Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) - Saldanha's terrific first sequel

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The titular ice age thaws on this humorous poster for Carlos Saldanha's Ice Age: The Meltdown

Our dissimilar friends from Ice Age (2002) are forced to migrate on, when the ice cap breaks up and starts to melt.

Ice Age: The Meltdown is written by Peter Gaulke (Say It Isn't So (2001)), Jim Hecht (Taina (2002, TV-series)) and Gerry Swallow (Black Knight (2001)) and directed by Carlos Saldanha (Ice Age). It is the first sequel in the Ice Age franchise (2002; 2009; 2012; 2016).

The endearing characters are on a fanciful adventure in a terrifically good-looking animation, which takes a massive technical step forward from the first one four years prior. The sound work is especially outstanding. 

The big new invention in the story, which is again interwoven with amusing vignettes of 'rat/squirrel' Scrat's misadventures with his acorn, is that Manny the mammoth meets and falls in love with a female mammoth (voiced by Queen Latifah (Chicago (2002))), who first has to realize that she is not a possum! Ice Age: The Meltdown is full of fun and may be the best in the film series.

 

Related posts:

 

Ice Age franchise: Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) - Lots of fun in 4th IA chapter

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) or, Ice Age 3: Add Dinosaurs! 

Ice Age (2002) - Fun-filled animated adventure

Carlos Saldanha: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) or, Ice Age 3: Add Dinosaurs!  (co-director) 

Ice Age (2002) - Fun-filled animated adventure (co-director)

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 80 mil. $

Box office: 667 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 8.33 times its cost)

[Ice Age: The Meltdown was released 29 March (Belgium, Netherlands, Jamaica, Indonesia, Philippines) and runs 91 minutes. The film opened #1 to a 68 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it remained #1 for another weekend and spent another 2 weekends in the top 5 (#2-#4), grossing 195.3 mil. $ (29.3 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 61.6 mil. $ (9.2 %) and the UK with 52.3 mil. $ (7.8 %). It was the year's 3rd highest-grossing film and the highest-grossing animation of the year. The-Numbers.com estimate that the film additionally made at least 137.8 mil. $ on the domestic home video market alone. Roger Ebert gave it a 2.5/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. Saldanha returned with Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), which is also the next chapter in the franchise. Ray Romano (Paddleton (2019)) returned in Grilled (2006); John Leguizamo (The Menu (2022)) in ER (2005-06) and theatrically in The Groomsmen (2006); and Denis Leary (Rescue Me (2004-11, writer)) in 4 video and TV credits prior to his theatrical return in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Ice Age: The Meltdown is rotten at 56 % with a 6.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Ice Age: The Meltdown?

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) or, Ice Age 3: Add Dinosaurs!

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Our ancient friends caught in a glaring pickle on this funny poster for Michael Thurmeier and Carlos Saldanha's Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Ellie the mammoth is pregnant, as her little family discover a lost dinosaur world, where Sid the ground sloth gets lost, carrying 3 dinosaur eggs...

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is written by Peter Ackerman (The Diplomat (2024, TV-series)), Yoni Brenner (Rio 2 (2014)), Michael Berg (Ice Age (2002)) and Mike Reiss (My Life in Ruins (2009)), with Jason Carter Eaton (Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas (2011, TV movie)) contributing story elements, and directed by Michael Thurmeier (The Scratist (2012, short)) and Carlos Saldanha (Ice Age (2002)). It is the 3rd film in the Ice Age franchise (2002; 2006).

A dragging story that is also very tied up to Simon Pegg's (Luck (2022)) new pirate, dino-hunting weasel character who goes bonkers and is a weirdly unfunny companion.

Wow-ing animation and fun moments and sequences, often being those with Scrat, the non-speaking squirrel character, and one female flying squirrel distraction, elevate an otherwise disappointing film.

 

Related posts:

 

Ice Age franchise: Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) - Lots of fun in 4th IA chapter

Michael Thurmeier: Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) - Lots of fun in 4th IA chapter

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 90 mil. $

Box office: 886.6 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 9.85 times its cost)

[Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs was released 26 June (Uruguay) and runs 94 minutes. It opened #2, behind holdover hit Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, to a 41.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 3 weekends in the top 5 (#2-#2-#5), grossing 196.5 mil. $ (22.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 82.1 mil. $ (9.3 %) and France with 69.2 mil. $ (7.8 %). It was the year's highest-grossing animation and the 3rd highest-grossing film of the year over-all. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 3 notches over this one. The franchise returned with Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012). Thurmeier returned with 3 shorts prior to Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012); Saldanha with Rio (2011). Ray Romano (Paddleton (2019)) returned in Funny People (2009); John Leguizamo (Spawn (1997)) in Gamer (2009). Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is rotten at 46 % with a 5.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs?

Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) - Lots of fun in 4th IA chapter

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An action-packed adventure at sea is promised on this splashy poster for Steve Martino and Michael Thurmeier's Ice Age: Continental Drift

A rift is taking place in our mammoth family, where Peaches has become a teenager. Now the continental plates start moving and breaking up, literally breaking up our friends. The larger group of them gets into trouble with an evil pirate ape on an iceberg ship.

