- Joined
- Jul 3, 1997
- Messages
- 66,750
- Real Name
- Ronald Epstein
Ice Age
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox
Year: 2002
Rated: PG
Film Length: 81 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16X9 Enhanced Widescreen (1.85:1)
and Standard (1.33:1) Transfer
Subtitles: English and Spanish
Licensed To Chill
I like to think of Ice Age as the little
animated feature that could! Though it's not nearly
on the same scale as animated blockbusters like
Shrek and Monsters, Inc, this snappy,
funny, and cleverly conceived all-digital, animated
feature film from Chris Wedge makes for truly fun
family entertainment.
Set in prehistoric times when glaciers still
dominated the earth, we find a story of three animals
who find a human baby and set out to return him to
its tribe. The leader of the expedition is a Manfred,
a woolly mammoth (Ray Romano); Sid, a clumsy but
lovable motor-mouthed sloth (John Leguizamo); and
Diego, a morally conflicted saber-toothed tiger
(Denis Leary). These unlikely allies travel across
vast glaciers and lava streams to make contact with
a human scouting party.
But perhaps the most reliable and consistent source
of laughs comes from a character who exists almost
completely outside the main plot — a squirrel named
Scrat. This determined but small-minded rodent is
constantly trying to find a place in the harsh and
frozen wasteland to bury an acorn.
With smooth animated effects and a solid storyline,
there is plenty here to like including a collection
of silly animal gags and Leguizamo one liners. Most
of all, this film has a wonderful look and texture
all its own with a transfer that just can't be beat.
Oops! I am getting ahead of myself here!
How is the transfer?
Ice Age is a sight to behold! Once again,
we are treated to a totally digital creation that
has been transferred directly to DVD from its
digital source. The result, as you may have now come
to expect, is nothing short of breathtaking. Here
is a picture that is so incredibly clear and detailed
that its razor-sharp images look three-dimensional.
No kidding -- it actually looks as if you can reach
into your screen and touch the animation.
No blemishes! No artifacts! Not even a single
speck of film grain! This transfer is as pure as
the snow its characters walk upon. Colors are
beautifully vivid here -- especially those that
stand out amongst the film's clean white backgrounds.
As you will see from the screenshots I have provided
throughout this review, every frame is like a
perfect snapshot.
Want to know how good this film can sound? You
won't have too long to wait. In the opening moments
of this film, our small hero, Scrat, sticks his
acorn in the snow with deep emphatic thud response
from the LFE channel as the rear speakers provide
the sound of surrounding rumble while ice cracks across
the two front channels. It's quite an awesome bit
of sound mix that will certainly be repeated as
demo material. Unfortunately, from hereon in, the
sound mix changes considerably. The front channels
still provide robust and detailed sound with great
direction across the front channels. While dialogue
sits mostly in the center speaker, some clever scenes
move that dialogue across the front and right channels.
The problem is the rear and LFE channels. They
mostly remain at very low levels throughout this
film, only to resurface at the very end. I was sort
of perplexed as to why the film started off with
demo-quality surround, only to remain front-heavy
for nearly the rest of its entire length.
Special Features
Ice Age arrives as a 2-disc Special Edition.
What makes this set really special is that
it's quite obvious that Fox wanted to make this a
title that appeals to everyone in the family.
To begin with, the studio chose not to release
confusingly separate widescreen and full frame
editions. Both versions are included in this set,
easily accessible off the Main Menu. To give Fox
even more credit, they put the choice of widescreen
first (over full frame).
Next, the studio loaded Disc One with 8
different DVD-ROM Games. I'll admit that
I chose not to spend too much time with these games
as it usually means having to go through un installs
after viewing, but I can tell you that there's a
neat game called Sid Shreds that features
all the film's characters in a snowboarding game.
There's also a rugby/dodgeball game called Super
DoDo Ball. This, to me, is just really cool
stuff as it allows kids to watch the film on their
TV, and then stick the DVD in their computer to
interact with their favorite characters. For those
without computers, there are three Interactive
Games you can play on your DVD player including
Hide and Eek, a nifty search game.
If that isn't enough, there's all sorts of
activity stuff on this DVD ranging from a coloring
book. a Shoe Box Theater, a board game, and
even a Make-Your-Own Mobile. I mean, if you have
computer addicted kids, the DVD-ROM stuff is worth
the purchase alone.
For adults, there's a full-length commentary
by Director Chris Wedge and Co-Director Carlos
Saldanha. Through the words of this pair, we learn
how a sort of dramatic film with a serious tone
was turned into an animated comedy film. Perhaps
the greatest challenge was creating the Ice Age
world itself. Though there was much research done,
the filmmakers ultimately found that in many ways,
the world was not too different than it looks today.
