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Ice Age - The Meltdown
Fox // PG // November 21, 2006
List Price: $29.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
A sloth, a sabertooth tiger, and a mammoth form a herd after saving a primitive young girl from peril? The original Ice Age animated feature from Fox is a semi-enjoyable children's flick. It's a fun idea that's eccentric, colorful - and a blast for kids. For adults, however, it isn't top of the line as pleasurable entertainment. The first Ice Age delivered some heart, and a fair amount of laughs, but there wasn't enough conflict in the storyline to keep the big kids happy.
This sequel, Ice Age: The Meltdown, delivers humor, warmth, and tension wrapped up in a romping, grand package for the whole family.
The Film:
As the Ice Age rapidly approaches an end, the once rugged, snowy terrain has been replaced with an agreeable environment filled with waterslides, trees, and overall safety. Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) , Manny the mammoth (Ray Romano), and Diego the sabertooth tiger (Denis Leary) have found refuge in a central valley smack dab between colossal plateaus of ice. Along with a wide population of other critters, the herd's going about their day to day lives fine and dandy. To pass the time, Sid's trying to run a day camp for the area youngsters, while Diego is picking up the pieces when Sid makes mistakes. Manny serves as the head honcho and wise leader of the group while contemplating the existence of other mammoths. All in all within this ice bowl, everything seems to be plugging along peacefully.
That is, until, the danger of a meltdown surfaces. A nutty sales-creature named Fast Tony (voiced by Jay Leno) brings up the idea that the ice will start to melt and cause the valley to flood. Nobody takes this to heart until some of the ice starts to crack at the top of the frozen plateau. Amidst the confusion and hysteria, word spreads of refuge on the opposite side of the valley. Once again, the ice age critters set out on the move to reach safety. Along their trip, Sid, Manny and Diego run into a few new friends, including Crash (Seam William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck), the renegade possums, and Ellie (Queen Latifah), a mammoth who believes she is also a possum. Amongst singing vultures, worshipping mini-sloths, and water-bound prehistoric baddies, this flick delivers just about everything both kids and adults need to stay in the game.
To answer the question most Ice Age fans are probably curious about, Scrat, the sabertooth, squirrelly, ratty mammal has returned in full force. He's a bit more involved with the film, and even more comical than before. Once again, Scrat is hands-down the funniest element in the entire film. No worries there.
Ice Age: The Meltdown is a wonderfully animated feast for the eyes. Colorful, flamboyant, and rich with little details, the film is chalk full of visual candy. Even though these characters aren't realistic in appearance, the herd has a charming realism that draws in your affection. Granted, like the original, there are still lulling points in the dialogue when it gets unexciting and stale; however, Sid, Diego, and Manny keep a rather fluid, amusing pace through most of the film. This new clan of "possums" adds a bit more humor and heart to the story as well. One thing to keep an eye out for is that some of the jokes might be a shade on the crude side for some younger audiences. However, with a rejuvenated sense of goofy slapstick absurdity, this little film's got its share of earned laughs for all ages.
Here's where The Meltdown delivers something that wasn't expected with the inclusion of the flood element: a lot of fun tension. Escaping from boiling waterspouts, rushing water, and crackling blocks of ice maintains an edge that works great as a contrast to the story's warm moments. It adds an entertaining roller coaster atmosphere that the original lacked.
Granted, Ice Age: The Meltdown isn't perfect by any stretch, but it is funnier, more entertaining, and contains more substance than its predecessor. Anyone looking for a blast of color, a splash of goofy laughs, and a flood of tension in their animated films should consider this flick a recommended option.
The Video:
Ice Age: The Meltdown is sporting a very bright, colorful anamorphic widescreen transfer. While this is an unfinalized transfer, the quality of the colors and detail still shine. Of course, pixilation, grain, and edge enhancement were intensely noticeable through this screener copy. Here's hoping that the quality of the video transfer will be cleaned up by the street date, because the quality was awful.
The Audio:
Fox, as always, has delivered splendidly on the audio side with a fantastic Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. As mentioned, Ice Age: The Meltdown has a few tense moments. The tumbling blocks of ice, the grand rushing of water, and the assortment of creature sound effects all thunder through the mix's vibrant use of all channels. From Sid's high pitched whines to Diego's rumbling, thick growls, each effect jumps out extremely crisp and clear.
