Ice Age: The Meltdown

Rating: 8/10 (22 May 2006)

The sequel to 2002's Ice Age has managed to recapture the magic of the first film, whilst beating off most recent efforts into CGI films that didn't come from Pixar. This time around the three friends Manny, Sid, and Diego must join their newly formed herd to escape the valley they are living in, as the ice is beginning to melt, and threatens to flood the valley.
Like last time, there is no grand plot here (the first being based on another journey, this time to return a child to its family), and it merely serves to introduce new characters and create laugh-out-loud situations for the trio to overcome. Of the new characters, all are competent (Queen Latifah's Mammoth-Possum-wannabe is good) but never take the lime-light away from our original heroes, which is as it should be; although I did particularly like Will Arnett's Lone Gunslinger Vulture, a rather apocalyptic vulture. All the personalities are back, as is the bickering between them  slightly more playful than last time.
Some standout scenes include Sid's initiation into a tribe of fellow Sloth's, and the origins of whack-a-mole with the possums  all the episodes are loosely connected by a plot which is there to serve for convenience, but this doesn't matter as the film is inventive enough to look past structural failings and just enjoy it. It has increased the fear factor somewhat  the group have to evade two nasty looking sea creatures that have been thawed out by the melting ice, and these scenes, although thrilling, can be scary for younger viewers.
Ice Age: The Meltdown keeps its individual style of animation; at times crossing between its general cartoon-look and then throwing in some genuinely brilliant effects  the underwater shots in particular, and also the effect of the animal's fur after they leave the water are very nice. But it's through the cartoonish style that Ice Age: The Meltdown manages to keep its charm, and there is plenty to go around.
Finally, Scrat is back trying to get his acorns. Used in the first film as more of an advertising ploy, Scrat gets much more screen time in the sequel, as his quest to retrieve his precious acorn against insurmountable odds creates situations that get progressively more hilarious as the film goes on, and provides many of the films true laugh-out-loud moments. At 90 minutes the film is trim and so doesn't outstay its welcome, knowing when enough is enough to keep it all fresh. It's a wonderful sequel that all ages should enjoy.
Rated: 8/10
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