DVD Corner

Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas Special Blu-ray and DVD Reviews

“Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas Special” is breezy entertainment for the kids.

The plot: After Sid accidentally breaks Manny’s Christmas Rock, Manny claims that he will be put on the naughty list. Wanting to get off the list, Sid (along with Manny’s daughter Peaches and opossum bros. Eddie and Crash) travel to the North Pole to ask Santa to clear up this matter. Meanwhile, not knowing that the four have ventured off on their own, Manny, Ellie, and Diego go looking for them. As you can imagine, the characters get into all sorts of wacky adventures throughout their journeys.

Running a scant 25 minutes, this “Ice Age” X-Mas special is a light, breezy, straight forward toon that was made strictly for children and fans of the popular franchise. If you are an adult whose children may want to watch this repeatedly, worry not as you will likely find that it’s all pretty harmless and bearable. You might even chuckle at a few of the gags/jokes involving Scrat and nuts (as per usual), Christmas trees, and a new character to the “Ice Age” world- Prancer.

Summary: If you’re looking for a new animated Christmas special to entertain the kids, you can do worse than “Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas Special”. It’s fast paced, short, and affordably priced on both DVD and Blu-ray.

Video/Audio:

The Blu-ray 1.78:1 1080p picture quality is flat out stunning thanks to the high quality. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, CGI animated films (or shorts) were made for Blu-ray. Everything from Manny’s fur to the ice is crystal clear. As for the DVD, it’s satisfactory but lacks the detailed clarity that Blu-ray offers.

I didn’t notice any issues with the 5.1 DTS-HD audio track on the Blu-ray. The music, voice acting, and sound f/x were all sharp. The Dolby Digital 5.1 track on the DVD is a step down from the DTS track, but that’s to be expected. With that said, it still does the job.

Blu-ray Extras:
* DVD and Digital Copies.
* A clip of “Ice Age: Continental Drift” in which the ensemble cast of characters are floating on a chunk of ice.
* Fox trailers and ads.

*”Swingin’ Jingle Bells” music video which features clips from this special.

December 8, 2011 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review, DVD review | Ice Age 4, Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas Special Blu-ray Review, Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas Special DVD Review, Scrat