DVD Review: Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade

DVD Reviews, Film, Reviews, Top Story

When you have enough successful films such as the Ice Age series has had, I guess it only makes sense that you eventually delve into the world of TV short films. I mean, Toy Story has done a few times now with varying degrees of success. This Easter themed story, The Great Egg-Scapade feels more like a money grab than anything, as the story is a flimsy and lifeless as the jokes are.

Sid the Sloth, (John Leguizamo) has decided he wants to start an egg sitting business for the local animals, so they can go about their day while he takes care of their unborn children. Manny (Ray Romano) and Diego (Denis Leary) instantly know this is not going to end well. Meanwhile, Squint the rabbit (Seth Green, originally voiced by Aziz Ansari in Continental Drift is angry at the group for ruining his life as a pirate, so he kidnaps all the eggs. Luckily Squint has a a friendly brother, Clint (Blake Anderson) who provides the gang with a map to where Squint has hidden all the eggs. He has also painted the eggs to make them harder to find.

As the story plays out we are left to assume that this story is how all the wacky elements of Easter and the Easter Bunny came together. I guess if you’re a fan of these characters and have stuck with this through the four existing films thus far and you’re a big fan of Easter, then you might find this 20 minute short amusing. However, I think you would really need to be a huge fan of both of those things.

Full disclosure, I haven’t seen all the Ice Age films. I saw the first one and thought it was cute, but didn’t care enough to keep up with the series. So I am not nearly as invested in these characters as hard core fan would be. With that said, I didn’t find much enjoyable here. The jokes were flat, and the story was boring and by the numbers.

The film is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. If nothing else, this is a good looking short. The animation quality lives up to the feature films. Fans of the series won’t be disappointed by this aspect of it at least.

Extras include: Ice Age: Collision Course Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe (5 min.) A short where Scrat flies around in a space ship and forms the universe. Apparently this is basically the beginning of the feature Collision Course with a different ending. Ice Age: The Story So Far (13 min.) If you don’t want to watch the first three films or need a quick refresher course, this 13 minute short sums them up. 6 Scrat Shorts (ranging from 5-8 min. each) More Scrat shorts if you’re into that short of thing. You also get a behind the scenes look at Scratte. Lost Footage (5 min.) Three shorts that inform about the Sloth, the Saber-Tooth Tiger, and the Possum.

I guess you really need love this series and Easter if you’re going to enjoy this short, and even then I think it’s a long shot. There really just isn’t anything exciting going on here.

20th Century Fox presents Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade. Written by Jim Hecht. Directed by: Ricardo Curtis. Starring: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Seth Green and Queen Latifah. Running time: 25 min. Rating: G. Released on DVD: March 7, 2017.

Mike Noyes received his Masters Degree in Film from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco. A few of his short films can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/user/mikebnoyes. He recently published his first novel which you can buy here: https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Days-Years-Mike-Noyes-ebook/dp/B07D48NT6B/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528774538&sr=8-1&keywords=seven+days+seven+years