Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)
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A group of prehistoric animals must navigate a melting ice dam and a looming flood to find safety.
The story
Sometime after the events of the first film, Manny, Sid, and Diego live in a valley surrounded by a high ice wall. They discover the wall is a dam barely holding back a reservoir that could flood the valley if it fails. A vulture informs them of a boat at the other end of the valley that could save them, but they must reach it in three days. As a chunk of ice breaks off, initiating their evacuation, the trio must navigate the treacherous terrain while Manny struggles with the realization of being one of the last mammoths alive.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Manny, Sid, and Diego discover their home is protected by a failing ice dam. They learn from a vulture that they have three days to reach a rescue boat. Along the way, they encounter Ellie, a mammoth who believes she is a possum, and her brothers Crash and Eddie. While traveling, they are hunted by two prehistoric sea creatures, Cretaceous and Maelstrom. Manny and Ellie develop feelings for each other but face internal conflicts regarding their identities and the fate of their species. During a final push to the boat, the dam fails, and the group is separated by a field of geysers. Manny eventually rescues Ellie from a cave where she was trapped. Meanwhile, the squirrel Scrat's frantic quest for an acorn causes a massive fissure in the ice, which drains the floodwaters and saves the group. The fissure also reveals a herd of other mammoths, proving the species is not extinct. Scrat is eventually revived by Sid after a near-death experience in a 'heaven' of acorns, leading to a comedic confrontation.
- First release year
- 2006
- Runtime (minutes)
- 90
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Carlos Saldanha
- Writers
- Peter Gaulke · writer; Gerry Swallow · writer; Jim Hecht · writer
- Cast and characters
- Ray Romano · Manny; John Leguizamo · Sid; Denis Leary · Diego; Seann William Scott · Crash; Josh Peck · Eddie; Queen Latifah · Ellie; Will Arnett · Lone Gunslinger Vulture; Jay Leno · Fast Tony
- Genres
- animated; adventure; comedy
- Themes
- environmentalism; identity; survival
- Tone and mood
- humorous; adventurous
- Setting
- A prehistoric valley protected by an ice dam.
- Premise and plot tags
- prehistoric; animal adventure; comedy
- Franchise connections
- Ice Age
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, but was well-received by audiences.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: rotten; Metacritic · score: 59 · scale: 100
- Production trivia
- The film was originally titled Ice Age 2: The Meltdown.; The film was the highest grossing animated film worldwide of 2006.; The film was re-released in 3D in China in 2014.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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