Manny, Diego, and Sid have been amusing us ever since the first Ice Age movie released in 2002. Entertainism takes you behind the scenes to get up, close, and personal with the most fabulous pack of animals there ever was.
Did You Know?
The initial plan with Diego was that he would be killed off in the first Ice Age film. However, upon seeing this, the younger test audiences burst into tears. The directors promptly decided to let Diego live.
The Ice Age movie franchise is a stupendous success that doesn’t come as a surprise whatsoever. Hilarious characters coming to life, thanks to some superb animation, and we certainly have a winner on our hands.
The best part about the franchise is that it hasn’t gotten stale over time, and 12 years and 4 films later, we’re still eagerly awaiting the release of the next installment that’s scheduled to release in 2016. For now, let’s just reacquaint ourselves with the main characters.
The Ice Age Franchise
Ice Age (2002)
Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)
The Herd of Ice Age
The Herd initially comprised the oddball trio of Manny, the mammoth, Diego, the saber-toothed tiger, and Sid, the sloth. As the story progressed, their brood grew to an ever-expanding, extremely weird, yet happy family.
Manny
Voiced by Ray Romano
“I’m not fat. It’s all this fur. It makes me look… poofy.”
Manfred or Manny, as he’s better known as, is a woolly mammoth. He along with his two buddies Diego and Sid are the main protagonists of the Ice Age franchise.
Kind and rather lovable, Manny is someone who epitomizes the term ‘gentle giant’. Manny’s heart belongs to his quirky brood and is prone to go the whole nine yards to keep them out of trouble.
Trivia
In the movie, Manny is referred to by several names including Manfred, that neeny weeny mammoth, Manny the Moody Mammoth, Manny the Melancholy, Jumbo, the mammoth, Fat Hair Boy, and buddy.
Diego
Voiced by Denis Leary
“Excuse me? I happen to be a remorseless assassin.”
Diego is the too-cool-for-school saber-toothed tiger who joins Manny’s herd with devious intentions, but goes on to become an inseparable part of it. Killer instincts come naturally to him, especially when dealing with Sid, but his loyalty towards his friends tends to take over.
Almost always.
Trivia
While both Manny and Sid have been shown to have their respective love interests throughout the series, Diego got his female lead only in the 4th installment.
Sid
Voiced by John Leguizamo
“From now on, you’ll have to refer to me as “Sid, Lord of the Flame.”
From being abandoned by his own family to raising dinosaur babies, Sid, the wisecracking sloth, has done it all throughout the course of the series.
Goofy, smelly, unhygienic, yet immensely lovable, Sid is often the butt of jokes in the herd.
Trivia
John Leguizamo actually demonstrated 30 different voices for Sid. After researching about sloths, he discovered that they store food in their mouths, which gave him an idea to speak with food in his mouth. And, this came to be the perfect voice for Sid.
Scrat
Voiced by Chris Wedge
The acorn-obssessed Scrat is a saber-toothed squirrel, whose purpose of existence is to find a safe stowaway for his beloved acorn.
Yes, he’s rejected female advances and even played a role in the sinking of “Scratlantis”. Scrat is not a part of the Herd, but has had interactions with them every now and then. His track moves along that of the film, albeit independently.
Trivia
The name Scrat is a supposed portmanteau of ‘squirrel’ and ‘rat’. The character is voiced by director Chris Wedge who is also one of the directors of the franchise.
Other Characters
- Goran Višnjić asSoto, a Smilodon
- Jack Black asZeke, a Smilodon
- Diedrich Bader asOscar, a Smilodon
- Alan Tudyk asLenny, a hom*otherium
- Cedric the Entertainer asCarl, a Brontops
- Stephen Root asFrank, a Brontops
- Jane Krakowski asRachel, a Ground sloth
- Lorri Bagley asJennifer, a Ground sloth
- Tara Strong asRoshan, a human baby
- Alan Tudyk asDab, a Dodo
Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
Manny, Diego, and Sid’s brood expands to accommodate Ellie along with her half-brothers, Crash and Eddie.
Ellie
Voiced by Queen Latifah
“Me? Don’t be ridiculous! I’m not a mammoth, I’m a possum.”
Ellie is Manny’s about-to-be better half, and is actually a mammoth who thinks of herself to be part-possum. She precariously hangs upside down by her tail, perched on a branch, and never for a moment considers it to be an aberration.
Easygoing and feisty, she brings in the much-needed spark in Manny’s humdrum existence.
Trivia
The flashback in the movie was originally going to focus on Manny’s conflict with his first family. However, Queen Latifah suggested the idea of using the flashback to center on Ellie’s origins.
Eddie
Voiced by Josh Peck
“Sometimes, I wet my bed!”
Crash
Voiced by Seann William Scott
“That’s alright, sometimes I wet your bed!”
Crash and Eddie are Ellie’s possum half-brothers. Insanely stupid, these two are complete whack-jobs. That said, they love their sister Ellie with all their heart and indulge in all kinds of silly adventures, much to her amusem*nt.
