The year’s most successful CG-animated feature chills on home video today with Fox Home Entertainment’s release of Ice Age: The Meltdown. The sequel from Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios opened in theaters to $68 million in March and went on to earn more than $647 million worldwide. Retail sales should also be brisk, especially with the holidays coming up.
In Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, the Ice Age is coming to an end and the animals are delighting in their new world of water parks, geysers and tar pits. But when our heroes discover that the miles of melted ice will flood their valley, they must warn everyone and somehow figure out a way to escape the coming deluge. Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Dennis Leary return to lend their voices to Manny, Sid and Diego, respectively. Joining the cast this time around are Queen Latifah, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Will Arnett and Jay Leno.
The film is animated by Blue Sky Studios and directed by Carlos Saldanha, who co-directed the original Ice Age and Robots with Chris Wedge. Wedge served as exec producer on the sequel, which is written by Peter Gaulke and Gerry Swallow.
DVD bonus materials include the new animated Scrat short No Time for Nuts, and commentaries by Saldanha, producer Lori Forte and other members of the production team. There’s also a feature titled ‘The Animation Director’s Chair,’ which takes several scenes from storyboard through animation and final product, as well as introductions to new characters Ellie, Crash and Eddie, and ‘Lost Historical Films on the Ice Age Period,’ including The Sloth: Nature’s Lovable Lisper, The Wooly Mammoth: Nature’s Beast of Burden, The Saber-Tooth Squirrel: Nature’s Nutty Buddy, The Saber-Tooth Tiger: Nature’s Fearsome Feline, The Vulture: Nature’s Cleaners and The Possum: Nature’s Spunky Spectacles. If all that weren’t enough, fans also get a featurette titled Silly Sid & John Leguizamo, as well as a Sid sing-a-long song and six set-top games. The disc lists for $29.98.
Other notable releases include Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist Season 2, a two-disc set featuring 13 episodes from the 1995-96 season of Comedy Centrals underrated animated series. Created by comedian Jonathan Katz and Tom Snyder, the series boasts guest spots by well-known comedians as they spend some time on the couch and try to work through their issues. Katz, Snyder and voice cast member Laura Silverman provide commentary for the Paramount offering, which caries a suggested retail price of $26.99.
The folks at Paramount have also turned the clock back to 1973 with the DVD debut of Star Trek: Animated Adventures: The Complete Series. This four-disc set comes with 22 episodes, some featuring both audio and text commentary. Other bonus features include the featurettes Drawn to the Final Frontier: The Making of Star Trek: The Animated Series and What’s the Star Trek Connection, as well as a storyboard gallery and info on the show’s history. The set is available today for the list price of $62.99.
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