The directors never hesitate to talk about their
favorite shots, and why some shots were easier to
render than others. The filmmakers were very
careful to cap each of the more dramatic moments
of the film with some comedy material, in order to
give some release to the audience through laughter.
As we go from scene to scene, it's interesting to
hear how important lighting was to this film, as
we actually see how that lighting created a specific
mood for the segment we are viewing. Anyone that
is interested in CGI animation will want to listen
to this extremely detailed commentary.
Now let's go look at Disc Two....
Something I forgot to mention earlier is the
animated menu design of this disc. Both discs
have totally different animated schemes. Once
again, the talent at Fox has come up with some
of the cleverest menu designs of any studio. I
don't think anyone will be able to make a menu
selection without having a big fat smile on
their face.
Let's slowly go through this wealth of supplements
starting with Scrat's Missing Adventure,
a never-before-seen short feature created exclusively
for this release. Today's episode: Gone Nutty!.
Once again, our little squirrel hero is preparing for
the oncoming Ice Age by storing away his wealth of
acorns. As he adds the very last nut to his vast
collection, he once again finds himself in a heap
of trouble. We originally saw this cartoon while
out at Fox studios, and I gotta tell you -- I laughed
just as hard today as I did a month ago when I first
viewed it. An exceptional short!
(length: approx. 5 minutes)
There are six deleted scenes for you to
browse through. Let's briefly look at them...
* An original introduction to Sid, as the Sloth
hustles a bunch of young Aardvarks. Director
Chris Wedge was a little sad that the kids who
supplied the voices here had their shining moment
removed.
* Here we meet Sylvia, a female SLoth who has
taken a liking to Sid. Of course, Sid isn't ready
for any sort of commitment, and you see how he
fast-talks his way out of another situation.
* This is cool. An unfinished animated scene
that features some additional tigers who take
part in in the stake-out. Director Chris Wedge
felt the scene was just a little way over the top.
* Did a poop joke go too far? Sid empties a full
diaper in the woods just as oncoming tigers pick
up the scent.
* A scene that didn't work well in initial test
screenings: There's some banter between Sid and
some other female Sloths. Ultimately Chris Wedge
thought the scene was too out of character for Sid.
* Another partially complete animated sequence
finds Sylvia discovering the Rhinos. You can see
how this really slowed down the pacing of the film.
In total, these add up to a little over 7 minutes
of material, and are quite interesting to watch --
especially for the way the original concept of using
Sylvia in the film was scrapped. You can listen to
all these deleted scenes with or without added
commentary by the Directors.
Now this is really cool! Sid on Sid features
our smooth-talkin' Sloth in his private screening
room. As the film rolls before him, he sits back
and talks about what it was like to work with his
co-stars, and some of the practical jokes that went
down on the set. I can see kids really having a
great time with this, and parents may find a chuckle
here and there with jokes that go over their young
one's heads.
(length: approx. 3 minutes)
The next section, Scrat Reveals, contains
3 short promotions featuring our acorn-loving
squirrel. These seem to be interstitial advertising
segments to promote both the movie and Fox television.
The next segment, Animation Progression,
gives us a multi-angle look at a different stage
of progression of a particular scene's animation.
Three key scenes are presented here: First is
the film's opening title sequence featuring
Scrat. Almost Home has our heroes near the
end of their journey as they approach glacier pass.
Tigers Attack is the film's initial attack
sequence where the newborn is stolen.
I found this segment to be fascinating. With each
pressing of your remote's angle button, you
can see the different layers of animation progression
from storyboard to 3D layout, un-rendered
animation and ending with final rendering.
In case you get tired of constantly switching angles,
there is a final option that allows you to see
multiple windows of all the progression stages on
one screen.
The most lengthy section of supplements can be
found in Under The Ice, which features a
handful of production featurettes. Let's briefly
look at each...
The Making of Ice Age is broken down into
7 individual featurettes. In the beginning
immediately introduces us to Director Chris Wedge
who has been making animation since he was a pre-teen.
His love for animation led him to the creation of
Blue Sky Studios, and an interesting animated
short called Bunny, which won an Oscar. We
meet Producer Lori Forte who originated and developed
the idea of making an animated film set in the Ice
Age. (2:30); Acting in Animation shows us
the actors behind the voices as we watch Romano,
Leguizamo and Leary behind the microphone. Between
these shots are some short interviews from the
actors. It's interesting to learn how Leguizmo
created a special speech pattern for his Sloth
alter-ego. (7:13); Creating Ice Age Characters
begins with an interesting examination by Chris
Wedge over how film and animation differ. Unlike
live-action filmmaking, every bit of information you
see on the screen was created by hand. This featurette
looks at the talent behind the film and the amount
of research that was put into creating an Ice Age
world. There are many conceptual sketches shown
here, as well as input from the animators themselves.
