NEW ON VIDEO
DVD suits this animated
comedy to a T
"Ice Age"
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, $29.99If there ever was a recent studio movie that benefits from the DVD format, it would be this animated comedy, which did OK box office earlier this year.
One character in particular gets the royal treatment this time 'round, and that would be the goofy, prehistoric squirrel called Scrat. Director Chris Wedge invented the little fella, who was only supposed to be used in the opening scene, but audiences responded so favorably to the preview trailer and the pre-screening that he was given more face-time in the movie, as well as his own animated short, included on the second of the two-disc special edition set, "Gone Nutty: Scrat's Missing Adventure."
But the main story concerns how an unlikely trio of animals -- Sid the Sloth (voiced by John Leguizamo), Manfred the Mammoth (Ray Romano) and Diego the Sabre-Toothed Tiger (Denis Leary) -- try to return a lost human baby back to its proper species. And, besides rediscovering this broadly comic morality play, the special edition DVD set has plenty of extras that kids and adults will enjoy.
The extras include games and activities for the youngsters, six deleted scenes (with director's commentary), the short starring Scrat, and "Bunny," an award-winning short that convinced the Fox studio to sign Wedge and company to do a full-length feature.
There's also a hilarious take-off on self-important DVD commentaries called "Sid on Sid," where the sloth offers up some scene-specific commentary.
The second disc also features behind-the-scenes insights and production demonstrations. The animation progression is especially well-done, as viewers can see each layer of animation in three particular scenes. It's clear from the commentaries and featurettes just how much a labor of love "Ice Age" was.
Star-Bulletin staff
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