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Movie Review: ‘The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild’

(L to R) Crash (voiced by Vincent Tong), Eddie (voiced by Aaron Harris), Zee (voiced by Justina Machado), and Buck (voiced by Simon Pegg) in ‘The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild’ exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Disney Enterprises, Inc. © 2022 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Premiering on Disney+ beginning January 28th is the sixth movie in the extremely popular ‘Ice Age’ franchise entitled, ‘The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild.’ Directed by John C. Donkin, the movie features the voice of Simon Pegg (‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’), reprising his role as Buck Wild from ‘Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs’ and ‘Ice Age: Collision Course.’

In addition to Pegg, the voice cast also includes Justina Machado (‘The Purge: Anarchy’), Utkarsh Ambudkar (‘Free Guy’), Vincent Tong (’Cop and a Half: New Recruit’), and Aaron Harris (‘Returned‘). The result is a kid friendly family film with fun characters and situations, that lacks the style and heart of the previous films in the series.

The movie begins by reintroducing us to Crash (Tong) and Eddie (Harris), as well as their sister Ellie (Dominique Jennings) and her husband, Manny (Sean Kenin). Frustrated with his brothers-in-law, Manny encourages them to move on with their lives and find their own adventures, which they reluctantly decide to do, and Ellie is furious when she discovers their gone. Crash and Eddy soon discover the Lost World and reunite with Buck Wild (Pegg), who seems to be happy living as a recluse.

But the Lost World is soon threatened by an evil dinosaur named Orson (Ambudkar), who has a vendetta against Buck. Orson is determined to destroy the Lost World and take back Earth for the dinosaurs, unless Buck, Crash and Eddie can stop him. Joining the team to defeat Orson is Buck’s old friend and love interest Zee (Machado), who is an even more capable survivor than Buck. Meanwhile, Ellie, Manny, and their friends go looking for Crash and Eddie to make sure they are safe.

Buck (voiced by Simon Pegg) in ‘The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild’ exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Disney Enterprises, Inc. © 2022 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

‘The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild’ is a fairly entertaining animated movie with fun characters, and an interesting hook … it’s really a superhero movie! But, in capitalizing on the current most popular movie genre, the film loses some of the heart of its predecessors. In fact, the most touching part of the film only happens at the beginning and end and involves Ellie’s relationship with Crash and Eddie. The rest of the film is a hybrid between a Marvel movie and Indiana Jones, and may not be the “Ice Age” movie you expect.

Unfortunately, Ray Romano and Queen Latifah do not reprise their voice roles as Manny and Ellie, respectively. While the characters have less to do this time around, the absence of Romano is felt, as Sean Kenin does his best to imitate the comedian’s unmistakable voice. Dominique Jennings voices Ellie and gives the character the emotional depth the role calls for.

Also absent from the film are the voices of franchise actors John Leguizamo and Denis Leary, who play Sid and Diego, respectively. Jake Green and Skyler Stone do their best to fill in those roles. Crash and Eddie also have new voice actors, as Vincent Tong and Aaron Harris, take over the roles originated by Seann William Scott and Josh Peck. Tong and Harris do well in the roles, and channel the same heart and humor the beloved characters are known for.

Utkarsh Ambudkar gives a strong voice performance as the villain Orson, reminiscent of Jason Lee’s performance in ‘The Incredibles.’ Justina Machado voices new character Zee, and the actress really brings her to life, achieving more than just a “female Buck.” She is his rival, but also his friend, and that really shines through her performance.

Buck (voiced by Simon Pegg) and Zee (voiced by Justina Machado) in ‘The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild’ exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Disney Enterprises, Inc. © 2022 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

But as the title indicates, this movie really belongs to Buck, and actor Simon Pegg’s performance in the role. Pegg plays the character with youthful energy, but also gives Buck a worldly wisdom that is apparent with every line he says. He’s kind of a cross between Indiana Jones and Jack Sparrow in the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movies. As the breakout character of ‘Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,’ it only makes sense to center a film around Buck, and Pegg’s performance perfectly brings the character to life again.

The franchise has grossed over $6 billion at the box office and is the third highest grossing animated series of all-time, right behind ‘Despicable Me’ and ‘Shrek.’ The animated series, which began at 20th Century Fox, is now owned by Disney, which is a fitting home for the franchise, as the new movie will only be available on Disney+.

In the end, ‘The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild’ is certainly not the best film in the ‘Ice Age’ franchise, but it is entertaining fun for the kids. Taking the franchise into a more action-orientated direction was a good choice, but losing some of the series’ heart, and its original voice actors, does ultimately hurt the new movie.

