Ice Age
Might contain spoilers.
Twelve is just my best guess at how many times I’ve seen one of the best and funniest movies ever made. It’s endlessly quotable: my sister and I regularly pepper our conversations with lines taken from it. In fact, it’s so consistently and incessantly funny that I often found myself laughing over jokes. That’s helped by how good the cast is and how expressive the character designs are, like Manny and the ridiculously cute little baby.
All of it is bolstered by a well-written story with genuine emotion, whether it’s Manny’s
beautifully rendered history, the aftermath of Diego saving him, or the eventual return of
Pinky
to the humans. That’s the real secret to its success. It brings tears of joy to your
eyes a moment before it makes you double over with laughter.
Indeed, Ice Age is a masterclass in animated comedy. I couldn’t stop laughing at Scrat’s antics. Even the animation itself, despite being two decades old, serves the story perfectly well. The snow looks good and the ice looks fantastic. What a shame it is that the soulless sequels never came close to recapturing its magic. They just don’t make ’em like this any more.