Unfrozen tundra

Another week, another sneak preview. This time it's Ice Age: The Meltdown. I was quite fond of the first one -- how the humans had no speech, and the dodo birds were cultists, and the herbivores were still dangerous. This one has a much more conventional plot: the gang has to avoid being drowned by the inevitable flood once the ice melts, and Manny has a mini-meltdown of his own when he thinks about being the last mammoth left.

With the exception of Toy Story 2, animated sequels are always inferior. To its credit, this film looks as flawless as the first one, so no corners were cut there. There are memorable new characters and several humorous moments. The water creatures were scary, as confirmed by the hushed silence and occasional crying of various shorties in the audience. But this film brings the issue of extinction front and center, as if the dodo birds were right all along. Even little kids will pick up on the theme of doom.

That darn Scrat. Once again, his adventures with the acorn are the best part of the film. And I could have watched a whole film about him. I don't know enough about extinct animals, but wasn't the squirrel the only species from the Ice Age movies to survive?

55 Fiction Friday got a caffeinated jolt after reading this.

He read the magazine’s profile, disgusted. The subject
shared his ethnicity, and yet her skin color was carelessly
characterized as some trendy coffee alternative. Grabbing
a snack, he e-mailed the editorial staff.

He wrote what he knew. That’s why the reporter had “the
integrity of Three Musketeers filling” and the editors had
“nougat for brains.”