Your favorite sub-zero heroes are back for another incredible adventure in the super-cool animated comedy Ice Age the Meltdown and Dawn of the Dinosaurs.
Studio: 20th Century Fox Release: July 1, 2009 Director: Carlos Saldanha Writer: Michael Berg, Peter Ackerman Cast: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Chris Wedge Genres: Comedy, Kids/Family, Animation and Sequel Running Time: 90 min Release: July 1, 2009
The third and final installment of the Ice Age film series. Manny (Ray Romano), Sid (John Leguizamo), Diego (Denis Leary), Ellie (Queen Latifah), Eddie (Josh Peck), Crash (Seann William Scott) and Scrat encounter a dinosaur population which survived extinction in its tropical paradise, which existed below the thick layers... until now. Meanwhile, Crash and Eddie are up to their usual crazy selves. Manny and Ellie have since become an item and are going to have their first baby, and Manny wants everything to be perfect when his baby arrives. Diego is tired of being treated like a Housecat and ponders the notion that he's being too laid back. Sid is jealous of Manny and Ellie and he starts to wish for a family of his own, so he steals some dinosaurs eggs. But Sid gets captured by a crazed dinosaur, which leads his herd to try and rescue him. While dodging danger and dinos left and right, the herd meets up with a relentless, one-eyed dino hunting weasel named Buck. Scrat also meets a fiesty female squirrel named Scratte.
Director: Carlos Saldanha Writer: Jon Vitti Studio: 20th Century Fox Cast: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary Genres: Comedy, Kids/Family, Animation and Sequel Running: Time: 90 min Release: March 31, 2006
It is sequel to the computer-animated 2002 film Ice Age. Most of the characters from the original film are back (even the Dodos make an appearance at the end of the movie). Manny the Mammoth (Ray Romano), Sid the Sloth (John Lequizamo), and Diego the Tiger (Denis Leary) are living a life of relative comfort in a beautiful valley surrounded by other peace-loving creatures. Sid has opened a camp for kids.
Meanwhile, Manny wallows in melancholy because it seems that he is the last of his species. A fast-talking, con-man armadillo named Fast Tony (Jay Leno) claims that the ice is melting and that the end of the world will soon be upon everyone. No one believes him until Manny and Diego discover that the Ice Age has long since reached its apex and is receding rapidly. Their claim is supported by a hungry vulture who says that in three days the entire valley will be flooded and the only way to safety is on a giant boat at the other end of the valley. As huge chunks of ice begin falling into the valley, everyone begins a long march to the other side of the valley.
Along the way, Manny, Sid, and Diego bump into two opossum and a female mammoth named Ellie (Queen Latifah) whom claims to be the opossums' sister and thinks she is an opossum, too. The two different tribes join together as one to reach the end of the valley. Along the way both Ellie and Manny have to overcome their pasts in order to build a new life together into the future. Breaking up the main action of the story several times in the movie are the adventures of Scrat, a hybrid squirrel and rat, as he tries to possess an acorn that always seems just beyond his reach.
Ice Age: The Meltdown is a thoroughly enjoyable film. At its core, it is a love story that everyone in the family can enjoy. The movie is a sequel, but it is a great sequel and in some ways is superior than the original ICE AGE. The movie is very well written. It introduces some new characters without cheapening the original characters and it is appropriate for the all ages. Not only that, but the movie stands on its own: a person who has never seen ICE AGE can enjoy the film without feeling that they are missing something.
Director: Carlos Saldanha Writer: Michael Berg Studio: 20th Century Fox Cast: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary Genres : Action/Adventure, Comedy, Kids/Family and Animation Running Time: 1 hr. 21 min. Release: March 15, 2002
A star studded cast provides the voices for the prehistoric creatures in this computer-animated feature set 20,000 years ago as the Earth's temperatures in northern regions steadily decrease, herds are migrating south to avoid being trapped without food or shelter. Left behind by his family, Sid the Sloth (voiced by John Leguizamo), a slinky, cumbersome lad with beady eyes and a charming lisp, finds himself in more trouble after ruining a rhino's lunch. He finds rescue in Manfred the Mammoth ("Everybody Loves Raymond's" Ray Romano), a loner who, instead of heading south, is on his way north for solitude.
Meanwhile, a vengeful pack of sabertooths are planning their revenge on the human tribe responsible for the deaths of their kin. After storming the village in an attempt to make off with the chief's newborn child, it's mother races to the river, where she escapes with the baby with fatal results, leaving Manfred and tag-along Sid to fend for the child in their quest to return it to its father. Accompanying them is Diego the Sabertooth (Denis Leary), who offers to lead them to the passage into northern regions while secretly making other plans.
And there you have, the child-like formula for another refreshing family film that rides to success on some well-crafted moments and continuous humor. Movie-going audiences will surely recognize the film's opening sequence from the trailers, as a squirrel desperately searches the frozen landscape for a nesting place for his acorn, causing a chain reaction resulting in a terrific setup of flying ice, hearty laughs, and some well-intentioned action. This, along with the group's wild ride through an ice cave that becomes their personal slip 'n' slide, showcases some terrific animation as well as some good slapstick humor.
There are other, more impressive feats accomplished as well, such as some very realistic-looking effects, and moments of sorrow that may even make some adults misty-eyed. There is an scene early in the film, one that involves upward movement along a waterfall, that seems almost too real to be animation, while some scenes such as a rainstorm and those involving shots of snow-covered landscapes are painstaking in their detail. The story behind Manfred's loneliness may just be the saddest moment in an animated film since the death of Bambi's mother, and don't be too surprised if you find yourself shedding a small tear when the film reaches its final moments.
Equally astounding is the voice work done for the film. Romano, Leguizamo, and Leary fit in to their characters so well that it makes the ride much more inviting. The overall effect of the film is one of complete satisfaction, despite a few slow moments in the beginning. The concept and the execution are really nothing new, but "Ice Age" proves its insatiable worth as a terrific combination of humor and storytelling that provides fun for children and adults alike.
