Synopsis

As the Ice Age drives animals south, woolly mammoth Manfred prefers to travel alone. A talkative sloth named Sid and a saber-toothed tiger named Diego join him after the trio discovers an abandoned human baby. Despite their differences and Diego's hidden agenda, the animals cross a frozen wilderness to reunite the child with his family, gradually forming an unlikely herd.

Factoids & Trivia

• Ice Age was the first feature produced by Blue Sky Studios, which had previously been known primarily for visual effects work and commercials.

• The project was originally conceived as a traditionally animated film for Fox Animation Studios. After that studio closed, the production shifted to computer animation at Blue Sky.

• Early development began in 1999, with full production starting in June 2000. The story was subsequently reshaped to emphasize comedy and character relationships.

• Blue Sky's artists visited the American Museum of Natural History during development to study Pleistocene animals and environments.

• Scrat was created as a comic counterpoint to the main story. The character became such a strong audience favorite that the first teaser trailer prominently featured his struggle to bury an acorn.

• The children's drawings shown during the end credits were made by children of Blue Sky Studios employees.

• The end credits include a section called "Ice Age Babies," recognizing children born to members of the production crew while the film was being made.

• The film earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature and became a major commercial success, launching a long-running franchise for Blue Sky and 20th Century Fox.

• The film's success helped establish Blue Sky as a major feature-animation studio and led to later productions including Robots, Horton Hears a Who!, and Rio.