Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)

Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Psalm 85:10

Although not as fresh as the original (as is the case with most sequels), Meltdown is still great fun for all ages. Our scruffy squirrel/rat Scrat is still eagerly chasing after acorns (where they come from is never disclosed!). Indeed, it is while chomping after one on a wall of ice holding back a huge lake of water that Scrat strikes several leaks of gushing water, revealing the meltdown of the title. All the animals of the valley must flee before the valley is flooded.

Our little herd consisting of Manny, the wooly mammoth (Ray Romano), Sid, the sloth (John Leguizamo), and saber tooth tiger Diego (Denis Leary), join the long parade of animals looking for a distant sanctuary. They encounter many dangers along the way, and strange phenomena, such as a chorus of vultures that sing the song from “Oliver!,” “Food, Glorious Food!.” Manny discovers among those fleeing that he is not the only wooly mammoth. He is smitten by Ellie (Queen Latifah), but because she was orphaned and raised by possums, she does not see that they are of the same species. Talk about an identity problem! After their arrival at a sanctuary, Manny will have to decide whether to follow his new love or remain with his “herd.” As with the first film, the theme of family as more than a matter of blood relationships is paramount. Those wanting to discuss this with children should check out the Scripture passage that I suggested in my review of the first Ice Age, Mark 3:31-35.