This is the first of what was to become a series of animated films with animal characters living in the ice age. Ostensibly for children, it carries a PG rating. It could be because of some of the mild violence that's shown, and some of the scary characters – notably the lions. But more than likely, it's because of the humorous dialog that at times is adult. Indeed, I think "Ice Age" and it's follow-up films were made more for adults than for kids. It is funny and entertaining, and I think suitable for the whole family. It's one of a small field of films that all ages will sit still for. The little tykes like the fuzzy, cute and bug-eyed animal characters. The young kids and teens will like the action and antics. And adults mostly will enjoy the dialog. This one was a big hit and the sequels continue to draw the crowds. So long as the writers can come up with new ideas for plots, Manny, Sid, Diego and a nameless crazy squirrel could be around a long time. Maybe even to the next ice age.

This is one film that my family has had for a while, and we have no regrets about it whatsoever. The story, despite (just in my pointless opinion) its lack of decent humor (while there are some occasional chuckles), has enough touching moments and action to make it an excellent diversion for audiences. The animation is very well done by 2002 standards, utilizing the help of brand new rendering technology that can render minute details like fur very well (despite how in some areas, it was still quite primitive, such as dug-up ice not leaving holes where it came from). The characters aren't exactly funny: rather, they're touching, cold, dark, and overall characters that will be appreciated or depreciated for the right reasons. Despite having some references that are obviously out-of-place in its timeline (including possible foreshadowing in the cave scenes), it sums up to one of the better animated movies of 2002. It isn't Lilo and Stitch, but a view is as warranted as an Ice Age migration (which may come soon).

I first saw this movie when I was five years old. I'm now sixteen and I still love it every bit as much! I love the comedy the best.This story is about animals who are migrating South for the winter in the prehistoric times. Two of the animals, Sid, who is a sloth and Diego, a saber-toothed tiger, befriend a woolly mammoth named Manny. Sid and Diego try to help Manny as he migrates north, while caring for a human baby. For years, Manny has kept his past a secret from everyone, but Diego and Sid help Manny work through his painful feelings along the way. They experience many other challenges on their journey to return the baby to his "herd".Ray Romano did an excellent job at playing Manny and I especially loved Sid, voiced by John Leguizamo. Diego was played by Denis Leary. You will love this heartwarming, comedic, family feature film, which carries a hidden message saying, "No one can make it through life on their own". I'm ready to see it again!

"Ice Age" is widely considered one of the best animated feature films of the 2000s and even if it is already 12 years old now it is still certainly worth watching. It lost the Animated Oscar to Hayao Miyazaki's "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" and runs only for 75 minutes not counting the closing credits. It has a parallel to the very successful "Monsters, Inc" as the film's protagonists also spend most of the movie with carrying a little kid around that does not really belong into their world. Here it is an Eskimo baby and the saber-toothed tiger, the mammoth and the sloth go on a journey to bring it back to its parents. The cast is fairly unknown, no real superstars here unlike most animated films these days. The most known member may be Jack Black.Visually, it is excellent work. The animated ice world is as nice to look at as all the creatures living in there. In terms of the story, early on it is mostly fun and a kids movie, but it gets deeper towards the end with some really emotionally investing moments. One would be the mammoth seeing the cave paintings and how he reacts to them. Another would be the ending when they reach the Eskimo tribe and give back the baby. I think they chose wisely to make this the final highlight of the film and not the dramatic tiger fight which happens before. Adds a lot of heart to the movie. Apart from that, it is interesting to see how the motivations of the trio change during the journey. The sloth wants to bring the baby back from start to finish. The mammoth really only wants to get rid of the sloth early on and develops a bond with the baby as the story continues. The tiger basically takes the enemy within role and wants to trick the other two in order to feed them to his fellows, but his motivations also change quickly.Director Chris Wedge started his career with the Academy Award winning animated short film "Bunny" and most recently directed "Epic" which I enjoyed a lot. He seems to have a talent to take us to new worlds mostly including animals. There are 3 sequels to "Ice Age" by now, but Wedge only directed the original. He gave his voice to Scrat in the other films too. The scenes including Scrat will be especially loved by younger audiences and serve as intermissions between the main story parts. It's a pretty interesting concept, somehow like short films within a movie almost completely independent from the story. Co-director Saldanha worked also on the sequels and not too long ago on "Rio 2", a film also centered on animals, but in a completely different spot of the planet, especially in terms of the climate.I recommend watching "Ice Age". It could almost be described as a road movie many centuries ago and that is probably pretty unique. It has lots of humor, basically from start to finish, and heart and is worth a watch also for people who are not that interested in the animation genre.