Ice Age/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Alternative Character Interpretation
  • Non Sequitur Scene: That entire Mind Screw scene with the mini sloths. Granted, they do show up later in the movie as a Brick Joke, but they still have no effect on the plot what so ever.
  • Broken Base: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs has caused a split within the fandom. Some love it for Buck, the revival of the camaraderie between Manny and Diego being tested, and being able to see favorite characters (like Scrat) return again. Others feel that this film has Jumped the Shark for Blue Sky. End result: Broken Base. And rumours about the 4th movie aren't helping things either.
  • Canon Fodder: Buck's backstory is a prominent one, among others.
  • Cargo Ship: Scrat and his acorn. Also, Buck and his pineapple "wife".
  • Contested Sequel: The Meltdown is regarded as mediocre at best, with Dawn of the Dinosaurs being better received by the fanbase.
    • Although, also - Dawn of the Dinosaurs is quite contested, some consider it an absolute disaster, others call it the best of the trilogy.
  • Crack Pairing: Many, but notable ones include Sid and Ellie/Sillie and OT3s like Manny/Diego/Ellie. Supreme crack pairings include Peaches x anyone, but these have been mainly only discussed, though Sillie has been written once.
  • Crazy Awesome: Buck.
  • Creator's Pet: Both Scrat and Sid both show shades of this, Scrat since the first movie and Sid was Creator's Pet primarily in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Because of this, the two have divided the base between fans, some disliking Scrat as being a nuisance (which he is) and Sid as The Scrappy as Flanderisation has ruined his character in between The Meltdown and Dawn of the Dinosaurs.
  • Crosses the Line Twice: The sexual innuendos in the third movie use this trope over and over, much to the offense of some parents, augh.
  • Crazy Awesome: Buck, again.
  • Crowning Moment of Funny: The third movie sets off a chain of these when they start treating the pterodactyl Buck commandeered like an actual aircraft. Complete with failing engine sounds.
  • Draco in Leather Pants: Some fans like to over-romanticize Soto as this. One person to such an extent that the Sub-Zero Heroes become Ron The Death Eaters, Diego especially, because of the whole "brother with Soto" myth.
  • Ensemble Darkhorse: Scrat for the whole series. Buck for the third movie.
    • Buck himself proves to be fascinating as an Ensemble Darkhorse character, as the movie he appears in canonically provides him no Backstory, and for all his Crazy Awesomeness, there is not much else to him....
    • Scratte pretty much qualifies as well.
  • Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory: "Roshan"'s name is Hindu for "Light At Dawn", and some fans have noticed that he literally does lead all the main characters out of their dark pasts and is a major impetus for them becoming a Nakama.
  • Fan Dumb: People who believe religiously the Diego and Soto are brothers bit, all due to one deleted scene that had Soto telling Diego he was "the only one he trusts". For crying out loud, Blue Sky has done nothing to confirm them being brothers at all! Diego does NOT deserve to be turned into Ron the Death Eater because of the Fan Dumb!
  • Fanon: Manny's first mate and child's names being Millie and Wally, due to one author on fanfiction.net creating a ripple effect with the names.
    • A lot of fans like to think that Diego and Soto are brothers. But this interpretation turns sour when you realize that in the entirety of the Original, Soto is subtly making plans to kill Diego himself. Which his DILPing fans conveniently don't notice that leads to a Cain and Abel motif in the first movie if you subscribe to this fan theory that Soto and Diego are brothers, the Original film displays this trope terrifyingly, as every move Soto makes towards Diego is to devise the death of his own brother. Thus making it even MORE Darker and Edgier for the first installment.
    • Also, Soto being Not Quite Dead pops up somewhat commonly in fanfiction.
  • First Installment Wins
  • Fridge Brilliance: Roshan's name means "Light at Dawn" in Hindu and it could be argued that he leads the three main characters out of their dark pasts and is a major factor of them becoming Nakama.
  • Fridge Horror: In the first film, Manny was heading towards the freezing wasteland and it's implied that this wasn't too long after his family was killed. Was he trying to commit suicide?
  • Germans Love David Hasselhoff: The Ice Age films have all had decent box office runs in North America, but weren't record-breaking successes. Overseas, the series has been very successful, with the second film being the highest grossing animated film of 2006, and the third film being the highest grossing animated film of 2009.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: In 2002, there was no such a thing as a saber-toothed squirrel discovered. Come late 2011, one was discovered. So Scrat actually existed.
  • Ho Yay: We certainly get some moments with three male animals taking care of one baby. The two Held Gaze moments between Manny and Diego. When Diego meets Manny and Sid for the first time, he comments, "Oh, you couldn't have one of your own, so you decided to adopt". Also, in the third film when Diego and Manny are pressed up against each other, Diego says, "I feel all tingly!" Manny says, "Don't say that when you're pressed up against me!" "Not that kind of tingly!"
  • Jerkass: Sid can come off like sometimes, most notably in the third movie where he doesn't even give his friends one word of thanks for embarking on that perilous journey to save him, and instead complains about how hard watching his kids were - for one day!
  • Misaimed Fandom: The fans who support Soto.
  • Portmanteau Couple Name: Several within the fandom at fanfictiondotnet, notably "Mellie" as a name for Manny and Ellie, and "Sillie" for CrackPairings such as Sid and Ellie, oh, and "Siego" for Sid and Diego. Ugh.
  • The Scrappy: Sid is sometimes regarded as this by fans who aren't as fond of him as they are of Manny and Diego.
  • Tear Jerker: Several in the first film, to wit;
    • Nadia using her last ounce of strength to push Roshan over to Manny in hopes that he will be saved,
    • The Art Shift Flash Back in the cave that reveals Manny's Dark and Troubled Past. Even Diego has tears in his eyes at that scene.
    • Diego taking the mortal blow for Manny during the battle with Soto at the end to protect him, as it is obvious that Soto's incisors slashed him fatally, and even as he dies (the commentary for the first film confirms that he actually did die in that scene) he selflessly insists that Manny and Sid forget about him, since he wants to make sure Roshan gets home as much as they do now. This scene is especially heartbreaking if you remember that Manny has only recently lost his family, and now he is losing someone close to him all over again. His brimming eyes as he watches Diego leave them only serve to drive the point home.
  • Unintentionally Sympathetic: Soto tends to come off as this, as people feel sorry for him that he lost his entire pack/family, and was probably a pretty amiable guy once, and some people ignore his bitter desire for vengeance against the humans as it detracts from him being Unintentionally Sympathetic.
  • The Woobie: Scrat, Sid, Manny, Ellie, Diego.
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