Ice Age
Directed by Carlos Saldanha, Chris Wedge
Ice Age is set - guess when. Most
of the prehistoric mammalian fauna are heading
south. A mammoth heads north. A sloth hopes
to escape maddened rhinos. A stunningly comic
shrew tries to bury his nut. Sabre tooth tigers
seek revenge.
Ice Age and
Shrek
are my favourite purely computer generated movies.
Ice Age is superior to the
Toy
Stories; squashes
Bugs Life and
Antz;
much, MUCH more fun than the disappointing
Dinosaur;
Much MUCH MUCH more entertaining than the dismal
Final Fantasy;
and it easily out-wits
Monsters
Inc, its most recent rival. Pixar (who made
the
Toy Story,
Bugs Life and
Monsters
Inc) have gone off the boil. I've grown
a bit sick of their oh-so-jolly voices. And
hated the testicle thing in
Monsters Inc.
Dreadful. Pixar have slowed down their
innovation (with the exception of the amazing
Randal in
Monsters). In fact,
Ice Age is utterly superb, it
is very nearly as good as
The
Iron Giant.
Ice Age made me laugh. During
Pixar movies I smile but I rarely feel strong
emotion. Pixar movies are light weight. Ice
Age made me laugh and in places it is poignant
too (not sentimental). This was a real surprise,
I was half expecting
Ice Age to
be rather mediocre. I was WRONG. The animation
is superb, the script is witty and not too babbly,
the sound is wonderful, the voice acting is
fantastic - not irritating like some Pixar voice
work.
Ice Age boasts wonderful
visuals, which are deliberately cartoony and
stylised. Pacing and story are ingeniously done.
The story takes risks and this made the movie
special for me. All kiddies films should have
a bit of a dark side, just like nature, just
like the best fairy tales. Kids instinctively
understand. The look and feel of Ice Age is
its own. Each character is surprisingly complex
and pleasing. All the elements fuse together
into a cracker of a good time.
I was complaining about side kicks in animated
movies. Well the side kick in this movie, Sid
the sloth, is fantastic. He is funny without
being over-the-top. He is likeable without being
cute. He is just amazing. The mammoth is magnificent,
he acts with his eyes. He is a reluctant hero.
Even the baby is fine. Not too nausiating. Quite
cool in fact. And the villainous Saber-toothed
tiger is shifty, excellently shifty.
Incidentally, the only good cat is an extinct
cat.
And as for that shrew with the nut - that shrew
is a comic masterpiece.
 |
|
|
spoilers corner
Spoilers!!!!
Warning: this box contains a movie post-mortem analysis that freely gives away important plot twists and details. If you have not yet seen this movie and intend seeing it, avoid this spoilers box until afterwards. Bookmark the page, see the movie, see if you agree with my review then write an arsy comment saying I am talking total b*ll*cks :-)
|
| |
The details in this movie are much of
the joy. Think of the way the sabre-toothed
tiger's eyes glowed in the dark. The ice
slide scene, the monster in the ice, the
little joke where the baby laughs when
the Sloth gets bashed on the head. The
expressions of guilt in the sabre-toothed
tigers eyes.
And those scenes with the shrew and the
nut! I was laughing out loud and so was
everybody else.
Love it!
|
|
There are no more spoilers below this
point, except maybe in any user talkback
comments.
End of spoilers corner
|
|
|
Perfect! Ace age :)
Add your comment to this page
| | | | |
| From: |
whitney | Subject: | 2003-03-10 22:30:12 |
| | | | |
| From: |
Mark Radburn | Subject: | 2004-11-05 22:14:42 |
| | | | |
| From: |
Jordon | Subject: | 2005-11-11 06:57:16 |
| | | | |
| From: |
riki | Subject: | 2006-03-30 08:47:21 |
| | | | |
| From: |
Nathan | Subject: | 2006-04-09 17:53:42 |
| | | | |
help: how to add your comment Page hits: 9071
