Ice Age
(2002/Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B+ Extras: C Feature: C+
One of
the early non-Disney/Pixar computer animated hits, Ice Age (2002) has had a solid afterlife on home video and a
successful sequel. We have covered both
before, as the following links will show:
Ice Age – Super Cool Edition DVD
Set
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3489/Ice+Age+-+Super+Cool+Edition
Ice Age – The Meltdown DVD-Video
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4483/Ice+Age+%E2%80%93+The+Melt
Ice Age – The Meltdown Blu-ray
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4677/Ice+Age
It is one
of those odd things that a sequel arrived in the new Blu-ray format before the
first film, but that happens sometimes.
Having said everything we could about both films, we will move on to the
technical performance of this 25 GB Blu-ray release.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 (though some would argue 1.78 X 1) AVC @ 16 MBPS digital High
Definition image is a nice improvement over the previous DVD with better depth,
some better color, particularly improved Video Blue and despite its age, a
consistent image. However, it still
cannot help but look dated and there are some spots of noise. As for the sound, the DTS HD 5.1 MA (Master Audio)
Lossless mix is far better than the Dolby Digital only mix on the low def DVD
which was obviously missing some key aural information present here. The combination is as good as this
presentation is ever going to get.
Sadly,
not all the extras from the previous DVD set are included, which may tick some
fans, also making one wonder why this was not a 50GB release. Maybe Fox will issue that for when a third
feature is made. In the meantime, you
get Gone Nutty - Scrat's Missing Adventure animated short, deleted
scenes with optional commentary by the duo doing the feature-length audio
commentary track (Director Chris Wedge & Co-Director Carlos Saldanha) and
both the original teaser and trailer in HD.
Those with children who like activities will want o keep or get the DVD
set too.
- Nicholas Sheffo
