Ice Age 2: A stinky sequel to a great original

Rating: 5/10 (17 April 2006)

First of all, let me say that if it were not for the excellent animation, I would have rated this bomb a lot lower.
Before Ice Age: the Meltdown finally made its way to the screen, I had to sit through a slew of current and upcoming animated comedies that, taken together with Ice Age 2, confirm the death of this genre as we know it.
Seriously, the scriptwriters lack any semblance of storytelling, not to mention what tasteful jokes are supposed to be like. Instead, they appeal to the lowest common denominator and basest form of humor such as constant references and exhibitions of bodily functions and childish acts like sticking straws up one's nose.
In short, if you liked Ice Age One, do yourself a favor and watch it again so that you will never have to subject yourself to Ice Age Too (The "Too" is to indicate that this movie has too many characters who make too many useless comments and redundant jokes).
I am going to tell you that this movie has two of the most annoying characters since Jar Jar Biggs of Star Wars fame. Not only are they incessantly annoying, the movie cannot seem to let a minute go by without having them express some sort of supposedly street kool lingo like "Homey," and such, and hand actions like high fives.
These rodents are neither hip, cool, tight, phat, or anything remotely resembling a bunch of boys from the 'hood. I will say that there is regrettably one death in the movie, but even more regrettably is that is was not one of these miscreants.
Now, about the movie itself. The major laudable difference -- worth noting --between the original and this sequel is the animation. Thanks to advances in computer graphics, all of the characters are now fully rounded and exquisitely detailed versus the first film where angular shapes dominated the painted landscape.
Manny (Ray Romano), Sid (John Leguizamo), and Diego (Dennis Leary) reprise their roles as the members of a "herd" that formed in the first film out of necessity. Once again, John and Dennis put their own unique spin to the characters voices. Unfortunately, Ray Romano once again sounds (and acts) exactly as he does on "Ray." Back again is Scrat, the indefatigable squirrel-like creature constantly battling the elements while trying desperately to hold onto his most prized possession, the acorn from the first film. Thank goodness for Scrat because without him this film would be hard pressed to produce a legitimate funny moment. However, as is the case throughout the film, Scrat's situations are exaggerated to the extreme. In fact, every element of this film is so over the top, and consequently unbelievable even for a 'toon, that it grates on one's nerve. I will give an example after I introduce the newest member and misfit to this ragtag herd.
The new character is "Ellie" a female mammoth who thinks she is a possum thanks to the two annoying characters mentioned above, who also are possums. Queen Latifa, who plays the voice of "Ellie," shows yet another talented side of her. As it turns out, Ellie has what I consider the best gag of the film when Manny tries to convince her that mammoths may become extinct if they do not help to further the species.
However, pairing the two of them together does not work at all because the viewer cannot escape seeing Ray Romano when Manny speaks and trying to imagine a love interest between Romano and Latifa is virtually impossible.
Of course, they do hook up in the end after one improbable sequence after another in what amounts to the cartoon that would not die. you know what I mean when a film just cannot seem to find a simple way to end, and just goes on and on and on until the writers run out of ideas.
Well before the writers ran out of lines and gags, I could not wait to run out of the theatre and get a breath of fresh air. Ice Age: The Meltdown is as stale as it gets.
If you are under the age of five, then you will love it. For everyone else, I recommend staying at home for awhile until Shrek returns.