Directed by Carlos Saldanha
Written by Peter Gaulke and Gerry Swallow
Starring: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Dennis Leary
You’ve either been looking forward to Ice Age: The Meltdown, or you don’t like the new wave of computer animated movies. If you’ve been looking forward to it, you won’t be disappointed; if you don’t normally watch animated movies, this one won’t sell you on the genre.
The filmmakers have learned a few new tricks since the first Ice Age movie, but for the most part you get more of the same. There are some mawkish moments and a few thrills, but the comedy is to the fore, and works on enough levels to keep both a four year old and a fourty-two year old entertained for an hour an a half.
The protagonists, Diego the Sabre-toothed Tiger, Manny the Mammoth, and Sid the Sloth return, though they are joined by a trio of new characters who bring a measure of freshness to the group dynamics. Again, as with the first movie, the best bits belong to Scrat the Squirrel whose forlorn attempts to retrieve his beloved acorns from a variety of places provide the film with a number of pure gold Tex Avery moments.
The plot, such as it is, sees the group fleeing from an impending flood as the Ice Wall that surrounds their idyllic valley threatens to collapse. The troupe make there way across frozen lakes, infested with a defrosted Ichthyosaur and Mosasaur. On the way they meet three new companions and there is a romantic interlude followed by more trekking and a ‘buzzardy’ Busby Barclay musical number. The trek finally culminates in a rush through a field of boiling geysers while the ice wall crumbles and the valley floods.
In essence, this is a road movie, with the imminent threat providing the impetus for movement. When the threat is over the tension drains out and is replaced by gooey sentimentality that undermines the previously good natured humour. Fortunately the film still manages to end on a great gag, so all is not lost .
Ice Age 2 is not without its flaws. Some of the animation sequences have the look of game tie ins and there is the odd moment of insipid sentimentality, but the smart mix of slapstick, wit and some more adult gags give it a general appeal. I’m not sure how much amusement it would provide for teenagers or young adults but as a kids movie that parents can also enjoy it makes for good afternoon out at the cinema.
John Davidson Despite working in IT for the last 20 years and collecting comics for even longer, he is married, has two young daughters and lives in Scotland. Ideally he spends his spare time reading and watching movies, but this is curtailed by the calls of child-rearing and part-time study, not to mention the 'call of the internet'.