Blu-ray Review: Ice Age

THE MOVIE: 4 1/2 stars out of 5

Set in the last global free, Ice Age is a comedy for the whole family involves an eclectic group consisting of a Mammoth, Sloth and Saber Tooth Tiger who are attempting to return a human baby to his father. A group of Saber Tooth Tigers attack a village of prehistoric humans seeking to capture and kill an infant child for revenge as members of the village have been attacking and killing members of the pack. However, the baby’s mother rescues the baby during the attack and leaps to her eventual death off a waterfall. However, before she perishes, she leaves the baby with a reluctant Mammoth and his Sloth companion who attempt to return the baby to his father. Along the way they are joined by a Saber Tooth Tiger who is attempting to steer them into a trap but who has a change of heart along the way. Ice Age features the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Dennis Leary. Ice Age is a very enjoyable film and one the whole family will enjoy and is highly recommended.

THE VIDEO: 4 1/2 stars out of 5

Ice Age is encoded with AVC and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1:85:1 on a BD 25 disc. This encode looks excellent although it falls just short of being a reference title. Color rendition on this disc is excellent and in particular the very subtle shades of gray, white and blue which makes up quite a bit of the color palette here. Detail is very good as well with the hairs on the various CGI creatures well delineated. Where the the image falls short is in the black level which is not quite deep enough to give the film the utter three dimensional look and clarity of the best looking films. Comparing this release to a reference title such as Ratatouille, Ice Age lacks the very fine detail, clarity and depth that make Ratatouille the reference title that it is. Don’t get me wrong, Ice Age looks fantastic. It is just that it falls just short of the best looking CGI titles such as Ratatouille, Cars and Shrek The Third, all of which present a deeper, richer and more detailed image.

THE AUDIO: 4 1/2 stars out of 5

The audio on this release is presented with DTS HD Master Audio and sounds terrific. The sound mix here is not very aggressive and is rather front heavy albeit with effective use of the surrounds. Dialogue is well presented and never gets lost in the mix. The overall sound is clear, smooth and open with excellent bass response. This recording boasts excellent fidelity and where needed, really rocks. Considered in its own right, this is a great sounding film. However, it is in comparison with films like Cars and Ratatouille where the sound mix falls short. Ice Age lacks the spaciousness and fine audio details that mark the aforementioned films. While falling just short of reference audio, the audio quality on this mix is still very strong and will surely satisfy fans of the film.

IN CONCLUSION

Ice Age is one of the better CGI films out there and boasts excellent audio and video, although falling just short of the reference category. Nevertheless, fans of the film will be more than happy with the look and sound of this release on Blu-Ray. Highly recommended.

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