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Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)

★★½ — Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)

Ice Age: The Meltdown arrived in 2006 as the first major test of whether Blue Sky Studios could sustain a franchise, following the surprise success of the original 2002 film (which had turned a modest $59 million budget into over $380 million worldwide). Carlos Saldanha, who had co-directed the first film alongside Chris Wedge, took sole charge here, stepping up at a studio that was very much still finding its feet against the dominant forces of Pixar and DreamWorks Animation. The $80 million budget represented a significant increase on the original, and the gamble paid off commercially, with the film pulling in over $660 million globally and cementing the franchise as Fox's most reliable animated property heading into the late 2000s.

More mammoths, more sloths, more squirrel-related chaos, but somehow, just a little less magic. The sequel keeps the charm and the gags coming, but it also feels like a step down from the original: a bit messier, a bit looser, and not quite as fresh. It’s still watchable, and my kid loves it, so I’ve sat through it more times than I’d like to admit, but The Meltdown leans a little too hard on repetition and broad humour. The characters are fun, the animation still looks good, and hey, Scrat’s chase for that acorn remains gold. But ultimately it’s more of the same … and in this case, that’s just not quite enough.

Rating: ★★½ | Year: 2006 | Watched: 2025-07-21

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Where to watch (UK)

Stream: Amazon Prime Video · Disney Plus · Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK

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