"Ice Age", released in 2002, won the love of global audiences (not only teenagers) with its stunning pictures and wonderful plots. It sold at the box office, and the producer, Lantian Studio, became famous in one fell swoop. At the beginning, Blue Sky Studio owner and film director Chris Witch put the plot of the little squirrel into the movie, and this condiment-like plot and characters added a lot to the film. The success of "Ice Age" also allowed Blue Sky Studio, which was originally small in scale and started out with special effects, to win a place in the field of animation production where Pixar and DreamWorks compete for hegemony. Therefore, the rise of Blue Sky Animation began with this squirrel.
In the past ten years, apart from the launch of the four-episode "Glacier Series" animated feature film, Blue Sky Studio has also produced short animated films featuring Little Squirrel Quat, such as "The Lost Pine Cone", "Squirrel, Nuts, and Time Machine". Won the Oscar nomination for best animated short film. At this time, the little squirrel is already a resounding "character". At the same time, it is the word-of-mouth accumulated in the "Glacier Trilogy" that also allows the producer to see the possibility of the continuation of the box office myth. During the creation process of "Ice Age 4" , Blue Sky Studio said that the "Glacier Series" will be at least the sixth episode, and "Ice Age 4" will open a new series of trilogy.
As the first part of the new trilogy, "Ice Age 4" lacks novel novelty in the story. In the classic ancient Greek epic "Odyssey", the protagonist Odyssey drifted on the sea for several years, encountering storms, sea monsters, and lightning strikes. After all kinds of dangers, he was able to return to his hometown, and the family was finally reunited. The main line of the plot of "Ice Age 4" is similar to that of the Odyssey. The movement of the continental plate created by the little squirrel Quett caused the separation of the mammoth Manny from his wife and daughter. The "Glacier Three Musketeers" mammoth Manny, the sloth Sid, and the saber-toothed tiger Diego were forced to drift on the sea. The three old partners added hope. From then on, De's grandmother embarked on a difficult and dangerous homecoming road, called the "Glacier Odyssey". The bravery, wisdom and the theme of "family" they showed in the sea adventure are exactly the same as the "Odyssey". The difference is that the film shoulders the responsibility of fun and funny, and Sid and grandma have contributed a lot to this. At the same time, the new face pirate team that appeared in this episode also brings a touch of life to the film.
Since its release, the global box office of "Ice Age 4" has exceeded 700 million U.S. dollars, and the results are not bad. However, while excessive consumption of squirrels brings aesthetic fatigue, the plot does not have much surprise in terms of innovation. The detailed laughter of "badger as a banner" is not enough to support the entire film, and relying on the reputation of the previous work can be guaranteed. At the box office, it was difficult to stop the decline of the "glacier". Undoubtedly, the "Ice Age" series has become a classic animation, and it has grown with us for ten years, but I hope that when the fifth film is released, we will not enter the theater because of the feelings we have with it for many years, but let it return to the classics. The plot.
Published in "Performance World"
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