April 08, 2006

MOVIES: Ice Age: The Meltdown (Carlos Saldanha, 2006)

This movie has pretty much the same strengths and flaws as the first Ice Age movie, and just as with the first one, the strengths just barely outweigh the flaws.

The biggest flaw is Ray Romano. He's not a particularly interesting actor to begin with, and his flat, inexpressive voice is the least interesting thing about him; choosing him as an animation actor is a bad idea. He's a bit better here than in the first movie, largely because most of his scenes are played opposite Queen Latifah (a new addition to the cast), who is a superb choice for voice-over work, and who manages to put a little life into Romano.

On the plus side is Scrat, the squirrel desperately trying to hang onto what is apparently the world's last acorn. His episodes, which interrupt the movie's main story periodically, are the best thing in the movie, marvels of slapstick and comic timing. There comes a moment when his life's efforts are rewarded with an unobstructed path to the biggest acorn he's ever imagined, and Scrat's dancing approach to that nut is a stellar bit of character animation, expressing all of his joy, awe, and disbelief in a few seconds.

The kids'll enjoy it, and you won't be too badly bored by it.

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