Ice Age 2002

Critics score:
77 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Glenn Lovell, San Jose Mercury News: ... a lesson in prehistoric hilarity. Read more

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: Although we eventually warm up to the amiable Ice Age, we still feel as if we're watching Shrek on Ice, or Mastodons, Inc., so formulaic is the storytelling. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: If all of Ice Age had been about the tenacious rodent's misadventures, the movie might have been a minor classic. But Scrat is a minor supporting character, and Ice Age is just passable entertainment. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: Ice Age won't drop your jaw, but it will warm your heart, and I'm giving it a strong thumbs up. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: Real Ice Ages were no jokes. They lasted about 100,000 years and froze most life on the planet. But as long as Leguizamo's Sid and Wedge's Scrat are on screen, this one warms you with laughter. Read more

Elvis Mitchell, New York Times: Mr. Wedge and Mr. Saldanha handle the mix of verbal jokes and slapstick well. Their film falters, however, in its adherence to the Disney philosophy of required poignancy, a salute that I'd hoped the movie would avoid. Read more

Gene Seymour, Newsday: Vivid conception with amusing, witty stretches that offset the intervals of goo. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: ... cute, pleasant, unadventurous. Read more

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Not as cute as it looks. Read more

Jay Carr, Boston Globe: It has taken 20th Century Fox a while to land on the animation scoreboard. Now it has. Ice Age is the coolest animation in town. Read more

Janice Page, Boston Globe: Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: As written by Michael Berg and Michael J. Wilson from a story by Wilson, this relentless, all-wise-guys-all-the-time approach tries way too hard and gets tiring in no time at all. Read more

Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle: The movie suffers every time the creatures have to say the words the screenwriters have foisted on them. Read more

Paul Clinton (CNN.com), CNN.com: This is one of 20th Century Fox's first ventures into the world of animation, in partnership with Blue Sky Productions, and they've hit a home run. Read more

Steven Rosen, Denver Post: [D]espite its familiar subject matter, Ice Age is consistently amusing and engrossing ... Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Ice Age never matches the brilliance of Toy Story or the heartfelt heft of Shrek, but it's an antic and sweet-spirited pleasure. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: No evolutionary leap forward in the world of computer-generated animation, just another palatable, familiar children's diversion in shiny new form. Read more

Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News: Produced by 20th Century Fox, Ice Age falls short of classic status. But it's one of the best such features not to wear the Disney or DreamWorks banner. Read more

Manohla Dargis, L.A. Weekly: From the squirrel's mad, droopy eyes, to the rumba rhythms of Manny's rear end, to the way Diego settles into sleep like a tabby, these creatures are alive enough to love, and lament. Read more

Peter Rainer, New York Magazine/Vulture: Yet another marvelously funny digital-animation feature. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Kids, of course, will love Ice Age. Adults will be entertained, but no more. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: I came to scoff and stayed to smile. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Ice Age comes closer than any other recent animated film to the Looney Tunes ideal. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Daphne Gordon, Toronto Star: ... ranks up there in the highest class of animated features. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: There's enough classically derived Road Runner-type fun to keep most family audiences happy. But the characters betray their contrivance. Read more

Mike Clark, USA Today: A minor delight but a delight just the same ... Read more

Joe Leydon, Variety: It's clever enough to amuse adults, yet sufficiently kid-friendly to delight tykes with diminutive attention spans. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Full of visual dazzle, engaging characters and a reasonably sprightly narrative. Read more