A fun sequel and one of 2006's better animated films.

Rating: 8/10 (16 February 2007)

Ice Age 2 was less than universally acclaimed, but it's done bloody well for itself otherwise - grossing over $600 million at the box office. The animation is better than in the first Ice Age - with lusher textures and richer colours. Manny the mammoth is back with his smaller friends - and so is Scrat with that damned acorn. The plot is cheap and cheerful, the humour is as you'd expect - laugh out loud in parts, mildly amusing in parts and also bad in parts, and there are some life-risking escapades to give the animated film the dark and epic side it requires in parts. These are easily resolved as you'd expect, but there are three reasons why this film is something enjoyable rather than something we've heard and seen a thousand times before:
1. Ellie the mammoth. She is one of the film's new main characters and brings along another bunch of small pests to follow along with Manny and his crew. The fact she thinks she's a possum isn't that funny and we know from the start that a love interest between her and Manny will develop, but things are helped when we learn more about where Ellie came from. Who can honestly say they weren't touched when they saw the little mammoth freezing in the snow? This also helps to explain why she thinks she's a possum and how she met her friends. To be honest, a flashback isn't the most original way to reveal character, but this film is an animation, and that's exactly nothing different either. And as long as we can give a damn about the characters, I'm easy.
2. Scrat the squirrel. Kids always enjoy watching him try to rescue his beloved acorn whilst getting into a number of humorous (yet unrealistic) escapades. It's also nice to see how his scenes happen completely separately from the actual plot itself and shows a bit of inner child within the filmmakers. He's just there for the sake of it, really, but he's interesting. And even though he gets a bit annoying and predictable after a while, the kids like him anyway and we all come to associate him with Ice Age in the end.
3. The conclusion. It's nice to see some imagination and thoughtfulness was put into this. Manny having to make difficult choices was captured very well, and though it really is just sentimental mush, at least we've come to care a bit more about these characters on their journey. And the ending with Scrat was funny and imaginative as well - even if it wasn't exactly genius, it kept me amused, and the two stories of Scrat and the main characters actually did intertwine at the very end. And a good conclusion is what every film needs. Ice Age 2 had one. And it also opens the door for a third film. I hope there'll be one. After all, all franchises work best in trilogies. Haven't we learnt that over the past ten years...
Ice Age 2 deserves to be called a success - it is often very funny and turns an originally dull and derived plot into a film that will satisfy most nippers, even if not as many adults. There is little for the older generation and no meat on its actual subject matter - global warming - but this is a kid's film, and the kids loved it. And that's all that matters. 8/10