SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN

"ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN"
(2006) (voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo) (PG)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
None	Minor	Moderate	*Heavy	None

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Moderate	Mild	Heavy	None	Minor

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Mild	None	Minor	Moderate	Moderate

QUICK TAKE:: Comedy: An unlikely alliance of prehistoric animals sets out for high ground when global warming threatens to flood their valley home.

PLOT:

It's the Ice Age and the unlikely trio of friends -- Manny (voice of RAY ROMANO) the gruff mammoth, Sid (voice of JOHN LEGUIZAMO) the silly sloth and Diego (voice of DENIS LEARY) the angry saber-toothed tiger -- have found solitude in a peaceful valley surrounded on all sides by mighty glacial walls. Everyone is happy there until hustler Fast Tony (voice of JAY LENO) and a patient vulture (voice of WILL ARNETT) separately bring up the potential impact of global warming on their lives.

Nobody, especially Manny, believes any of that until the mammoth goes up top to stop Sid from doing something crazy to try to prove his worth. They then realize that the glaciers are indeed melting, and should those walls give way, the resultant flood waters would drown everything in the bowl-shaped valley. Accordingly, they all set out for a reported boat that's at the far end of the valley.

Along the way, the trio runs into Crash (voice of SEANN WILLIAM SCOTT) and Eddie (voice of JOSH PECK), a pesky duo of possums whose "sister" Ellie (voice of QUEEN LATIFAH) is unaware that she's really a full-sized mammoth. Manny's happy he's no longer the last of his kind, but the two clash, all as Sid tries to prove he can be a leader and Diego tries to overcome his fear of water.

As the group makes their trek, they must not only put up with their differences, but also two hungry sea monsters that lurk in the rising waters, as well as the inevitable collapse of the valley walls and the resultant massive flood that could sweep all of them away.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Yes, especially if they're fans of the first film.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG: For some mild language and innuendo.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: It's debatable whether kids view animated characters -- especially animal-based ones -- as role models, but here's a quick look at the major characters' characteristics.; MANNY is the often surly and no-nonsense mammoth who thinks he might be the last of his kind until he meets Ellie to whom he's attracted, but initially clashes with her.
SID is the sloth who wants respect and thinks he's found it in a group of miniature sloths.
DIEGO is the saber-toothed tiger who seems constantly irritated but harbors a fear of water, something he must face as the ice around him continues to melt.
ELLIE is a happy-go-lucky mammoth who blindly believes she's really the possum sister to Crash and Eddie.
CRASH AND EDDIE are two fun-loving but mischievous possums who view her as their sister.; SID is the sloth who wants respect and thinks he's found it in a group of miniature sloths.
DIEGO is the saber-toothed tiger who seems constantly irritated but harbors a fear of water, something he must face as the ice around him continues to melt.
ELLIE is a happy-go-lucky mammoth who blindly believes she's really the possum sister to Crash and Eddie.
CRASH AND EDDIE are two fun-loving but mischievous possums who view her as their sister.; DIEGO is the saber-toothed tiger who seems constantly irritated but harbors a fear of water, something he must face as the ice around him continues to melt.
ELLIE is a happy-go-lucky mammoth who blindly believes she's really the possum sister to Crash and Eddie.
CRASH AND EDDIE are two fun-loving but mischievous possums who view her as their sister.; ELLIE is a happy-go-lucky mammoth who blindly believes she's really the possum sister to Crash and Eddie.
CRASH AND EDDIE are two fun-loving but mischievous possums who view her as their sister.; CRASH AND EDDIE are two fun-loving but mischievous possums who view her as their sister.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a brief summary of the content found in this animated comedy. Profanity consists of a handful of minor expletives, while some colorful phrases and sexually related, but non-explicit dialogue is also heard. Other behavior might be enticing to imitate, including various forms of slapstick style material, including comedy-based hitting or striking of others.

A miscellaneous animal character presumably perishes from an attack by two sea monsters that also try to attack other animal characters. Those scenes and various other moments of peril (including a big flooding scene at the end with a major character trapped in a flooding cave) might be rather intense or even scary to some younger viewers (but probably not to older ones). Some bad attitudes are present, as is some crude humor and thematic elements (including talk of global warming and extinction).

Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: None.

BLOOD/GORE: An animal tells another, "I'll show you something that floats" (possibly referring to excrement).
As a dung beetle moves along a ball of excrement, one complains, "Do we have to bring this crap? I'm sure there's crap where we're going."
Thinking he hears another mammoth, Manny races up to see a large animal sitting on a hollow tree trunk (implying that its farting sounded like mammoth calls, with Sid reacting to the smell).
Waking up to find water all around them, Crash tells Eddie that he told him not to drink before bed. Eddie then says he didn't do this, adding, "At least not all of it."
About being surprised by something, Sid says, "I just did something involuntary and messy."

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: A female creatures likes the way Sid looks through some ice, but when he steps away from it and she sees his normal (less than trim body), she goes, "Ewww" and walks away.
About Manny, Ellie (who's unaware of her size) says, "I thought fat guys were supposed to be jolly."
Manny and Ellie initially don't get along, especially when he implies that they can save their species (by having sex -- although that's not directly said), but they eventually become friendly.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: Scenes listed under "Violence" may also be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger kids, but probably not to older ones.
Fast Tony does a spiel about how the world is going to flood, with a vulture later reminding everyone they essentially live in a huge bowl that would fill with water and drown everyone (and says it's going to occur in 3 days). He then says that the more of them that die, the better he eats.
The ice starts cracking under Diego and he races to get back to a solid surface.
Some big pieces of the glacier fall off into the water and nearly hit one character.
We see two frozen sea monsters in some ice and one of the eyes suddenly moves (while still in the melting ice).
As a young anteater blows bubbles in the water, we see the POV of what we think is a sea monster sneaking up from down below in the water. That turns out to be just a friendly turtle, but it's then yanked down under the water, with only an empty shell coming back up.
We see more big chunks of ice falling from the glacier wall (indicating that collapse and subsequent flooding are imminent).
One of the sea monsters suddenly blasts up through the ice, knocking Sid into the water and leaving Diego on a floating chunk of ice. Sid tries to swim to that chunk as we see the monster swimming toward him. There are then two close calls as the creature tries to attack them but they manage to avoid it. The other creature lunges at Manny, but its large jaws get stuck on his tusks, with him then tossing it aside.
Crash asks Manny to pull back the branch he's on to catapult him. Manny is reluctant but finally agrees, sending Crash flying a long way through the air before slamming into a tree hard enough to leave an imprint in the bark. Eddie then thinks he's dead (his body is limp), but Crash eventually regains consciousness and is fine after that.
Scrat ends up in a nest where an egg cracks open and a baby bird (which is bigger than he is) pops out and then comes at him, but is really after his prized acorn. The two then struggle over the acorn (including him pulling it from the bird's throat), followed by the baby bird stopping Scrat with its foot like a brick wall. The mother bird then shows up and we then see Scrat fall through a hole in the high nest (we don't see any impact).
The group ends up on a precariously balanced stack of huge and small rocks that break away from their two connecting sides and then spin out of control. As Manny and Ellie bicker at each other up top, that causes the arrangement to spin around, threatening to dump off Diego, Sid, Crash and Eddie. The two eventually stop and there are some close calls, including when they all race off that as all of the rocks collapse. Diego then runs and tries to grab a safe side, but misses, although Manny and Ellie manage to catch him with their trunks just in time, leaving him dangling high above a crevasse.
A group of small sloths revere Sid but then tie him up and prepare to sacrifice him into a lava pit (to try to stop the global warming). They toss him off the cliff, but the rope around him catches a branch and he stops just inches from the lava.
Some large rocks fall and nearly hit some creatures.
A large number of vultures congregate around the group, but that turns into a big musical number.
Various steam geysers erupt from the ground all around the group, with one blasting a chicken-like creature up into the air (and when it returns to the ground, it looks like a standard cooked chicken ready for dinner). Manny throws all caution to the wind and runs through the eruptions, with one finally hitting him and knocking him silly. After a moment of being dazed, the others get him and race out of the geyser field, barely avoiding the many eruptions.
As animals race for safety, a vulture announces that all unattended children will be eaten.
The glacier wall finally gives way, resulting in a massive flood crashing down and then racing through the valley toward the end where all of the animals are boarding a "boat" (a massive, hollowed out tree trunk). When they see the approaching flood, they panic and race toward the boat. During this, other rocks collapse and nearly hit Ellie, Crash and Eddie, with Ellie then ending up trapped in what's essentially a cave. Crash and Eddie race to get help and finally find Manny who races down to rescue her, all while seeing the wall of water coming his way. It's eventually around all of them, with Sid falling and getting knocked out, and Crash and Eddie barely holding onto him in the middle of the flood waters as Diego finally overcomes his fear, jumps in and saves all of them.
Meanwhile, Manny tries to save Ellie who's in that cave that's filling with water, but he can't budge the rocks trapping her inside. Just then, one of the sea monsters grabs him from behind and pulls him even deeper down into the water. Two then swim around him (all are underwater), with him knocking one away and racing back to save Ellie. A sea monster then races at him, but he moves just in time, causing it to hit an underwater log, freeing Ellie but sending rocks crashing down onto the sea monster (we don't know its fate). Scrat then accidentally causes a crack in the valley wall that empties the floodwaters out of it.
After falling into and being washed away by escaping floodwaters, we then see Scrat at the Pearly Gates (which he bangs into by accident). Kids may be worried that he's dead, but the scene is played for comedy and he's returned to Earth.

