RATING ***

Happily, the characters from the first film all came back. I honestly don't know if I could have enjoyed the film as much if someone else had played the voice of "Manny", "Sid" or "Diego".
And the film shows history as well as religious teaching. With the well-done CGI effects of the Ice Age melting, ice walls crumbling, and flooding, we see history as it could have been 10,000 years ago. Or, how it could have been with animals that could sing and dance as well as speak in modern day vernacular.
And religion? Well, we are talking about a film dealing with a flood and a giant 'ark' whereby the animals want to be saved. You figure the connection.
Anyway, turns out that global warming was a problem way back when as well as today. And in this offering, the animals are fighting not just the elements, but hungry vultures and two prehistoric creatures that have been frozen for a few million years.
But, who cares? This movie is not about plot or story and it strives to not hit you over the head with a moral. Yay!!!
It seems like the entire purpose of the film was to simply have fun. And they do a good job of it.
As in the first film the true star is not Ray Ramano or Denis Leary. It isn't even John Leguizamo. It is a little character named Scrat, a squirrel who does mostly the same as in the last picture, chase after one acorn with a dedication that would put some politicians after a good office to shame.
Even as ever-bigger chunks of ice are falling around him, Scrat keep grabbing and losing that precious acorn. Each time Scrat appeared, the audience seemed to have a very good time.
The rest of the film was just as funny as the first film. With John Leguizamo teaching a tribe of smaller versions of himself as they worship him to a large pachyderm that thinks it is a possum, the movie kept all of us laughing and having a good time.
The addition of Queen Latifah as the confused Ellie as the possible love interest for Manny (Romano) was a nice addition. She has a great sense of humor anyway, and I like her voice.
And the image of her hanging in the trees with her possum "brothers" is a bit of a hoot.
I was very impressed with the soundtrack, as the sound of crumbling ice and rushing water pervade the theater it is almost impossible to not actually think of the current Arctic Ice Floes melting and deteriorating.
And I have to admit, the buzzards singing "Food" was something you have to see to believe. Busby Berkeley lives. And one of my favorite lines also comes from the circling buzzards warning, "Do not leave your children unattended. Unattended children will be eaten."
The movie is only an hour and a half, and don't leave till the credits are over. It would be fine for just about anyone, from adults to children of all ages.