Ice Age: The Meltdown

It wasn't love at first sight, but maybe that's why The Meltdown is now my favorite episode. Sid impresses with every dumb word he says, I find myself humming the Vulture song suspiciously often, and Scrat is definitely the king of animated supporting characters. Since I've not gotten used to the much greater emphasis on family values during subsequent viewings, I can't help but smile while writing this review. (04/27/2006)

They screwed a slightly different, inoffensive story that is entertaining and makes you laugh. The wisecracks and dialogs are as amusing as last time, plus Scrat is put to much greater use and more interestingly and at the end he is unbeatable. A respectable little brother to part one which definitely is nothing to be ashamed of. (06/13/2006)

It's hard to live up to the huge expectations that came from the great first film. Ice Age 2 still has a bunch of likeable eccentric protagonists whose absurd hand-in-hand coexistence with a life-threatening situation works, but the jokes are largely tired and the only speed-up factor remains the gourmet squirrel with his "escaping" acorn. The short runtime is OK, the voice acting is brilliant, and the little possums quickly gain sympathy, but the gap from the first episode is simply too deep, and the mammoth Ellie is a real handful :) 65% (04/18/2011)

It's a pretty decent movie, but somehow I can't help feeling that while I enjoyed the first installment, this one didn't quite hit the mark as much. But I have to appreciate its originality, especially since it ties in quite well with what was in the first film plot-wise. Scrat is still funny and the main group has grown quite a bit. Moreover, a mammoth as a possum is just wonderfully absurd. (03/23/2015)

This movie was quite a disappointment. I was expecting at least a somewhat balanced sequel to the first movie, but unfortunately, I got a weaker sequel that failed mainly due to the screenplay, and a proper plot. So that – especially with a big project like the sequel to Ice Age – is a somewhat bigger problem. The one thing that is great about this movie is the mammoth-possum Ellie, whose "performance" (can you even call it that?) is destroyed by a pair of annoying possums. So, I am leniently awarding this movie three stars with a wink. (07/24/2008)