‘The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild’ receives 2.5 out of 5 Stars.
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January 29, 2022
Simon Pegg Talks ‘The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild’

Simon Pegg as Buck Wild in ‘The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild’

Premiering on Disney+ beginning January 28^th is ‘The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild,’ which is the sixth film in the ‘Ice Age’ franchise. Directed by John C. Donkin, the movie stars Simon Pegg (‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’) as the voice of the title character, and also features the voice work of Justina Machado (‘The Purge: Anarchy‘), Utkarsh Ambudkar (‘Free Guy’), Vincent Tong (’Cop and a Half: New Recruit’), and Aaron Harris (‘Returned‘).

After deciding to leave their home for a new adventure, Crash (Vincent Tong) and Eddie (Aaron Harris) discover the Lost World and reunite with Buck Wild (Pegg), who seems to be happy living as a recluse. But when dinosaurs begin to threaten the Lost World’s existence, Crash and Eddie team with Buck, and his old friend Zee (Machado), to put a stop to them for good.

Moviefone recently had the opportunity to speak with actors Simon Pegg and Justina Machado, as well as director John C. Donkin and producer Lori Forte, about their work on ‘The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild’.
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Below you can read our full interview with Simon Pegg, or you can watch the full set of interviews in the video player above.

Moviefone: To begin with, what is it like for you to return to the ‘Ice Age’ franchise as Buck Wild after first appearing in ‘Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,’ and having the opportunity to explore the character in his own film?

Simon Pegg: It’s like slipping into a pair of very comfy shoes. I really love playing Buck. He’s there in my muscle memory the whole time. I think that first experience of doing him in ‘Dawn of the Dinosaurs’ was so intense. It was such a big deal for me because I was joining the franchise and I figured that would just be it.

Then, he was invited back for ‘Collision Course,’ and now this. I always would say to Lori Forte, the producer, at the end of every session that we did with Buck, that we should do more of this. We should do like a Buck spinoff. And here we are, so I guess my wish came true.

MF: When we first see Buck in the new movie, he has been living by himself and seems to have gone a bit stir crazy. Can you talk about your character’s mental state when the movie begins?

SP: Well, Buck was always pitched to me as a cross between Indiana Jones and Colonel Kurtz from ‘Apocalypse Now.’ I think in the interim between when we first met him in this film, he has actually had a period of time where he met some other creatures. He was hanging out with Zee, his sort of girlfriend as it were, this equivalent to him, a female, but she’s as resourceful, as courageous, and more sane than he is. They’d formed this little pact where they were going to look after the Lost World.

In that time, they fell out, and so when Crash and Eddie, the possums come to the Lost World, they find Buck back to being a loner. He lives by himself and he talks to inanimate things. Part of the film is about encouraging Buck to re-embrace his sociability, which I think we’re all having to do now, or hopefully we’ll have to do at some point, when we come out of lockdown.

MF: I know you love comic books, and there is a real superhero team vs. super villain vibe to this movie. Can you talk about that aspect of the movie?

SP: I think obviously the superheroes are very much in vogue at the moment. There’s a lot of superhero content out there. I think superheroes, in some respects, are the ultimate sort of aspirational characters because you simply cannot ever be them because they’re beyond us. They’re preternatural.

But in this film, Buck says to be a superhero, you just need courage and resourcefulness. It kind of makes their superhero idea a little bit more relatable and a little bit more something that people watching the movie can be themselves, particularly children. So, I think that’s a nice little message for the era in which superheroes seem to dominate.

MF: The voice you use for Buck is very specific. Was it difficult to find it again for this movie, or does Buck’s voice just live inside your head always now?

SP: Oh, he definitely just lives inside me, and I’ve had to do the voice several times between films for kids who don’t believe that I’m Buck. I remember a little girl came up to me on holiday and told me that her mom said that I was Buck, and she didn’t believe it, because I didn’t look like a weasel. She genuinely was like, “Prove it.” So, I did. Then after that, every time she saw me on holiday, she’d go, “Hi Buck.” I’d have to go, “Hello little girl,” like this. So, it’s something that stayed with me the whole time.
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January 27, 2022
Ice Age Movies in Order

20th Century Studios

Ice Age is one of the biggest franchises in animated movie history having earned over $6 billion at the box office. The next movie in the franchise, ‘The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild‘ stars Simon Pegg as the title character, and is set to be released on January 28, 2022 and it will be streaming only on Disney+.

