Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (U) (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (U)

No one could have predicted the enormous success Ice Age (2002) was to have.

It came out the same year as the big moneyed animation Monsters Inc, and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, and the less expensive, but much better Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and the charming Lilo and Stitch.

However it was Ice Age that was the runaway winner with the public, because it merrily crossed all the age barriers.

We couldn't help but take the arresting lazy little sloth Sid (voiced by John Leguizamo), giant woolly mammoth Manny (voiced by Ray Romano) and Diego the Sabre-toothed tiger (voiced by Denis Leary) to our hearts, and still talked about them four years on.

But it was really the silent, prehistoric squirrel Scrat, who had major problems with a precious acorn that became the film's mascot and got the laughs.

In the first film it was twenty thousand years ago and the northern parts of earth were turning to ice, leaving its inhabitants with no alternative but to migrate south.

The journey saw the trio save a child, as they diced with monumental problems in order to return it to the human herd.

It was a magical three men and a baby theme, which if you are one of the few who haven't seen it, I suggest you rent the DVD pronto.

Well the fun trio are back with the sub zero temperature now melting and an added frisson in the air, Manny is in love with Ellie (voiced by Queen Latifah).

This was much more than a billion to one chance, as she amazingly is the last female Mammoth in the world.

But love rarely runs smoothly and in this case Ellie has self-image issues: she thinks she is a possum.

This doesn't bother her, as when she was very young she lost her family and was brought up by a family of possums.

She is a free spirit and has totally embraced the possum's way of life, which given that she has never seen a Mammoth before is hardly surprising.

Manny's courtship also has the added problem of her loving but troublesome possum brothers Crash (voiced by Seann William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck).

However all this pales into insignificant as the original joys of the melt down get out of hand.

Our trio learn that when a thinning ice dam completely melts, their world will become a massive aquarium.

After Scrat's opening scene, which is much the same as before, we meet up with our trio in what looks remarkably like a Disneyland water park with fantastic whirlpools and slides.

Everyone is having a great time and it sets just the right jolly atmosphere, though it does pose the question - as they all get on so well together what do the meat eaters feed on?

But I digress. This like its predecessor is a pure delight from start to finish, it is also funnier and more exciting, with moments of real suspense.

Only a scene when the song 'Food Glorious Food' is sung annoyed me, as I always think cribbing music from another production is just plain lazy.

We see much more of Scrat, as he pops up throughout the story and he even contributes something valuable to the proceeding.

The only weak part of the original was the cavemen, and they don't appear, leaving the adventure all about the animals, of which there are many new ones. I can't think of a better film for all the family.

There are plenty of jokes that will go over the head of wee ones, but will amuse the adults and it is so attractive to look it can only entrance. 8/10