The sabre-toothed squirrel in the Ice Age movies, Scrat has finally fulfilled his acorn fantasies. In a new and unofficial short from Blue Sky Studios, fans of the animated movies witnessed the send-off to the beloved franchise, with a surprising development. The long-running unlucky character, who was forever chasing an acorn, finally got his prize.
Voiced by director Chris Wedge, Scrat has been the mascot for the Ice Age movies since 2002. In every film, we have seen the mammal desperately chasing after his acorn and trying to hide it safely. Over the years, the squirrel has suffered mass injuries, accidentally created mass catastrophes, and has even gone to space in his pursuits for the nut. However, like everything in life, Scrat’s pain has come to an end.
In the unlisted video titled Finale, the animated squirrel breaks his nut losing cycle. Before trying to bury the nut in the Icey ground, as we have all seen him do countless times before, Scrat stops himself and chooses to eat the acorn instead.
The description under the video reads: “In the final days of Blue Sky Studios, a small team of artists came together to do one final shot. This shot is a farewell, a send-off on our own terms.” It is yet to be verified how official this clip truly is, as it has yet to be acknowledged on Disney’s platforms.
You can watch the full video below:
Despite the goodbye video, this isn’t the last time we will see the squirrel. A spin-off TV series called Ice Age: Scrat Tales recently debuted on Disney Plus. Wedge returns to voice the character with Blue Sky Studios back to animate the show. However, this is very likely to be Blue Sky Studios’ last venture with Scrat.
Disney now owns the Ice Age IP, and Blue Sky Studios was shut down in early 2021 due to the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Bardel Entertainment, an entirely different studio, handled the new spin-off movie The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild.
This makes the unlisted video make sense as the team say goodbye to the beloved character after animating him for 22 years.