'Ice Age? delivers predictable, but enjoyable, family fun

"Ice Age"

Directed by: Chris Wedge

Starring: The voices of Ray Ro-mano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary

Rated: PG

When the Oscars take place this year, a new, long-awaited and well deserved category will be on hand. The "feature length animated film" is finally getting its just rewards at the most prestigious of ceremonies that deal with modern art forms.

Over the years a great number of fine movies while being critically ac-claimed have missed out on the added boost an Oscar statue gives to any piece of work that can manage to snag one of the little bald-headed monsters.

Most film buffs will tell you Walt Disney's "Snow White" is one of the finest films ever made, and other animated features from "Fantasia" to "Fritz the Cat" to "Fantastic Planet" have defined that subtle sensibility that makes movies such an intriguing art form.

With the advent of digital technology, mixed action pieces, that blend live action shots with animation, have gotten continually more sophisticated. "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was the first of this new genre and remains a pinnacle, but other pieces such as "Cool World" and "Volere Volare" have explored the capabilities of cartoon characters interacting with "real" people in great depth.

Then we get to things such as "Toy Story" and this year's nominees for best animated feature, "Shrek" and "Mon-sters, Inc." Both of these films were hilarious, multileveled, state-of-the-art movies, and I'm glad the Academy has finally decided to give a nod to this form of filmmaking.

I have to say, though, as much as I love the digital manipulations that make films like "Toy Story" possible, I still appreciate the hand-drawn beauty in works such as "Lady and the Tramp," and even things like "Rocky and Bullwinkle" or "The Simpsons." Animation is a limitless art form, and it's great to see it being explored at so many levels.

The new film from 20th Century Fox, "Ice Age," is firmly implanted in the modern realm of digital delivery, and while not as immediately engaging as "Shrek" or "Monsters, Inc.," it falls into the category of the classic tale that so many "cartoons" have given us over the years. The message is universal, and kids as well as adults will find things that will stick in their memories for years.

The film revolves around the character Sid the Sloth (voiced by John Legui-zamo) who is a classic cartoon character along the lines of Daffy Duck or Syl-vester the Cat.

Sid chances upon a small human child who is under the scrutiny of a pack of saber-tooth tigers.

He and the kid befriend a woolly mammoth named Manfred (voiced with incredible grace by Ray Romano), and the bulk of the story is the odyssey they embark upon with the "help" of a saber-tooth named Diego (Denis Leary) to get the baby back to his tribe.

There's no surprises here and if there's a fault with "Ice Age," it's the fact that it follows the formula all too closely. But then again, things of this nature with a young demographic in mind have to stay within the guidelines and traditions established by the films of the genre.

Anyone who has ever seen a "family" movie will know where this is going, but getting there is pretty enjoyable, no matter how predictable.

The packed house I attended had people from early childhood to late in life. We all seemed to take away something worthwhile, which is validatation for any given art form.

(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)