Isn’t there anyone who cares about Sid the sloth? Since the first film in the Ice Age franchise, Sid the sloth has been there to steal the show. The dim-witted, clumsy ground sloth (played by John Leguizamo) has been getting himself in and out of trouble, stealing our hearts all the way.
Sure, he's not the one trying to find an acorn, but he has plenty of great scenes of his own across the franchise. Let’s take a look at some of his most iconic moments.
10 Recruiting the Locals
In Ice Age: Continental Drift, When the herd needs the help of a tribe of hyraxes, Sid harkens back to his days as the Fire King. Manny (Ray Romano) tries to talk slowly to the little furry (potential) friends but to no avail. This is when Sid confidently steps in, much to Manny’s annoyance. But after a successful use of body language and dance moves, the hyraxes are officially recruited to join the fight against Captain Gutt (Peter Dinklage). This is not only a great callback to the second movie, but a rare moment when things turn out Sid’s way!
Related: Ice Age Characters From the Movie Franchise, Ranked
9 Exploring the Cave
As the herd travels to return the lost human baby in the first Ice Age movie, they find themselves hiding in a frozen cave. Sid gets himself separated from the others after getting his tongue stuck in the ice. As he takes his separate route, he finds himself in a hall of various frozen oddities. Sid sees a fish, then a dinosaur, then a fun series of creatures that he lines up with to mimic an evolutionary illustration, then finally a UFO. A fun fan theory is that Sid’s discoveries are predictions of the various upcoming sequels.
8 Vegetarian Dish
After getting kidnapped by Mama T. rex in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Sid finds himself arguing with her over how to raise their three babies. Sid is trying to raise them vegetarian, but Mama thinks otherwise and brings them what appears to be the carcass of a feathered dinosaur. After it wakes up, Sid tries to set it free. But his good intentions accidentally get the poor morsel into an even worse situation.
What makes this scene so great is how Mama seems to actually be in on the debate, shooting Sid various looks and only knocking him partially out of the way rather than eating him. Perhaps the sloth wiggled his way into her heart as well.
7 Playing Dead
After accidentally crossing paths with a pair of angry mammals in Ice Age, Sid has to think of a way to avoid their wrath. With a bit of help from Diego (Denis Leary), and some great acting skills, Sid manages to evade his foes. But not without Diego doing a bit of play of his own, making Sid wonder if the tiger finally snapped and turned on them. Sid’s pathetic cries for help really make this scene work, especially when it’s followed by Diego’s iconic “I don’t eat junk food” line.
6 Goodnight, Sid
Another entry from the first Ice Age movie made it onto this list. After the herd settles down for the night, Sid struggles to find a comfortable position. After flopping down on a rock, what follows are various pantomimes, grunts, and hilarious wiggles. Anybody who’s struggled to fall asleep, or shares a bedroom with someone struggling to fall asleep, can relate. It almost sounds like the directors let Leguizamo make whatever goofy noise he wanted into the microphone, and they animated around it. Regardless, the result is a hilarious moment, much to Manny’s short temper.
5 The Lotus Berries
After the hyraxes charge Captain Gutt in Continental Drift, Sid and Granny (Wanda Sykes) are charged with untying the boat. But Sid is sidetracked by some tasty-looking berries and tries to grab a snack. After being warned by Diego that the berries have paralyzing properties, Sid responds with “I know by berries!” and chomps down… only to go full ragdoll.
This is a great Sid moment that is rife with physical comedy. From Sid frantically gesturing with his eye to get Manny’s attention, to Manny accidentally knocking him against rocks, branches, and even pirates, and even Sid sliding full across the icy ship and off the other side. It’s possible the character animators had a blast playing around with Sid’s face and floppy body physics throughout the sequence.
4 Adopting the Baby Rexes
Thinking his herd has abandoned him in Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Sid decides to make a new family for himself by adopting three strange eggs he found under some ice. Sid couldn’t be happier with his proud babies but struggles with the new role of parenthood. When they’re still eggs, he nearly smashes them in a sledding sequence, and the babies that hatch out of them are clearly from another world altogether. The baby dinosaurs themselves are adorable, and the way they give affection to Sid is both heartwarming and hilarious.
3 The Last Melon
When the herd tries to feed their semi-adopted human child in Ice Age, a flock of crazy dodos nabs their melon. After a zany sequence involving the first two melons getting lost, once over a cliff and once into a steaming volcanic vat, Sid gets his claws on the final melon.
Related: Best John Leguizamo Performances, Ranked
In an inspiring sequence that would even make “Rudy” Ruettiger proud, Sid manages to charge his way through and score a touchdown. Manny, Diego, and the baby cheer, the dodos comfort each other in defeat, and Sid does a victory dance and smashes the melon on the ground, ruining the moment. But it’s alright; the kiddo doesn’t mind eating off the ground anyway. This is one of the more iconic Sid moments in the first movie, with perfect comedic timing on the melon smashing.
2 The Fire King Dance
One night, as the herd tries to outrun an oncoming flood in Ice Age: The Meltdown, Sid wakes up to find he’s being carried away by a group of mini-sloths. They take him to their tribe, where a giant shrine is erected to his likeness. The mini-sloths give him the title of the Fire King. Sid lights a fuse, illuminating the monument, and then burns his foot. He notices the crowd pantomiming his every noise and dance move, resulting in a massive musical sequence. Things are looking up for Sid before they quickly turn south.
Turns out the mini-sloths lured Sid in to sacrifice him in order to save the ice age. But Sid’s usual bad luck, and a little bit of slapstick, managed to save him from a fiery demise. This scene is beloved among Ice Age fans for both its musical and comedic pace. The goofy noises blend perfectly into a musical number, ending in a perfect record-scratch when it becomes clear what the mini-sloths are up to.
1 A Dandelion
Finally, we have Sid’s grand debut in the first Ice Age. After waking up to find out that his family migrated without him, Sid decides to set off on his own… only to realize his first step was into something particularly nasty. In an attempt to clean off his feet, Sid unintentionally scrapes his feet all over the salad of Frank (Stephen Root) and Carl (Cedric the Entertainer). After spraying filth all over the two, and their salad, Sid spies their coveted dandelion and eats it right in front of them. Once Sid realizes what he’s done, it’s far too late. The chase is on until Sid (literally) runs into Manny for the first time.
Not only is this iconic for Sid’s introduction, but it works as a scene because you can just feel the fury building up. Kids and parents alike in the theater were waiting for the fuse to finally run out between the pair as Sid unintentionally tramples all over their peaceful moment.
Even though the Ice Age movies are over, there are still plenty of reasons to revisit them, from Manny’s family to Diego’s actions and Sid’s comedic antics. The giant sloth may be extinct in our time period, but this particular sloth will live on in our hearts forever.
