5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Scrat's epic pursuit of his elusive acorn catapults him outside of Earth, where he accidentally sets off a series of cosmic events that transform and threaten the planet. To save themselves from peril, Sid, Manny, Diego, and the rest of the herd must leave their home and embark on a quest full of comedy and adventure, traveling to exotic new lands and encountering a host of colorful new characters.
Starring: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Adam DeVine, Jesse Tyler FergusonAdventure | 100% |
Family | 99% |
Animation | 86% |
Comedy | 66% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (2 BDs, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Blu-ray 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The annals of show business are rife with stories of so-called supporting players usurping the attention from the putative star. There’s a fantastic
chapter in William Goldman’s superb (if sometimes problematic) journalistic exposé of Broadway, The Season, where he details the
travails of
the 1967 musicalization of The World of Henry
Orient, Henry, Sweet Henry. Goldman documents how the creative staff behind the musical worked to cast a potential
breakout
star in the role of Valerie, one of the girls who becomes infatuated with Henry, and that everyone was convinced they had found that
star in
the guise of one Robin Wilson. Imagine everyone’s surprise, then, when a lot of the reviews singled out a breakout star all right, only not “that”
one
—most of the critical air kisses went to a complete unknown named Alice Playten, who played a relatively minor role, ending up with the
musical’s
sole Tony nomination for performing (Playten won that year’s Theater World Award). (Trivia lovers will know that Playten went on to a different
kind
of “fame” as the hapless newlywed whose cooking created problems for her husband in a now iconic series of Alka Seltzer commercials.) Films
are
just as redolent a source for this kind of “upstaging,” and there’s probably no better example than one of my personal obsessions, Frances
Farmer,
who waltzed into the 1936 film Come and Get It as little more than an “up and comer” but who ended up stealing every scene she was in
from such stalwarts as Edward Arnold and Walter Brennan, to the point that she was proclaimed “the new Garbo.” All of that said, there may be
no
more unique example than that of Scrat, the odd little creature whose own obsession—with an acorn—created some of the funniest moments in
the
original Ice Age. It’s some indication of Scrat’s immediate
popularity
that he (it?) soon became the mascot for the film’s production company, Blue Sky Pictures. (Another potent example of the character's sway
with
the public is evident in how much he's featured in this very disc's supplemental content.) Scrat’s comedic adventures have tended to act as
sidebars to the main stories in the previous Ice Age films, but again the character’s lovability has led to him being starred in a series of
shorts
as well as other media like video games. While Ice Age: Collision Course once again lets Scrat’s predicaments play out in a kind of
parallel
universe (an especially fitting term as will soon be discussed) as the simultaneous trials of Manny and brood unfold, the character is perhaps a
bit
more central to the proceedings in this film than in its predecessors. Talk about star power.
The Ice Age films have at least attempted to continue an overall narrative through the original film and its sequels. For those wanting
to
catch up on “the story so far” (there’s a supplement on this Blu-ray that attempts to do this, to varying effect), our reviews of the films can be
accessed by clicking on the following links:
Ice Age Blu-ray review
Ice Age: The Meltdown Blu-ray review
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Blu-ray
review
Ice Age: Continental Drift Blu-ray review
Ice Age: Collision Course 3D is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an MVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1 (a 2D Blu-ray is also included in the package). For my thoughts on the general look of the film as well as the quality of the 2D transfer, please refer to our Ice Age: Collision Course Blu-ray review. The 3D version of the film is wonderfully immersive, though it tends to exploit more depth within the frame than "in your face" elements. That aspect is obvious from the get go once Scrat blasts off into outer space, though some minor dimensionality is even evident in the first snow covered earth scene, a testament to how effectively deep even some of the supposedly "bland" imagery can be. But the first outer space sequence is the first real example of well realized planes of depth, with various star fields clearly protruding and planets both zooming into and out of the frame as Scrat's manic attempts to control the spaceship lead to universal calamity. Things continue to be excellently dimensional back on our home planet, with several standout (no pun intended) sequences. The first close-up look at Sid, as he practices his supposed proposal, is extremely effective, and later moments that involve the asteroids provide great zooming depth within the frame. Even the kind of quasi-2D diorama that is utilized to provide a little convenient backstory looks charmingly dimensional in this version. The only downside here is the tendency to have quite a bit of the later film play out in kind of dark shades of blue, something that tends to tamp down dimensionality simply because backgrounds can't be seen as clearly.
Ice Age: Collision Course features a fun and often frenetic DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track that gets off to a boisterous start with the fun opening sequence detailing Scrat's hapless attempts to pilot the flying saucer. There's a glut of fantastic surround activity here, including some forceful LFE as the ship blasts off into outer space. Other effects heavy sequences occur at regular intervals throughout the rest of the film (many, but not all, featuring Scrat in outer space), and the sound design offers consistent immersion and well placed discrete channelization of individual sound effects. Little musical quotes like snippets of Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra add to the fun. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly and is well prioritized.
The 3D disc contains no supplements. The 2D disc also included in this package contains all of the supplements detailed in our Ice Age: Collision Course Blu-ray review.
Undemanding tots and even adults without any undue expectations will get a giggle or two out of Ice Age: Collision Course, but this latest entry in the franchise seems more than ever like a tired retread of what's gone before. With this series' emphasis on environmental calamities, I guess it's easy to understand why the writers are so into recycling (yes, that's a joke), but maybe it's time to put Ice Age on ice for a little while. Technical merits are very strong for those considering a purchase, and I'd personally recommend that those who are considering a purchase go for this version if they have the equipment to support it.
2016
2016
with bonus disc
2016
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with Trick or Treat Bag
2016
2016
Family Icons
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2012
2009
2019
2006
2009
with 2 Poppin' Penguins Toys
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