Did They Make the Human Characters in Ice Age (2002) Ugly On Purpose?

Here’s a thing that is incredibly unique to me and that none of you can relate to: Ever since I graduated college, my friends have been having kids. It started with just one or two, then the numbers steadily increased, and then it became the norm before I even realized it was the norm. Well I guess this is growing up.

All this time, I’ve been hearing a variety of tales revolving around parents watching movies with their small children. Sometimes it sounds like a picture-perfect family movie night where a delightful and memorable experience is had by all. Other times it sounds like a nightmare—the kind where you play spectator to dozens of repeat screenings of Frozen or Moana and the songs worm their way into your brain until you’re changed forever.

I’ve found myself in a lovely season of life where I’m dating a woman with two adorable daughters—both of whom love movies, as all children should. In a short amount of time, I’ve been privy to this spectrum of cinematic experiences. Thankfully, Sara’s girls share my love of the How to Train Your Dragon series, which I was beyond happy to rewatch with them.¹ But I’ve also already been subjected to one viewing of Frozen with many more on the horizon.²

The other day, after the girls finished breakfast, they proclaimed that they wanted to watch Ice Age. Of course, they could’ve been referring to any of these movies. Luckily, I was able to convince them to watch the original—a film I’d actually never seen. Ice Age hit theaters two months before I got my driver’s license, so in my teenage mind I’d probably already determined that I was too old for it. This didn’t stop one of my friends from cursing me by telling me that I looked kinda like Sid the sloth, a comparison that haunted me much longer than I expected.³

Was it my ire toward Sid that kept me from watching Ice Age all these years? Who’s to say? But when I finally dipped my toe into this franchise, I realized that Sid’s not even the ugly one in the cast. Nor is it the woolly mammoth or even that funny little squirrel thing. Those humans look rough.

Now, this is forgivable to an extent. Computer animation was still taking shape around the turn of the millennium, though some studios were doing it better than others.⁴ But after Toy Story kicked down the door in 1995, Hollywood was off to the races, and the now defunct Blue Sky Studios had a good concept on their hands here. The voice acting is solid, the plot is formulaic in a good way, and the animals are all pretty well-designed.

But Sid doesn’t really look like a sloth, does he? Cartoonists have been exaggerating the features of all kinds of animals as long as we’ve been animating hand-drawn sketches, so this is nothing new. Because these adorably goofy mammals were tasked with delivering a baby human to his parents, though, the designers set up an obstacle for themselves: Is it better to exaggerate the human features as well or to make them look as realistic as possible?

Unfortunately, they seem to have chosen the latter. And it sure backfired. Evidence does suggest that neanderthals looked different from modern homo sapiens, but there’s just something so eerie and uncanny about these human characters—baby and adults alike. The contrast between their attempted “realness” and the cuteness of the animal trio is just too jarring for me, and it took me out of what would’ve been an emotionally satisfying conclusion.

But because I’m the kind of person who writes a newsletter about movies, a thought crossed my mind: What if the Blue Sky team made these human characters purposefully hideous?

Consider that, according to my research—which consisted of a Reddit thread, not actually watching the other films—this is the only installment of the Ice Age franchise that includes human beings.⁵ This is probably due in part to viewer feedback like mine. These movies are for kids, and kids respond more positively to funny talking creatures than adults reckoning with life and death.

Perhaps there’s a narrative reason for the absence of humanity in the sequels, though. Just look at the first sequel, Ice Age: The Meltdown. The plot revolves around the animals escaping from a Genesis-level flood. What if the writers wanted us to believe humans caused the flooding by neglecting nature? What if they were attempting to convince us that Earth would be better if our species weren’t around? Do you realize that Ice Age: The Meltdown hit theaters a mere two months before An Inconvenient Truth?

Sid the sloth may not have the most flattering visage, especially if your looks are being compared to his. But if he and his pals can help me explain global warming to children then maybe I can give them a pass.

Ice Age is now streaming on Disney+, and it is available to rent elsewhere.

1. They refer to the franchise at large as simply “Toothless,” which is very cute. It’s hard for me to say no when one of them says “I wanna watch a Toothless.” And yes, so far I’m the only one that tears up when the score for the “Flight Test” scene reaches its apex.

2. I actually like Frozen! For now. Since I’ve only seen it twice. (For now.)

3. I’d like to personally thank Nate Bargatze—a normal-looking, relatively handsome guy—for becoming famous and taking the mantle as my most common celebrity comparison. Even my cardiologist brought this up the other day.

4. As I said back in 2022 when I wrote about Shrek, Pixar films of the same era look like fine art compared to that slop. And Ice Age sure looks better than Shrek!

5. Consider also that this franchise has grossed over $6 billion dollars. Just under half of that came from the box office grosses, but still. I am surprised and impressed.