Buy it... if you are invigorated by cute and sometimes explosive animation scores that rank high on energy meter.

Avoid it... if you shun parody scores in the genre, or expect the music to offer a memorable identity that lasts after it's finished playing.

Powell

Ice Age: The Meltdown: (John Powell) Movies like this exist to remind all of us how expensive kids can really be, not to mention how much time you have to spend sitting with them through suspect kiddie sequel films. In its strengths and weaknesses, the original Ice Age film from 2002 exhausted the story it needed to tell, but that didn't stop Fox from resurrecting the same characters for a tired, but fiscally safe sequel. If it weren't for Scrat the sabertooth squirrel, Ice Age: The Meltdown would offer absolutely nothing of worth, but luckily for parents, the squirrel's role is expanded in the sequel as it continues to chase after that ever elusive acorn. Never mind that the original Oak tree is nowhere to be seen, not to mention the leap of logic that requires us to believe that the same mammoth, sloth, and tiger would see both the beginning and end of an ice age... animators might as well have hidden images of dollar bills into the frames of animation. As expected, though, despite unenthusiastic critical reviews, Ice Age: The Meltdown has grossed nicely for Fox, a studio still attempting to break into the blockbuster animation genre. These attempts in the modern age go back to Anastasia in the late 1990's, and through the first Ice Age, the composer of choice for the studio's animated division was the capable David Newman. Director Carlos Saldanha from Ice Age then worked with the more ambitious John Powell for Robots in 2005, and that collaboration has extended to Ice Age: The Meltdown. It's difficult to say whose style suits these films better, though it's much easier to declare both composers competent in the genre. Powell's music seems to be more flamboyant and heavier on the percussion, likely due to his graduation from the drum pad school of Media Ventures. Newman's score for the original doesn't stand out as anything memorable several years later, and Powell understandably establishes his own themes and styles for the sequel score.

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One of the more remarkable aspects of Powell's music for this, Robots, and some of his earlier collaborations with Harry Gregson-Williams, is how much energy and noise he can generate without giving the listener an overall, unique impression of the work. It ranges from pleasantly rambling to explosively rambunctious, always tonal and easy on the ears, and yet it seems curiously devoid of a strong identity. This aspect isn't due to performance quality or thematic integrity, however, for Powell accomplishes both. The title theme introduced in the opening cue is provided with significant force in the action cues that populate the film's latter half. Likewise, the ensemble is impressive in the same scope of size as in many of Gregson-Williams' scores. The group is expansive and features a handful of singers to augment a few magic points here and there. Powell's percussion and electronic programming invigorate the pace of Ice Age: The Meltdown, and are mixed well enough so they don't overwhelm the other players. A dry mixing quality in sound detracts from some of the more powerful percussive moments, such as the triumphant cue "Mammoths." Powell inserts more personality into parody cues than Newman did, with "CPR" and "Into the Sunset," among others, incorporating Western or ethnic rhythms and motifs. The title theme lends itself well to jazzy swings in its performance, making the final "Meltdown" cue a highlight of the album. On album, Ice Age: The Meltdown features the songs performed by characters in the film, including a cute twist on a Lionel Bart song, and while these songs are genuinely creative, they're not readily listenable. An hour of music from Powell's work here seems to labor in parts, and if several of the conversational background cues in the first half of the album had been omitted, the shorter running time would likely have improved the product's ability to sustain a mood, and, more importantly, your interest. Powell does accomplish a score that takes a small step above the usual formulaic approach that would probably have sufficed for the genre, but still doesn't quite capture the kind of enticing style that helps Chicken Run retain its popularity. ***   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For John Powell reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.05 (in 38 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.05 (in 42,939 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.