So, I just recently finished rewatching the entire Ice Age trilogy, and while I have adored it since I was a kid, I can't help but notice how wishy-washy it always was for me. Rather than improving or worsening over time, the entire franchise seemed to fluctuate in quality and writing as the years passed. The first film is my favorite, with the third one close behind. The second and fourth movies had their fair share of good moments but were both okay, at best. The final film, however, speaks for itself, not in a positive light. I can't even describe how utterly horrendous and disgraceful it was, and of course, the franchise had to end as a result. But, for this rewrite, I will reimagine certain parts of the first movie that I think could have worked out better. While I think the film was excellent, I had a few problems with it. I will also work on rewrites for the following two films since I think the franchise should have ended with the third film, but please let me know if you guys also want rewrites for the final two movies.
(The first significant change will occur during the infamous cave drawing scene. While looking at the drawings and hugging the baby, Manny will actually cry because after watching his own wife and child die at the hands of humans, it only makes sense for him to do so. In addition, Sid and Diego will also receive characterization as they watch Manny finally letting go of all his prejudice towards humans. This new scene will provide all three protagonists some even levels of depth, especially since Diego lacked significant characterization despite being an antagonist for most of the movie.)
As Manny silently cried and hugged the baby, Sid and Diego gazed at the cave drawing again. It was a beautiful, happy picture of a mammoth couple with their calf, and it was clear that the adult male mammoth was the same one they were standing next to at that very instant. The sight of the drawing stirred a deep, unspoken sorrow in Manny, a reminder of the family he had lost and the pain he had buried deep within him.
The picture gave Sid the chills. His own family had always looked down on him, and he always felt unloved and unappreciated. All he ever wanted was for them to love him. But seeing the happy mammoths made him realize his mistake of acting clingy for so long toward a family that never cared much for him. It was a painful truth to accept, but he knew deep down that he didn't need his family anymore. It was better to be alone than be with someone who didn't care about anyone.
Still, Sid hoped he would no longer be alone once he, Manny, and Diego finally returned the baby to its herd, despite what Manny told him when he agreed to help him do so back at the waterfall. Sid now knew what happened to Manny and could not even imagine the pain of losing such close loved ones, especially those who were the polar opposite of his family. But he hoped the three of them would be able to bond more even after returning their human friend and despite their differences.
Diego, however, was in awe. He never in his life did he think he would see a human showing affection towards an animal it would usually hunt, even if that human were a baby. The cave drawing reminded him of the baby with its parents the morning he, Soto, and the pack bombarded their settlement.
Diego's memory of him forcing the female human to jump off the waterfall with her baby suddenly flashed through his head, along with a wave of regret, the nightmarish recollection of watching half his pack get slain by the baby's tribe, and the unbearable guilt of failing to save his friends.
All those lost tigers were his good friends who had known him for years and Soto for longer, and like Sid, Diego always wanted his pack to appreciate him. Still, after his pack's first encounter with humans, that idea seemed so far from reach now that Soto was exploiting his own companions for a selfish desire for revenge.
Soto always blamed Diego for failing to save the rest of the pack that fateful night, and it was a guilty reminder that never left Diego's memory. Also, the fact that he was the youngest in his pack and had the least experience fighting other predators did not help him gain much respect either.
Diego then turned to look at Manny. His mammoth companion had clearly finally understood what Diego and Soto could not. Diego's mind suddenly began spiraling uncontrollably, and he started breathing heavily. What had he been doing all this time? How did it come to this? His path of vengeance?
Manny abruptly interrupted his thoughts by telling him and Sid they needed to leave. The latter two glanced at the cave drawing one last time before following Manny and the baby out of the cave, feeling oddly numb inside.
(I wrote Diego as being the youngest and least experienced at fighting to give Soto and the rest of the pack a reason to look down on him, mainly since the movie portrays Soto as someone who frowns on weakness and failure.)
(The movie continues as it did initially until the baby learns to walk during the campfire scene. In this rewrite, I will emotionalize Diego's wholesome moment with the baby since it will be the first time a human shows him affection rather than a desire to hunt.)
Diego froze as the baby hugged his right paw. He could not believe what he was seeing. It had been so long since anyone had shown him such love and kindness, let alone a human who would typically hunt his kind. The baby's innocent affection starkly contrasted with the fear and hostility he had come to expect from humans for so long.
As he stared at the baby, Diego came to a shocking realization: he was even more vile than the humans he had attacked almost two days earlier.
