Scrat

Scrat was only meant for the opening scene, to bring ice and snow early. Test audiences loved him so much he got more scenes. The filmmakers placed many right after dramatic moments to lift the mood. The name blends squirrel and rat, an idea from the writer's daughter.

In the second film, Scrat goes after the acorn and climbs the ice wall beside the herd. Stabbing the ice, he opens a huge crack that drains the flood and saves everyone. He falls in, nearly drowns and has a vision of acorn heaven, until Sid revives him. Furious, Scrat thinks Sid stole his acorn and attacks him.

In the fourth film, Scrat is the one who splits the continents. Later, hunting his acorn with an acorn-shaped map, he finds the island of Scratlantis. His obsession ends up sinking the island and the water into a hole, leaving him in the middle of a desert.

In the fifth film, Scrat tries to bury his acorn and accidentally powers up an abandoned alien ship, which carries him into space. Without realizing, he sends several asteroids toward Earth. The rest of the herd spends the film trying to fix the mess.

In the shorts series, Scrat finds a baby Scrat and decides to raise him, but the kid discovers the acorn and becomes his rival. They fight over it across six episodes. In the last one, Scrat grows old, dies, returns as a ghost and learns the baby planned it all.

Chris Wedge, director of the first film and a Blue Sky co-founder, voices Scrat in every film. In the shorts series, Kari Wahlgren plays Baby Scrat.