Audiences have shown love for the Ice Age films, which is the second biggest animated motion picture franchise in the world. Each new story tries to increase the stakes, scale, adventure, humor and heart.
ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE is mean to be the biggest and most ambitious film of the series. Propelling audiences to new environments, like the cosmos and a crystallized world known as Geotopia, this is the defining chapter in the Ice Age “chillogy,” with the characters beginning new journeys.
The new story is rooted in the mythology of the original Ice Age. Producer Lori Forte, who has been with the franchise since its inception, and whose ideas have sparked several of the films’ stories, explains: “In the first film, there was a scene where the herd passes through a kind of ice ‘museum,’ where we see a prehistoric fish, a dinosaur, the evolution of Sid, and then a spacecraft or flying saucer.
“We always recognized that the spaceship was intriguing and knew there was some kind of mythology attached to it that we’d someday explore, but at that time we didn’t know exactly what it was,” she continues. “So we decided the time was right to come back around to that piece of Ice Age, and sowed the seeds for COLLISION COURSE.”
There was also a precedent for Scrat’s life being turned upside down by technology. In the Oscar-nominated short No Time for Nuts, the character finds a time machine, which creates a different kind of techno-havoc for Scrat.
Another connection to the original film—and to its subsequent chapters—is the herd’s relatable family dynamics, which provide heart and emotion, and complement the comedy and adventure.
But like most families, the herd must adapt to a world that’s always in flux. “We take our family of characters further than we’ve seen them before,” says Forte. “We have a great time seeing how far we can push the characters, their world, and the obstacles they must overcome. And we love throwing our heroes into environments they’re not yet equipped to handle.”
The Ice Age characters triumph because they’re constantly adapting to their situations. “The herd is always evolving. As the world around them transforms, they must change as well.”
Scrat’s epic pursuit of the elusive acorn catapults him into the universe, where he accidentally sets off a series of cosmic events that transform and threaten the Ice Age world. To save themselves, Sid, Manny, Diego and the rest of the herd must leave their home and embark on a quest full of comedy and adventure, as they travel to exotic new lands and encounter a host of colorful new characters.