 

Ice Age: Continental Drift is written by Michael Berg (Ice Age (2002)) and Jason Fuchs (Argylle (2024)) and directed by great Ohioan filmmaker Steve Martino (Horton Hears a Who! (2008)) and Michael Thurmeier (Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)). It is the 4th film in the Ice Age franchise (2002; 06; 09).

The plot is simple and manageable, but the film scores on lots of funny gags and jokes: Ray Romano (Made for Love (2021-22)), franchise newcomer Wanda Sykes (Chivalry (2022, TV-series)) and others shine in the impressive voice cast, - and the filmmakers strike a good balance between the story line and episodes featuring the series' popular squirrel Scrat, whose obsessive hunt for an acorn of course is what causes the continental plate movements! This is fun and feels like a throwback to the classic Looney Tunes (1930-69) short animations. 

The animation is fantastic to boot here, colorful and vivid to the eyes. Ice Age: Continental Drift is a fun-filled family treat.

 

Related post:

 

Steve Martino: Horton Hears a Who! (2008) - Belly-laughs and fantastic imagination in great family animation (co-director)

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 95 mil. $

Box office: 877.2 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 9.23 times its cost)

[Ice Age: Continental Drift premiered 26 June (Buenos Aires) and runs 88 minutes. Production took place in Connecticut. The film opened #1 to a 46.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 3 weekends in the top 5 (#2-#2-#4), grossing 161.3 mil. $ (18.4 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were China with 67.8 mil. $ (7.7 %) and Germany with 67 mil. $ (7.6 %). It was the year's highest-grossing animation and the 5th highest-grossing film of the year over-all. Roger Ebert gave it a 2/4 star review, translating to 2 notches under this one. The franchise returned with Ice Age: Collision Course (2016). Martino returned with The Peanuts Movie (2015); Thurmeier with Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe (2015, short), Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade (2016, TV movie) and theatrically with Ice Age: Collision Course (2016). Romano returned in Ted (2012). Ice Age: Continental Drift is rotten at 37 % with a 5.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Ice Age: Continental Drift?

Horton Hears a Who! (2008) - Belly-laughs and fantastic imagination in great family animation

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+ Best Fantasy Movie of the Year

 

Amusing animal characters and two giant comedian voice stars are teased on this poster for Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino's Horton Hears a Who!

In the Jungle of Nool the nice elephant Horton finds a speck of dust on a clover, which screams! He learns that a minuscule society live in the speck! But his travails to get them into safety are mighty hard!

 

Horton Hears a Who! is written by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul (Despicable Me (2010), both), adapting the same-titled 1954 children's novel by Dr. Seuss (The Cat in the Hat (1957)), and directed by debuting Jimmy Hayward (Free Birds (2013)) and also debuting Steve Martino (The Peanuts Movie (2015)).

Dr. Seuss' enormously strange and imaginative story is utilized to make an incredibly funny and thought-provoking, handsome animated family picture here. Pack mentality, showing care and the layout of the universe are on the agenda in Horton Hears a Who!.

Jim Carrey (The Mask (1994)) and Steve Carell (Café Society (2016)) are perfectly cast; the former as the manically positive, physically funny Horton and the latter as the paranoid-fearful Mayor Ned McDodd of Whoville, the town that exists inside the speck. Carol Burnett (Annie (1982)) as the villainous kangaroo and Seth Rogen (Pineapple Express (2008)) as Morton the mouse are also a lot of fun. Horton Hears a Who! is a very quaint and successfully hilarious film.

 

Related post:
 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 85 mil. $

Box office: 298.5 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 3.51 times its cost)

[Horton Hears a Who! premiered 3 March (Hollywood) and runs 86 minutes. A "seven-figure" amount was paid to Dr. Seuss' widow for the rights to the story. The film opened #1 to a 45 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another weekend at #1 and then another 2 weekends in the top 5 (#2-#4), grossing 154.5 mil. $ (51.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 17.2 mil. $ (5.8 %) and France with 15.4 mil. $ (5.2 %). The film also made in excess of 77.8 mil. $ on home video sales in North America alone. Hayward returned with Jonah Hex (2010); Martino with Scrat's Continental Crack-Up (2010, short), Scrat's Continental Crack-Up: Part 2 (2011, short) and theatrically with Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012). Carrey returned in Yes Man (2008); Carell in Get Smart (2008). Horton Hears a Who! is certified fresh at 80 % with a 7.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Horton Hears a Who!?

Anastasia (1997) - Splendor!

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+ Best Musical of the Year

 

What could be thought of as a malevolent god above looms on this grand poster for Don Bluth and Gary Goldman's Anastasia

Anastasia is only a very young princess in the Russian royal family, when the revolution splits said family apart. As an adult she goes to Paris, where she learns of her true ancestry.

