Rating: Country: U.S.A. Release Date: November 21, 2006 Distributor: 20th Century Fox Director: · Carlos Saldanha Cast: · Ray Romano · John Leguizamo · Denis Leary · Seann William Scott · Josh Peck Related Sites: · IMDb - Ice Age: The Meltdown · CinemaSpider - Ice Age: The Meltdown Grade: B+

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Scrat is back, again going to extreme lengths to secure his beloved nut in "Ice Age: The Meltdown". This sequel to 2002's "Ice Age" continues the high quality computer animation style of the first, while showcasing subtle improvements in technology. Manny the mammoth (Ray Romano), Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) and Diego the sabertooth tiger (Denis Leary) return to an Ice Age that is beginning to feel the effects of global warming.

As the movie opens, our principal characters are enjoying the company of their fellow wildlife in a primitive water park as warmer temperatures have turned ice to water in their valley playground surrounded by towering plateaus of ice. Things aren't as contented as they seem, though, with slick sales-creature Fast Tony (Jay Leno) stirring up the natives with the notion that a meltdown is imminent, signaling the end of the world. Also, the melting ice has unlocked a couple of nasty prehistoric underwater critters sporting impressive rows of razor-sharp teeth.

True to Fast Tony's prediction, the ice plateau begins to crack and the valley starts flooding. The promise of a safe refuge lies on the opposite side of the vast valley and Manny, Sid, and Diego join the migration. Along the way they encounter Crash (Sean William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck), a pair of trouble-making possums, along with their "sister" Ellie (Queen Latifah), a female mammoth who thinks she's a possum. Adding tension to their journey is a vulture (Will Arnett) who -- with great anticipation -- reminds the traveling throng that he's ready to feast on those that lag behind. Of course, just telling them that would be dry and boring, so the whole cadre of vultures execute a musical and visual extravaganza akin to (but not as frightening as) Dumbo's hallucinatory dream to hammer their point home.

Manny is thrilled with the prospect of there being other mammoths besides himself, but convincing Eddie she is one of them proves daunting, given that she still sleeps hanging from a tree limb by her tail like her "brothers". Crash and Eddie narrowly escape death on a regular basis as they continually annoying Diego yet manage to avoid his jaw and claws. The boys got off on the wrong foot with the sanguine sabertooth tiger by eluding his grasp in their initial encounter in what turned into a demented prehistoric game of "Whack-A-Mole". Their relationship hasn't improved since.

Meanwhile, Sid is carried away in the night to a cult of mini-sloths that worship him like a god. His ego is quickly deflated, however, when said worshippers attempt to sacrifice him to appease the fire that is threatening their world. All the while, any creature that approaches water is threatened by the newly-released ferocious fish that patrol the depths.

As with the original, Scrat's eternal quest for a nut makes the film memorable beyond the sum of its parts. Just when the plot begins to lag, the movie takes a quick sojourn to see what zany predicament Scrat has gotten himself into while trying to secure his much sought-after acorn. The funny vocalizations by Chris Wedge and Scrat's eyelid flutters upon each frustrating failure serve as perfect comic relief. Scrat's role is expanded in this film, to where the climactic resolution is a direct result of his actions. The effort to outdo his antics from the first film lead to some beyond belief moments, but they are amusing nonetheless.

"Ice Age: The Meltdown a consistently better movie than its predecessor, with an amazing amount of tension wrought from the meltdown scenario. The familiarity between the main characters breeds warmth, with each learning to overcome mental obstacles during the course of the story. The new characters add humor and charm while integrating seamlessly with the established cast. "Ice Age: The Meltdown" succeeds in entertaining, with Scrat continuing to find his elusive nut hard to crack.

Special Features

"No Time for Nuts" - An all–new short (6 minutes in length) featuring Scrat traveling through time in pursuit of his nut.

Commentaries - Director's commentary with Carlos Saldanha, and Crew commentary with Producer Lori Forte and the production team.

Crash & Eddie Stunts - Lava's Leap (not in the movie), Dungball Dribble (not in the movie), Peace Out Duel (extended scene from movie).

The Animation Director's Chair - Select a scene, then choose which stage of production to review (with your angle button).

Meet Crash & Eddie - Short introduction to these new characters with the production team.

Meet Ellie - Short introduction to this new character with the production team.

Lost Historical Films - Six instructional films, featuring scenes from the movie and done in the style of those old black-and-white projector films school kids of yore sat through, complete with "dust scratches" on the frames. Title include: The Sloth "Nature's Lovable Lisper," The Wooly Mammoth "Nature's Beast of Burden," The Saber-Tooth Squirrel "Nature's Nutty Buddy," The Saber-Tooth Tiger, "Nature's Fearsome Feline," The Vulture "Nature's Cleaners," The Possum "Nature's Spunky Spectacles".

Scrat's Piranha Smackdown Sound Effects Lab - This scene with different selectable sound effects including animals, car noises, classic cartoons, human noises, or musical instruments.

Outtake Prank - Footage of a painful prank pulled during the possum tree launch scene.

Silly Sid & John Leguizamo - Peter DeSève talks about and demonstrates drawing Sid, and John Leguizamo on how he developed Sid's "sideways" lisp.

Music Montage - Brief music-backed footage showing the actors in front of microphones having fun voicing their parts, and a few shots of them at the film's premiere.

Sloth Dancing to Sid's Sing-a-Long! - John Leguizamo teaches you the dance steps done by the worshipping mini-sloths during the "Fire King" sequence.

Marketing the Meltdown - Scrat on Family Guy footage, Sid hosting Fox Animation Domination.

Ice Age Arcade - Ice Age Factoid Meltdown, Sid Soccer Challenge, Who's Your Buddy?, Video Game Memory Challenge

Available Subtitles - Spanish, French

Available Audio Tracks - English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)