Hey there everybody and welcome to another fun ranking! Just as Star Wars had movies releasing in December of 2017, and 2019 so too has Blue Sky studios which makes the fact that I’m making these two posts so close in time to one another amusing. But in all seriousness this has been one list I have been wanting to do for a good long while mainly due to the fact that I find Blue Sky to be not only underappreciated as an animation studio but because they are remarkably consistent when it comes to the quality of their output. Ever since they were first founded in 1987 most of their movies have been some variation of good to even great which is no easy feat for any animation studio. So now we will be looking at the highlights, the misses, and rock solids, of the 13 films they’ve released so far! Without further ado let’s look at what at the studio Scrat built had to offer for us from Ice Age in 2002 to Spies In Disguise just last year.
13. Ice Age Collision Course
Yeah, I think this is one we can all agree on. When it comes to the Ice Age franchise it’s a really mixed bag for me as you will see in this list as while it started off great, it gradually lost narrative steam and became even more outlandish with each passing installment and it really shows in this fifth(!) entry. What started out as a simple story about 3 pre historic animals trying to bring a baby home has now become this utterly absurd a story involving asteroids, and dino birds. And I thought the Fast and Furious franchise had a sudden tone shift (but even there it was much better handled). Like I said the story really doesn’t make any sense as it just seems to make up its own rules as it goes along (and not in a clever way) and there are just so many characters jam packed here that it becomes even more messy with many of the sub plots being underdeveloped. Unfortunately the characters aren’t very strong as Manny acts as the over protecting dad (and is kind of a jerk at times), Diego barely gets much to do, Sid is pretty annoying, Peaches is the typical teenager who wants more out of life, her boyfriend, Julian, is just annoying (a shame because I do like Adam Devine did a great job in the Green Eggs and Ham series), the stuff involving the residents of Geotopia felt extremely underused and really didn’t have a lot of screen time, and save for an amusing scene involving Ellie, and Peaches there wasn’t much there in terms of strong character moments. So yes it is a big mess in terms of writing and much of the humor doesn’t land but even with that there are some things that aren’t too bad. The animation is indeed good and colorful with some creativity here and there, the Scrat sequences do provide some clever slapstick comedy once again, Buck returns and he does bring some nice energy to the feature and has his moments like the scenes in his mind which has a cameo from Neil DeGrasse Tyson(though even his shtick got old after a while, still his opening one take scene is pretty neat), and the Dino Birds (voiced by Nick Offerman, Stephanie Beatriz, and Max Greenfield) are actually a lot of fun to watch and were easily the most interesting, and funniest part of the movie. So its mostly a harmless mediocrity overall that kids should find enjoyable enough, even though there are far better alternatives out there (including on this list). I’m kind of glad Blue Sky put this series (it was the lowest grossing here in the U.S. even though it actually made it pass $400 million weirdly enough, though still a huge comedown) to a halt as it really overstayed its welcome and they can now focus on more original projects.
12. Ice Age Continental Drift
And here we are with another Ice Age sequel and just like Collision Course it too is equally mediocre, though this one is slightly more focused yet still is pretty messy, and uninteresting in many areas. The story is essentially just a repeat of the Meltdown with the ice cracking yet again and the Manny, Sid, and Diego separated from the pack and have to find their way home while dealing with a threat, this time a group of pirates. The proceedings are once again filled with the most generic story-lines imaginable with the characters feeling straight out of a sitcom like the disapproving dad, the girl with who wants to go out with the cool guy, the geeky friend, a new character who purely exists as a love interest for a supporting character (this case being Jennifer Lopez’s Shira paired with Diego), the sassy elder (Wanda Sykes as Granny), the annoying comic relief(s), and more. So yeah, it pretty much suffers from many of the same faults as Collision Course and is mostly a bore throughout. Still though once again the animation is very good (the designs of the pirates are pretty cool, and creative), there are some fun action beats here and there, there were a couple of chuckle worthy moments, the Scrat stuff is funny and even more amusingly dark this time around, and while the character himself is nothing special, Peter Dinklage gives a legitimately fun voice performance as Captain Gutt and he does work well enough as a surprisingly menacing threat. So it may not be as outright insane as Collision Course but it still is a slightly better yet still mediocre and is when the franchise really started to run on fumes (yet it still made a shocking $877 million worldwide which is really insane).
