A Return to Prehistory
Ice Age, the long-running animated franchise from the defunct Blue Sky Studios, will finally return to the big screen in 2026, as announced at D23 Brazil.
‘Ice Age’ Returns
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney announced their plans for Ice Age 6, a reboot of the once-concluded franchise. The announcement came during the massive D23 convention in Brazil, where other upcoming projects were also unveiled. Leads Ray Romano and Queen Latifah revealed this news through a skit. Shivering under winter gear, Romano called Latifah to ask her for help unveiling the news of the reboot’s approach. John Leguizamo closes the video by saying, “The herd is back,” and calling his friends. Denis Leary and Simon Pegg were also confirmed to return for the project. Given that it was only just announced, no details exist on the plot thus far. The film releases in theaters in 2026.
The Original Franchise
The five-film Ice Age series was the largest franchise of the late Blue Sky Studios. Set during the Pleistocene ice age, the story follows a wooly mammoth (Romano), a saber-toothed tiger (Leary), and a sloth (Leguizamo) trying to survive. Whereas the first film followed them trying to bring a human baby back to his family, the sequel had another mammoth (Latifah) join the party.
The Ice Age films were infamous for their escalating plots and set pieces. For example, the fourth film featured an ape pirate voiced by Tyrion Lannister, while the next movie took place in space and featured a Neil DeGrasse Tyson squirrel. However, fans agree the series got substantially worse with each sequel as it overstayed its welcome. The one element that nearly all fans remembered fondly was the C-plots with Scrat, a crazy squirrel who went on hectic adventures searching for acorns.
The Fall of Blue Sky Studios
The return of Ice Age 6 would shock many because it would come years after Blue Sky Studios closed. Blue Sky was always an underdog in the studio pantheon, less commercial than Illumination or as inventive as Dreamworks. In addition to their main franchise, they made other films, like the cult classic Robots and The Peanuts Movie. However, the studio closed shortly after Disney purchased Fox.
Infamously, Blue Sky closed while producing an animated film based on ND Stevenson’s Nimona. The film was highly anticipated due to the graphic novel’s fanbase and LGBT representation. Fortunately, Netflix saved the film and released it with critical acclaim. Despite this, Disney tried to capitalize on the Ice Age franchise with the Scrat Tales series of shorts and the critically panned Adventures of Buck Wild.
Stream the Ice Age filmography on Disney+!
Ice Age 6 (2024) Official Disney Announcement Video
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Author
Elke Simmons' writing portfolio includes contributions to The Laredo Morning Times, Walt Disney World Eyes and Ears, Extinction Rebellion (XR) News/Blog, and Dead Talk News.