Ice Age (2002 film)

Ice Age
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Chris Wedge
Screenplay by	Michael Berg Michael J. Wilson Peter Ackerman
Story by	Michael J. Wilson
Produced by	Lori Forte
Starring	Ray Romano John Leguizamo Denis Leary
Edited by	John Carnochan
Music by	David Newman
Production companies	Blue Sky Studios 20th Century Fox Animation
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	March 15, 2002 (2002-03-15) (United States)
Running time	81 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$59 million[1]
Box office	$383.2 million[1]

Ice Age is a 2002 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film was directed by Chris Wedge (in his feature directorial debut) and co-directed by Carlos Saldanha from a screenplay by Michael Berg, Michael J. Wilson, and Peter Ackerman, based on a story by Wilson. It features the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Goran Višnjić, and Jack Black. Set during the days of the Pleistocene ice age, the film centers around three main characters—Manny (Romano), a no-nonsense woolly mammoth; Sid (Leguizamo), a loudmouthed ground sloth; and Diego (Leary), a sardonic smilodon—who come across a human baby and work together to return it to its tribe. Additionally, the film occasionally follows Scrat, a speechless "saber-toothed squirrel" (Wedge), who is perpetually searching for a place in the ground to bury his acorn.

Ice Age was originally intended as a 2D animated film developed by Fox Animation Studios, but eventually became the first full-length animated film for the newly reformed Blue Sky, which had been reshaped from a VFX house to a computer animation studio. Focus shifted from making an action-adventure drama film to a more comedy-oriented one, and several writers, such as Berg and Ackerman, were brought on to bring out a wittier tone.

The film was released in the United States on March 15, 2002. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and was nominated at the 75th Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature. It was a box office success and grossed over $383.2 million, making it the eighth highest-grossing film of 2002 and the highest-grossing animated film of 2002. The film initiated a franchise, being followed by several sequels, spin-offs, specials, shorts, and video games.