Ice Age: The Meltdown

This DVD package follow-up to Fox's formidable 2002 theatrical and DVD hit—which is right up there with Toy Story 2 as one of the better animated sequels in recent memory—has enough going for it to delight kiddies and fascinate adult animation buffs alike. Of course, the further adventures of skeptical mammoth Manny (voiced by Ray Romano), the lisping sloth named Sid (John Leguizamo) and the acerbic saber-toothed tiger Diego (Denis Leary) has its share of comedy, adventure, danger and heartfelt moments. And there are new characters in the wooly form of Ellie (Queen Latifah), a female mammoth who thinks she's a possum, and an extended role for Scrat (Chris Wedge), the hard-luck, nut-seeking rodent. The impressive extras package offers hours of fun and informative features for young and old. For the kids, there's a faux "Lost Historical Films" segment, cannily tracing the history of the film's creatures in National Geographic fashion; a how-to Sloth dance sequence hosted by Leguizamo (who's ever-present in the supplements); a couple of cute film and sound effects quizzes; and a very funny "No Time for Nuts" short that hands the jittery Scrat a time machine that bounces him from medieval times to the French Revolution to the Titanic and into the future in search of that elusive acorn. For animation fans, several extras enlighten the production process, while separate audio commentaries by director Carlos Saldhana and producer Lori Forte and her production team explain the process that brought the characters and story to life—in a record eight months. All that's missing is more of a behind-the-scenes presence from voice talents Romano, Leary and Latifah.