Ice Age will go down as one of the beloved animation franchises from the noughts to make an imprint in pop culture. Lest we forget about Scrat, one of the funniest characters in animation, and the rest of the cast that grew to become icons in animation. So It comes as no surprise that 20 years after the first film came out, we’re still getting more of Ice Age content. The latest installment, The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, comes out later this month on Disney+ worldwide.
The film sees Simon Pegg reprise his role as the renegade ruffian Buck Wild, who was last seen a few films ago. As the title indicates, Buck Wild takes center stage this time around, manning the crazy ship that is the Ice Age franchise in his own way. In the press junket, Pegg talked about the excitement he had for a new film that was introducing a new foil for Buck Wild.
For me, any time playing Buck is memorable just because it’s always such a full on experience. But it was lovely to see a new story coming to life and see this character in new environments. I loved it. Actually, I do remember when they first showed me the picture of Zee, because it was really exciting because it’s like another Buck. I know she’s a zorilla, but she’s totally his equal and a sort of counterpart to him in so many brilliant ways. And just getting excited about, “Oh he’s got a partner,” and it just felt like all the possibilities that have eventually now come to fruition felt very possible.
Pegg also talked about Buck’s big pathos for this film now that the character was the star of his own tall tale.
I think one of the things as well, for me personally, in terms of Buck as a character, which is a really sweet sort of sub theme in the film, is about… And it’s quite a male issue, I think, is the capacity to be able to ask for help. And Buck is such a loner. He’s so used to doing everything by himself, that the idea of relying on his friends, or trusting someone to do something else, is a little bit uncomfortable for him. And in this movie, he learns that it’s not only okay to ask for help, it’s also okay to ask for help as a guy from your female friends and to trust in them to take over.
There’s also a sentimentality to Pegg reprising the role as the film franchise hits close to home for the actor. That Pegg can draw something so personal for his family from this film is telling of how this franchise has endured throughout the years.
I do love Buck. I have a very strong affection for him because he was born the same year my daughter was born. So the first time I played Buck was the year my kid was born and she’s grown up with those movies and with him. And weirdly as this new Ice Age installment comes out, my sister just gave birth this week. So there’s a new Ice Age baby to take the stories forward. So, it’s nothing but a joy to play Buck because it has all this kind of emotional resonance for me personally in my own family.
