Ice Age - The Meltdown [Blu-ray]

Posted on December 1st, 2009 by Blue Ray Movie Reviews

Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 09/30/2008 Run time: 194 minutes Rating: Pg The love life of a woolly mammoth–handled with G-rated delicacy–drives this sequel to the first computer-animated romp in the age of prehistoric mammals. While the first Ice Age took a delightful premise and suffocated it with a formulaic plot–in which a mammoth named Manfred (voiced by Ray Romano, Everyone Loves Raymond), a sloth named Sid (John Leguizamo, Moulin Rouge!), and a sabre-tooth tiger named Diego (Denis Leary, Rescue Me) helped an abandoned human infant return to its tribe (basically, Three Mammals and a Baby)–the sequel takes the now-familiar setting, gives it a shapeless, episodic storyline, and yet somehow becomes pretty darn entertaining. Faced with the threat of a flood from melting ice, our heroic trio are on the run to escape from their blossoming valley. On the way, they meet a female mammoth (Queen Latifah, Bringing Down the House) who thinks she’s an opossum and get menaced by some freshly defrosted carnivo! rous fish. Add into the mix a herd of lava-worshipping mini-sloths, some Busby Berkeley-style vultures, and more ingenious slapstick featuring the acorn-crazed Scrat, and Ice Age: The Meltdown will amuse even jaded adults. — Bret Fetzer

Beyond Ice Age: The Meltdown

Ice Age - Super Cool Edition

Ice Age & Ice Age 2: The Meltdown - (DVD 2-Pack)

Funtastic Adventures Collection Box Set (Ice Age / Robots / Fern Gully / Once Upon a Rainforest)

Stills from Ice Age: The Meltdown (click for larger image)

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars not as good as the first
On one hand, there are at least three points of negative contrast when compared to the first movie, while on the other there really are not attributes I can find in this movie which are superior to the first. Here are three to consider.

First, in the first movie, Syd the sloth is this lovable character who is also clumsy, creating many comic moments as he trips over this, falls into that and generally comes off in humorous manner as the physically weakest of the group. In Ice Age 2, this innocence is lost so that Syd’s clumsiness is missing, while instead he becomes the butt of mean remarks and behavior of others.

Second, in the first movie, Scratch and the acorn have a humurous bit part, which is about where they should be. In Ice Age 2, they receive much more prominence, but the effect is often one of time “filler,” not of particular importance to the plot and perhaps because the writers had trouble coming up with better plot themes.

Finally, in the first movie, Syd the sloth, Manny the mammoth, and eventually Diego the sabertooth, must overcome the adversary of a pack of other sabertooths. But these sabertooths are softened to the degree that they bumble somewhat, one of whom is even humorously timid at times. In Ice Age 2, by contrast, the main adversary comes in the form of dinosaur attack fish. These fish are more sinister and provide a darker edginess to the movie than Ice Age 1.

All in all, I rate it “three stars” despite the above because the movie still manages to be entertaining in many ways, with Queen Latifah adding a nice touch. It is difficult to imagine, however, how Ice Age 2 can be considered superior, or even equal, to Ice Age 1.

5 Stars As Least As Good As The First One, And Probably Better
Although it doesn’t say “2″ on the title, this is the sequel to “Ice Age.” It’s just as good as the first movie, if not better. The graphics are so clean, with all the whites and the blues, the ice and skies, that it’s stunning to view in many, many scenes, especially on Blu-Ray, which elevates the visuals even more!

Story-wise, what is a bit different from the first movie - and this was fine with me - was more lines and scenes featuring the two funniest characters: Scat, the squirrel and Sid The Sloth. The squirrel has no lines but is hilarious, as he was in the first film. Scat is still trying to capture or hold that elusive acorn and every quick scene with him is clever. He had far more screen time in this movie.

Meanwhile, John Leguizamo has almost all the funny lines in the feature story as “Sid.” I lost track how many humorous things he said, but he just makes everyone laugh out loud during this film.

We also get a lot of adventure in here as the ice is melting in the area the animals live and the have to get out the valley before the dam breaks and they are all swept away in a huge flood. There is good suspense about that, enough to just about wear you out by the end. Add to the story a romance angle with a female mammoth (Ellie) and you have another great movie with a lot to offer. You can bet there will be another sequel and if its as good as th first two, it will be another winner.

5 Stars Cute story and terrific animation
Every actor and actress in this movie did an amazing job. My favorite is Scrat- he never gives up.

5 Stars Simply Amazing!
“Ice age - The Meltdown”, to be frankly speaking, animation film has never been so entertaining and having obtained such a lot of perfection before, according to me. “Lion King” was the first animation film to be my favourates and now Ice age - The Meltdown, Sid, Diego, its so good to have them back for a ride again. Also, I like this more than Ice age, So, if you think sequels are usually not better than prequels but Ice age - the Meltown will make you change your opinion, a must watch!

5 Stars GREAT FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT - THE SQUIRREL WILL HAVE YOU LAUGHING THE WHOLE MOVIE
This is one of my kids all time favorite movies. The picture on the blu-ray is brilliant and simply amazing. And the squirell is hilarious, how he is always getting hiself into trouble, falling off cliffs, getting stuck in the ice etc. The squirrel is so funny he deserves his own movie. This is sure to be a family favorite.

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