This feature film begins streaming on Disney+ January 28, 2022.
It has been 20 years since the animated film Ice Age first appeared at movie theaters. The movie’s depiction of a prehistoric world impressed with its eccentric characters and a few striking snowy vistas. Box office success followed and it even received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. Alas, as time passed, several sequels have been produced, each a little less effective than its predecessor. The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild marks the sixth film in the overextended franchise and delivers even fewer laughs and thrills than its predecessors.
This tale focuses on airheaded possums Crash (Vincent Tong) and Eddie (Aaron Harris). Tired of being treated like kids by the main herd, the two decide they need to become more independent. They leave home and end up finding their way back to the Lost World, a subterranean jungle environment full of dinosaurs and other wild species. Once there, Crash and Eddie encounter oddball weasel Buck (Simon Pegg), who takes them in and protects them as best he can. He explains that a nasty, big-brained Protoceratops named Orson (Utkarsh Ambudkar) wants to rule the land and that they all must come together to stop the threat. The leads do their best to help the weasel, who also must mend a relationship with estranged friend, Zee (Justina Machado). In the meantime, the moderately concerned herd heads out to locate the pair.
Part of the problem is how broadly played the humor is. Crash and Eddie served generally as light comic relief in the previous entries, so placing them front and center isn’t necessarily a benefit to this story. The movie does get an effective joke or two out of their inability to understand the danger around (using poisonous snakes as a jump rope in one sight gag). There is some promise when the story employs an amusing recurring jest involving playing dead in order to avoid being eaten. However, the writers don’t make the most out of playing their cowardly traits for big laughs. Most of the time, the lead characters simply act confused and their lack of wit comes becomes more irritating than endearing.
The swashbuckling Buck adds a bit of life and action to the proceedings, but he can only do so much and even the action sequences don’t feel particularly dangerous or exciting. Villain Orson isn’t a particularly clever or threatening foe and doesn’t make an impression. And even the central herd aren’t in any sort of danger for the majority of the running time, which makes their story bland. Many members act like it is a chore to have to come to the aid of Crash and Eddie, diminishing any potential tension and stakes from their quest.
Admittedly, the movie is nicely animated and an early scene in their cold and frosty home environment does offer an impressive vista or two. However, much of this sequel is set in a jungle environment which isn’t as interesting, dynamic or unique to behold. There’s a lot of familiar greenery around and only the odd establishing shot makes any sort of picturesque impression. Much like the humor and story, the backgrounds in this chapter feel generic and don’t stand out.
Everything about this sequel is very broad and the big downside to this approach is that nothing stands out in any distinctive way. Sure, there are some nice messages promoting courage in the fact of adversity and appreciating the peculiarities of others, but even these ideas are flatly delivered. Rather than being enjoyed together as a family, this is the type of feature one might put on as background noise for little tykes. In the end, one would have expected The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild to be a little less civilized. Instead, it’s so tame and ho-hum that even kids may have difficulty remembering any of it fifteen minutes after the feature ends.