Luckily there's a 4-star Scrat short interspersed between the weak sitcom plot of this disappointing sequel to Blue Sky's surprisingly good debut film, ICE AGE. The characters made the original so wonderful. The new characters in MELTDOWN make the sequel annoying. And there are too many of them. This overshadows poor Manny, Sid and Diego. Scrat fares much better because he's out on his own.
Our loveable trio each has their own separate issues to deal with this time around. Manny (Ray Romano, TV's EVERYONE LOVES RAYMOND) is sad over the possibility that he may be the last mammoth alive. Sid (John Leguizamo, SUMMER OF SAM) gets no respect from the kids in their new larger tribe of various prehistoric animals. Diego (Denis Leary, TV's RESCUE ME) fears water, which is a real problem when the land of ice you live in is melting all around you. It appears that the valley where they all reside is going to flood soon, so they head off to the far end toward a rumored boat. Along the way Manny, Sid and Diego get separated from the mass of annoying characters, to end up with three other annoying characters — possums Crash (Sean William Scott, AMERICAN PIE) and Eddie (Josh Peck, MEAN CREEK) and their adopted mammoth sister Ellie (Queen Latifah, CHICAGO), who doggedly refuses to accept that she is indeed a mammoth.
So let's address these annoying characters. There are a lot of new creatures in this film. In addition to not looking very appealing, they are used too often to bring "irreverent sass." One thing that made the first ICE AGE so good is that it was trying to be SHREK-like. The new supporting cast seems to have been imported from Far, Far Away. Crash and Eddie are supposed to be annoying, but its supposed to be annoying-funny — comic relief wisecrackers. However, the problem is that they're more annoying than funny. Now we come to Ellie, who isn't annoying, she's stupid. Her belief that she is a possum doesn't work. It sets her off wrong. If she would have just acted like a possum and had no desire to be a mammoth, it would have worked wonderfully. As is she has to make a big character change on a dime just to keep the plot moving.
Obviously, a romance blooms between Manny and Ellie. At first it's rocky then it grows, but the bumps along the way are forced and have a very made-for-TV feel. This undermines Manny's internal struggle, which becomes not much of a struggle at all. Sid's struggle however seems really tacked on. There is a scene where he meets other sloth that is funny on its own, but doesn't fit into the overall picture very well. The entire film has a patchwork feel where gags and moments seem to be stitched together. Diego's dilemma is the most convincing and connected to the overall story even though a cat not liking water has been done many times before. It's nice to see each of the three main characters getting their own character arcs, but they don't seem to working together. The whole flood premise doesn't create any real tension and the other bad guys seem arbitrary plot devices.
The reason to see this film is for the real star — Scrat. He struggle throughout the film to get his nut, but is thwarted at every turn. The hilarious situations and gags reminded me of the best of Looney Tunes. Scrat says no lines, but he is a complete character with personality that abounds. It's a shame that this quality didn't carry over to the new additions to the franchise.
Due to the huge success of this film, there are plans to make a third installment. I hope they return to the character dynamics that made the original so appealing. It is hard to sustain a franchise when the conflict of the original pitted characters who become friends in the end against each other. Conflict between the characters is hard to recreate without seeming forced that's why the new characters are so important. They must supply the conflict and hopefully that conflict brings out in a new way the conflicts that made the first installment so good. I still recommend that everyone should rent the film, but they should only watch the Scrat parts. MELTDOWN is sadly a let down.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
