Granny in Ice Age: Sid's Granny and Her Voice Actor

Granny is Sid's Granny, and she is credited as "Granny" in both of her films: Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012), directed by Steve Martino and Michael Thurmeier, and Ice Age: Collision Course (2016), directed by Michael Thurmeier. Wanda Sykes voices her each time, billed seventh in Continental Drift and thirteenth in Collision Course, among a long ensemble that includes Ray Romano as Manny, John Leguizamo as Sid and Denis Leary as Diego.

What is Granny's real name, and is it Gladys? The credits for both films give only "Granny", so Gladys, a name some fans search for, does not appear in either cast list, and she is known simply by that title. Sid, her grandson, is introduced in Ice Age (2002) as a clumsy and talkative ground sloth, which is the family Granny comes from as Sid's Granny.

If you are choosing a film to meet her in, Continental Drift is the one. It is rated PG in the US, U in the UK and PG in Australia, and it runs 88 minutes. Collision Course is rated PG in the US, U in the UK and G in Australia, and runs 95 minutes. You can see how both fit into the series on the ice age movies in order page, or browse the full ice age characters list.

Granny's story arc is short and sits almost entirely inside Continental Drift. When Scrat's chase after his acorn tears the land apart, Manny, Sid, Diego and Granny are swept out to sea on a floating slab of ice, while Ellie and Peaches are cut off on the other side of the split. That makes Granny one of four passengers on the slab, and Manny vows to get back to his family however he can.

The drifting group is caught by a band of pirates led by the ape Captain Gutt. Manny and his friends free enslaved hyraxes and take a ship, while Shira, Gutt's first mate, stays behind to slow the pirates down. Gutt later tracks the herd down and takes Ellie and the others hostage. Granny's contribution to the final stretch is Precious, her sea monster, which helps drive off the pirates.

Granny returns in Collision Course, credited in the cast again with Wanda Sykes in the role. That film follows Scrat's accidental asteroid trigger, Buck's discovery of an old stone pillar, the trip to Geotopia and the wedding of Peaches and Julian, and its plot centers on Manny, Sid, Diego, Buck and the Geotopians.

Granny's closest relationship is with Sid, whose Granny she is, and it ties her to the herd from her first scene. In Ice Age (2002), Sid is a sloth left behind by his own group and attacked until Manny grudgingly saves him. By Continental Drift, Sid's Granny is swept out to sea on the same slab of ice as Manny and Diego.

Manny, Sid and Diego share that slab with her, so Granny begins the voyage in close company with the herd's mammoth, sloth and saber-toothed cat. Ellie, Peaches and Shira are not on the slab at the start, but they join the same story once the herd reunites and settles on a green island. Shira, in particular, arrives as Gutt's first mate and leaves as Diego's partner.

Precious is her most unusual bond. The sea monster belongs to Granny and helps drive off the pirates, while Manny is the one who beats Gutt. You can follow how these characters connect in our profiles of sid ice age, shira ice age and peaches ice age.

Granny has no recorded ending in the films: she is swept out to sea in Continental Drift, her sea monster Precious helps drive off the pirates, and she is credited again in Collision Course. In Continental Drift, Manny defeats Captain Gutt in the final fight, and Gutt is eaten by a siren. The herd settles on a lush island where the hyraxes can rebuild their home, Peaches and Louis are reconciled, and Shira joins the group as Diego's partner. Scrat ends up stranded in a desert after Scratlantis sinks.

Collision Course then shows the herd facing asteroids, and it ends with the eruption fueled by crystals pushing the main asteroid away from Earth. The film closes at the wedding of Peaches and Julian, with Diego and Shira honored by young animals and Brooke back with Sid.

As for what comes next, Ice Age: Boiling Point is in production for a US theatrical release on February 5, 2027, according to TheWrap and Box Office Mojo. See ice age boiling point for the latest on that film.

In my opinion, Granny's best moment is the way Precious helps drive off the pirates in Continental Drift. Up to that point, the film has built a clear picture of the pirates as a serious threat, with Gutt holding Ellie and the others hostage, and a sea monster belonging to Sid's Granny is exactly the kind of left-field help the series does well. It could be argued that the moment works because Granny shares the slab of ice with Manny, Sid and Diego from the start of the voyage, so the payoff feels earned rather than random.

My second pick is the slab of ice itself. Putting Sid's Granny on it with a mammoth, a sloth and a saber-toothed cat is a neat way of making the voyage a stranger one. Perhaps that is also why Wanda Sykes suits the role: the casting adds a distinct voice to an ensemble that already includes Peter Dinklage as Gutt, Jennifer Lopez as Shira and Josh Gad as Louis.

If you want a quick way into Granny's scenes, start with ice age continental drift, then follow the herd into ice age collision course.