“Ice Age” broke into the animated film market in 2002 at the hands of Fox, to surprise Disney and Pixar, owners of that field at the time. The adventures of Sid, Manny and Diego trying to escape a brutal climactic stage of the planet with extremely funny and educational episodes were enough to become a wonderful success.

So much so that the producers gave them to exploit the franchise with sequels and spin-offs. In the movies, on television, in toys and anywhere it could be marketed, the product of “Ice Age” was present.

Even these characters were an important piece within the package that Disney considered when acquiring the rights from the 20th Century Fox studio. However, one of the iconic members could be left out of the equation, since the cartoonist who created it has just won the rights over the big companies.

This is Scrat, a sabre-toothed squirrel who is a secondary character in the film. However, he at times steals the limelight as he fails to chase acorns in endless bouts of karma and bad luck.

Thanks to these scenarios, capable of making the most bitter laugh out loud, Scrat has a special place in the hearts of those who enjoy the stories of “The Ice Age”.

Scrat’s Rights

Disney has nothing to do with the dispute and inherited the problem after the purchase of Fox. The creator of this character is a cartoonist named Ivy Silberstein, also known under the pseudonym “Supersonic”, who started a legal dispute with the studio that started this franchise 20 years ago.

According to a review of Millennium, the woman sued Fox after the premiere of the first film, in 2002. According to “Supersonic”, the producers were based on her cartoon to include this character. So, in 2003, a judge determined that both Fox and Ivy would jointly own the character.

Silberstein was not satisfied and raised his claim to other judicial instances. It was a long process, but with a happy ending for the cartoonist, who received the news that the rights to Scrat belong completely to her.

“Ice Age” has five films with a sixth slope in which, in principle, Scrat would not come out through this same process. In addition, the franchise has three other productions that are exclusively available on the Disney Plus platform.