So, now seems like the perfect time to look back at all the previous movies of this popular franchise.
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Here are all the Ice Age movies in order

‘Ice Age‘ (2002)

20th Century Fox

With the impending ice age almost upon them, a mismatched trio of prehistoric critters – Manny the woolly mammoth, Diego the saber-toothed tiger and Sid the giant sloth – find an orphaned infant and decide to return it to its human parents. Along the way, the unlikely allies become friends but, when enemies attack, their quest takes on far nobler aims.
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‘Ice Age: The Meltdown‘ (2006)

20th Century Fox

Diego, Manny and Sid return in this sequel to the hit animated movie Ice Age. This time around, the deep freeze is over, and the ice-covered earth is starting to melt, which will destroy the trio’s cherished valley. The impending disaster prompts them to reunite and warn all the other beasts about the desperate situation.
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‘Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs‘ (2009)

20th Century Fox

Times are changing for Manny the moody mammoth, Sid the motor mouthed sloth and Diego the crafty saber-toothed tiger. Life heats up for our heroes when they meet some new and none-too-friendly neighbors – the mighty dinosaurs.
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‘Ice Age: Continental Drift‘ (2012)

20th Century Fox

Manny, Diego, and Sid embark upon another adventure after their continent is set adrift. Using an iceberg as a ship, they encounter sea creatures and battle pirates as they explore a new world.
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‘Ice Age: Collision Course‘ (2016)

20th Century Fox

Set after the events of Continental Drift, 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, Manny, Sid, Diego, and the rest of the herd leave their home and embark on a quest full of thrills and spills, highs and lows, laughter and adventure while traveling to exotic new lands and locations.
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January 25, 2022
Weekend Box Office: ‘Star Trek Beyond’ Beams Up $59.6 Million, ‘Ice Age’ Bombs

By Brent Lang

LOS ANGELES, July 24 (Variety.com) – “Star Trek Beyond” opened to a solid $59.6 million this weekend, signaling that after six television series, 13 movies, and 50 years in the pop culture conversation, there’s still life left in one of Hollywood’s most durable franchises.

And there are more intergalactic missions to come. As boon to Trekkies, Paramount took the unusual step of announcing yet another sequel was in the works even before this latest USS Enterprise adventure sailed into theaters. The studio has lined up Chris Hemsworth to reprise his role as Capt. Kirk’s father, despite the fact that he was earlier depicted being incinerated in a spaceship disaster. In science-fiction, it seems, death is merely a temporary predicament.

The latest film performed respectably, but its opening is down from the two previous films in the series. “Beyond” could neither match the $70.2 million launch of 2013’s “Star Trek Into Darkness,” nor top the $75.2 million bow of 2009’s “Star Trek.” Moreover, with a price tag of $185 million, plus tens of millions in promotional spending, the film needs to perform well overseas if it’s going to make a profit.

That’s not a problem for one of the weekend’s other new releases, Fox’s “Ice Age: Collision Course.” The fifth film in the animated series focuses on a group of Paleolithic creatures racked up $21 million from 3,992 locations. That would be a worrisome, even disastrous result for a film that carries a $105 million budget. However, the “Ice Age” films have always been received more warmly overseas than they are stateside.

The most recent installment, 2012’s “Continental Drift,” did 81.6% of its $877.2 million global total overseas, while its predecessor, 2009’s “Dawn of the Dinosaur,” picked up 77.8% of its $886.7 million worldwide haul in foreign markets. “Collision Course” has already grossed over $140 million internationally in 60 markets, so even though its domestic results are disappointing, the film could theoretically make money.

In a triumph of profit margins, New Line Cinema’s “Lights Out” racked up $21.6 million in its debut. That’s a healthy return on its $5 million budget. Though its parent studio, Warner Bros., has struggled of late, New Line is enjoying a hot hand at the multiplexes. Earlier this summer, the label scored with the action comedy “Central Intelligence” and the horror sequel “The Conjuring 2.”

Among holdovers, Illumination Entertainment and Universal’s “The Secret Life of Pets” continues to be one of the year’s biggest hits, adding $29.3 million to its $260.7 million haul.

In its fifth weekend of release, “Independence Day: Resurgence” crawled over the $100 million mark, earning less than $1 million for the weekend. The $165 million production has gotten a little assistance overseas, earning nearly $250 million.

A week after debuting in a handful of theaters, “Hillary’s America” expanded to 1,217 locations, picking up $3.7 million. The controversial documentary alleges that the Democratic Party has covered up its historical support of slavery and racism. It’s the latest work from Dinesh D’Souza, the director of “2016: Obama’s America.”

Woody Allen‘s “Cafe Society” also did well in its expansion, moving from five theaters to 50, and picking up $875,000 in the process. The nostalgic look at old Hollywood has earned $1.4 million. Amazon is releasing the film through a distribution partnership with Lionsgate.

Among limited releases, Fox Searchlight debuted “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie” in 313 theaters where the big screen version of the cult series earned $1.9 million.

The Film Arcade’s “Don’t Think Twice” bowed to $90,126 in a single location, representing the year’s highest per-screen average. Mike Birbiglia (“Sleepwalk With Me“) directs the look at the members of an improv group, as they face career crossroads.

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July 24, 2016
‘Ice Age: Collision Course’ Actors’ Fan Encounters Are Not What You’d Expect

Just about every voice actor involved in the “Ice Age” films is a famous face. But are they a famous voice, especially among the animated film franchise’s littlest fans?

Moviefone posed the question to several of the headliners of the fifth filmic installment, “Ice Age: Collision Course,” with some surprising responses. Just what happens when parents bring their children up and introduce the actor as their animated role?

“It can go either way,” laughs Ray Romano, who plays the mammoth Manny. “Because it could be confusing to the kid. They say, ‘This is Manny!’ and the kids are like, ‘That’s not Manny. It sounds like him … What have you done with him?’ Or it can be that joy that you see in their lives. So it’s cool, either way.”

“I think what’s cool is parents are as excited as the kids,” says Queen Latifah, who voices Manny’s wife, Ellie. “So even if they have to really take their time and explain how this whole thing works to the kids, because the kids are like, ‘Huh?’ they get excited because their parents are, but they haven’t quite connected what that means. It’s nice to do something that parents love as much as the kids.”

“It usually goes bad for me,” admitted John Leguizamo, the voice of the sloth, Sid. “Because Sid is a cute character, and then they see me, and the kids are horrified. And I warn the dads. The dads are, ‘Come on, show them the voice.’ I go ‘Dude, it’s not going to go well. It’s happened before. I do the voice and the kids get freaked out.’ ‘Come on, John. Come on. He’s a little guy!’ ‘Okay, alright. [as Sid] ‘Hi, little guy–‘ and the kid’s like, ‘Oh sh*t!’”

“They can’t understand how that voice from this face goes into that little Sid,” he laughs. “It doesn’t work. It throws them off.”

“It usually happens in airports,” explains Wanda Sykes, the voice of Sid’s grandmother, Granny. “‘Oh, Wanda, my daughter loves [Granny], can you take a picture with her?’ ‘Sure.’ The moment could end right there, right? Yeah, take the picture, but she has to say ‘This is Granny.’ And the little girl’s looking at her like, ‘This is Granny?’ ‘Say a Granny thing!’ I’m like, ‘Precious… Now I feel bad, like, ‘Why did you do this…?”

“You’re ruining the franchise for them,” Leguizamo advises. “Just let them keep their fantasy intact!”

While the Paleolithic franchise is expected to continue to rule at the Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas” and this year’s Easter special “Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade.”

“I’m hoping that there will be a TV series in our future, but that remains to be seen,” says Forte. “And I would love to do more shorts … If there is any free time to get a short in there, I would definitely push for one. As far as who the shorts would be, I’d love Crash and Eddie to have a short. I’d love to spinoff something for the new characters. But that all is just in my mind at the moment.”

“Ice Age: Collision Course” opens everywhere Friday, July 22nd.

July 22, 2016
The Scrat-pocalypse Is Here in ‘Ice Age: Collision Course’ Trailer

It’s a Scrat-astrophe!

The new trailer “Ice Age: Collision Course” hints at world-ending doom, after Scrat inadvertently sets off a series of events that trigger a apocalyptic meteor shower. The saber-toothed squirrel and his prehistoric friends — Sid the Sloth, Manny the Woolly Mammoth, and others — must leave their home and find new lands where they will be safe.
“Ice Age: Collision Course” looks like more of the same from the first four, very successful movies (yes, this is the fifth movie) — lots of broad jokes, silly pratfalls, and kid-friendly pop culture references. Children will love it … adults, maybe not so much.

All the actors from previous installments are back as the voices, including Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Keke Palmer, and Jennifer Lopez. One fun new addition is scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

“Ice Age: Collision Course” opens in theaters July 22.

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February 3, 2016