Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
(On DVD, December 2009) Given my indifferent reaction to the first Ice Age, it’s not surprising that it took me years, a free DVD and a lack of other distractions to get to watch the sequel. It’s not any more surprising that I still dislike the very things that I disliked in the original: The ugly character design, the voice actors, the lowest-denominator script… all of which are back in this installment. This time, the ice is melting away and there seems to be a lot more animals, but this kid’s film offers little to the grown-up audiences. Much of the film’s emotional beats are obvious, and the ending drags on far too long. At least the animation seems fair, and Scrat’s nut-gathering antics are entertaining in-between the rest of the film. It’s not enough to make Ice Age 2: The Meltdown any better, but it’s a bit better than nothing, I suppose. The DVD contains a number of features aimed straight at younger audiences, although the pretty good bonus short film, “No Times for Nuts” has at least two unsettling Twilight-Zoneish elements that will resonate with older audiences.