(3:02); Modeling is fun to watch as we take
a look at early concepts of individual characters
as modeled in clay. Creating these 3D models helps
the animation team see things they might have missed
in simple sketch drawings. Best of all, these models
serve as guides for computer animation -- and you'll
see that entire process right here! (1:58); In
Storyboards, co-director Carlos Saldanha
guides us from script to storyboard as we see
several examples of the 2D art that acts as a guide
for how a scene should look. We are taken through
a story boarded sequence as we watch the final scene
in a separate smaller window. (1:49); Animating
Ice Age introduces us to the talented team
of computer animators who add all the small pieces
of movement to the animated characters (such as jaws
and eyes opening and closing). You'll enjoy watching
the animators become animated themselves as they act
out the movements they are attempting to create.
(6:03). Finally, The Finishing Touches
presents us with the challenge of creating a very
small story in a very large place. Wedge used a
very familiar style of animating his backgrounds
against live animation. We also learn how lighting
played an important part of giving this film a very
natural look to it. Basically, this featurette scans
most of what has already been shown, but adds some
interesting insight from the Director, cast and
filmmakers on what they hope will come out of this
film. (4:16)
Behind The Scenes of Ice Age is an HBO
special that features a funny setup skit featuring
Ray Romano and his typical day on the set. From
hereon in, we get the usual promotional fare of
being introduced to each of the animated characters
and the actors who voice them. This featurette
quickly glosses over most of the material seen in
The Making of Ice Age section, including the
CGI animation. I would recommend this more for those
who want all the basics thrown at them without having
to go through the more detailed supplements.
(length: approx. 14 minutes)
How do you voice a Sloth? Hell if actor John
Leguizamo knew! In Sid Voice Development,
we learn how the actor refined the character's
voice. A real treat here is listening to raw
demo recordings that John created on tape while
in the midst of shooting Moulin Rouge
(length: approx. 3 minutes)
Using 2D in a 3D World shows us how Manny's
visions inside the Prehistoric cave were able to
be brought to life in 2-dimensional form.
(length: approx. 1 minute)
Making a Character takes us through the
process of creating 3D models from 2D sketch
drawings and using those models to create more
detailed CGI animation.
(length: approx. 1 minute)
Art of Rigging takes us through the early
preparations of creating moving animation that
becomes a skeleton model, showing all the individual
movements of that character.
(length: approx. 1 minute)
I always love watching these things! Animators
Acting takes us through the concept of capturing
the emotions of the actor's voice through animation.
This involves the animated team acting out sequences
from the film. Unfortunately, this is way too short
of an example of how this process is done.
(length: approx. 1 minute)
Lighting and Materials shows us how lighting
and color defines the texture of the film. We watch
how basic animation is touched up through the addition
of colors and various degrees of lighting.
(length: approx. 1 minute)
Art of Effects was an eye-opener for me. I
never knew that so much pre-modeling had to be put
into creating special effects for animation. I
always thought it was just drawn...wrong! We watch
how so many individual elements are created to mesh
together the film's opening destructive glacier
sequence.
(length: approx. 1 minute)
International Ice Age gives us several
examples of how the film sounded in several foreign
languages including German, Italian, Swedish, Polish,
Greek and Cantonese.
(length: approx. 2.5 minutes)
Here it is! Chris Wedge's 1998 Academy Award Winning
short, Bunny. It's a wonderful, bittersweet
short that represents a dream-like world. This was
a short created just for the pleasure of Chris and
company, but somehow gained critical acclaim. Pay
close attention to how well lighting is used in the
animation process. You can opt to play this short
with or without commentary from director Chris Wedge.
(length: approx. 7 minutes)
Design Galleries sizes its way through all
the animated characters of the film, giving a
little bit of factual history for each. This is
a great educational tool for kids who just want
to do some remote hopping. Take things one step
further and you can Create Your Own Ice Age
Gallery by selecting several images via
your remote control.
Rounding out the extras are two theatrical
trailers as well as a teaser trailer.
There is also a trailer for the recently released
film, Like Mike.
Final Thoughts
In tough economic times, parents are always
looking for the best value for their family.
In reviewing this DVD, I realized just how much
family value Fox has put into a single product.
Here is a top-notch film with a state-of-the-art
transfer, combined with computer DVD-ROM
games and a second disc filled with hours of cool
supplements for an on-line price of under $23.
No doubt Ice Age will become the hottest
DVD this season, making this a warm addition to
your collection!
Release Date: November 26, 2002
