ICE AGE - THE MELTDOWN : Genuinely Funny & Exciting In A Very Standard Way...

Rating: 8/10 (12 April 2006)

ICE AGE : THE MELTDOWN
In this depressing time where there is literally not a single film in theatres that I am passionate about seeing, there is little option aside from a decent popcorn flick like ICE AGE : THE MELTDOWN. It is not usually the kind of film that would draw me out to the theatres, however... considering my other options last night this was the best choice. As I expected, ICE AGE : THE MELTDOWN was a genuinely entertaining, though shallow, diversion with some great animation on display. I'm not an avid fan of the original ICE AGE... though I did find it entertaining and charming. THE MELTDOWN inspires the same response from me.
What both this film and the original did so well was create a series of truly exciting action sequences that are framed by a lightweight comedic tone. Both films succeed at making the situations these animals find themselves in genuinely exciting. Whether it be a wild ride down melting ice, a perilous balancing act on a large stack of rocks, or on a breaking ice pond filled with giant vicious fish... all these sequences are truly exciting.
In addition, the writers and directors of THE MELTDOWN really know how to utilize everything possible for comedy. The comedic style is very scattered... whether it be the dry wit of Manny the Mammoth (voiced by Ray Romano) or the ridiculous visual of Possum's acting like "homeboys". I certainly would never praise THE MELTDOWN's comedy for being one cohesive style, or for being particularly intelligent... but nonetheless it musters quite a few genuine laughs.
My main complaint however, is that the film had two segments that were a complete waste of time. One sequence involved a musical number performed by the looming hawks, which offered no story development and was one of the least funny moments in the film... simply tacking 5 minutes onto the film's running time. The other sequence involved an overly familiar sacrifice scenario with Sid the Sloth. I can't help but imagine the writers were forced to cram this in so John Leguizamo (the voice of Sid) would feel like his character was given a story arc and some focus... b/c it served no purpose to the film. A film as lightweight and trivial as ICE AGE : THE MELTDOWN shouldn't have any useless sequences making it run longer then necessary, and that's exactly what these two scenes were.
Overall, THE MELTDOWN makes for an entertaining night at the theater. (It's especially amazing how one dumb, ugly squirrel chasing an acorn never gets old). It's everything revolutionary film-making isn't... but it also has a lot of what popcorn blockbuster films for children should have, mixed in with enough jokes to keep the adults happy.
... B ...