The Extras:
Where on earth did Fox find the space to include all of these extras? With an entertaining line-up of supplements stacked on this disc, Ice Age: The Meltdown delivers some extensive additional family fun:
- The obligatory Scrat short, entitled No Time For Nuts proves that even prehistoric squirrels will time travel just to get their nut. It's a very funny and a welcome inclusion that also has some Twilight Zone elements included.
- Commentaries from Director Carlos Sandahna and the Full Cast and Crew (all listed on the DVD)
- Crash and Eddie Stunts – a series of stunts featuring the two new possum characters. - Animation Director's Chair - a fun way to display storyboard to final product translation.
- Meet Crash and Eddie and Meet Ellie shorts - typical Ice Age promotional fair highlighting the new characters.
- Lost Historical Films – entertaining mockumentary shorts on the Ice Age characters (which include a light amount of factual information on the actual animals).
- Scrat's Pirahna Smackdown Sound Effects Lab – one of the more entertaining scenes from the film set to many different aural presentations.
- Outtake Prank – short, goofy outtake involving the possum characters.
- Silly Sid and John Leguizamo – entertaining short on how Sid is assembled, how to draw the character yourself, and how Leguizamo crafted the voice.
- Musical Montage – very short clip including production, premiere, and voicing footage.
- Sloth Dancing to Sid's Sing-A-Long – Leguizamo teaches how to do Sid's dance from the film
- Marketing the Meltdown – includes a promo featuring Peter Griffin from Family Guy interacting with Scrat, as well as a series of introduction included during Fox's Animation Domination featuring Sid.
- Ice Age Arcade – several DVD remote operated games.
- DVD Rom Features
- Fox Promos
Some of the extras are very typical Fox marketing fair, including some promos for the Ice Age: The Meltdown video game. However, a few of the extras are entertaining, such as the Lost Historical Films, the Scrat's Pirahna Smackdown, and the Silly Sid and John Leguizamo featurettes. All in all, some poster art would have been nifty, but the extras here are enough to keep the family entertained for a spell after watching the film.
Final Thoughts:
Much better than the first, Ice Age: The Meltdown adds to the original's formula with some well executed slapstick comedy and mild thematic tension. The majority of the characters provide some heartfelt fondness to the audience and manage to entertain kids young and old alike. While still wavering in keeping the audience's attention for the entirety of the film, its charm and heart keep its audience generally gripped all the way through the end. Full of sights and sounds leaping to grab anyone's attention, the film is pure confection ready for consumption. This little animated delight comes easily Recommended for family movie night.
Thomas Spurlin, Staff Reviewer -- DVDTalk Reviews | Personal Blog/Site
This sequel, Ice Age: The Meltdown, delivers humor, warmth, and tension wrapped up in a romping, grand package for the whole family.
The Film:
As the Ice Age rapidly approaches an end, the once rugged, snowy terrain has been replaced with an agreeable environment filled with waterslides, trees, and overall safety. Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) , Manny the mammoth (Ray Romano), and Diego the sabertooth tiger (Denis Leary) have found refuge in a central valley smack dab between colossal plateaus of ice. Along with a wide population of other critters, the herd's going about their day to day lives fine and dandy. To pass the time, Sid's trying to run a day camp for the area youngsters, while Diego is picking up the pieces when Sid makes mistakes. Manny serves as the head honcho and wise leader of the group while contemplating the existence of other mammoths. All in all within this ice bowl, everything seems to be plugging along peacefully.
That is, until, the danger of a meltdown surfaces. A nutty sales-creature named Fast Tony (voiced by Jay Leno) brings up the idea that the ice will start to melt and cause the valley to flood. Nobody takes this to heart until some of the ice starts to crack at the top of the frozen plateau. Amidst the confusion and hysteria, word spreads of refuge on the opposite side of the valley. Once again, the ice age critters set out on the move to reach safety. Along their trip, Sid, Manny and Diego run into a few new friends, including Crash (Seam William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck), the renegade possums, and Ellie (Queen Latifah), a mammoth who believes she is also a possum. Amongst singing vultures, worshipping mini-sloths, and water-bound prehistoric baddies, this flick delivers just about everything both kids and adults need to stay in the game.
To answer the question most Ice Age fans are probably curious about, Scrat, the sabertooth, squirrelly, ratty mammal has returned in full force. He's a bit more involved with the film, and even more comical than before. Once again, Scrat is hands-down the funniest element in the entire film. No worries there.
