Ice Age

Ice age is set 20,000 years ago, amidst the time of Neanderthals and pre-historic animals. As thousands of creatures head south, away from the ice and freezing cold, three turn north, in an unlikely quest to save a human baby. The team consist of Manny, a depressed and kindly woolly mammoth; a sabre-toothed tiger named Diego; and Sid, a chatty sloth. Together these three battle volcanoes, predators and each other to rescue a child’s life, which ironically represents for them a future predator. With some truly wonderful set pieces, the animators of “Ice age” have created quite a magical netherworld where the dodo bird is depicted as too dim to ensure its survival into the next age and a persistent squirrel assiduously attempts to salvage a single acorn for a future feed. “Ice age” is very much family entertainment and should also prove interesting to those tracking the developments of computer animation. Humorously written, if at times a little twee, the film is a parable about friendship, acceptance and banding together. Featuring the voices of John Leguizamo, Ray Romano, Denis Leary, Jack Black and Jane Krakowski.