Overall Rating Awesome: 11.84% Worth A Look: 40.79% Average: 27.63% Pretty Bad: 19.74% Total Crap: 0% 9 reviews, 22 user ratings

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Ice Age: The Meltdown

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by Lybarger

"Not quite as cool the second time around…"

The first "Ice Age" movie had a decent storyline and some likable characters. The computer-generated prehistoric critters have returned for another round, but the new tale progresses like a wounded mammoth. There are some charming moments, but you have to wait for them.

Actually, the most entertaining moments come from Scrat, the saber-tooth squirrel and his futile attempts to snag a tasty acorn.

Reminiscent of the old Coyote and Road-Runner cartoons, the segments come up with intriguing variations on the same simple comic setup. A 30-minute compilation of the squirrel’s antics might actually be more engaging.

The rest of movie should appeal to kids but needs a little more wit and imagination to keep an adult’s attention. Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo), Manny the mammoth (Ray Romano) and Diego (Denis Leary) the saber-tooth tiger find their peaceful coexistence shattered when they discover that the ice that has covered their valley for as long as they can remember is melting and threatening to put everything underwater.

The three make a hasty exodus and are soon joined by a pair of rambunctious possums (Seann William Scott, Josh Peck) and a mammoth named Ellie (Queen Latifah) who doesn’t grasp that she’s really not a possum.

Manny hasn’t seen another mammoth in years, so every other creature in the melting valley is urging him to woo her. Of course, the two don’t think much of each other (June thinks Manny is pushy, and Manny thinks she’s crazy) and have to prove to themselves that they are really in love.

If this conclusion didn’t seem obvious to you, “Ice Age: The Meltdown” won’t seem tired or unimaginative. The script by Peter Gaulke and Gerry Swallow has some cute moments. Watching Ellie hang from trees unaware of her size is good for a laugh the first time she does it. The joke doesn’t improve with repetition.

The chemistry with the three leads suffers a bit this time. When Diego wavered over whether he should stay a predator in the first movie, the story had some tension that’s missing here. Adding some mild gags involving bodily functions doesn’t compensate.

As sequels go, “Ice Age: The Meltdown” gets credit for being almost as engaging as the film that preceded it, but considering its $80 million budget, it’s not unreasonable to expect a better story to go with those snazzy computer visuals.

link directly to this review at https://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=14284&reviewer=382
originally posted: 04/03/06 10:57:20

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User Comments

4/14/13 Homo habilis I'd rather be mauled by a smilodon than watch this again 2 stars

9/29/12 roscoe A DROP OFF. tHE 3 new traveling partners are bad, and Diego/Sid roles were reduced. 3 stars

1/21/09 FlipperBoidSkua I wuv the movie, especially Cretaceous (the purple sea monster dude) and the vultures! 5 stars

1/13/09 Anonymous. almost as good as the first one. :D 4 stars

8/19/08 Shaun Wallner This movie is so funny! 5 stars

5/19/08 PAUL SHORTT NOT AS GOOD AS THE ORIGINAL 2 stars

10/19/07 mb Not Life Changing 3 stars

8/19/07 Hollie mmm, better than i thought but quite gay. 3 stars

7/14/07 Vincent Ebriega Actually more energetic than the original, but not quite as funny. 4/5. 4 stars

12/30/06 Austin Wertman HILARIOUS 4 stars

12/20/06 Mary Too Funny, way entertaining, love the sub characters 5 stars

6/14/06 keri sanderfer it's more than a movie, it has a special message in it 5 stars

5/21/06 Darshana The best I have ever seen, simply the best 5 stars

5/15/06 chris f a good film 4 stars

4/28/06 Quigley visually stunning and great animation. not as good as #1, but scrat was hilarious as usual 4 stars

4/23/06 Mase Quick segual cash in, for children with no attention span and adults with low expectations. 2 stars

4/22/06 Pat Frederick I really liked the first one, but I wish there had been more scenes with Scrat. 4 stars

4/11/06 Justin This movie was ADORABLE. The animation was great and the storyline was cute. 5 stars

4/11/06 Anthony Better than the first one! 5 stars

4/06/06 Troy M. Grzych "Ice Age: The Meltdown" is simply better than the first film. 5 stars

4/05/06 Rune Andersen its better then the first one . more of everything 5 stars

4/04/06 BUMP Bump! 4 stars

IF YOU'VE SEEN THIS FILM, RATE IT!
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USA 31-Mar-2006 (PG) DVD: 21-Nov-2006 UK 07-Apr-2006 Australia 06-Apr-2006 Trailer

Directed by Carlos Saldanha Written by Jon Vitti Cast Ray Romano Denis Leary John Leguizamo Queen Latifah Seann William Scott Will Arnett

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