Ice Age is a 2002
American computer-animated film created by Blue
Sky Studios and released by 20th
Century Fox. It was directed by Carlos
Saldanha and Chris Wedge from a story by Michael J. Wilson. The
story follows three Paleolithical mammals attempting to return a lost human
baby to its parents.The film was originally to be directed by Don Bluth
and Gary
Goldman, and produced in 2D by Fox Animation Studios, but the rise of CGI
animation and the failure of Titan A.E.
destroyed Fox's traditional animation division; hence, Bluth and Goldman
transferred their duties for Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha from Fox's CGI
division Blue Sky. The film was met with both critical acclaim and box office
success, starting a series with two sequels, Ice Age: The Meltdown and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.
Plot
The film begins with a sabre-toothed
squirrel (known as Scrat)
who is trying to find a location to store his prized acorn. Eventually, as he
tries to hide it, he causes an avalanche. He barely escapes, but finds himself
stepped on by a herd of prehistoric animals. The animals are trying to avoid
the ice age
by migrating south. Sid, a clumsy Megalonyx
sloth left behind by his family, is attacked by two Brontops
whom he angered. Sid is soon saved by Manfred
("Manny"), an agitated mammoth who fights them off. Not wanting to be alone and
unprotected, Sid follows Manny. Meanwhile, Soto, the leader of a Smilodon
pride wants revenge on a group of humans by eating the chief's baby son,
Roshan, alive. There is an attack on the human camp, causing Roshan's mother to
be separated from the rest and jump into a waterfall. Soto's lieutenant, Diego,
is sent to find and bring the baby back. Sid and Manny spot Roshan and his
mother near the lake, having survived her trip over the waterfall. The mother
only has enough strength to trust her baby to Manny before she disappears.
After much persuasion by the sloth, they decide to return Roshan (nicknamed
"Pinky") but when they get to the human camp, the humans are gone.
They meet up with Diego, who convinces the pair to let him help by tracking the
humans. The four travel on, with Diego secretly leading them to an ambush. Soon
they reach a cave where Sid and Diego learn about Manny's past and his previous
interactions with the humans, where his wife and son were killed, leaving Manny
a cynical loner. At one time the group passes a flying
saucer embedded in clear ice. At the end of the film, Diego, Manny and Sid
battle Soto's pack and a short fight ensues. As Soto closes in for the kill on
Manny, Diego leaps and stops Soto, who wounds Diego in the process. Manny, in
vengeance, knocks Soto into a wall of rocks, where sharp icicles fall on Soto,
killing him. Manny and Sid manage to return the baby to his tribe, and Diego
rejoins them, as the group begins to head off to warmer climates.