You know that wet, sloppy lisp? The one where every "s" sounds like it’s being dragged through a puddle of mud? That’s Sid. If you grew up in the 2000s, that voice is basically hardwired into your brain. But honestly, most people don't realize that the sid ice age voice actor, John Leguizamo, didn't just walk into a booth and start talking funny.
He actually worked for years to find that specific sound. It wasn't some lucky accident or a cheap joke. It was a weird, slightly gross process that involved Discovery Channel documentaries and a lot of soggy sandwiches.
The Man Behind the Sloth
John Leguizamo is a legend. You might know him from Encanto as Bruno (we don't talk about him), or maybe from his gritty roles in John Wick or The Menu. He’s a high-energy guy. But in 2002, he took on a character that was supposed to be the polar opposite: a slow, dim-witted ground sloth.
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The directors at Blue Sky Studios—specifically Chris Wedge—were apparently incredibly hard to please. Leguizamo tried everything. He gave them over 30 different voices. He tried a southern drawl. He tried a street-smart persona. He even tried a voice that sounded like a person from New Delhi. Nothing worked. Everything felt too "normal."
The Breakthrough (And the Sandwich)
Leguizamo decided to get scientific. He started watching footage of real sloths. He learned something pretty nasty: sloths store food in their cheek pouches. Because they're so slow, that food sometimes just sits there and ferments. Basically, sloths spend a decent amount of time slightly tipsy because they're eating fermented fruit they forgot in their own mouths.
This was the "aha!" moment.
To mimic that "full cheek" sensation, Leguizamo literally put a sandwich in his mouth and started walking around his apartment. He wanted to hear what it sounded like to speak through a mouthful of mush.
"I called the director and said on the phone: 'Guess who you're talking to Chris? Sid, that's right Sid!'" Leguizamo recounted in later interviews. That slushy, lateral lisp was the result of him trying to articulate while pretending his mouth was stuffed with rotting fruit.
The Sid Ice Age Voice Actor Controversy
For twenty years, it was always Leguizamo. If there was a movie, a video game, or a Christmas special, he was there. But then 2022 happened.
Disney released The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild on Disney+. Fans noticed something immediately: Sid sounded... off. He wasn't the same. It turns out the sid ice age voice actor for that specific spinoff was actually Jake Green.
The internet didn't handle it well.
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The movie was hammered by critics and fans alike. Part of the reason it felt so "uncanny valley" was because the original chemistry between Ray Romano (Manny), Denis Leary (Diego), and Leguizamo was gone. When you replace the voice that people have loved since they were five years old, you're going to have a bad time.
Why the Change?
Budget? Scheduling? Disney hasn't given a straight answer. But the fallout was huge enough that when rumors of Ice Age 6 started swirling, fans were terrified.
Fortunately, we got some news.
In late 2024 and early 2025, Leguizamo himself basically confirmed on NPR’s Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! that a new mainline movie is in the works. And yes, he's back. It seems Disney learned that you can't just "voice match" a performance as unique as Sid's without losing the soul of the character.
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How to Do the Sid Voice
If you’re trying to annoy your friends, doing the Sid lisp is a rite of passage. But most people do it wrong. They just do a "th" sound for every "s."
That's not it.
The secret is the "lateral" part of the lisp. You have to push the air out of the sides of your tongue, not the tip. Imagine you’re trying to keep a big glob of peanut butter from falling out of the right side of your mouth while you talk.
- Tighten your throat to get that higher pitch.
- Flatten your tongue against the roof of your mouth.
- Let the air leak out the sides.
- Try saying: "A dandelion! Probably the last one this season!"
It takes actual physical effort. Leguizamo has mentioned that he has to "warm up" for hours because his natural voice is much deeper and more gravelly than Sid's. He has to physically put himself in Sid's state. If Sid is running in the movie, Leguizamo is usually running in place in the booth to sound authentically out of breath.
What’s Next for Sid?
We are looking at a 2026 or 2027 release for the next big installment. The big question is whether the original "herd" can still capture that magic now that they’re all older. Romano is in his late 60s, and Leguizamo is in his early 60s.
But Sid is timeless.
The character works because he's the "id" of the group. He’s impulsive, needy, and weirdly optimistic in a world that’s literally ending around him. That's a vibe that resonates even more now than it did in 2002.
If you want to catch up on the evolution of the voice before the next movie drops, skip the spinoffs. Stick to the core five films. You can actually hear Leguizamo refine the lisp between the first and second movies; it gets more "defined" as he gets more comfortable with the character's physical tics.
Next Step for You: Go watch the original 2002 "Dandelion" scene on YouTube and pay close attention to the way the "s" sounds hit the microphone. You'll never hear it the same way again once you know there's a metaphorical sandwich involved.