CORPORATE LINE: 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.
ICE AGE
THE REVIEW: The original Ice Age wasn’t a great film. It’s nothing more than a nicely animated film with second-rate voice acting. Not that the actors are second-rate, their voices aren’t made for animation. Queen Latifah was chosen for marketability—not ability. Queen Latifah doesn’t have a good voice for animation and Ray Romano isn’t much better. Both have supremely bland voices that have no animation or character.
FRANKLY: The Meltdown is a bit cruder than the original. Everything panders to the lowest common denominator with fart jokes and bad attempts at pop culture references. Everything about Ice Age: The Meltdown is mediocre. The only reason to watch is Scrat and his endless battle for the nut.
+ Charlie Craine
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