Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2499 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-10-23
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 87 minutes

Synopsis
With their habitat under threat from flooding caused by the ending of the ice age, unlikely friends Manny the woolly mammoth, Diego the sabre-toothed tiger, and Sid the sloth set out on a quest to find a boat that is rumoured to be at the other end of the valley. To add even more danger to their perilous mission, two carnivorous prehistoric fish have thawed out from the ice and begin to follow the herd in the rising water. While on their quest, the trio meet possums Crash and Eddie and Ellie the woolly mammoth, who believes that she is a possum. Manny is delighted that he isn't the last of his breed but Manny and Ellie have frequent disagreements. Separately, Scrat remains behind in order to hunt an acorn. The characters in the film go on a journey of self discovery, overcoming their fears and the sense of the unknown on the way. Featuring a superb voice cast including Ray Romano (EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND), John Leguizamo (SPAWN), Denis Leary (SMALL SOLDIERS), and Queen Latifa (TAXI), ICE AGE 2 - THE MELTDOWN is a fabulously animated film that retains the humour of ICE AGE, introduces a number of new characters and gives more screen time to the popular character Scrat, who is continuing on his arduous mission to acquire an acorn.

Customer Reviews

Good for kids, but not as good as the first
In places, the graphics are amazing, superior to the original, especially the sea/water. The voice-actors are as good as they were, perhaps even better, than in the original. So why the 3 stars? It's the plot, there really isn't much of one.

In the original Ice Age the story was about a group of animals reuniting a human baby with the tribe that lost him whilst set against the back drop of an encroaching Ice Age and all the melodrama that's entailed in that. In this movie, the ice is melting and the animals have to get to the other side of the valley, but other than that there isn't really any other constant story to hold the movie together, unlike the original. Instead, what's offered is an excuse for an animation sequel that falls short of the original by quite a margin.

As already mentioned, the visuals and voicing are high quality, and there are even sufficient humorous episodes to put a smile on your face so that you don't finish up thinking you've just wasted and hour and a half, but this is more like a soap-opera rather than proper film. In this offering it's the scriptwriters that are the let down.

The movie is peppered with well-rendered yet ultimately simple filler animation sequences, a couple of which are more reminiscent of early Disney animations, which is a bit of a cop-out these days. This movie desperately yearns a decent storyline to carry it (sorry, but the back drop of melting ice just isn't enough).

This animation baulks the trend over recent years for presenting mature humour in a child-like packing and instead goes just for the child-like packing (which it achieves admirably). But... it's not cleverly scripted, like The Incredibles, Shrek, Monsters Inc, Antz, Toy Story or even the original Ice Age.

I'm sure it will be delightful for younger children and anyone else with a young-at-heart-and-head disposition. But I'd give this movie an overall 67% entertainment rating.

A good laugh
It is not as good as the first one for the story is slightly streached.
Whenever the rythm is getting slow they throw in a "scratch" bit, which is good by the way. There are some good ideas and there's plenty of fun in watching, plus the quality of the anime is fantastic.

So it is a good laugh and a classic for the little ones. I wouldn't suggest to actually buy it, rent it instead and then if you really loved it get the 2 disc edition for a little extra.

A bit wet
This is a fun animated movie for kids but it has nothing to make it stand out and it's to be hoped that the forthcoming Ice Age 3 finds a little more inspiration. There is little semblance of a plot, instead the movie relies upon incessant pratfalls, as well as on its admittedly impressive animation.

As the subtitle suggests this installment sees the motley collection of mammoths, saber-toothed tigers (and squirrels!), sloths and possums, battling against the melting of their icy world. New dangers such as carnivorous fish and thinning ice mean the animals have to adapt quickly or face extinction - this is a pretty good premise but quite hard to explain to a 3 and a 5 year old! My daughters loved the movie and it is pretty entertaining in an undemanding sort of way, however it could have done with a proper storyline rather than the stringing together of a series of random crazy scenarios.

Overall this movie is worth a look if you've seen Ice Age 1 and is good fodder for wet school holidays, however I would recommend renting rather than buying as there are better animated movies out there to spend your hard-earned cash on.