GUNS/WEAPONS: None.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "This global warming is killing me," "Congratulations, you're now an idiot in two languages," "Wild ass" (burro), "You moron," "Your breath smells like ants," "Cocky," "I think I just coughed up my spleen," "Jeez," "Eh, go suck some air through a reed," "Damn" (about a dam), "Do we have to bring this crap? I'm sure there's crap where we're going," "Shut up," "Don't that put the stink in extinction," "Hey ugly," "You miscreants," "Well shove me down and call me a mole rat," "I don't think her tree goes all of the way to the top branch," "I'd rather be road kill," "I thought fat guys were supposed to be jolly," "You look like a big fat hairy beast," "Oh, cry me a river you blubber-tooth tiger," "She completes you," "Pervert," "Jerk" and "You kicked water's butt."
Some of the slapstick style material listed under "Violence" might be enticing for some kids to imitate.
We see one animal kid with his finger up his nose.
To demonstrate his breathing reed, Fast Tony jams one in a character's mouth and then holds his head under the water.
Crash and Eddie blow small rocks or something similar through reeds and hit Diego and Sid repeatedly. The two try to catch them as they pop up from many holes, but can't grab them.
Sid makes the rotating finger sign to his head for "crazy."
One of the possums points two fingers to his eyes and then to Manny (in an "I'm watching you" gesture).

JUMP SCENES: We see two frozen sea monsters in some ice and one of the eyes suddenly moves (while still in the melting ice).
One of the sea monsters suddenly blasts up through the ice.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): A heavy amount of suspenseful and ominous music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: At least 3 asses, 2 craps and 1 damn.

SEX/NUDITY: Manny and Ellie initially don't get along, especially when he implies that they can save their species (by having sex -- although that's not directly said), but they eventually become friendly.
Once Ellie realizes she's a mammoth, she asks Manny what's attractive about her. He stumbles for what to say and then replies, "There's your butt." She asks what about it, and he replies that it's big (which in his view is a good thing).
When Manny implies that he and Ellie can save their species (by mating -- although those words are not used), she complains that she's a mammoth for five minutes (having just accepted that) and "You're hitting on me." He then says it's their responsibility, prompting her to reply, "You're not saving the species tonight or any night." Another character then calls Manny a "pervert."

SMOKING: None.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: When Manny talks of a happy family, some kids ask him where his is, causing him to look sad (they're dead, something we learned in the first film).
The fact that Ellie thinks she's a possum (we eventually see a flashback when she's all alone as a child -- presumably lost or orphaned -- and then meets a mother possum and young Crash and Eddie).

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Global warming.
Extinction in the animal world (past and present).
The fact that Ellie thinks she's a possum (we eventually see a flashback when she's all alone as a child -- presumably lost or orphaned -- and then meets a mother possum and young Crash and Eddie).
The fact that Diego is afraid of the water but eventually overcomes that.
The comment to let go of the past so you can have a future.

