''Ice Age: Scrat Tales'' is an American

animated series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ar ...

produced by

Blue Sky Studios Blue Sky Studios, Inc. was an American visual effects and computer animation animation studio, studio, which was active from 1987 to 2021. It was based in Greenwich, Connecticut, and was founded on February 22, 1987, by Chris Wedge, Michael F ...

, which premiered on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

on April 13, 2022. It is a

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

of the ''Ice Age'' franchise and the first series of shorts in the franchise. The series focuses on

Scrat Scrat is a fictional rodent in the Ice Age (franchise), ''Ice Age'' franchise and the mascot of the now-defunct animation company Blue Sky Studios. In the 2002 film ''Ice Age (2002 film), Ice Age'' plus its follow-up shorts and theatrical seque ...

, a saber-toothed squirrel who discovers that he has a son. It received generally positive reviews from critics with praise for its animation, humor, music, and light-hearted tone, with critics and audiences alike also considering it as a good sendoff to the studio.

Cast

Chris Wedge John Christian Wedge (born March 20, 1957) is an American filmmaker, animator, and voice actor. He is best known for being the lead animator of the sci-fi action film ''Tron'' (1982), co-founding the now defunct animation studio Blue Sky Studios ...

Kari Wahlgren Kari Wahlgren (born July 13, 1977) is an American voice actress who has provided English-language roles for animated movies, TV series, and video games. She got her start in anime voice-overs as List of FLCL characters#Haruko Haruhara, Haruko H ...

as Baby Scrat

Production

Development

On February 22, 2022, which would have been Blue Sky Studios's 35th anniversary, the series was officially announced, with a release date of April 13, 2022. A teaser poster, the cast and crew, and promotional stills were also revealed and provided in press reports.

Animation

Unlike most Blue Sky Studios projects which used the studio's in-house software CGI Studio, the series was produced using

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

Renderman The name RenderMan can cause confusion because it has been used to refer to different things developed by Pixar Animation Studios: * RenderMan Interface Specification (RISpec), an open API An application programming interface (API) is a connec ...

, becoming the first and only confirmed Blue Sky Studios production to utilize the software, as CGI Studio was being phased out in favor of RenderMan. In an interview, Michael Knapp added that as a result, they had to remodel Scrat by re-furring, re-materializing and re-rigging the character. Production was also impacted by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, forcing animators to work remotely. Knapp also went on to state that they were aware of ''

The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild ''The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild'' is a 2022 animated adventure comedy film directed by John C. Donkin, in his feature directorial debut, with a screenplay by Jim Hecht, Ray DeLaurentis, and William Schifrin based on a story written by H ...

'' being produced without the involvement of the studio around the same time production on the series occurred.

Music

Batu Sener composed the musical score, with John Powell composing the end titles; Sener was also a composer on the ''Ice Age'' film ''The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild'' (2022), while Powell composed the ''Ice Age'' films '' The Meltdown'' (2006), '' Dawn of the Dinosaurs'' (2009), and ''

Continental Drift Continental drift is a highly supported scientific theory, originating in the early 20th century, that Earth's continents move or drift relative to each other over geologic time. The theory of continental drift has since been validated and inc ...

'' (2012). The soundtrack was released on March 25, 2022, by

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group which focuses on pop, rock, alternative, hip hop and country genres, also specializing in recordings for a more mature audience not suitable for the flagship Wal ...

Release

The series was released as a Disney+ original series on April 13, 2022. The series was the final production from Blue Sky Studios to be released by

20th Century Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

following the studio's closure on April 10, 2021, and the only television series produced by Blue Sky Studios.

"The End"

On April 13, the same release date that had been announced for the series, an unlisted video, simply titled ''The End'', was uploaded by a former Blue Sky Studios employee onto YouTube, whose account went under the name ''Finale''. The short, which was separate from the series, ended the infamous running gag by featuring Scrat finally achieving his dream of eating an acorn with no catches, and then scurrying off screen, presumably to find adventure elsewhere. The short was allegedly the final piece of animation made by Blue Sky Studios before their closure in 2021, made by a small team of animators to serve as "a send off on their own terms." The scene quickly went viral on the Internet which led to widespread coverage from major news sites, as they had reported that it finally left closure to Scrat's 20-year on-screen battle, in which he ultimately accomplished his goal.

Episodes

Every short is directed by Donnie Long, but co-directors are credited alongside him.

Reception

Critical response

Joel Keller of ''

Decider Decider is both a real word and a "Bushism". It may refer to: * ''Decider'' (website), a pop culture website operated by the ''New York Post'' * '' Bill Maher: The Decider'', a stand-up comedy special * Decider (Turing machine), a Turing machin ...

'' found the series to be entertaining and family friendly, stating, "There are enough funny moments in ''Ice Age: Scrat Tales'' to make it worth the pretty brief time commitment, especially if you're watching it with your kids." Polly Conway of ''

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

'' rated the series 3 out of 5 stars, found agreeable the depiction of positive messages and role models, citing compassion and caring across the character of Scrat, and complimented the humor of the series, writing, "Chaotic critter becomes a parent in funny, violent shorts."

Awards and nominations

Batu Sener's score was nominated for the Best Original Score in a TV Show/Limited Series category at the

13th Hollywood Music in Media Awards The 13th Hollywood Music in Media Awards recognized the best in music in film, TV, video games, commercials, and trailers of 2022. The ceremony was held on November 16, 2022, at The Avalon in Hollywood, becoming the first in-person ceremony in t ...

ceremony in November 2022, but lost to ''

1883 Events January * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * January 16 – ...

s score by

Brian Tyler Brian Theodore Tyler (born May 8, 1972) is an American composer, conductor and arranger, best known for his film, television, and video game scores. In his 26-year career, Tyler has scored seven installments of the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise, ...

and Breton Vivian.

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{Disney+ original ended series 2020s American animated television series 2022 American television series debuts 2022 animated television series debuts 2022 American television series endings American children's animated comedy television series American computer-animated television series American animated television spinoffs Animated television shows based on films Disney+ original programming Disney animated television series American English-language television shows Animated television series about squirrels Animated television series without speech Ice Age (franchise) Television series impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic Television shows scored by John Powell