[yasr_overall_rating]
When Sid takes a job as an egg nanny, he’s unaware an old enemy has plans of his own. The shenanigans lead to the first egg hunt and creation of popular Easter traditions.
I’ve always enjoyed the “Ice Age” movies, they hearken back to a time when everything wasn’t taken so seriously. Granted, while the characters in the films take their own situations earnestly, whether it’s trying to return a human baby to his family, or doing everything in their power to stop an approaching meteor from crashing into earth, they always manage to incite plenty of laughs along the way, as well as personal growth, and the importance of family. All except for Scrat, the sabre-toothed squirrel who is absolutely obsessed with collecting acorns. No matter what type of hair-raising scenario he finds himself in, he never learns his lesson and winds up being struck by lightning, battling voracious piranhas, and being chased by avalanches, all so he can save his precious acorn and by the time the next “Ice Age” adventure rolls around, he is knee-deep in acorn predicaments again but for me, he is my favorite character throughout the movies. His constant shrieking and eye-twitching mannerisms are what I most look forward to.
With “Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade,” I sat down to watch it, expecting a feature-length film but to my surprise, it wound up only being 25 minutes. When I gave my review of “Ice Age: Collision Course” last year, I stated that I felt the series had pretty much run out of steam but producing direct-to-video features could be a great way to continue the series, and that is exactly what I thought “Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade” was going to be but because it is so short, it culminates with the old adage, “always leave them wanting more,” and by the time the end credits begin to roll, you realize you do indeed want more.
While Manny (Ray Romano), Diego (Denis Leary), Ellie (Queen Latifah) and the whole gang are settling in nicely to their new home, Sid (John Leguizamo) decides that he wants a job and offers to be an egg nanny for all the mothers in the area that don’t have the time to sit on their eggs and watch over their families at the same time. When Sid falls asleep on the job, his old nemesis Squint (Seth Green) steals all the eggs and leaves a ransom note, stating that he wants everyone to build him a new ship for the one they wrecked in “Ice Age: Continental Drift,” which he felt was rightfully his. And so the gang heads off on the very first egg hunt and along the way, they create the first of many different Easter traditions, including that of the Easter Bunny.
“Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade” reiterates the strength of family and friendship and that only together, can an entire village help each other in times of need. All of the actors who voiced their respective characters in the previous outings return, including Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah, and Taraji P. Henson and as a result, the show benefits from their inclusion. As I stated earlier, the 25-minute runtime is very brief but with Easter right around the corner, I highly recommend “Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade” for the kiddies as it will bring them lots of laughter.
Available on DVD Tuesday, March 7th
