SYNOPSIS
In ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN, the sub-zero heroes from the worldwide blockbuster CGI film “Ice Age” are back – Manny the woolly mammoth, Sid the sloth, Diego the saber-toothed tiger, and the hapless prehistoric squirrel/rat known as Scrat. In the new film, from director Carlos Saldanha and the Academy Award winning creators of “Ice Age” and “Robots,” the Ice Age is coming to an end, and the animals are delighting in the melting paradise that is their new world.
Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary return to voice our three heroes: Manny, Sid, and Diego. New cast members include Academy Award nominee Queen Latifah (“Chicago”), Seann William Scott (the “American Pie” trilogy), late night talk show king Jay Leno, Will Arnett (“Arrested Development”) and Josh Peck (“Drake and Josh”).
Our trio is still together and enjoying the perks of their now melting world. Manny may be ready to start a family, but nobody has seen another mammoth for a long time; Manny thinks he may be the last one. That is, until he miraculously finds Ellie (voiced by Queen Latifah), the only female mammoth left in the world. Their only problems: They can't stand each other – and Ellie somehow thinks she’s a possum!
Ellie comes with some excess baggage in the form of her two possum “brothers”...Crash and Eddie (voiced by Seann William Scott and Josh Peck), a couple of daredevil pranksters and cocky, loud-mouthed troublemakers.
Manny, Sid, and Diego quickly learn that the warming climate has one major drawback: A huge glacial dam holding off oceans of water is about to break, threatening the entire valley. The only chance of survival lies at the other end of the valley. So our three heroes, along with Ellie, Crash and Eddie, form the most unlikely family -- in any “Age” -- as they embark on a mission across an ever-changing, increasingly dangerous landscape towards their salvation.
The film also presents the continuing adventures, or misadventures, of Scrat, who has an even larger role this time.
Review by
JENN WRIGHT
There are a lot of identity issues circulating throughout director Carlos Saldanha’s sequel; consequently, the magnitude of denial might be best measured on the Richter scale. But these issues of identity and purpose undergird the fairly cohesive storyline, with our three main characters (and a fourth newcomer) leading the evacuation from the soon-to-be-flooded valley.
Identity issue number one: Manny the Mammoth (Ray Romano) insists that despite not having seen or heard of any other mammoths for quite some time, he is not the last of his kind, and is certainly not about to become extinct. His denial works in his favor, however, when Ellie arrives on the scene… and brings us identity issue number two.
Ellie (Queen Latifah), a woolly mammoth, was raised by a possum, and thanks to her two wacky “brothers,” Crash and Eddie, fervently maintains that she, too, is a possum. This includes attempting to scamper about; hanging upside down from trees; and, of course, “playing possum” (feigning death in the face of danger). Despite all the evidence to the contrary, and Manny’s attempts to point out the remarkable similarities between them (tusks, thick fur, large rear-ends), Ellie remains delightfully and deludedly (if almost psychotically) convinced of her possumhood.
Then there’s Diego (Denis Leary), the distinctly rational saber-toothed tiger who fears nothing… except water… which hasn’t been a problem throughout the current ice age, since all the water has been in a solid form; however, as the meltdown begins and the ice breaks up, Diego vainly attempts to hide his hydrophobia, in spite of its overwhelming impact on his ability to help lead the evacuation.
And finally there’s poor, pathetic Sid (John Leguizamo), the lithping thloth who thinkth he’th a fine leader, beloved by hith peerth and followerth alike. The truth is, Sid is completely ineffective—the only orders he gives that are followed are those reiterated by one of the other leaders, namely Manny. But Sid remains convinced that he is the backbone of the evacuation party, the firm foundation of intelligence and practicality that will ultimately rescue the valley dwellers from the impending flood.
So what happens to all these deluded creatures? How are these messed-up prehistoric beasts going to save their eclectic herd from the massive melt?
Well, like the first time denial is breached in the movie—when they all must admit that Fast Tony (Jay Leno) is right about the ice age ending and the subsequent flooding of the valley—the characters slowly but surely come to recognize and face their broken little selves (well, except for Sid, who obliviously goes on believing whatever he wants). Ultimately, Ellie accepts the evidence attesting to her true species, just in time for Manny to acknowledge to possibility of extinction, and the potentiality of averting that outcome with Ellie. Diego, prompted by life-coach Sid, conquers his fear of the water just in time to rescue himself and others from the breaking ice.
In short, the herd of the valley is saved from the flood, and the characters are saved from themselves. But not without some well-earned laughs, excellently interspersed “shorts” of Scrat the saber-toothed squirrel, and (thankfully) a complete absence of politically charged comments about global warming.
And just when things start to feel a little ploddy, watch for Scrat, and prepare to laugh.
