Ice Age (U) **

ICE Age is a stunning, digitally-animated film which is sure to delight children and adults alike.

Set in the prehistoric era - the beginning of the Ice Age - it is the tale of Sid, the witty and smooth sloth, Manfred, the stern but warm-hearted mammoth, and Diego (voiced by American comedian Denis Leary), a kindly sabre-toothed tiger.

The unlikely trio team up to protect a stray human baby who has been lost by his tribe after his village was attacked by sabre-tooth tigers.

Sid persuades the reluctant Manfred to look after the child and they are later joined by Diego, who was initially involved in the attack which led to the baby becoming separated from his parents.

Diego decided to throw his lot in with Sid and Manfred and they undergo a dangerous quest to try to reunite Roshan with his family.

The animation, from Oscar-winning director Chris Wedge (which he got for an animated short 'Bunny), is excellent and the film has a genuine warmth and humour. The jokes come thick and fast and are aimed at both kids and adults.

And the action is relentless as our heroes survive avalanches, battle for food with an incompetent flock of Doomsday dodos, explore the mysteries of nappy changing, ride through a roller coaster of ice funnels, cross ice bridges over lakes of volcanic lava and fight a pack of the blood-thirsty sabre-tooth tigers which Diego used to belong to.

There is also another character on the periphery of the four main players including a squirrel/rat called Scrat, who struggles to retrieve and bury an acorn with earth-shattering results.

Ice Age is a wonderful and clever movie - a welcome addition to the recent crop of excellent animated films like Shrek.