Rights holder / Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures / Disney+
Ice Age: The Adventures of Wild Buck is a 2022 American-Canadian animated adventure film directed by John S. Donkin according to the scenario of Jim Hecht, Ray DeLaurentis and Will Shiffrin. It premieres on January 28, 2022, exclusively on Disney+.
Crash and Eddie embark on a solo adventure once again after deciding to find their own place away from their older sister Ellie. The two find themselves in an underground world inhabited by dinosaurs, where they meet Buck Wilde. The one-eyed weasel guides them through the Lost World, and the three face the threat posed by the dinosaurs that inhabit this hidden place. The story returns to the world of dinosaurs known from Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, but this time the focus is on Buck, Crash, and Eddie.
The decision to make a separate story around Buck is logical, as he has long been one of the most eccentric characters in the franchise. John S. Donkin, who makes his feature-length directorial debut here, however, fails to fully recreate the energy of the previous parts. The film is short and straightforward, aimed primarily at younger viewers, but the animation looks noticeably simpler than that of the original series. It is the visual difference that is among the most frequently cited weaknesses by critics, along with the predictable script.
In the sound Simon Pegg is the only major actor from the previous installments to return as Buck, and his eccentric energy remains one of the most enjoyable things about the film. Vincent Tong and Aaron Harris take on the roles of Crash and Eddie, and Utkarsh Ambudkar Orson voices. Justina Machado lends her voice to Zee, who is a new character in this story, while Dominic Jennings, Jake Green and Skylar Stone are also involved in the voice acting. The replacement of almost the entire familiar voice cast is another change that is felt strongly by viewers accustomed to the original performances.
Ice Age: The Adventures of Wild Buck It's hard to compete with the best titles in the series. As a short family adventure, there's enough action, dinosaurs, and familiar characters to keep younger viewers interested, but for longtime fans, the difference from the original productions is all too obvious. Critical reviews are overwhelmingly negative—the film has 19% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and 30/100 on Metacritic.
