Retains the spirit, not the quality of the first - Ice Age: The Meltdown Reviews

Without a doubt, the best thing about this movie is following the adventures of Scrat, that mischievous, determined creature trying valiantly to get that acorn. This little fella goes through so much and still NEVER gets that acorn! If they made a film just about Scrat, I would watch it. The Scrat sequences in "Ice Age: The Meltdown" always complement the main story; the one of Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo), Manny the mammoth(Ray Romano) and Diego the sabre (Dennis Leary) traveling with the other animals to escape the flooding of the glaciers and the melting of the ice caps. Hmmm...global warming, anyone? Of course, being a kid's film, that message never gets hammered in, but it is still obvious what the film is hinting to. On the way, Manny gets worried that he is the last mammoth in existence until he meets Ellie (Queen Latifah). Unfortunately, she thinks she is a possum and that her brothers are Crash and Eddie, two ADD, hyper, energetic, noisy possums (voiced by Seann William Scott and Josh Peck). Everyone has their own little plotlines, like Diego overcoming his fear of water, and Sid being hailed by a bunch of mini-sloths who believe he is the "Fire King". And on the way, they face a number of problems such as ferocious vultures and sea creatures that look like mutants from "Slither". Then, there's the problem of the actual flood, which happens to be animated perfectly to get a cool, crisp image, but realistic enough to show all the little details such as ripples and currents. As a matter of fact, all the animation and CGI is much more advanced in this film, and gives us good access to beautiful images. The images of fur drenched in water are serene and show how complex animators are these days. From rushing waves of water to ice breaking to many unique species of different shape and size, the film makes the Ice Age look fun, rather than devestating. And the movie is in fact lots of fun, even though the plot is a little thin and that the characters and their world had already been explored in the first film. Fortunately, all the voice cast are charismatic and charming enough to hold a movie and make it entertaining, despite a weak storyline. Latifah, Scott, and Peck (a.k.a. The Possums) don't really add much stubstansially to the film. The movie belongs to the cast we love, that annoying sloth, the serious mammoth, and the cool tiger. I liked this movie more than I should have because it was set in a world I already loved with characters I already loved. Sure, this film's success banks heavily on your liking of the first film which is fine and dandy with me. This sequel keeps the same tone, same sense of humor, same steadiness. Both films after all were about documenting a journey. I was ever so thankful that this film didn't contain any modern-day pop-culture references that animators today can't afford to miss out on. Imagine hearing a "Brangelina" reference in this movie. The humor in this film is well designed and crafted so that it can be ridiculous without being overboard. Sure, the vultures sing a song resembling "Oliver!". But the director knows when to stop, and he does to move onto the next joke. This keeps the film fresh, upbeat, and fun. Sure, the "Ice Age" films will never measure to Pixar animation. But like a critic stated, this film is "oddly watchable" and it is enjoyable nonetheless. I'd give this a B