 |
|
ICE AGE
 
Voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo,
Denis Leary, Goran Visnjic and Jack Black
Director Chris Wedge
Canadian Rating PG
Released by 20th Century Fox - 03/02
In the opening sequence of “Ice Age”, a neurotic squirrely creature scuttles across the snow, attempting to find a place to bury a precious acorn. After triggering a shift in the ice, the squirrel finds himself outrunning a glacier and falling chunks of frozen debris. As glimpsed in the teaser trailer, it’s easily the most entertaining sequence in the movie (the high-strung prehistoric squirrel is also the funniest character present here), and in itself would merit an Oscar nomination in the animated short film category. Unfortunately, “Ice Age” trudges on with a labored and lackluster plot that lacks the ability to delight and enchant, despite its polished computer visuals from the now nonexistent Fox animation studios, who went under thanks to stinkbombs like “Titan A.E.”. The box office success of “Ice Age” was too little, too late.
The plot of the film (if you want to call it that) involves Manfred the mammoth (voice of Ray Romano), Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) and Diego the sabertooth tiger (Denis Leary) joining forces to deliver a human baby back to its tribe as the Ice Age looms ahead. The manner in which the characters intersect is unconvincing, and their journey together is surprisingly stillborn, despite a few clever moments of humor that adult viewers will embrace as a gracious reprieve from the tedium (one amusing scene finds a group of idiotic dodo birds attempting to stave off their impending extinction). But really, once you get past the impressive computer-generated images (most of the characters are wonderfully rendered - save for the humans), “Ice Age” has little basis for recommendation. Of the three main mammals, a lisping Leguizamo easily scores highest as Sid the Sloth, simply because his antics are the most energetic (with bulging eyes and a wagging tongue, he is also funny in appearance) and pepper an otherwise dull movie. Romano uses the same dry, monotone sarcasm that he always does on “Everybody Loves Raymond”, but the material doesn’t support it. He comes across as flat. And who on God’s green earth cast Denis Leary as the most straight-ahead serious character of the lot? Playing against type doesn’t work for the brash comedian, even as an animated prehistoric beast. On a side note, see if you can recognize Jack Black as one of Diego’s sabertooth buddies.
“Ice Age” has a few lively action sequences (including the priceless opening), but only rarely does it strike a human chord or engage us with its charm (the one touching scene introduces a tragic back story for Manfred, which translates in a heartfelt and sincere fashion). But director Chris Wedge fails to establish a consistent story thread and, in turn, does a threadbare job of delivering on the considerable potential of this project. If anything, “Ice Age” makes you appreciate the work of Disney and Pixar, who have collaborated for such gems as “Toy Story” and “A Bug’s Life”. Those films provide bright humor, lovable characters and palpable dramatic payoff. “Ice Age” has none of the above.
|
|
|
