| Scrat | |
|---|---|
| Ice Age character | |
 Render of Scrat as he appears in the Ice Age series | |
| First appearance | Ice Age (2002) |
| Created by | Chris Wedge (director) Peter de Sève (lead artist) Bill Frake (storyboard artist) |
| Voiced by | Chris Wedge |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Saber tooth squirrel (fictitious) |
| Gender | Male |
Scrat is a fictional rodent in the Ice Age franchise and the mascot of the now-defunct animation company Blue Sky Studios. In the 2002 film Ice Age plus its follow-up shorts and theatrical sequels, he is a saber-toothed, long-snouted ratlike squirrel with no dialogue who is obsessed with trying to collect and bury his acorn(s), putting himself in danger and usually losing his food in the process to his frustration. He additionally is a catalyst for major natural disasters that drastically alter the world around him and at times sets the stage for the main conflicts of the films. Scrat's storylines are mostly independent of those of other characters of "the Herd," though the two do intersect at times. While Scrat is a side character for the theatrical films that he appears in, he is the protagonist of other media such as certain shorts and his own miniseries Ice Age: Scrat Tales. In all of his appearances, he was voiced by the studio co-founder Chris Wedge, who also directed the first film.
The origins of Scrat is unclear because of inconsistent creation stories by different studio staff members combined with the prior existence of a squirrel character named "Sqrat" who was conceived as an unused character by Ivy Supersonic. His design and personality were probably shaped by multiple staff members and ultimately finalized by Chris Wedge, the lead artist Peter de Sève, and the storyboard artist Bill Frake. Scrat was reportedly conceived midway through the film's production and was planned on being killed off by the end of the introductory scene. Despite Wedge's protests, 20th Century Studios released a teaser trailer for Ice Age featuring Scrat. The character in the trailer was well received by audiences for his involvement in circumstances of slapstick comedy, leading Wedge and his studio towards keeping Scrat alive and adding him to more scenes. His personality and greater plot involvement were standardized by the release of the 2002 short Gone Nutty and implemented into subsequent films.
Scrat has been widely praised for his pantomime behaviors and comedic antics with his acorns, in particular his suffering from slapstick comedy, and has been considered the most iconic character of the Ice Age franchise by critics. His simple and comedic storylines have frequently been compared to those of the Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner cartoons from Warner Bros. Because of his popularity and history of expanded roles starting from the 2002 film, he was considered a breakout character by multiple writers along with de Sève and was a major factor of the franchise's success. He was also said to represent personal struggles with the pursuit of happiness and obsessed persistence by Wedge, de Sève, and other staff members, a sentiment followed by critics. Despite not being based on any animal species, Scrat has also been compared to more recently described species of Mesozoic cynodonts by paleontologists, namely Cronopio dentiacutus and Pseudotherium argentinus on the bases of their small sizes and long fangs plus snouts.