"The Meltdown" continues with the style of its predecessor both in humor and animation, so those who fell in love with the original will love the sequel too. Soon they organize a migration, but the trip won't be easy, specially for Manny, who begins to believe that he is the last Mammoth on earth. After some years living in peace in a new pack, our old friends Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo), Manny the Mammoth (Ray Romano) and Diego the Sabertooth tiger (Dennis Leary) discover that the ice is melting and a flood will cover the valley they now call home. That alone is an achievement in its own right. Well, despite being exactly that, this new adventure of the prehistoric mammals manages to stay on its own legs and delivers nothing but great fun becoming a worthy sequel. It's a commendable and admirable effort.Īt first, "Ice Age: The Meltdown" looks like the inevitable sequel to the famous 20th Century Fox animated blockbuster, trying to cash in the success of the previous movie. This film is a throwback to what made classics such as "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and The Beast" work: solid acting and a good writing base. In addition to the principals, the possums and the mini sloths are welcome arrivals, and there are some wonderful moments of nutty entertainment, as now computers can portray some truly wacky moments, such as the Berkeley-inspired moment in the sacrificial fire pit and the vulture "food" numbers. Leary's Diego is not the showiest turn, but he also has some great moments. He compliments Queen Latifah's lovely and goofy Ellie. Romano has now found the essence of Manny and has some fun with it.
Romano's deadpan delivery this time has found the heart that it sorely missed last time, when it was a just boring attempt to leave his character with no personality. His creation and very talented vocal turn perfectly interacts with the other actors' styles. John Leguizamo shines as the heart of the movie, the sloth that inspires all of us to have a good time and gives us hope that there is still some imagination left in Hollywood. There are several aspects of this film that I found to be very enjoyable: Its terrific animation, the delightful vocal performances of all the actors involved, and its irresistible imaginative charm. And that makes this sequel, as enjoyable as, if not better, than the original. Though at times it might feel clichéd, somehow it excelled in its execution. This is one piece of animation that doesn't rely too much on sight gags, of spoofing current affairs, but one filled with more witty dialogue and kept on an even keel with its interesting storyline. The animation is as usual, top notch, and I just can't get enough of the photo-realistic ice and water landscape. Keep a lookout too for that mad sloth song-and-dance sequence, which has potential to become the next ear worm ala Madagascar's zany "you-got-to-move-it" song. The villains in this sequel are pretty nasty, besides the looming natural disaster, we have two sea creatures with nasty teeth and attitude, as well as menacing vultures ever ready to pounce on the flesh of animals who have fallen. Pretty wide scope, but they manage to fit in place nicely. Various themes like romance (hey, we got 2 mammoths here), friendship, trust, and believing in oneself to overcome one's phobia get covered. Needless to say, Manny's still anti-social, and Diego can't get along with those rascal possums who get on his nerves, and Sid's the "philosopher" ever providing the laughs. Along the way, our trio meets up with another trio of characters, who were added to expand the cast, featuring 2 Possums Crash (Seann William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck), and another, but female, mammoth (Queen Latifah). So all the animals embark on a journey to salvation, to that rumored ark which will save them from the massive floods to come. The valley which they live in is threatened by the melting ice, no thanks to global warming. While the original was one which dealt with hope, this one had its setting in extinction, disaster and death.
#ICE AGE MELTDOWN DUMB ASSISSTANT MOVIE#
However, I felt that this movie was somehow darker in tone than the original. We learn that Sid has gone into the early childhood business, educating the young minds of pre-historic brats. Our gang of prehistoric animals are back - Manny the Mammoth (voiced by Ray Romano), Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) and Diego the Sabre-tooth Tiger (Denis Leary). Here, Scrat opens the movie, and emulating the style of the first, he provides most of the laughs, also as an intermission from the actual scenes from the main cast. Similar to the first Ice Age, the promotional material for the sequel was out in the theatres way in advance, and courtesy of the Scrat character too, up to its usual antics of getting to that elusive acorn.
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