, and one you’ll want to experience over and over again.