Sid is a sloth. He is Manny's sidekick for much of the first movie, and although he is establishd as the best friend, he is not necessarily recognized as a good, kind animal just by looking at him. Sid is ugly. His eyes bulge out on the side of his head, and he does not have many of the qualities that would make him visually appealing to an audience. He is also drity, and does not seem to have a shining or well groomed coat of fur for any part of the film. He seems unorganized and goofy at first glance. Sid's teeth also stick out awkwardly, adding to his unconventional visual appearance of a 'sidekick'. It is unclear what his visual characteristics are supposed to indicate at the beginning of the film. Therefore the audience is left to deal with first impressions.

Sid is also an animal, like many of the characters in Shrek and all of the characters in Ice Age. He is, as previously mentioned, a sloth, and therefore, the first time the audience sees him, there may be associations with being slow moving. To me, that also indicates that he is probably not the kind of character who would take on much of a leaderhsip role, because he would be unable to keep up with everything. Also, his body itself is not exactly helpful in painting a positive image. Sid's head is very small, his eyes are wideset, he has a long skinny neck, and a round lower half. He looks disproportionate, and as such it is difficult to take him seriously as a character.

Despite his goofy, somewhat questionable appearance, Sid is a loyal best friend and provides much of the comical relief in the film. He is not unintellingent, as the size of his head may indicate, and despite being a sloth and not very fast moving, he does not necessarily slow down the other characters. Sid is a character that visually continues to contribute to his role throughout the movie. Although there may be misunderstandings and misconceptions at the beginning of the film, his image eventually signifies the positive aspects of his personality and the audience is able to see past his awkward outside appearance. His wide-set eyes become kind and able to see things from a different angle, and his round shape becomes an open invitation for a hug.

The movies Shrek and Ice Age have several characters who parallel one another. Two characters who overlap in these two movies are Donkey and Sid, respectively. They are both the best friend of the main in their films. They also both take on the role of awkward sidekick at several points during the films. Both Sid and Donkey are the comic relief during the film and despite their sometimes annoying habits (according to the main characters) they are easily likable by the audience as well as the other characters.