message in the movies By Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

             
Ice Age: The Meltdown   Rated PG
Directed by Carlos Saldanha. Animated Feature


 Photo © Copyright 20th Century Fox

This sequel to the 2002 hit “Ice Age” reunites the prehistoric trio of Manny the mammoth (voiced by Ray Romano), Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) and Diego the saber-tooth tiger (Denis Leary) as they race away from melting ice caps to journey to a safe haven from all of the global warming and flooding that ensues.  Manny has reason to think that he is the last wooly mammoth on earth.  When he meets Ellie (Queen Latifah), a female mammoth, his heart soars.  There are only two problems: Ellie believes that she is actually a possum, and she is not particularly interested in any serious dating. Don’t let the romantic possibilities scare you off – this subplot takes up little of the film.  Most of the 90 minute running time is spent running – away from floods, falling ice, vultures, and a strange tribe that worships Sid.  There’s nothing wrong with a little slapstick – a six minute Daffy Duck cartoon is a thing of wonder – but an hour and a half of nonstop peril was too much for me.  I also did not care for the way in which Diego was declawed as an adversary and reduced to being Sid’s nursemaid. The brief vignettes featuring the squirrel-rat Scrat chasing an elusive acorn are self-contained short episodes that provide the most fun. But Ice Age: The Meltdown is still a visually stunning family film with a lot of heart.  You may warm up to it.

. 

Pitchfork Rating: Three halos.  (A warm-hearted sequel that still champions friendship and loyalty.)   One pitchfork.  (Some mild crude language.)

past movie reviews