Gone Nutty (2002)

Gone Nutty (2002), also referred to as Scrat’s Missing Adventure, is an animated short directed by Carlos Saldanha for Blue Sky Studios. Following the events of the initial film, our beloved Scrat stumbles upon a bountiful tree filled to the brim with acorns, after finding a new one. He attempts to complete his collection by placing his final acorn in the only empty spot left in the center of the pile. However, recalling previous experiences, he cautiously screws it in instead of forcefully pushing it. Unfortunately, with his back turned, the acorn pops out twice before Scrat loses his temper and stomps it into place. This action sends all the acorns cascading out of a hole in the tree, causing an avalanche that sends Scrat careening down a mountainside along with his cherished acorns.

As the familiar tune of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty Waltz plays, Scrat can be seen gathering acorns while tumbling through the air. After collecting enough acorns, Scrat expertly shapes them into a CGI sphere and perches on top. But in a sudden turn of events, the sphere tilts and sends Scrat and his precious acorns crashing onto the icy terrain below. Amidst all the chaos, one lone acorn remains suspended in the atmosphere – presumably the one that started it all. With his arms still trapped in the snow, Scrat watches helplessly as the final acorn hurtles towards him with incredible force, striking between his eyes like a rifle bullet. The impact is so powerful that it triggers a massive earthquake, causing drastic changes to the Earth’s continents – possibly forming Pangaea as we know it. As debris and other acorns scatter around him, poor Scrat finds himself stuck in his original spot at ground zero.