Why Scrat Is the Greatest Ice Age Character

There’s no denying that the animated Ice Age franchise from Blue Sky Studios has probably been one of the biggest success stories in animation history, and probably one of the most surprising at that. The original film, which came out in 2002, had a simple story that navigated at a very low scale, but was very impactful with its emotional character moments and some very witty dialogue delivered by Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary.

While the film, and its sequels, definitely left an impact for better or worse, there’s one element that has not only remained consistently funny throughout the franchise, but is also arguably the core and major contributor to the series’ success, and that is the saber-tooth squirrel, Scrat. Scrat has appeared in all five Ice Age films thus far, in almost completely silent sequences at the beginning and end of each film, as well as various short scenes in-between the story, and many people, including myself, agree that these scenes are the best part of every film.

There’s a lot of reasons why these sequences work so well, and why so many people praise them, but I think that the core to the Scrat sequences can all be attributed to one major factor: Scrat is a great character. Despite seeming very simplistic at first glance, this iconic prehistoric rodent is surprisingly very well-developed and has a lot of layers, and all of it is achieved without a single word of dialogue. The Ice Age series is no stranger to writing interesting characters. Manny and Buck (the one-eyed weasel from the third film) are two of the characters that first come to mind in this regard, but while those characters rely on celebrity voices for a large part of their appeal, Scrat, on the other hand, only communicates through grunts, squeaks and screams, all provided by the original film’s director, Chris Wedge. This approach allows for more reliance on physical comedy, and less on dialogue, which helped for a lot of the character’s worldwide appeal.

Through mainly wide-eyed expressions, energized animations, body language and hilarious voice characterizations, Scrat is able to communicate so many different emotions and character traits. He can be very nervous, twitchy, but also very determined and fierce when it comes to his precious acorn.

Scrat’s style of comedy, as mentioned before, is almost entirely slapstick. Most of his sequences contain no dialogue, aside from his trademark screams and various noises. This type of humor dates back to the age of silent films with pantomime stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, which most classic Looney Tunes shorts from the 1940s took direct inspiration from. Scrat is essentially a 21st century iteration of Wile E. Coyote, with his acorn serving the same purpose as The Roadrunner, and the Ice Age environment is his desert. It’s such a brilliant update on the classic chase formula that always manages to garner the biggest laughs from the audience every time he comes on-screen.

But possibly the biggest, and most important element to Scrat’s appeal is his relatability. Just like the Coyote with the Roadrunner, Scrat never seems get his hands on that elusive acorn.

This adds an extra layer to the character that, when you think about, it, isn’t very common in kids’ media. In most movies and shows directed towards children, we are used to characters earning a happy ending and getting what they want in the end. Even the Ice Age movies themselves, usually end with Manny, Sid and Diego concluding their respective arcs in a positive note of satisfaction and finality. This is never the case for poor Scrat, who is the punchline of every joke, and by the end of every film, is always left with nothing. Not a single acorn is awarded to the unlucky rodent for his years of determination. When I was a kid, this was something that always stuck with me. While we tend to laugh at all of Scrat’s antics, it’s also hard not to feel for him on some level. In Chris Wedge’s words, we all have our own versions of that elusive acorn. We all know what it’s like to want something so bad but not getting it in the end. And this is so much more relatable and impactful than just having your characters live ‘’happily ever after’’. But the thing is, this doesn’t come across as overly tragic because the way it’s presented is always grounded in comedy. This is what makes Scrat such a perfect and enduring character that’s stood the test of time. He helps us find humor in dissatisfaction. Granted, in the final animation made by Blue Sky, he does finally eat his acorn, in a moment that feels more than earned, considering the 20 years of hardships the character has endured.

The Ice Age franchise would not be the same without Scrat, as he is solely responsible for carrying each movie with his laugh out loud gags and vignettes. Because of this, when Disney announced the animated mini-series ''Ice Age: Scrat Tales'', I applauded it with glee, because a spin-off series with the character was something that should have existed 20 years ago. With the shutdown of Blue Sky Studios and controversies surrounding the copyright of the character, it's uncertain what the future holds for this saber-tooth squirrel, but one thing is for sure, all of Scrat's appearances in and outside the Ice Age films further cement him as not just the best Ice Age character, but also one of the greatest animated characters of all time.