The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild continues the hilarious escapades of the sub-zero heroes as they create more prehistoric pandemonium. Eager for a little independence, the thrill-seeking possum brothers Crash and Eddie set out to find a place of their own but soon find themselves trapped beneath the ice in a massive cave inhabited by dinosaurs.
They are rescued by the one-eyed, adventure-loving weasel Buck Wild, and together, with the help of some new friends, embark on a mission to save the Lost World from dinosaur domination.
Producer Lori Forte has been part of the Ice Age franchise since the very beginning, working on all but the Gone Nutty short in 2002. She also wrote Ice Age: Continental Drift's story and is back for this instalment alongside director John C. Donkin. Making his feature helming debut here, he was an associate producer on Ice Age and has also worked on Robots, Rio, and Invincible.
Needless to say, it was a pleasure being able to pick their brains about The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, and we hear from them here on the longevity of the series, concerns surrounding the Disney/Fox merger, and their hopes for these Ice Age characters moving forward.
Check out our interview with Lori and John below:
I wanted to start by acknowledging that you’ve both been part of this franchise since day one, so what is it like for you to see both how long these characters have been around and the longevity of this franchise?
Lori: It’s kind of unreal [Laughs] but really amazing. I mean, twenty years of living with these characters and in the world of the Ice Age has been amazing. It’s been an amazing ride and the fact that it continues just goes to show you how thrilled I am that generations grew up with this film [series] and hopefully a new generation will now grow up with [it] again. Adding more to the franchise is such a dream come true.
John: Totally. You know, I was so blown away when some of the animators pulled me to one side at one point and said, ‘You know, when I was in second grade, Ice Age was my favourite movie!’ They grew up on these movies too and in some cases, whether directly or not, it inspired them to become animators and come into the business, so they were so thrilled to be animating these beloved characters. It felt an honour to carry that forward.
Simon Pegg has been part of this franchise for over a decade since 2009, so how has it been to follow his journey as this character of Buck culminating with this film?
Lori: It’s been wild. We created the character of Buck on the page and we always knew we had a loveable character, but he wasn’t born until Simon came in and recorded it. Simon is that character. He’s just wacky, eccentric, and loveable, and he’s got such heart. He’s got such energy. I think as soon as he started voicing the character, we knew he would be beloved. So, when it started with Dawn of the Dinosaurs, he was such a marvellous addition to the Ice Age family that when the fourth Ice Age came up, we couldn’t put him in because we had closed off that storyline. He said to me then, ‘I’m sorry I can’t be in it,’ and I said, ‘We’ll figure something out’ and we found a storyline that could bring him into the fifth film, Collision Course. I was thrilled to have him back, so now he has his own story, it’s even more exciting. Now, we’re able to look at this character, spend more time with him, and get to know him a little bit more. He’s not just a swashbuckling hero, he’s got other sides to him. We’re just starting to understand and get to know this solitary character who’s been alone for so long now that he’s coupled with other characters and we get to see a little bit of how he’s going to grow and change.
John: Absolutely.
Of course, John, you’re making your feature directing debut here, so having had this history with this Ice Age franchise, was that helpful to you when it came to directing this one?
John: Oh, for sure. For sure. It was so great to be working with Lori on this movie because from the very beginning of the first Ice Age movie, we had a friendship and collaboration. That evolved with this and me getting the opportunity to direct it. I do know the characters and it was fun to just play with them, vent, and worth with the actors and animators to create new stuff and scenes. It was an evolution for me personally on this project, much like it’s an evolution to go into Buck’s character more in-depth. So, absolutely, and it was great to do it with familiar characters and material. We tried to bring new things into it and some lightness into scenes that was just a real joy. We just had the best time and I think Lori and I both agreed it was just a really, really fun time with this one.
Lori: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. There’s also such a shorthand between us because we know all the characters so intimately. We’re also both very protective of the franchise and wanted to make sure the spirit of the Ice Age was continuing.
Disney is a studio with a lot of animated franchises, so when that Disney/Fox merger happened, were you ever concerned Ice Age would fall by the wayside or was there always something in the works to bring the characters back?
Lori: I don’t know we knew for sure, but I know I was hopeful they would want to continue the franchise. I was thrilled when I found out they did want to do that and I’m so thrilled they love this movie we made and are so behind it. It’s amazing for us to be able to continue the ride.
John: Yeah, we felt such great collaboration and support from Disney on this project. The executives we’ve worked with…I can’t really point to a better example of the kind of close collaboration we had actually making this. It’s undeniable the box office success before Disney acquired 20th Century that they would want to continue the storylines. We’re just thankful we’re able to keep it all on brand, so to speak, in the sense it’s an appropriate story with the appropriate characters, and it was very much a focus of ours from the beginning that this felt like an Ice Age movie and felt like it fits in even down to music choices and things like that. It was very much canon and part of the franchise.
The film will debut on Disney+ and that streaming service is one that’s shown us with Pixar and Disney Animation all the different sorts of shorts and TV shows they can do. Are you excited for the future of the franchise on streaming or are you thinking about returning to the big screen eventually? Or a combination of both?
John: I think it could go any way. One thing that’s happened with streaming, and this is a little philosophical, is that it’s opened up avenues for different kinds of content. We’ve seen some amazing work on streaming we haven’t been able to see in theaters. I’d love to see them in theaters, don’t get me wrong, as I love the big screen experience. There’s such a diverse demand for content and it’s undeniable that anybody who objectively looks at the business should see there’s an amazing opportunity with streaming and the demand for even niche animation markets where things are a little more narrow guided towards adults or sci-fi. There’s always been a demand for these big family events whether it’s on the big screen or the small one. It’s something your five-year-old can watch with their grandmother, and those are the kind of things I think will always be watched.
And Lori, I assume you feel the same way about where the franchise could go?
Lori: Yes. I think content, whether it’s theatrical or streaming, the more people that are able to access the material and films, the better. A lot of people do respond to streaming and I think it’s a great way of showcasing any of the films we make.
John: I will just add on to that real quick that I wasn’t thinking about whether this was streaming or not during the making of the film. We wanted to make it entertaining, fun, big, bold, and feel cinematic regardless. We have this massive, beautiful, orchestral score. We’ve got beautiful colours and rich, vibrant environments. I wasn’t thinking in the back of my head, ‘This is going to be on TV and people are going to watch it on their phone.’ Inevitably, some will, but we made it a big movie with big sound, big music, colourful, bright imagery, so if you’ve got a great system at home, you’re going to enjoy it that much more.
Lori: I think that’s the best point. None of us ever thought we were making anything other than a movie. Wherever they show it, they show it, but it’s still the movie we would have made whether we were in a studio for theatrical or for streaming. It didn’t make a difference to us. We were just making the movie as good as we could make it.
John: And funny and as entertaining as could possibly make it.
Well, you guys nailed it, and as someone who grew up with this franchise, I really appreciated it and had a great time. I’m excited to see what comes next and thank you so much for your time.
John: Thanks for the kind words.
Lori: Thank you!
The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild premieres on Disney+ on January 28.