Mammoth’s role in ‘Ice Age 2’ needs
downsizing
By Craig Marks
A little bit of Ray Romano goes a long way. In the computer-animated “Ice Age 2: The Meltdown,” which opens March 31, his character goes a long way on his quest for survival. Following him on his journey is a wearying task.
Reprising his role from the first film, Romano provides the voice for Manny, a wooly mammoth who’s a brooding curmudgeon. It’s a character right up Romano’s alley. On his classic sitcom, his character acted as if disappointment was waiting for him behind every door, which, more often than not, was the case. Manny has good reason to be less than perky. The Ice Age is wrapping up, and the impending floods are destined to wipe out the animals in his neck of the woods. And even if he survives, he believes he’s the last of his species, which severely limits the dating possibilities.
With vultures above and vicious, alligator-like creatures trolling the seas, Manny and his friends Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) and saber-toothed tiger Diego (Denis Leary) lead the herd to a safe haven. Along the way, they meet two annoying male possums and a creature who says she’s also a possum, though her tusks and nine-ton girth suggest otherwise. Queen Latifah plays the “possum” and, unlike some of the voice actors in this film, it sounds like she’s enjoying the assignment. (Leary’s character, in particular, sounds like it’s been declawed.)
This movie is well-animated and visually appealing, and the characters are pretty cute (though not as cute as you’d find in a Pixar film). If only the film were more fun.
Part of the problem has to do with the script, which is full of banter that falls flat, but a bigger problem might be the prominence of Romano’s wet-blanket character. It just permeates gloom. Imagine if Squidward rather than SpongeBob had top billing in the cartoon series, and you’ll get the idea.
Of Manny’s costars, Leguizamo’s Sid fares best. The character, which has a lisp that makes you suspect he’s a forebear of Sylvester, has a neat scene where he’s worshipped by smaller members of his species. Not coincidentally, the scene takes place after he wanders away from Manny and the rest of the gang.
The movie’s saving grace is Scat, a part-rat, part-squirrel creature that also provided a majority of the laughs in the original. Intermittently throughout the film, we watch it pursue an acorn, and its dialogue-free antics pay homage to Wile E. Coyote, Tom Cat and other classic cartoon characters who silently went after their prey. If Scat could talk, I’d like to think its first words would be to Manny, asking him to lighten up.
The film is rated PG for some mild language and innuendo.
**-1/2
(out of four)
Craig Marks is a cartoonist and
editorial, sports and entertainment writer for the West
Side Leader.
“Ice Age 2: The Meltdown” opens in theaters March 31.
Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox
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