Trivia
Despite being identical twins, there are subtle differences in their appearance―Crash has blue eyes and a flatter nose with ridges, whereas Eddie has brown eyes and a pointier nose with a brown stripe.
Other Characters
- Will Arnett as Lone Gunslinger Vulture
- Jay Leno as Fast Tony, the Giant armadillo
- Tom Fahn as Stu, the Glyptodon
- Alex Sullivan as James, the Aardvark
- Alan Tudyk as Cholly, the Chalicothere
- Carlos Saldanha as Cretaceous, a Metriorhynchus
- Carlos Saldanha as Maelstrom, a Globidens
- Dee Bradley Baker as Piranhas
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)
This time, the Herd avails the services of Buck, the weasel to rescue Sid who wanders off with a female T-rex.
Buck
Voiced by Simon Pegg
“The Buck stops here!”
Buck is the daredevil weasel with a curious appearance―he wears a leafy eye patch to conceal his missing eye, and has scars marring his face.
He’s known to be quite loony otherwise, but tends to shine when battling dinosaurs.
Trivia
The name ‘Buck’ is short for Buckminister and long for Buh.
Other Characters
- Karen Disher as Scratte
- Bill Hader as Gazelle
- Joey King as Beaver Girl
- Jane Lynch as Diatryma Mom
- Kristen Wiig as Pudgy Beaver Mom
- Carlos Saldanha as Young dinosaurs
- Eunice Cho as Madison
- Maile Flanagan as Aardvark Mom
- Carlos Saldanha as Rudy, the Baryonyx
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)
The Herd heads to the high seas to reunite with Manny’s family. But they have to battle the ferocious Captain Gutt and his cronies before they sail to safety.
Captain Gutt
Voiced by Peter Dinklage
“In my ocean: what a terrible turn of events. I love a terrible turn of events!”
Captain Gutt is the main antagonist of Continental Drift. He’s a ruthless pirate of the high seas, and is named so because of his long, sharpened fingernails that he uses to “gut” his enemies with.
Trivia
The character of Captain Gutt was originally slated to be a bear, but the designers concluded that a primate would be more flexible in comparison, and made the switch. Also, Jeremy Renner was the first choice to voice the character, but was replaced by Peter Dinklage, owing to the former’s scheduling conflicts.
Granny
Voiced by Wanda Sykes
“I’ll bury y’all and dance on your grave!”
Granny is actually Sid’s eccentric granny, but becomes the de facto savior of the herd from the pirates, thanks to her “invisible” friend, Precious, the whale.
Trivia
Granny is voiced by Wanda Sykes, one of the finest stand-up comediennes belonging to the current lot.
Shira
Voiced by Jennifer Lopez
“Don’t, call me Kitty.”
Shira is the gorgeous, firebrand saber-toothed feline, who is a part of Captain Gutt’s gang of pirates. She initially shares a love-hate equation with Diego, but finally goes on to learn that a loving family is all you need to be happy, thus, becoming a part of The Herd.
Trivia
As Diego’s love interest, Shira is a saber-toothed cat, but unlike him, she is a snow leopard.
Peaches
Voiced by Keke Palmer
“Bad enough? There’s nothing bad about being part of my family. I “like” hanging by my tail and if you geniuses are normal, the species is going to end up extinct!”
Manny and Ellie’s daughter, Peaches is all grownup in this film. She is shown to have inherited her mother’s stubborn nature and her uncles’ (Crash and Eddie) thirst for adventure.
With her faithful pal Louis (voiced by Josh Gad) by her side, she learns the true meaning of what it means to be a part of a loving family.
Trivia
Peaches was born at the end of the third installment Dawn of the Dinosaurs. She was named so by her parents as she was “sweet, round, and fuzzy.”
Ethan
Voiced by Drake
“Yo, that was insane!”
Ethan is the heartthrob among mammoth teens and is fancied by Peaches. She, however, goes on to see him for the moron he is after he unduly risks his life, along with the lives of his friends.
Trivia
The theme song ‘We are Family’ was sung by Drake, along with other cast members including Jennifer Lopez, Queen Latifah, Keke Palmer, Nicki Minaj, Heather Morris, and Ester Dean.
Other Characters
- Josh Gad as Louis, a Molehog
- Nick Frost as Flynn, an elephant seal
- Aziz Ansari as Squint, a rabbit
- Nicki Minaj as Steffie, a mammoth
- Alan Tudyk as Milton, Sid’s father
- Ester Dean as Sloth Siren
- Kunal Nayyar as Gupta, a Bengali Badger
- Rebel Wilson as Raz, a Procoptodon
- Eddie “Piolín” Sotelo as Uncle Fungus
- Joy Behar as Eunice, Sid’s mother
- Alain Chabat as Silas, a blue-footed booby
- Heather Morris as Katie, the mammoth
Ice Age 5 is scheduled to release in the summer of 2016. In the meanwhile, all we have to do is keep watching the hilarious antics of the most awesome prehistoric creatures to have ever graced the big screen.
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