It's been almost four years since the hit animated movie "Ice Age" was released to the acclaim of critics and viewers alike. "Ice Age" was one of many in a slew of animated flicks that appeal to both adults and children. Thanks largely to the success of movies like "Shrek," "Ice Age" drew in a huge crowd at the box office, quickly becoming one of the favorite movies of 2002. It was even nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Film.
This time around, our favorite characters, Manny, Sid and Diego (voiced by Romano, Leguizamo and Leary, respectively), find themselves in a bind as they face the eminent end of the Ice Age with the complete meltdown of the earth. The movie, for the most part, is your prototypical family movie. There are jokes that appeal to both minors and seniors and the comic sequences with each of the characters fall in line with the typical slapstick antics of any comedy.
Within the story, each of the characters faces a conflict or a dilemma that revolves around the earth melting. Manny is afraid that he is the last mammoth and that his death will mean the death of his species. Diego is a saber-toothed tiger that can't swim. He is afraid that once the ice melts, he will be doomed to drown. And Sid is a cute sloth that is just looking for acceptance and love amongst his friends. Each one of these problems is what lends emotional credibility to the film. While it's a kids' movie, these characters grow on you and attach themselves in such a way that at times can be heartwarming as much as it is annoying.
The unsung hero of the movie has to be the squirrel/rat/whatever-it-is character, Scrat, voiced by Chris Wedge. Scrat is the little bugger in the first movie that has the obsession with collecting nuts and hoarding them. In this movie, the premise is no different, although this time he has to adapt to the melting landscape of his home. All of the sequences are extremely cute and laughable and the piranha scene might just be the funniest part of the entire movie.
What makes the movie so heartwarming isn't the complete and utter destruction of the earth, but rather the introduction of a love interest for Manny. Up until he meets Ellie, another mammoth voiced by Queen Latifah, the story drags. Once the love develops, so does the movie.
Ellie is an abandoned mammoth raised by possums, so she thinks she is a possum. Needless to say, this provides for some great situation comedy between Ellie and Manny. Ellie's adopted brothers, the possums, are voiced by Josh Peck and Sean William Scott. The possums might be the funniest characters in the movie in terms of one liners and actual lines, as you can picture Stiffler (of "American Pie" fame) and that fat Nickelodeon kid saying these types of things in real life.
While the love story is enough to warm the audience's hearts, the main problem with the movie has to be its forced appeal to adults. The movie goes so far to appeal to adults that it actually uses language that is definitely not appropriate for little kids. Throughout the movie, terms like, "damn," "ass" and "crap" are used, and while standard for any movie, they are completely out of place in one meant for kids. The tagline for the movie is "Kiss Your Ice Goodbye." While it seems humorous to many people, one has to keep in mind that this is primarily a kids' movie, and using terms like this could wind up having a great influence on the way children speak to their parents.
"Ice Age 2" does not disappoint when it comes to delivering a valid sequel. The internal conflicts with each of the characters along with the humorous aspects make for a decent movie that grows on you and makes you want a baby mammoth as a pet. While the language does get a bit questionable at times, it's not to the point where it completely detracts from the movie's charm. If you would want to see a movie with true artistic substance and mind-blowing revelations, this might not be it. However if you are looking for a cute date-flick to watch or just bored with depressing indie films, then look no further than "Ice Age 2: The Meltdown"