 

Anastasia is written by Susan Gauthier (The Carol Burnett Show (1991, TV-series)), Bruce Graham (Twisted (1986)), Bob Tzudiker, Noni White (The Lion King (1994), both) and Eric Tuchman (Eureka (2010-12)) and directed by Texan master filmmaker Don Bluth (The Secret of NIMH (1981)), whose 8th film it was, and Gary Goldman (All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)).

The real-life story is taken up and spun around into a fantastical, original story, - really a fantasy about learning something truly fantastical (such as that you're really a Russian princess), and that very wild hopes can come true, - which moves several times in this great first Fox Animation feature, a film you'll have to made of stone not to be touched by.

The plot also has weak sides, - mostly in relation to the villain scenes, - and the mix of traditional cel animation and computer animation is sometimes very clear, (take it as a part of the technical development process of the time.) But Anastasia also has ravishing songs and enormously beautiful drawings and colors and is a an over-all lavish production, and a gift for every romantic out there.

 

Related post:

 

1997 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 53 mil. $

Box office: 139.8 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 2.63 times its cost)

[Anastasia premiered 14 November (New York) and runs 94 minutes. The film is Fox Animation's first feature and highly historically inaccurate. Production took place in Phoenix, Arizona. It opened #2, behind Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, to a 14.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weekends in the top 5 (#3-#4), grossing 58.4 mil. $ ( 41.8 % of the total gross). Reportedly more than 50 mil. $ was spent marketing the film in partnerships with commercial partners. Disney attempted to drown out Anastasia at the box office with several releases and re-releases of popular titles. More than 8 mil. home video copies of the film were sold in North America. The film was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Song (Journey to the Past by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens), lost to My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion, James Horner and Will Jennings from Titanic, and Best Score: Musical/Comedy (Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens, David Newman), lost to Anne Dudley for The Full Monty. It was also nominated for 2 Golden Globes, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Bluth and Goldman returned with Anastasia spin-off, Bartok the Magnificent (1999, video) and theatrically with Titan A.E. (2000). Meg Ryan (Sleepless in Seattle (1993)) returned in City of Angels (1998); John Cusack (City Hall (1996)) in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997); and Christopher Lloyd (Cadillac Ranch (1996)) in The Animated Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1998, video), The Ransom of Red Chief (1998, TV movie) and theatrically in My Favorite Martian (1999). Anastasia is certified fresh at 86 % with a 7.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Anastasia?

Monkeybone (2001) - Selick's catastrophic fantasy romcom

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Star Brendan Fraser encircled in a virtual vortex of craziness on a poster for Henry Selick's Monkeybone

A cartoonist who has created a vulgar monkey character which is about to premiere as a major animation feature, goes into a coma after an incredible accident. He winds up in a pre-death world created by his nightmares.

Monkeybone is written by Sam Hamm (Masters of Horror (2005-06)), based on the graphic novel Dark Town (1995) by Kaja Blackley, and directed by New Jerseyite master filmmaker Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)), whose 3rd feature it is.
It is a very lopsided film, clearly inspired by Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1988). Unfortunately it doesn't come together as a satisfying whole.
Brendan Fraser (Still Breathing (1997)) gives it his all in the very demanding lead role that's also reminiscent of the Nutty Professor/Buddy Love dynamic (in the guise of Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (1996)), as he plays the zany, vulgar monkey that's inhabited his cartoonist self in parts of the film, which can't but make one wonder what the !%#!! the financiers of Monkeybone were thinking. Audiences unsurprisingly didn't board this enormously budgeted, interesting visually and FX-wise, lavish serving of uncontrolled WTF.
Much of Monkeybone looks like something for children, - and Fraser's appeal at the time also leads one to imagine so, - but Monkeybone is decidedly not suitable for children; it is a unique kind of head-scratching box office disaster.

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Henry Selick: 2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 
Top 10: The best adaptations reviewed by Film Excess to date
Top 10: The best adventure movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
Coraline (2009) - Selick's otherworldly masterpiece   

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 75 mil. $
Box office: 7.6 mil. $
= Box office disaster (returned 0.10 times its cost)
[Monkeybone was released 23 February (USA) and runs 92 minutes. Shooting took place in California, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, from June - October 1999. Selick is rumored to have been fired as director some time towards the end of making the film by studio Fox in an attempt to make it more mainstream, possibly replaced by executive producer Chris Columbus. The film opened #11 to a 2.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, its peak there, where it grossed 5.4 mil. $ (71.1 % of the total gross). The foreign gross numbers have not been made public at Box Office Mojo. Roger Ebert gave the film a 1.5/4 star review, translating to a notch harder than this one. Selick returned with Moongirl (2005, short) and theatrically with masterpiece Coraline (2009). Fraser returned in The Mummy Returns (2001); Bridget Fonda (Camilla (1994)) in Kiss of the Dragon (2001). Monkeybone is rotten at 19 % with a 3.96/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Monkeybone?