Ice Age: The Meltdown is a wonderfully animated feast for the eyes. Colorful, flamboyant, and rich with little details, the film is chalk full of visual candy. Even though these characters aren't realistic in appearance, the herd has a charming realism that draws in your affection. Granted, like the original, there are still lulling points in the dialogue when it gets unexciting and stale; however, Sid, Diego, and Manny keep a rather fluid, amusing pace through most of the film. This new clan of "possums" adds a bit more humor and heart to the story as well. One thing to keep an eye out for is that some of the jokes might be a shade on the crude side for some younger audiences. However, with a rejuvenated sense of goofy slapstick absurdity, this little film's got its share of earned laughs for all ages.
Here's where The Meltdown delivers something that wasn't expected with the inclusion of the flood element: a lot of fun tension. Escaping from boiling waterspouts, rushing water, and crackling blocks of ice maintains an edge that works great as a contrast to the story's warm moments. It adds an entertaining roller coaster atmosphere that the original lacked.
Granted, Ice Age: The Meltdown isn't perfect by any stretch, but it is funnier, more entertaining, and contains more substance than its predecessor. Anyone looking for a blast of color, a splash of goofy laughs, and a flood of tension in their animated films should consider this flick a recommended option.
The Video:
Ice Age: The Meltdown is sporting a very bright, colorful anamorphic widescreen transfer. While this is an unfinalized transfer, the quality of the colors and detail still shine. Of course, pixilation, grain, and edge enhancement were intensely noticeable through this screener copy. Here's hoping that the quality of the video transfer will be cleaned up by the street date, because the quality was awful.
The Audio:
Fox, as always, has delivered splendidly on the audio side with a fantastic Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. As mentioned, Ice Age: The Meltdown has a few tense moments. The tumbling blocks of ice, the grand rushing of water, and the assortment of creature sound effects all thunder through the mix's vibrant use of all channels. From Sid's high pitched whines to Diego's rumbling, thick growls, each effect jumps out extremely crisp and clear.
The Extras:
Where on earth did Fox find the space to include all of these extras? With an entertaining line-up of supplements stacked on this disc, Ice Age: The Meltdown delivers some extensive additional family fun:
- The obligatory Scrat short, entitled No Time For Nuts proves that even prehistoric squirrels will time travel just to get their nut. It's a very funny and a welcome inclusion that also has some Twilight Zone elements included.
- Commentaries from Director Carlos Sandahna and the Full Cast and Crew (all listed on the DVD)
- Crash and Eddie Stunts – a series of stunts featuring the two new possum characters. - Animation Director's Chair - a fun way to display storyboard to final product translation.
- Meet Crash and Eddie and Meet Ellie shorts - typical Ice Age promotional fair highlighting the new characters.
- Lost Historical Films – entertaining mockumentary shorts on the Ice Age characters (which include a light amount of factual information on the actual animals).
- Scrat's Pirahna Smackdown Sound Effects Lab – one of the more entertaining scenes from the film set to many different aural presentations.
- Outtake Prank – short, goofy outtake involving the possum characters.
- Silly Sid and John Leguizamo – entertaining short on how Sid is assembled, how to draw the character yourself, and how Leguizamo crafted the voice.
- Musical Montage – very short clip including production, premiere, and voicing footage.
- Sloth Dancing to Sid's Sing-A-Long – Leguizamo teaches how to do Sid's dance from the film
- Marketing the Meltdown – includes a promo featuring Peter Griffin from Family Guy interacting with Scrat, as well as a series of introduction included during Fox's Animation Domination featuring Sid.
- Ice Age Arcade – several DVD remote operated games.
- DVD Rom Features
- Fox Promos
Some of the extras are very typical Fox marketing fair, including some promos for the Ice Age: The Meltdown video game. However, a few of the extras are entertaining, such as the Lost Historical Films, the Scrat's Pirahna Smackdown, and the Silly Sid and John Leguizamo featurettes. All in all, some poster art would have been nifty, but the extras here are enough to keep the family entertained for a spell after watching the film.
Final Thoughts:
Much better than the first, Ice Age: The Meltdown adds to the original's formula with some well executed slapstick comedy and mild thematic tension. The majority of the characters provide some heartfelt fondness to the audience and manage to entertain kids young and old alike. While still wavering in keeping the audience's attention for the entirety of the film, its charm and heart keep its audience generally gripped all the way through the end. Full of sights and sounds leaping to grab anyone's attention, the film is pure confection ready for consumption. This little animated delight comes easily Recommended for family movie night.
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