11. Ice Age the Meltdown
Look at this, another Ice Age sequel! Don’t worry we things will be changing up soon but it is funny how the studios’s weakest films are many of the entries in their most financially successful franchise. Heck this was actually the one that really made a huge dent at the box office after the sleeper success of the original and this one has actually come to grow on me. It may not be a great sequel as the story is fine yet often thin (better handled than Continental Drift at least), there are jokes that don’t land very well, some parts of the animation don’t hold up very well, Crash, and Eddie were just insanely annoying comic relief that really irritated me, and there just wasn’t as much emotion as before. But the animation is still good overall and an improvement on the first’s, there are jokes, and gags that did get a good laugh out of me (there was this whole tribe of sloths that worshiped Sid that was pointless but amusing and the vultures get a random musical number that I can’t but laugh at due to how it just comes out of nowhere), there is some good character growth for Manny (coming to terms that he may not be the last of his kind), and Diego (wanting to get over his fear of water), and Ellie is an okay addition and has a really great scene added some nice emotion to the film. It was also interesting how there wasn’t an out and out baddie but rather these two predatory fish that serve as obstacles as they can be menacing at times and have cool designs even if their addition feels more tacked on than anything else. In the end though the Meltdown is better than 4 and 5 and is a flawed yet enjoyable enough follow up that manages to mostly entertain.
10. Rio 2
Finally something not related to Ice Age! Although it is still a sequel so we aren’t quite out of the franchise territory yet. Still though if you’ve read my 30 movies I enjoy more than most post then these next two entries will be familiar. As you could probably tell I do like Rio 2 quite a bit despite its problems. Like the aforementioned Ice Age sequels it can be messy with a deluge of plot lines all on top of each other, a really boring villain, and a story that has a good amount of cliches. But unlike those movies the stuff going on is actually often really entertaining to watch with a ton of great comedy (the football, and audition sequences get me every time), some fun characters, gorgeous animation that captures the beauty of the Rio, and the Amazon, nice toe tapping musical numbers, a fun side baddie in Nigel, strong voice work, and some great messages about acceptance, and learning to accept one another’s differences. Also its environmental message is actually even more timely than it was before and it is a very important one that I wish I didn’t write off as something forced, as on re watches it actually works better. While I am legitimately surprised that there would be no Rio 3 this was still a solid way to end things off and is easily one of the most beautiful looking animated films of the decade.
9. Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs
And look at that we’re back to Ice Age once more. Thankfully this one is easily my favorite of the sequels despite a pretty ridiculous concept with the dinosaurs surviving the asteroid and living underground. And while yes the story itself isn’t anything revolutionary, its doesn’t have as much emotion as the others and not every joke lands as intended it still manages to be a worthy threequel. Its feels more focused than the other sequels, and has a nice pacing, Sid gets some nice development with his relationship with some baby dinosaurs he found, there are some good character moments involving Manny, Ellie, and Diego, Crash, and Eddie are slightly better here, the animation is great showing off this world of dinosaurs in a creative way, the action is really fun and high flying, there are a lot of great moments of comedy, and we get introduced to a new character who is the stand out here, Buck voiced with manic energy by Simon Pegg. Not only is he such a fun presence but he also gets some nice development as well making him one of the better newer additions to this franchise. To be honest if Ice Age were just a trilogy then I don’t think it would be as controversial as it is because as just that it actually an okay one and this would’ve served as a satisfying, and fitting way to end things off.
