Ice Ageis a long-running series of 3D animated films that follow main characters Manny the Mammoth (Ray Romano), Sid the Sloth (voice acting legend John Leguizamo) and Diego the a Saber-toothed Tiger (Denis Leary) as they navigate the world amidst extreme climate change during the Paleolithic age. The franchise has a total of six feature films, five of which were produced by Blue Sky Studios before its closure in April 2021.Ice Agehas put its name on just about every form of media with a variety of TV shows, animated short films, TV specials, and even a series of video games. It seems there’s nothingIce Agecan’t do.
With thenew release ofIce Age: The Adventures of Buck Wild, released 20 years after the originalIce Agefilm, the mere mention of the franchise is bound to rouse nostalgia in some of us, especially those of us who grew up on the films. Moreover, Disney recently released a set of teaserimages for the upcoming seriesIce Age: Scrat Talesand the studiohas also revealed that yet anotherIce Agefilm is in the making, it’s only fair that we go through everyIce Agemovie to date. Here’s everyIce Agemovie, ranked from worst to best so far.
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6The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild
Released in January 2022, the Disney+ Original filmThe Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wildfollows the story of Buck, Crash and Eddie as they try to stop the lost world from being taken over by dinosaurs. While this film is a spin-off of the main series, it still features many of the fan’s favorite characters, especially the eccentric crazy Buck Wild. The film was originally intended to be a TV series, but was remodeled to be a feature film. It also is the first of the films where Scrat, the saber-toothed squirrel who is only out to bury his nut, is absent altogether. The film received negative reviews for a lack of focus on the title character as well as the changed animation, which is no surprise considering the film was also made without the involvement of Blue Sky Studios.
5Ice Age: Collision Course
When Peaches announces that she is engaged, Sid offers to plan the wedding in the hopes of distracting himself from his unlucky love life. While Manny doesn’t like the idea of his daughter getting married, it would seem that luck is not on their side when Scrat’s antics interfere when he accidentally launches himself into space and sends an asteroid towards Earth. The herd must leave its home to save themselves from the destructive blast.Ice Age: Collision Coursewas the last installment in the film series and was met with a plethora of negative reviews for the outlandish content.Collision Coursewas also the lowest-grossing film in the franchise and was a box-office bomb, especially when compared to the success of its predecessors. Many critics have stated thatCollision Coursewas merely a cash-grab for the studio as the film lacked any real content, hoping to get by on the franchise’s good name.
4Ice Age: Continental Drift
Scrat’s pursuit of his acorn has the world splitting apart — literally — separating Manny, Sid, and Diego from the rest of their herd, including Manny’s mate Ellie and their daughter Peaches. The three work together to figure out a way back to their herd until they are bombarded by pirates.Ice Age: Continental Driftwas released in 2012 and was the highest-grossing animated film of the year. With new additions to the voice cast, including Jennifer Lopez and Peter Dinklage,Continental Driftadded a whole new layer to the series and while some argued that the film was beating a dead horse, many thought the film to be a refreshing new look into the franchise.
3Ice Age: The Meltdown
In contrast to the first film, which focuses on the climate being bombarded with cold temperatures and ice, referred to as the Ice Age,Ice Age: The Meltdownfocuses on global warming. While Manny, Sid, and Diego seek refuge from the heat and the rapidly melting ice around them, they stumble upon another Mammoth named Ellie (Queen Latifah), who thinks she is a possum, and her brothers Crash and Eddie (who are actual possums). The group joins together on their journey to find a safe haven. Released four years after the original film,The Meltdowndoes a fantastic job raising awareness of the real dangers of climate change in an approachable way for children. While some deemed the darkness of the content towards the end of the film too scary,The Meltdownmanages to maintain the same level of humor as the originalIce Agewhile adding to it, the formula for a perfect sequel.
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2Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
When a bored Sid steals some Dinosaur eggs, he gets abducted by their mother and the rest of the herd must save him. After following the tracks, they discover a mysterious underground which they must traverse in order to save Sid, a lost world inhabited by Dinosaurs beneath the ice. As they find their way around, they eventually encounter the infamous Buck Wild (Simon Pegg) who is a weasel who has managed to survive this wild lost world on his own thanks to his survival skills.Dawn of the Dinosaurswas the highest-grossing film of its year and was the highest-grossing film from Blue Sky Studios. The film was nominated for two awards at the 8th Visual Effects Society Awards for Outstanding Animation in an Animated Motion Picture and Outstanding Animated Character in a Feature Motion Picture.
Finally, we come to the film that started it all,Ice Age.The original tale follows three misfits Mammoth Manny, Sid the Sloth and Diego the Saber-tooth Tiger as they attempt to return a human baby to its “herd”. The trio bond over the human baby and despite their differences, they always do what is best for the baby.Ice Agewas well-received both critically and in the box-office, even earning it a nomination at the AcademY Awards for Best Animated Feature, but losing out toSpirited Away. The film was praised for its originality and the comedy weaved throughout the story while still having the classic charm of a 3D animation.
