French postcard by Sonis, no. C. 1702. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Scrat in Ice Age: The Meltdown (Carlos Saldanha, 2006). Caption: Ice Age is coming.
French postcard by Sonis, no. C 1701. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Publicity image for Ice Age: The Meltdown (Carlos Saldanha, 2006).
The gang is back
In Ice Age: The Meltdown (Carlos Saldanha, 2006), the gang is back. Manny the woolly mammoth, Sid the sloth, Diego the sabre-toothed tiger, and the acorn-loving squirrel Scrat are 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, 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 possums "brothers" - Crash and Eddie, 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.
German postcard by ZigZag posters, no. IA2 07. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Publicity image for Ice Age: The Meltdown (Carlos Saldanha, 2006).
German postcard by Zigzag Posters, no. IA2 01. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Scrat in Ice Age: The Meltdown (Carlos Saldanha, 2006). Caption: Ice Age is coming.
German postcard by ZigZag posters, no. IA2 07. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Publicity image for Ice Age: The Meltdown (Carlos Saldanha, 2006).
Scrat steals most of the scenes
Ice Age: The Meltdown (Carlos Saldanha, 2006) is the funny sequel to Ice Age, with many hilarious situations. Again, the squirrel Scrat steals most of the scenes, recalling the MGM animated theatrical shorts cartoons of Tom & Jerry.
The Possums and their big "sister" are excellent new characters, providing their own share of the laughs. Sid is brilliant, his mini adventure a definite highlight. Diego's role is reduced, but still vital.
The film received mixed reviews from critics. Roger Ebert: "The movie is nice to look at, the colors and details are elegant, the animals engaging, the action fast-moving, but I don't think older viewers will like it as much as the kids. The first Ice Age movie more or less exhausted these characters and their world, and the meltdown doesn't add much.
Most of the conflict involves personalities: Can these species co-exist? Well, of course, they can, in a cartoon. And if global warming simply means they don't have to freeze their butts off all the time and there are more acorns for Scrat, then what's the problem?"
The film grossed $660.9 million worldwide, marking it the third highest-grossing film of 2006 and the highest-grossing animated film of 2006. It was followed by another sequel, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs in 2009.
French postcard by Sonis, no. C. 1704. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Publicity image for Ice Age: The Meltdown (Carlos Saldanha, 2006).
French postcard by Sonis, no. C.1703. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Publicity image for Ice Age: The Meltdown (Carlos Saldanha, 2006).
Sources: Roger Ebert (RogerEbert.com), Wikipedia and IMDb.
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