Ice Age: a mammoth Christmas special:

Prehistoric spin for Yuletide

Ruwini Jayawardana

Movie buffs’ favourite animation characters are back this Christmas with Fox’s TV Special ‘Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas Special’.

Skrat returns to continue with his ill-fated hunt for acorns. He manages to bag a cartful at the opening of the movie but ends up chasing one once he meets with an accident and the acorns are scattered all round. Then the amusing chase begins, earning laughter as he manages to have the acorn within his grasp for a few seconds only to lose it again in the next scene.

Then following the style of its predecessors, the main characters make their entrance in ‘Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas Special’.

The mammoth family: Manny, Ellie and their daughter Peaches, are getting ready for Christmas. To lure Santa to their household, Manny brings along the family Christmas rock. After a series of episodes Sid inadvertently destroys Manny’s Christmas rock. Upset by the state of affairs, Manny declares that Sid had earned a place in Santa’s Naughty List.

Sid is devastated and Peaches overhears her father telling her mother that Santa does not exist. Determined to prove him wrong and shaken by Sid’s sorrow Peaches makes her way to the North Pole accompanied by Sid, Crash and Eddie. On the way they meet a suave reindeer who guides them to Santa’s dwelling. Meanwhile Manny, Ellie and their friend, the saber-toothed lion Diego, follow their tracks, anxious to bring them back to safety.

The Christmas festivity is ever present in ‘Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas Special’ in the guise of Santa, the reindeers and the vibrant prehistoric elves. Popular Christmas traditions such as decorating the Christmas tree, smooching under the mistletoe and Santa delivering gifts for children are incorporated into the tale. It cleverly highlights the birth of these traditions intertwined with the ‘Christmas Must Be Saved’ movie fashion.

The movie is best enjoyed by those who have already watched the ‘Ice Age’ series and are already familiar with the characters. Otherwise they might be somewhat confused in tracking down their relationships in the first few scenes.

The movie, which was first created as a TV special, runs only for about half and hour but manages to deliver an entertaining comic-packed tale with a morale message.

Since the next ‘Ice Age’ flick is due in 2012, this is a great way of heightening the interests and keeping the characters very much alive in the audience’s mind.

Though made for the TV, the production is impressive. Superbly detailed and set in bring and rich shades against the snowy backdrop the film is a joy to watch.

The animation offers a lot of fun so that even adults will be able to roll in their seats with laughter at some of its hidden jokes.

‘Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas Special’ may be short this is definitely a movie which goes with the holiday spirits and one that caters to the whole family.

It not only comprises some of your favourite holiday tunes but also embodies themes of friendship, teamwork, family virtues and sticking up for your beliefs to set the good old holiday spirits aglow!