neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Ice Age
	Chris Wedge Voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary 2002		Fox's unexpectedly pleasing animated feature — a computer-generated, prehistoric "Three Beasts and a Baby" — is done in broad, appropriately angular CGI that echoes the antic slapstick of classic cartoons by Tex Avery and Chuck Jones. Although it's a commercial venture going after some of them "Monsters, Inc." and "Shrek" bucks, "Ice Age" never feels chilly nor crass. Instead, it's imbued with enough genuine feeling and good-natured comedy to melt the hearts of children and adults alike. A forlorn woolly mammoth (voice of Ray Romano), a shiftless sloth (voice of John Leguizamo) and a cynical saber-toothed tiger (voice of Denis Leary) guard a human child and bicker while on a quest to reunite the kid with his tribe. The animal trio, pitted against the elements and other foes along the way, carries the film. But the real MVP is a tiny, skittish mammal who darts in and out of scenes, trying to protect an acorn, his only food, as the glaciers advance. His lunatic frenzy could fuel a 'toon of his own.