The Ice Age animated movie franchise continues with a straight-to-streaming effort that will likely only amuse the most dedicated fans of the film series.
The sixth movie about a group of mammals surviving the Paleolithic ice age, this one only briefly features the core characters of Sid, Manny and Diego (and actors John Leguizamo, Ray Romano and Denis Leary don’t return to voice them). Instead it focuses on the two most annoying characters, opossum brothers Crash and Eddie, who leave the group to be independent (despite being completely useless) and end up back in the Lost World of Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs having to be rescued from a mean, brainy dinosaur called Orson by one-eyed weasel Buck Wild (Pegg).
While Buck continues to be a positive representative of a character with a disability, adults watching this movie will be alarmed to discover that the inclusion of baddie Orson undoes all that – his extra large brain is depicted as an abnormality that he was teased and mocked for (which led him on the road to vengeance) and the script encourages viewers to laugh at him, which is very uncomfortable.
Despite Buck being named in the movie’s title, the “stars” of this spin-off are irritating characters Crash and Eddie, which may disappoint Buck fans, and kids will also miss the main Ice Age characters that barely appear (and fan favourite Scrat, who isn’t in the film at all). Only very little ones who like their animation simple and slapstick may manage to sit through the movie’s (mercifully) short running time.
Is The Ice Age Adventures Of Buck Wild suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...
The main characters are often in danger from dinosaurs and other predators, but escape very quickly each time.
Very young viewers may find some of the dinosaurs, including Orson, scary.
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