8. Epic
Now we have the first original movie on this list which is actually a loose adaptation of a 1996 children’s book by William Joyce and was originally supposed to be called Leafmen which probably would’ve been a better title as “Epic” is just really vague and seems to just follow that weird trend of having one word titles for animated features. Still though, generic title aside, its still a pretty darn good movie with some absolutely breathtaking imagery. There is so much creativity in the look of the forest people, the beautiful color pallet, the exciting, and intense action scenes like the bird-flights and the use of the smaller scale environment that make it feel very immersive. On a technical level the movie is brilliant and its all in service of a familiar but still serviceable story that is well executed enough even if it does bring to mind the likes of Ferngully, and Avatar in some respects. It does have a very important message on preserving the beauty of nature, and its importance, its never dull and is paced well, there is some great comedy throughout, the character moments work well, and there are some great character who were really interesting like Leaf warrior, Ronin, (Colin Farrel) the villain, Mandrake, (Chritoph Waltz) glowworm Nim Galuu (Steven Tyler), and even the two slugs voiced by Chris O’Dowd, and Aziz Ansari who provide most of the comedy are actually really funny. While the two leads M.K., and Nod weren’t as interesting, and their characters aren’t the most original or exceptionally written they still work well in their roles, although some of the voice work from Beyonce, and Pitbull was really distracting. Still though the animation is great enough to elevate the movie and it is a really fun adventure that while familiar still has its heart in the right place and is a little underappreciated nowadays.
7. Ferdinand
Speaking of underappreciated that’s another way to describe our next entry. I actually saw this one a couples months ago, and I was actually really impressed by it. Like Epic it is also beautiful movie to look at with some nice beautiful animation that really captures the vibrancy of Spain (the flower fields are a sight to behold) and even offers some nice representation of the people, and culture at times. It also is willing to deal with some heady subject matter and is not afraid to look at it in a serious manner. Of course it does speak out against the sport of bull fighting and how cruel it is and the way it handles is it is emotionally effective and it ties into the theme of learning to live life to the fullest and live it your own way (instead of living to eventually fight, and eventually die which in this case is either the bull ring or the chop shop) and it works really well within the story and makes the characters like Ferdinand (voiced surprisingly well by John Cena) easy to root for. It even handles the issue toxic masculinity extremely well and it also fits in well within the context of the story and adds depth to some of the characters (like Bobby Cannavale’s tough bull, Valentino). All of this is very powerful stuff and gives the movie a lot of layers. It also manages to entertain with a lot of funny moments, some great slapstick sequences that got some good laughs, a nice leisurely pacing at times that benefits the more character driven moments, Ferdinand’s interactions with the other bulls and his relationship with Nina make for some heartwarming stuff, El Primero has some great moments of humor, and the ending is very satisfying. It is marred slightly by the sometimes overly frenetic pacing, some unnecessary scenes that are common trappings in animated films (like that whole dance sequence that came out of nowhere, though admittedly its pure randomness was kind of funny), and some of the comedic relief like Lupe, and the three hedgehogs while amusing enough don’t add a whole lot to the movie and are a little too much(though the hedgehog’s do have some cute gags). Still though Ferdinand is a very sweet movie that I wish got more attention and wasn’t just written off as some generic kids flick as it is so much more than that (makes me wish it didn’t get nominated for the Oscar, not because of the quality but so that it wouldn’t have been met with so much hate).
6. Robots
This was another one I saw a few months back in its entirety for the first time (I had only saw part of it prior to that) and I am actually surprised this one isn’t talked about that much since there is a lot to discuss regarding it. First off is the fact that this possibly one of the most bonkers movies I’ve seen in a while as it is not afraid to just go crazy with its strangely unique sense of humor (there a good number of adult jokes that were pretty funny, and quite shocking at times) as this is the type of movie that has a fart joke that starts out as groan inducing, but then all of a sudden becomes darkly hilarious. Yeah its pretty insane which is probably one of the reasons why I dug it quite a bit. It also has aged remarkably well with a lot of commentary, and messages that is still relevant today like separation of social classes, class inequality, and the need to constantly make yourself “better” (in this case more upgrades!) or else you’ll be disregarded which is really well done and I liked how this movie approached those issues in a creative way. I also think this is some of the best world building I’ve seen in one movie as the whole robot universe feels fully well realized with plenty of clever visuals, gags, action sequences (there was this whole Rube Goldberg like transportation sequences that was a highlight) and is just visually scrumptious in general as the animation is fantastic, and beautifully rendered that presents this world perfectly and has held up extremely well. Add in a lot of great jokes, some fun, and likable characters (Robin Williams’s Fender is a stand out), some nice voice work, a well executed story, and some funny villains in the form of Greg Tiernan’s Ratchet, and Jim Broadbent as his mother. Though like Ferdinand the pacing can be a bit too frenetic at times (though admittedly it worked better here given the tone of the feature), and there are certain jokes, and pop culture references that haven’t aged too well, the story can be familiar (though again well don) and I found Halle Bery underused as Ratchet’s assistant. Still other those issues I had a blast with Robots and found it to be a very entertaining, and insane feature.
