It's 20,000 years ago and there's a bit of a nip in the air as the Ice Age kicks off. Manfred the well-meaning mammoth, Sid the fast-talking sloth and Diego the duplicitous sabre-tooth tiger form a reluctant and unlikely alliance when they come across a helpless human baby. As they try to return the tot to his migrating tribe, the trio must battle more than just the elements in this harsh world of predators and prey. There's plenty of light relief from the dramatic tension and superb action sequences, notably in the form of the brilliant comic invention Scrat, an apparently insane sabre-tooth squirrel who steals any scene in which he--and his acorn—appear (although a flock of keen but hapless dodos give him a close run for the film's comic laurels).

Featuring the voice talents of Ray Romano, Denis Leary and John Leguizamo, Ice Age is a thrilling, chilling comedy adventure that's undeniably cool.

On the DVD: Ice Age on DVD boasts a whole host of special features, including commentary by director Chris Wedge and co-director Carlos Saldhona, deleted scenes and trailers. The highlight of the bonus material is the exclusive short "Scrat's Missing Adventure" but for the real nitty-gritty go to "Under the Ice". This contains numerous featurettes of varying lengths, including "The Making of Ice Age", "Behind the Scenes", "Art of Effects" and "Sid's Voice Development". These tell you pretty well everything there is to know about the film and its creation. For additional humour check out the brief "Scrat Reveals" segment and Sid's commentary sequences. --Helen Baker