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Ice Age: The Meltdown

(2006, Rated PG, Family and kids, Starring Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, Ray Romano)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 4, age appropriate for kids over 6; suggested age 6.
  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    Plucky animals survive prehistoric global warming.

updated 07.04.08

Why We Rated This on for Ages 6 and Up

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    Heroes quarrel then come together to triumph over climate change (coming flood) and attendant dangers (underwater creatures).
  • Violence & scariness :

    Some potentially frightening imagery and music to show the threat of the melting ice (cracking ice, falls down mountainsides, plummets into water); two toothy creatures underwater hunt and grab at heroes periodically; a scene showing a mother woolly mammoth frozen as her child leans into the mother's now-abstracted form is sad; a group of vultures perform elaborate musical number about "" and "" tiger must jump into water that scares him to save his friends; flooding at end might be worrisome for young viewers with memories of recent Louisiana and Mississippi flooding.
  • Sexy stuff :

    Manny seeks a mate, with some allusions made to preventing the extinction of the species.
  • Language:

    Some comic phrases might inspire imiitation ("suck air"); film includes a fart joke, "ass," "crap," and "pervert".
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Ice Age: The Meltdown

Parents need to know that because of global warming, the heroes are in peril from rising waters and they are stalked by somewhat scary-looking underwater creatures. There is comic slapstick violence (the acorn-chasing muskrat is squashed, splatted, attacked by a vulture, etc.), a sad memory of a mother's death, and a flood, and the tiger's fear of water is rendered in a couple of "nightmare" images (his point of view underwater, with big music). The film includes some very mild language ("crap," "ass," "pervert").

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the alternative family (here called a "herd") developed by our plucky heroes. How do their different talents and interests help them to survive? How do they learn to support one another rather than argue or compete? How does Sid, who shows a persistent faith in everyone's worth, become the "glue" that holds them all together? How does the introduction of new members (Ellie and her possum brothers) temporarily disrupt the dynamic, as characters are jealous or afraid of being abandoned?
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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Educator Reviewer
    Lives in Florida
    Kids ages: 6
    I rate this title iffy for age 6 and give it 3.0
    My concerns are:
    • Inappropriate language

    Surprised by the some dialog in the movie. For example, "Your breath smells like ass."

  2. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Florida
    I rate this title on for age 6 and give it 4.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate language

    Okay

    Violence is okay. I knew the swear words when I was five. It's okay

  3. Teen Reviewer
    Age 13
    Lives in Florida
    I rate this title on for age 6 and give it 3.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence

    A good movie :)

    This is a good movie!!! You have to see it!!

  4. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in New York
    I rate this title on for age 5 and give it 4.0

  5. Kid Reviewer
    Age 10
    Lives in Connecticut
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 3.0

    NOT AS GOOD AS THE FIRST MOVIE.

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