5. Horton Hears a Who!
When it comes to Dr. Suess movies they can be hit or miss for me. Sometimes you get a really mediocre or outright terrible one like with the 2000 Grinch, the Lorax, or the Cat in the Hat. Other times you could get a pretty decent one with the 2018 Grinch, last year’s Green Eggs and Ham series (a tv show I know, but still pretty darn great wither way), and this movie right here which in my opinion is easily the best feature length Seuss tale we’ve gotten thus far. It manages to stay faithful to the original story while also adding in some new elements, and storylines to both make this adaptation into feature length, and develop the characters such as the Mayor. That’s not an easy task to accomplish but this adaption manages it pretty well as well as providing a style, and designs that evoke the illustrations of Seuss’s classic book, some really colorful animation that captures the crazy world, and creatures of the source material, fun, and good hearted protagonists in Horton (played well by Jim Carrey who is clearly having a blast), and the Mayor (also played nicely by Steve Carrell), some fun action beats, plenty of great messages that stay true to the heart of the source material, an excting, and grand score by John Powell, and some wonderful slapstick comedy (one sequence involving a bridge was a stand out). While it does have some of the other problems that the other adaptations suffered from, with the most obvious one being some of the pop culture references that don’t fit in with the story at all and could’ve easily been taken out (that infamous anime scene for example), and the kangaroo played by Carol Burnett is a little too over the top at times, it still hits the mark way more often than not and is a more than worthy adaptation of the classic book and gives me more optimism that we’ll get more quality stuff based off of Suess’s work (Grinch, and Green Eggs and Ham show that the future is bright in that regard).
4. Rio
This is a case where a story that may be familiar (fish out of water love story) is handled very well thanks to the way in which it is executed. Rio still holds up very well as a beautiful animated film both in terms of themes and visuals as this is still such as gorgeous movie to look at. The animation really does capture the beauty of Rio with a lot of the famous, and beautiful scenery incredibly well done, and the scenes where the birds take flight or dance are also something to behold as well. Lots of colors, and vibrancy that make it such a blast to watch and it does a great job representing the culture, and people of the city which I thought was an excellent touch and you could tell the passion director, Carlos Saldanha has for his homeplace and it shows. It’s also just a really fun ride with festive musical numbers that shows off the great character animation, strong messages about learning to accept differences and learn from others, a fun main duo in the form of Blu, and Jewel who play well off each other, a supporting cast full of fun characters (like the duo Nico, and Pedro, villain Nigel, toucan, Rafael, bulldog Lewis, villain, Nigel, and even the humans were a lot of fun), and some very strong voice work all around. It may be a simple story, and may not do anything groundbreaking (that and Nigel could get a bit too over the top at times) but it still is a very good and fun movie that is a great showcase of Blue Sky’s skills as a studio.
3. Ice Age
Now really these next three I think are all equally great movies so this is really more of coin toss more than anything else. But let’s kick off the top 3 with the one that started it all. It’s crazy looking back on this movie because after all of the ridiculous antics of the sequels its easy to forget that the franchise started off with a relatively grounded, and small scale story with three characters at the center of it all all of whom are likable, and well rounded. The story may be simple as Manny, Diego, and Sid have to bring a human baby back to his tribe but the heart is big as it packs a huge emotional punch when its willing to go for it and what makes them work even better is that they are mostly told visually with little dialogue which makes it even more affecting. It works as meditation on loss and grief as well as the importance of having a so called “pack” can mean to people going through it so they can in turn become better people. But it’s also a great comedy with so much hilarity throughout like with Scrat, the Dodo scene, the ice cave, them taking care of the baby and the interactions between the trio in general being genuine laugh riots that still make me laugh every time I watch them. I also think the animation is pretty good overall with the ice being rendered very well, and the designs having a nice cartoony look some touches to make them look, and move a little more natural. I will say though there are certain aspects of the animation that don’t hold up quite as well like some of the rendering can look a little dated, though other than that and maybe a couple of weak jokes and a final reveal at the end that felt a little tacked on and just happens (though darn, is that scene effective), Ice Age still is a great movie that still stands on its own and paved the way for more great stuff from Blue Sky.
