Mouthwatering Meltdown (****)

This is a must watch movie for fun loving folks. ICE AGE - The original movie was one of the shortest entertainers when I'm badly in need of one. I luv CGI and the characters here were just fantastic. The 1st movie is about Sid the sloth forming a herd with Manford the mammoth and Diego the sabertooth tiger. All of them in an adventure to return a kid to the humans. Absolutely hilarious it was!!!

The sequel was nothin short of pure fun and yet a wee bit disappointing to die hard fans of the original. Yet again scrat hosts the opening and closing scenes of the movie. I even heard that a new animated series is likely along the lines of Tom & Jerry with Scrat ;). The movie begins with the characters in a natural water park made of ICE with plenty of rides.

Sid the NTPK (nenapu dhaan pozhappu kedukkum in tamil) character is again downright comical as ever as - this time again as Lord of Fire :D. His signature non-stop prattling and kindling of manny into a mushy mood still goes on. This time the family/herd just got bigger with Ellie, Eddie & Crash joining em.

Ellie is the star of this movie ;) and she was outright hep. The movies success goes to this character and the possoms which r such a cutey :-*. The way she sleeps with her tail wrapped to a branch upside-down :)), brilliantly conceived. Sid and Diego especially didn't have much role in this movie but for their presence. Manford is still Mr.Saviour just like any bollywood movie, which turned out to be quite clichéd.

My favourite scene in the movie was when manford tries to impress ellie saying shez got a FAT BUTT. At first ellie goes on suspicion but she quickly likes manny for having said that. For once a gal who likes to be called FAT BUTT =)). And then of course the sloths worshiping lord of fire, which reminded me of a koundamani comedy in tamil. Their mimicking of sid and the short dance that followed before the sacrifice, was typical of the kind of laugh the original movie gives.

The jokes were quite clichéd and I somehow didn't find quite a bit of originality to it. It just lacked the charm of the original movie. Fun, guranteed nonetheless!!!

CGI was fantastic though the gushing water didn't impress me as much as 'Finding Nemo' did. The fur on the animals were stupendous until they go into water, when it started luk'n artificial. The scene of the balancing rocks seemed quite unnecessary to me :-|. It was there for some conversations to be made, and it was too impossible (unless it was a bollywood production). If this scene was to parallel the rescue of Diego in the original, sorry it didn't live up. And the drama brought out by the villainy, and the mushyness that binds the herd was grossly missing this time.

Ellie's eyes were JUST PERFECT. The expressions were absolutely fantastic, esp when manny tries to say it :) ... and the disappointment so evident.

Some might find that its just the same old saving the female in trouble kind movie, but hey thats what animal kingdom is all about - survival, unlike we humans with supposedly higher intellect (yet many just end up do the same :p).

Overall I'd give this movie **** compared to ***** for the original. Very enjoyable, esp if you can listen to the subtle dialogues. Just don't miss it. Besides it got a dash of romance too, for you love birds out there :x. As before a lovely treat for the kids n adults alike. You'll definitely have some hearty laughs, so get on n have a chill trip to the Meltdown this summer.