My wife and I caught it at a matinee this afternoon. I enjoyed it quite a bit for many reasons. For starters, the technical CG aspects of the movie are phenominal - the animation is top notch and is approaching Pixar in quality. The lighting - especially the nighttime lighting - is about as realistic as I've ever seen. And the effects - water, tree and leaves, etc. have now set the standard for the other animation companies. After Ice Age, Robots, and now Ice Age 2, I'd have to say that Fox/Blue Sky is now second next to Pixar in the animation department. Dreamworks/PDI started off strong with Antz and Shrek, but seem to be churning out less inspired work with Shark Tale, Madagascar, and the (ghastly-looking) upcoming Over the Hedge.
Also, I was pleasantly surprised with the sound effects. I hope it's no spoiler to know that the animals are facing the end of the Ice Age. Well, the sound of the glaciers melting, cracking, and breaking apart produced a very distinct, chilling sound effect that resembled the sound of steel telephone wire being tapped; I thought it was the coolest sound effect since the Tripod horn call in War of the Worlds. We caught the movie in a theater that had REALLY top notch picture and sound, so I considered myself lucky this time.
As for the movie itself, it was better than the first one in parts, worse in parts. I can say if you liked the first Ice Age, you'll like this one, too. Manny is still feeling lonely, Sid is still silly (and funny, IMO), while Diego is a little more toned down this time, but he has a nice little "overcoming fear" side-plot. The new possum characters are annoying at first, but you get used to them towards the end. And Manny's love interest is sweet - I admit I almost got a little teary-eyed during her childhood "flashback" scene. The overall plot is thin, but so much zany stuff happens throughout the film that it almost becomes unnecessary and is just an excuse to see a lot of neat skits. This has perhaps the funniest Saving Private Ryan(!) reference you'll ever see in a movie. I was in a theater filled with kids and desperate housewives, so I think I was the only one who understood it, but I laughed quite heartily at it.
And oh yes, Scrat rocks!
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