by Martin Reftorr

Created on: June 15, 2008   Last Updated: June 16, 2008

Characters in Ice Age

While a Disney animated film, Ice Age still should be considered an honorable theatrical work, especially due to its spotlight on character types. The character functions largely drive forward the plot and theme of the movie, making specific roles central to the overall success of the film.

Though unlikely companions, both Sid and Manfred serve the role of protagonist in Ice Age. The thematic goal of the movie reflects the belief that regardless of background, everyone should help each other out, alongside obeying the mantra that says to treat others with respect and care and expect the same in the return. Early on, though Manfred doesn't like the presence of Sid, he puts up with him and eventually, through a series of events, both adapt a little to learn to take each other's backs. The same holds true for when the two meet Diego in the instance of finding the human baby.

Diego's character is truly interesting in the movie, for firstly he serves as the contagonist, trying to tempt Manfred and Sid away from their goal of delivering the baby to his father. His true goal at the beginning involves deception and relies on tricking the two and the baby to follow him into the paws of his pack, where they were to be ambushed and eaten. However, as the story moves along and Diego realizes the thematic message embodied by Sid and Manfred's relationship, he shifts to the role of guardian, illuminating the path ahead in a literal and metaphorical sense. Because he is the only one of the group who knows the art of tracking, Diego leads Manfred, Sid, and the baby towards the pack of humans where the baby's father is. Through Diego's leadership, the unlikely trio achieves their goal of returning the baby safely.

Diego's success as a guardian relates to his disobeying of the antagonist, Soto, who first sends Diego to capture the baby. Soto and his troop serve as the antagonists, while Sid certainly plays the part of the sidekick character, doing very little important actions until the climax of the story. By his bland, lonely personality and his reliance on simple truths, Manfred serves as both a skeptic and a rational character along the course of the movie. Sid's character basically opposes these traits of Manfred, and thus he represents the emotional character. All of these roles assist in magnifying Diego's evolution from the antagonist to the guardian.

As Ice Age revolves around the central theme of the parable of the Good Samaritan and helping out one another, it depends heavily on Diego's transition from a contagonist who works for the antagonist to the guardian of the protagonist characters. Diego's transformation, illuminated by the roles of the other characters, serves as the driving force to ultimately reveal the film's theme.

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