Diego was overwhelmed by conflicting emotions as the baby hugged him. The baby's tribe had taken Diego's friends for the sake of survival, and now, Diego was the one spreading misery to them. All for what? Revenge? Personal gain? If only the baby knew that the tiger he was hugging was the one who selfishly forced his mother to commit the ultimate sacrifice.
Diego had always known that humans used a tiger's fur to keep warm as a survival tactic, but Diego, especially Soto, could not let go of the losses that weighed heavily on their shoulders. It was no wonder Diego immediately sided with Soto's vengeful aspirations.
Diego hugged the baby back, almost in tears.
"You okay, tough guy?" Manny asked.
"Yeah, I'm...fine," Diego replied before releasing the baby and happily watching him clumsily walk back towards Manny.
(The original movie continues playing until the scene at Half Peak, where Diego finally admits his true intentions to Manny and Sid. However, while pinned to the side of the cave, Diego spits a ball of saliva into one of Manny's eyes, causing the latter to release him accidentally. Diego will then climb onto a high ledge in the cave, trying to convince his friends to trust him again. The original dialogue will remain, but I will add more to change Manny and Sid's reactions and give Diego a dramatic character moment, which I will explain further when I rewrite the following two films.)
"Trust you?! Why on earth would we trust you?!" Manny questioned angrily.
"Because I'm your only chance," Diego reasoned.
"Only chance?! You're only saying that to manipulate us! You can't trick us anymore!" Sid yelled as the baby stared up at Diego in confusion.
"I don't want to do this anymore!" Diego suddenly yelled in desperation.
"Yeah, right!" Manny scoffed. "There's nothing you can do now!"
A brief silence passed over the four of them, except for the wind from the outside snowstorm. Diego went wide-eyed at Manny's response before looking down guiltily, and for a moment, Manny and Sid thought they were mistaken about something.
Suddenly, Diego started laughing hysterically. He just laughed and laughed, his outburst echoing through the cave. After about ten seconds, he stopped and stared at his once-companions with a cold smile.
Manny and Sid froze in fear and anticipation. Neither of them could believe what they had witnessed. They could only assume their friend was finally shattering the facade he had held up since his first encounter with the pair. Everything started making sense: Diego's threat to Sid and his repeated attempts to seize the baby from Manny while they were negotiating at the camp's ruins.
"Well...this really hurts," Diego said coldly. "But if I were you, I would devise a plan to dodge the pack waiting for you on the other side of this cave."
(The movie then cuts to Diego meeting with the rest of his pack, identical to the original scene. The scenes where Sid slides down the slope and Manny releases his trap on the pack will remain the same. However, instead of Diego meeting up with Manny to escape, he and Soto confront him together. It is here where Diego jumps between Manny and Soto and demands the pack leader leave his friend alone as a final attempt to convince his former friend that he no longer wants to harm him. I wrote it like this because it didn't make much sense for Manny and Sid to trust Diego again immediately after the latter's confession. The final confrentation then insues. However, instead of remaining off-screen after trapping Zeke, Sid helps Manny fight off against Oscar and Lenny by throwing boulders at the two tigers from a high ledge as Diego and Soto have their battle. Finally, I will not give Diego a fake-out death because why did that need to happen?! It was very pointless, in my opinion.)
"What are you doing?!" Soto yelled angrily.
"Leave the mammoth alone," Diego demanded with a treacherous smile.
Soto briefly paused as Oscar and Lenny came up from behind him.
"Fine, I'll take you down first," replied Soto, sounding completely unphased.
Diego and Soto briefly growled at each other before the latter viciously pounced on his former subordinate. As their claws wildly flew at each other, Soto felt nothing but apathy. He had long since stopped seeing Diego as a friend and more as his weapon, his least potent weapon, to be specific.
The tragic flashback of losing half the pack flashed in both tigers' heads repeatedly, and Diego's memory of where Soto blamed him for failing to protect his friends painfully flared in him. However, determination soon erupted inside Diego. He knew he could not fail to defend his companions yet again, especially after all the compassion and love they had given him during their journey.
Diego, however, held back during the fight. Even though he knew it was the only option, the last thing he wanted was to take the life of someone he had grown so close to before everything came crashing down. On the contrary, Soto had no problem fighting his former buddy to the death if it meant he would claim his two rewards.
Manny tried to escape before the other two tigers swiftly jumped in and cornered him. Before they could make a move, however, a large rock tumbled beside Oscar. He looked up, surprised, and saw Sid cumbersomely hurling large stones at him and Lenny up from a high ledge.
