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Scrat

Scrat is a fictional rodent in the Ice Age franchise and the mascot of 20th Century Animation subsidiary and animation company Blue Sky Studios until its closure in 2021. In the 2002 film Ice Age plus its follow-up shorts and theatrical sequels, he is a saber-toothed, long-snouted rat-like squirrel with no dialogue who is obsessed with trying to collect and bury his acorn, 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, his vocal effects were provided by the studio co-founder Chris Wedge, who also directed the first film. The origins of Scrat are 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.…

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Article summary

Scrat is a fictional rodent in the Ice Age franchise and the mascot of 20th Century Animation subsidiary and animation company Blue Sky Studios until its closure in 2021. In the 2002 film Ice Age plus its follow-up shorts and theatrical sequels, he is a saber-toothed, long-snouted rat-like squirrel with no dialogue who is obsessed with trying to collect and bury his acorn, 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, his vocal effects were provided by the studio co-founder Chris Wedge, who also directed the first film. The origins of Scrat are 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.…

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Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.