L'ère de glace 2: La fonte

Ice is melting fast as our heroes (Manny, Sid and Diego) look to relocate and survive. Fun sequel to the highly successful original from 2002 that found a huge following with the masses (both young and old) and found little warmth from hard-nosed critics. This sequel adds a few more characters and keeps everything interesting and fast-moving with quirky situations, high-paced action and unforgettable one-liners. Scrat (that lovable little guy who continues to go after that unobtainable acorn) dominates the action in an extended role as his adventures and misadventures coincide perfectly with the primary players. Still fewer things are cooler than this series. 5 stars out of 5.

When the valley where they live is threatened by the melt of the surrounding ice, the mammoth Manny, the sloth Sid and the saber-toothed tiger Diego advise the other animals to look for shelter outside the place. While escaping, the trio meets Ellie, a female mammoth that believes she is an opossum like her two mischievous brothers. Meanwhile, the squirrel Scrat tries to retrieve his walnut in the most unusual situations.

"Ice Age: The Meltdown" is a funny sequel of "Ice Age", with many hilarious situations. Again, the squirrel Scrat "steals" most of the scenes, recalling the MGM animated theatrical shorts cartoons of "Tom & Jerry" that I used to see in the matinées when I was a kid. The situation of Ellie, who is convinced that is an opossum, also made me laugh a lot. The shameful and expensive DVD released in Brazil by Fox do Brasil distributor does not have the original audio in English, only in Portuguese and Spanish; further, does not have any Extra. Shame on you Fox do Brasil! My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Era do Gelo 2" ("The Ice Age 2")

The children liked it but they weren't riveted. That's the short of it. It wasn't a shocking disaster, but it was just a bit muddled. A little scattered. Fragmented. It failed to engage me.

But let's be positive. The writers wisely decided to vastly expand the role of Scrat the Squirrel in this version. Periodically we get to take a break from watching the mammoth, sloth, tiger, possums, and other mammoth walk very slowly along toward the vague "other end" of a vague "valley" to avoid a flood that is being caused by global warming. We get to step back from the grindingly uninspired mammoth love story and the other many subplots that go with the many characters. We get to watch a squirrel chase an acorn. And those sequences present some of the funniest bits in the film.

The rest of it is just kind of there. One problem is that there's really no reason for a sloth, a tiger, and a mammoth to be casting their lots together, except that they did in the first movie. That movie, I felt, had a storyline that involved actual characterization, growth, change, a real tension, etc. When the tiger almost fell off the cliff in Ice Age #1, I gasped. This time, I fidgeted. It just didn't seem real. And that's what I want from an animated movie about talking prehistoric animals -- REALNESS. No, but seriously, without some degree of actual jeopardy, of actual question of what will happen from scene to scene, without someone to root for and embrace -- it's just pointless.

The only character I was getting that for was the saber tooth squirrel. They could have saved a lot of money in celebrity voices.

Everyone had a subplot because they had to have something to do, so that was tidily arranged for them. But nobody's subplot had anything to do with the others'. And the global storyline about the flood was just a reason to walk... slowly. Slowly walk. And pester each other half-heartedly about how they were all going to die. Or not.

Like I said, the children didn't complain. I did laugh, many times, at the places I was supposed to. But it wasn't great.

Ice Age is one of the best animations ever made so I was excited about the return of Scrat & co. While the new adventure doesn't have the same emotional impact as the first (less tear-jerky, I mean), it makes up for it with comedy. Scrat's attempts to hang on to his acorn are longer & even more hilarious. The Possums & their big "sister" are excellent new characters, providing their own share of the laughs. The romance plot is less dramatic than the baby's tale, sometimes slowing the action. However it's sweet & provides some fun dialogue. Sid is brilliant, his mini adventure a definite highlight. Diego's role is reduced, but still vital. He's especially funny with Sid. If you enjoy the Ice Age films, I also recommend The Land Before Time adventures. They share the same formula & the same heart. 8/10

At 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. 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. That alone is an achievement in its own right.

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. 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.

"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. The difference however, is in the fact that now Manny is our main character. We get to know more about this character apparently anti-social and cynic, but who in the inside feels very lonely after the loss of his family. Sid and Diego make good sidekicks in this adventure and while their roles in the film are somewhat diminished, they still are very well-developed characters. Scrat, the nut-obsessed squirrel is back too in his constant quest for his lost nut, giving slapstick humor of the finest type in every scene he is in.

It is always hard for sequels to live up to the expectations, specially in family-oriented animation films, but director Carlos Saldanha and his team manage to make a funny movie that never gets boring or tiresome (something vital as it is a movie mainly oriented for kids).

While probably the story is not exactly original or complicated, writers Peter Gaulke and Gerry Swallow make up for it with good character development and funny one-liners that fit the movie tone very good. Two new characters, the young possums Crash (Sean William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck) are a welcomed addition to the family, as well as Ellie (Queen Latifah), the lost mammoth.

Ellie, Manny and their relationship is a very important subplot in the movie, and one that was perfectly handled by the director and his crew. While Diego's subplot was also interesting and served as basis for very good jokes, it didn't had enough screen-time; a shame in my opinion, but overall the movie was very good.

To summarize, fans of the first "Ice Age" won't be disappointed by "The Meltdown", and sure the movie will give laughs to both kids and their parents. While still not as good as the first one, this sequel breaks the "sequel's curse" and is an entertaining film on its own right. 7/10