{"id":79288,"date":"2023-05-05T00:01:06","date_gmt":"2023-05-05T07:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/?p=79288"},"modified":"2023-05-05T10:37:37","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T17:37:37","slug":"cold-comfort-celebration-of-the-first-ice-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/cold-comfort-celebration-of-the-first-ice-age\/","title":{"rendered":"Cold Comfort: Celebration of the First \u201cIce Age\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Director John Ford\u2019s classic western 3 Godfathers<\/em>, starring John Wayne, tells a sometimes brutal, sometimes divine story of three fugitive outlaws who find themselves caring for an infant. Not exactly a film that could be seen as a well of inspiration for an animated film.<\/p>\n

And yet, this seems to be the spiritual influence for Ice Age<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Set during the titular, prehistoric time frame, the computer-animated film tells the tale of Manny, a wooly mammoth, Diego, a saber-tooth tiger, and a sloth named Sid, who must partner together to return an abandoned human infant to others of its kind. Playing out in a parallel story during the film are the struggles of Scrat, the squirrel who is attempting to store his acorn for the winter.<\/p>\n

Ice Age<\/em> surpassed all expectations when released on March 15th, 2002, becoming a surprise hit for 20th Century Fox and the modest animation house, Blue Sky Studio, who created the film. Additionally, the film launched a franchise that\u2019s still going strong, including six theatrical movies, short subjects, TV specials, merchandise, and more.<\/p>\n

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Sid and Manny concept art by Peter de S\u00e8ve<\/p><\/div>The film first surfaced as a traditionally animated project at Fox in 1997 and was to be helmed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. When Blue Sky Studios, a small visual effects company based in White Plains, NY, was purchased by Fox, the project shifted over to a computer-animated film.<\/p>\n

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Research for the characters and Ice Age<\/em> timeframe was done at New York\u2019s Museum of Natural History, as the story went through its various transformations. Screenwriter Michael J. Wilson credits his daughter, Flora, with coming up with the idea of Scrat. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe came up with a character in Ice Age that is a combination of a squirrel and a rat,\u201d Wilson wrote in the Soo Theater News Blog. \u201cShe called him Scrat. \u2018What does Scrat want?\u2019 I asked Flora. \u2018Dad. Hello? Scrat wants the acorn.\u2019 Wow! So simple. I have been forever in Flora\u2019s debt and creative shadow ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

These comical, cartoon antics are balanced with the heart that\u2019s found in the rest of the film, as Manny, Diego and Sid get closer to the baby that they\u2019re helping.<\/p>\n

Director Chris Wedge and his team took great pains using the latest software to render everything from the glacial backdrops of the film to the detail in Manny\u2019s fur, to make it look believable yet artistic and animatable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Voices were also carefully cast, with Ray Romano (hot on the success of Everybody Loves Raymond<\/em>) bringing an unexpected voice to the large mammoth, that included a knowing and cynical tone; Denis Leary brings dangerous street-smarts to Diego that are perfect for the character, and John Leguizamo creates a Daffy Duck-infused lisping voice for Sid that\u2019s innocent, wholly original and sounds nothing like the actor. <\/p>\n

When it debuted, Ice Age broke the record for a March movie opening (which would later be surpassed by the sequel Ice Age: The Meltdown<\/em> in 2006). Both are proof of how popular the characters and films are and how well they connect with audiences. <\/p>\n

Now celebrating its 21st anniversary, the \u201cThree Godfathers\u201d of Manny, Diego, and Sid in Ice Age have had a popularity that\u2019s ironically lasted a lot longer than\u2026well\u2026the Ice Age<\/em>. <\/p>\n