Scrat the Squirrel Rat is the Real, Tragic Hero of ‘Ice Age’

Great news for anyone who was between the ages of 6 and 13 in the year 2002: Ice Age is now on Disney+.

You might ask, “Why is Ice Age on Disney Plus? Ice Age wasn’t a Disney movie!” You are correct—Ice Age wasn’t a Disney movie in 2002, when it was released by 20th Century Fox. However, now that Disney owns Fox, Disney Plus has been adding some classic 20th Century Fox films to its collection, as long as said films adhere to Disney’s family-friendly motto, of course.

The Disney-Fox merger might be detrimental for the future of the film industry, but at least it allowed me to rewatch this film I loved so dearly as a 10-year-old child. While child-me and 27-year-old-me disagree slightly on the quality of this animated film about a group of pre-historic animals—I may or may not be quoted as calling Ice Age my “favorite movie of all time” in a personality profile of my 4th-grade class—there is one Ice Age opinion that the sands of time have not altered: Scrat the squirrel-rat is absolutely the best part of the movie.

I have no doubt that anyone who has ever seen Ice Age remembers this sad, strange, anxious little half-squirrel half-rat thing (hence “Scrat”), despite the fact that he has less than ten minutes of screen-time. Scrat has almost nothing to do with the actual plot of Ice Age, which finds Manny the mammoth (voiced by Ray Romano), Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo), and Diego the saber-toothed tiger (Denis Leary) on a mission to return a human baby to its tribe. Scrat—who is technically voiced by Ice Age director Chris Wedge, though his “dialogue” is mostly just squeaking—has pretty much zero impact on that plot. And yet, he is extremely memorable, and, I would argue, the true hero of this story.

Ice Age opens with Scrat as the star of a pseudo-Pixar short, though unlike most Pixar shorts, this one takes place in the same universe as the film. The plot is simple: Scrat is an anxious little squirrel whose entire life revolves around his prized possession, an acorn. Scrat attempts to store his precious acorn in the ice, which accidentally causes an ice shelf to collapse. But the worst part? He loses his acorn. Scrat is not just any hero—he’s a tragic hero.

Watching this four-minute opening scene immediately transported me back in time. It’s so simple, yet so entertaining. Who couldn’t relate to Scrat, who is just trying to store away a little treat for later? Haven’t you ever slipped a candy bar into your bag and looked forward to eating it all day? Also, the animation of this non-short short is actually gorgeous. Look at those ice cracks! Observe that “camera” work! Get on this level, Shrek.

We see Scrat again in the first Ice Age movie only twice—once when he gives Manny directions via charades, and once at the very end of the film, when he’s been frozen in a block of ice, mere inches away from his prized acorn. We watch as the ice block slowly unthaws; first the acorn, then Scrat. But before Scrat can free his furry little arms from his icy cage, his acorn is washed away by the tide. Much like the mythical figure Tantalus, who wronged the gods and was doomed to an eternal afterlife of starving for food that he can see but never taste, Scrat’s deepest desire is forever just out of reach. It’s profound stuff, people. Really profound stuff.

Then, of course, Scrat obtains a new object of obsession appropriate for his new climate: a coconut. This time, his attempt to squirrel (pun intended) away his spoils results in a volcano eruption.

It’s funny, sure, but it’s also deeply tragic. I am Scrat, you are Scrat, we are all Scrat, etc. Keep on keeping on, little buddy. One day you’re going to get your acorn. I promise.

Where to watch Ice Age