Ice Age – The Meltdown (aka Ice
Age 2/Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: C+ Film: C+
A hit in
theaters, the two Ice Age films have also been a hit on this site and are
widely read reviews, even to the surprise of us here at the site. In case you are interested in advance, here
are the previous DVD-only reviews for the two films:
Ice Age – Super Cool Edition
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3489/Ice+Age+-+Super+Cool+Edition
Ice Age – The Meltdown (aka Ice Age 2)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4483/Ice+Age+–+The+Meltdown+(aka+Ice+Age+2)
Now, 20th
Century Fox has issued the sequel in the new High Definition Blu-ray format
ahead of the original to take advantage of showing off the state of the art
highlights while they stay that way, though this has more good moments than
bad. Even with the lack of the best CG
animation technology, the producers have made a smart move by pushing the depth
factor a little more to make the ice seem more palpable, something lost on the
DVD. There was that Bugs Bunny gag about
how hard cartoon trees are. The idea
here is that the ice is very much the same to the characters here.
The 1080p
MPEG-2 @ 18 MBPS 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image is still a little
softer than you might think, but it is better than the DVD and this is also more
due to the style again this time than just the transfer. You can see more flaws in the animation and
master as well, but they are not too distracting. It is on par with the few other digital CG
animated features we have seen in both formats so far.
The sound
is a nice DTS HD 5.1 Master Audio upgrade from the much less impressive and basic Dolby Digital 5.1 on the standard
DVD included here in Spanish & French languages only, which does not have
the impact of this Blu-ray, though the better sound cannot change the fact that
is not surround-sound constant since the idea of some of the laughs is how this
plays with silence. Also, the extras are
the same as the standard DVD version, so this will give fans plenty more to
enjoy and do, which is not bad for a 25GB disc.
- Nicholas Sheffo
