Mar 1, 2016

"Ice Age 5" will be a huge hit thanks to this hilarious gag

What's the funniest thing in the world- If you ask any feature animation studio in 2016, the answer would be a cartoon animal bending over and tucking its head between its legs.

This action is so hilarious that it doesn't even need to be accompanied by a gag. Simply reference the popular yoga pose called downward-facing dog, and audiences will be overcome with fits of mad, uncontrollable laughter. Get ready:

I rest my case.

Blue Sky released the trailer today for the fifth entry in its Ice Age franchise. It is also the third trailer for an animated film being released this year to have a downward dog gag. The other two movies that offer this bust-a-gut comedy gem in their trailers are Sony's The Angry Birds Movie and Disney's Zootopia.

The downward-facing dog gag was pioneered by DreamWorks Animation in their 2014 movie Mr. Peabody & Sherman, in which Mr. Peabody, upon being caught doing yoga, responded with the classic line, “Sorry, caught me doing my yoga. You were expecting a downward dog, perhaps-”

Yoga aside, Blue Sky's team does funny CG animation better than almost any other studio, and there's expressive, beautifully timed comedic movement throughout the new trailer. The Ice Age series - much like theatrical Tom & Jerry and Wile E. Coyote/Roadrunner shorts - may be predictable and formulaic, but they're also likable and profitable, which is why Fox can't stop making them.

Fox will release Ice Age: Collision Course, directed by Mike Thurmeier, into US theaters on July 22, 2016. Watch the trailer: