On the Rocks

Rating: 5/10 (31 December 2006)

Ice Age 2: The Meltdown: 5 out of 10: Global Warming comes to the Ice Age clan. Before you get any idea that this is An Inconvenient Cartoon keep in mind that global warming is presented as a fairly benevolent thing and by definition not man made (though with all the fart jokes I think Woolly Mammoth flatulence may be a contributing factor.) Political hot potatoes aside this is a very attractive and quite empty headed CGI cartoon.
The movie is drop dead gorgeous. The water effects alone are almost worth a view. The other highlight of Ice Age 2 is simply the finest English orphan vulture musical number ever put on film. Other than that the jokes seem kind of flat, the characters have no spark (Denis Leary's Saber Tooth tiger in particular seems neutered.), and there is some Noah's ark imagery that at best seems misplaced.
I'm sure the kids will love it and I have often felt the first Ice Age was under-appreciated compared to similar Pixar offerings. The sequel alas is a bunch of gags barely strung together with a go from point A to point B storyline occasionally interrupted by that scene stealing pre-historic squirrel, Scrat. Most of the gags are pleasant enough but, except for the "vultural" musical number, there is nothing inspired in the whole film.