This short was nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short, losing to The Danish Poet. There will be spoilers ahead:
This short is visually rather nice and there are a few funny gags. A lot of its potential is blunted, however, toward the middle, when some of the jumps are really too short to be more than a blur. It's probably a good idea to watch this more than once in order to catch some of the gags.
Scrat is carrying a nut when he sees a glow, digs and comes up with a gadget. Look very closely in here for a very quick, throwaway sight gag which explains the presence of the device instantly with a rather sick (and funny) joke.
Never having learned the truism, "If you don't know what it is, leave it alone", Scrat starts messing with it, it flashes and his nut disappears. Scrat freaks, attacks the device and off we go. It's a time machine.
The first for jumps are a bit longer and more satisfying bits. They'll all be recognizable bits, all well developed and most enjoyable. I won't spoil them here. The short gets a bit frenetic here, with the jumps short and almost too chaotic to really take in easily. There's a nice bit dealing with time itself, which has its painful side for Scrat.
The last bit has Scrat creating his own problems and the ending is perfect, with several mood shifts in the last few seconds.
This short is available as an extra on various releases of Ice Age: The Meltdown and is well worth seeing. Most recommended.
This short is visually rather nice and there are a few funny gags. A lot of its potential is blunted, however, toward the middle, when some of the jumps are really too short to be more than a blur. It's probably a good idea to watch this more than once in order to catch some of the gags.
Scrat is carrying a nut when he sees a glow, digs and comes up with a gadget. Look very closely in here for a very quick, throwaway sight gag which explains the presence of the device instantly with a rather sick (and funny) joke.
Never having learned the truism, "If you don't know what it is, leave it alone", Scrat starts messing with it, it flashes and his nut disappears. Scrat freaks, attacks the device and off we go. It's a time machine.
The first for jumps are a bit longer and more satisfying bits. They'll all be recognizable bits, all well developed and most enjoyable. I won't spoil them here. The short gets a bit frenetic here, with the jumps short and almost too chaotic to really take in easily. There's a nice bit dealing with time itself, which has its painful side for Scrat.
The last bit has Scrat creating his own problems and the ending is perfect, with several mood shifts in the last few seconds.
This short is available as an extra on various releases of Ice Age: The Meltdown and is well worth seeing. Most recommended.