2. Spies In Disguise
Now we come to the studio’s latest endeavor which as you can tell from where it is placed in the ranking is I feel one of their finest. Now I’ll make this one brief since I already reviewed this one so for a more detailed look at the movie that might be a better one to read. But I will say that it works greatly as both a spy action movie, and as a family friendly comedy with some fun comedy, a well handled story, gorgeous animation, some powerful, and unique messages that are relevant to today, well done action, great voice acting and some likable, and memorable characters like Will Smith’s Lance Sterling, and Tom Holland’s Walter Becket. Lots of great stuff all around and it really does get better the more I think about it even if there are some nitpicks here and there (I would’ve liked to have seen more of the fun supporting cast, and Killian, and there are certain plot beats that are familiar but make sense within the context of the proceedings really). It really does show how Blue Sky is willing to branch out into different genres and it makes me even more excited for their future projects (Nimona sounds great by the way).
and my Number 1 favorite movie from Blue Sky is…
The Peanuts Movie
It was actually a tough one between this one, and the last two entries (heck I’d say depending on my mood I would pick one of the three). But I don’t feel like this movie is given nearly enough credit for it extremely innovative animation. You see instead of doing what other CG movies do in trying to be as realistic as possible this one does the complete opposite of that. It instead attempts to capture the look, and feel of Charles Schultz’s original comic strips by making it look kind of like a 2D animated movie but with some CGI elements used and having the characters have a very stop motion like movement to them which turned out to be a brilliant artistic choice as this movie, more than most of its kind, looks and feels like the original source material not just in presentation but also in terms of tone as well. This is probably one of the most wholesome movies out there and is just such a joy to watch from beginning to end with plenty of great physical comedy, and jokes, very sweet moments involving Charlie Brown and his attempts to impress the red haired girl and how we finally see him succeeding at the end is just immensely satisfying to fans, a really fun side plot involving Snoopy and his mission to thwart the evil Red Baron, many appearances from fellow classic Peanuts characters, and overall it is just a good hearted movie that doesn’t try to needlessly modernize itself, and keeps things simple by staying timeless and you know sometimes we need movies like that every now and then. While the other two entries may have arguably had stronger stories, and character work this one just really makes me happy every time I watch it and again this is some of the best looking animation I’ve seen and it really makes me hope we see more of it’s ilk. It’s also one of the good reinventions of classic characters and it is happy to see more of actual quality (the Paddington films, Peter Rabbit, etc.) than of mediocrity (The Smurfs, Alvin and the Chipmunks, etc.). Again it was tough choice for number one but I decided to let Charlie Brown take the crown this time.
And that right there was my personal ranking of all of the Blue Sky movies! I had a fun time looking back on these movies and it really makes me appreciate the amount of effort they put into their features and the level of quality their able to put out consistently as I didn’t like, found one to be okay, one I merely liked and really liked to love the rest. Heck the lower tier is really consisted of Ice Age sequels so that makes their original output even more impressive. I really do want to give them more attention as they are one of my favorite mainstream animation studios working today and I sincerely hope that Disney does their movies justice (please treat their future movies better than how you did Spies In Disguise). Anyway though what are you favorite Blue Sky movies? Do you disagree with me on the Ice Age sequels? Maybe you like The Peanuts Movie less than most? I would love to hear anything you have to say regarding their work as it shows that there are others who do appreciate their movies like me.
Leave your thoughts down below in the comments and see you guys later!
Review Time 