VIOLENCE: Some of the following is played for comedy.
Throughout the film, there are various bits of characters falling or banging into stuff (slapstick style where they're not hurt).
We see Scat trying to scale a glacier but ends up hanging from his tongue where the tip is frozen to the ice. After freeing himself from that, his body then fills up with a water leak, prompting him to fall a long distance where he crashes through some ice, bumps his head on more and then lands hard on some ice.
At an ice age water park, a character lands on another's antlers and looks pained.
Animal kids hit Sid like a pi�ata (with a stick). They then bury him (with one jumping up and down on his head) and then later wrap something around his legs that causes him to fall to the ground.
To demonstrate his breathing reed, Fast Tony jams one in a character's mouth and then holds his head under the water.
Diego grabs Sid by the neck.
As a young anteater blows bubbles in the water, we see the POV of what we think is a sea monster sneaking up from down below in the water. That turns out to be just a friendly turtle, but it's then yanked down under the water, with only an empty shell coming back up.
Crash and Eddie blow small rocks or something similar through reeds and hit Diego and Sid repeatedly.
Manny whacks Sid on the head with his trunk.
Crash and Eddie whack Diego with their tails.
Scrat falls but we don't see the impact (and he's okay).
One possum whacks the other and the two then struggle.
One of the sea monsters suddenly blasts up through the ice, knocking Sid into the water and leaving Diego on a floating chunk of ice. Sid tries to swim to that chunk as we see the monster swimming toward him. There are then two close calls as the creature tries to attack them but they manage to avoid it. The other creature lunges at Manny, but its large jaws get stuck on his tusks, with him then tossing it aside.
Scrat falls into some water and is then confronted by a school of piranhas. He jumps and darts to avoid them biting at him at the water's surface and is then surrounded by them on dry land. Upset about his acorn, he then goes martial arts on them, grabbing one piranha and whacking others with it, as well as just hitting and kicking them all unconscious.
Crash asks Manny to pull back the branch he's on to catapult him. Manny is reluctant but finally agrees, sending Crash flying a long way through the air before slamming into a tree hard enough to leave an imprint in the bark. Eddie then thinks he's dead (his body is limp), but Crash eventually regains consciousness and is fine after that.
Manny accidentally whacks Sid on the head several times with a log he's moving with his trunk.
Scrat ends up in a nest where an egg cracks open and a baby bird (which is bigger than he is) pops out and then comes at him, but is really after his prized acorn. The two then struggle over the acorn (including him pulling it from the bird's throat), followed by the baby bird stopping Scrat with its foot like a brick wall. The mother bird then shows up and we then see Scrat fall through a hole in the high nest (we don't see any impact).
Following Ellie and her brothers in the dark, Sid accidentally walks into a rocky column (hitting his crotch), while Manny accidentally hits his head on something similar.
A group of small sloths revere Sid but then tie him up and prepare to sacrifice him into a lava pit (to try to stop the global warming). They toss him off the cliff, but the rope around him catches a branch and he stops just inches from the lava.
Various steam geysers erupt from the ground all around the group, with one blasting a chicken-like creature up into the air (and when it returns to the ground, it looks like a standard cooked chicken ready for dinner). Manny throws all caution to the wind and runs through the eruptions, with one finally hitting him and knocking him silly. After a moment of being dazed, the others get him and race out of the geyser field, barely avoiding the many eruptions.
Sid is accidentally knocked out during a flood.
Manny tries to save Ellie who's in a cave that's filling with water, but he can't budge the rocks trapping her inside. Just then, one of the sea monsters grabs him from behind and pulls him even deeper down into the water. Two then swim around him (all are underwater), with him knocking one away and racing back to save Ellie. A sea monster then races at him, but he moves just in time, causing it to hit an underwater log, freeing Ellie but sending rocks crashing down onto the sea monster (we don't know its fate).
After falling into and being washed away by escaping floodwaters, we then see Scrat at the Pearly Gates (which he bangs into by accident). Mesmerized by all of the acorns there (including one presumably representing God or some squirrel deity), he almost goes in, but is pulled away and returns to Earth (having been resuscitated by Sid). Scrat then hits on Sid for having pulled him from such a heavenly place.

Reviewed March 25, 2006 / Posted March 31, 2006

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