18 Facts About “Ice Age,” the Movie We’ve Loved for 20 Years and Still Do

It’s hard to believe that many of the animated movies we love so much were released quite a few years ago. Shrek, for example, is more than 20 years old. Meanwhile, Ice Age with the restless saber-toothed squirrel celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2022 (the world premiere took place on March 15). And we enjoy watching it now just as much as we enjoyed watching it 20 years ago.

To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of one of our favorite animated movies, we at Bright Side put together a few facts about Ice Age.

• John Leguizamo, the actor who voiced Sid, had to spend a lot of time finding a suitable voice for his character. He tried dozens of different voices but none of them seemed good enough. But when he watched wildlife documentaries, he learned that sloths store food in their mouths. So, he stuffed chocolate and peanut butter into his mouth, and he finally got the voice he wanted.
• Leonardo DiCaprio could’ve voiced Sid. We wonder whether he would’ve kept peanut butter in his mouth to get the effect.
• Scrat the Squirrel is a fictional animal. However, in 2002, researchers unearthed skulls of an animal the size of a shrew, with very long canine teeth.
• By the way, Scrat was voiced by the film director. In general, it was decided that this would be a silent character for comedic effect. Initially, there was supposed to be only one scene with this saber-toothed squirrel but this character was so loved by the audience that the moviemakers gave him more scenes.

• Originally, Sid was supposed to be a con-sloth and a hustler. 2 scenes were created where Sid conned some aardvark kids but they were never used in the final version of the movie. These removed scenes can be seen on the “Super Cool Edition” DVD.
• But the role of a con artist, which was originally intended for Sid, still appeared in the franchise. An armadillo named Fast Tony appeared in the sequel and had all these bad personality traits.
• Anthropologists from the American Museum of Natural History consulted the moviemakers. The scientists insisted that there shouldn’t be dinosaurs in Ice Age because they would have been long gone 20,000 years ago. However, they were still shown in the third film.
• The first film is the only one that had humans.

• Ice Age became the eighth highest-grossing film in 2002.
• The sequel, which was released in 2006, became even more commercially successful. It was the highest-grossing animated movie of the year and was third among all movies of that year behind The Da Vinci Code, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.
• The success of the first film made Blue Sky Studios a successful animation studio.
• There is a scene in the movie where a baby sees a frozen UFO in a cave and raises its hand to greet it. This gesture is a Vulcan salute from Star Trek: The Original Series.

• The final credits of the first film, at one point, said “Ice Age Babies.” After that, all the babies born to the crew during the movie production were listed.
• Despite the fact that the creators of the animated film were very attentive to detail, they still used animals as the main characters who lived at different times and places and couldn’t travel together. But this is quite a regular practice for a fictional story where all animals are sentient and can talk.
• All of the creatures and objects that Sid sees in the first film appear in the other parts of the franchise: fish will appear in the sequel, dinosaurs in the third film, and a set of sloths and a flying saucer in the fourth and fifth films respectively.

• Originally Ice Age was supposed to be a dramatic, non-comedic, hand-drawn animated film. But when it was given to Blue Sky Studio, it was turned into the computer-animated film that we all love.
• Why did the drama become a comedy? The fact is that 20th Century Fox agreed to make this film but only if it was turned into a comedy.
• The film crew approached the production in a very responsible manner: they not only consulted scientists but also sent the animators to watch the movements of different animals. For example, they visited a park to observe squirrels’ movements which were later used in the animation of Scrat.

Did you watch Ice Age? The first film still has the highest score among the other films of the franchise. Which Ice Age film do you like the most? Tell us in the comments below.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s life is filled with intriguing facts that go beyond his iconic roles. Named after Leonardo da Vinci, he faced early career challenges due to his unique name. DiCaprio has also been an advocate for environmental causes, purchasing an island with plans for an eco-friendly resort. His personal life, including his relationships and acts of kindness, such as supporting the last living Titanic survivor, further showcases his multifaceted personality.