"Don't worry, Manny! I got you," yelled Sid.
Seeing the baby up there, Oscar tried to climb to Sid. The sloth frantically climbed up one of the rocky peaks with the baby as Oscar gave chase. Then, without thinking, Sid threw a snowball at the tiger's face before elbowing him off the edge of the peak.
Meanwhile, Lenny lunged several times at Manny but kept receiving hits from the mammoth's tusks as Oscar landed next to him after rolling down the rocks. As Soto wrestled with Diego nearby, he noticed his prey trying to escape again, and Oscar and Lenny got up before cornering Manny again.
"If you love this mammoth so much, you can mourn for him!" Soto yelled at Diego before tossing him into a nearby rock.
Diego seemed to lose consciousness, and as Sid ran out of stones, Soto ran toward Manny. After dodging the mammoth's swinging tusk, the pack leader pounced toward him with an ear-piercing roar. But, as quickly as it happened, Diego jumped toward Soto with all his strength and pushed him away as the latter bit hard into the former's left paw with his sharp back teeth. Soto crashed into a rocky wall, and large icicles from above fell right on him before he could comprehend anything.
Soto was dead. Lenny and Oscar gazed at their deceased leader in shock for a few seconds before Manny and Diego scared them away. As they did, Diego collapsed into the snow, having fractured some ribs from hitting the rock, and sustained a deep wound on his left paw from Soto's bite. Sid soon arrived with the baby and helped Diego get up.
"We did it!" exclaimed Sid excitedly.
"We were...some team, huh?" Diego said with relief.
"Were? Come on, we're still a team?" Manny replied optimistically.
Diego's eyes widened once again as soon as he heard those words. Overcome with joy and guilt, he burst into tears.
"I'm sorry I set you up."
"You know me. I'm too lazy to hold a grudge," said Sid.
As Sid put the baby down, the latter approached Diego and hugged his injured paw.
"You didn't have to do that," said Manny.
"That's what you do in a herd," replied Diego, smiling in tears.
As Sid also hugs Diego, Manny does the same with his trunk. The four embraced for a while before finally resuming their trek. However, before doing so, Diego limped over to his dead leader.
"I wish things could've been different. I'm gonna miss you, Soto," Diego said.
It had been so long since he had respected Soto in any way, not for the ruthless, vengeful monster he became but for who he once was. Overcome with emotion once again, Diego let out a scream of anguish.
"Let's go, Diego. I'll carry you," Manny finally said after a short pause as he grabbed the injured Diego and put him on his back.
"Thank you, Manny. I needed that," Diego responded.
"No problem...friend."
(I like to believe that Diego was very close with Soto in the past, so I made Diego act emotional when Soto perishes. I also made Diego cry when Manny and Sid reaccepted him into the herd because after almost losing his friends a second time after willingly setting them up, it only made sense for him to act emotional about it.)
(The herd eventually makes it to Glacier Pass and meets up with the baby's tribe. However, instead of Manny grabbing the baby from his back, he will help Diego get down from his back. The latter will already have the baby riding on him. I decided to make Diego the one to return the baby as a final act of redemption.)
As Diego walked fearfully limped toward the tribe's leader, he bowed down, finally allowing the human to reclaim his son. However, the baby slipped from Diego's back and landed softly in the snow.
The tribe leader stared in awe as his son got back up and walked wobbly toward him. When the two humans embraced, Diego walked backward toward Manny, happy and no longer afraid.
The three animals gazed at the humans in joy and relief, feeling like a massive weight had risen from their backs. Their human friend was finally home. The three of them then glanced at each other with smiles. None of them could believe that the wild events of the last two days had led them to form this herd.
(The original ending plays out, although the baby will also hug Diego right before leaving, and the tribe's leader will pat him on the head as a sign of gratitude right after handing the shell necklace to Manny. The wholesome part where Diego and the baby play "Where's the Baby" will remain. As the tribe finally disappears down the hill, Manny puts Diego back on his back.)
"Don't think I forgot about you," Manny said to Sid as Manny picked the sloth up and put him on his back behind Diego.
"Are you sure you can carry both of us?" asked Diego.
"Don't worry!" Manny replied, "I've carried heavier things before."
"Alright! Mush! Or mush. Either way," Sid said.
Manny cringed and shook his head while Diego quietly chuckled as the herd finally began heading south.
(The final shot where "Send Me on My Way" plays remains identical, along with Scrat's final comedic scene.)