Scrat wins

Rating: 6/10 (16 April 2006)

ICE AGE 2 is a dull and plodding sequel to a film that itself had its share of dull moments. A trio of prehistoric creatures tries to get their fellow animals to hightail it out of the valley they live in when it becomes clear the ice is melting and a huge flood is imminent. That's about it for plot. The rest is all schtick, although it may keep the very young ones amused. The middle section is a long and boring stretch about the migration. Scrat the bug-eyed rat-squirrel helps keep the film afloat, as he did the first one, and Sid the bear-sloth has a very funny but too-brief encounter with a tribe of musically-minded mini-sloths. Diego the sabretooth tiger is strictly a bit player in this one, and a little bit of Ray Romano's Manny the Mammoth goes a long way. The 3-D animation itself is terrific, but frankly 1988's 2-D THE LAND BEFORE TIME tells the same story in far more entertaining fashion, and Littlefoot the brontosaurus and his pals put the characters in ICE AGE 2 to shame.