This is the Ice Age movie that it seems people are the most split on. At least for me I've seen people either LOVE or HATE this film. What's my opinion? Well, I think it's straight in the middle. I don't think it's as good as the first film, but better than some of the sequels that came after it. It's not awful, but not good either. Just okay. Why do I think this? Well, first of all, let's look at the Story. Instead of having to traverse an icey, baron wasteland to return a human baby, this film does pretty much the opposite. Instead of the dread of the Ice Age, our heroes must escape the flood coming from the melting glaciers around them whilst escaping various other threats. It's way simpler than the first film. Sure, they both have Point A to B type of Plots, but this one takes out all the heartfelt and suspenseful moments and replaces it with more comedy. That's not saying it has no heart or suspense, but it's just glanced over so that there is more room for dumb gags. I did actually laugh at some of the jokes, but most of it is juvenile or just plain stupid. Together with the overly basic storyline this makes for a pretty lacking plot. The only part of the story here that really works on all levels is Scrat. In the first film he was more shoehorned in at the last second for the fact that he got such a great reaction from audiences when the first trailers came out. That's not a bad thing, he still is enjoyable in that film, he just barely appears onscreen. Now that he finally was intended to be in the film from the start, he can get much more screentime here. And in my Opinion, he is the funniest here than he probably is in any of the films. Aside from that, that's all I can say about the films plot. As for the characters however, how did they get treated here? Well, of course you got the old characters like Manny, Sid and Diego, but they also added a few new ones like Ellie, Crash and Eddie. Manny got a new character trait with how he is caught up with the fact that he is apparently the last Wooly Mammoth, Diego has a fear of water and Sid is... well... Sid. To add to Manny's plot this film added in Ellie. She is basically his love interest, but to make her more interesting she thinks she is a Possum. I honestly have no issues with these characters. I don't think they are as memorable or likeable as they were in the first film, but they aren't hateable... except for Crash and Eddie. They are annoying. They are not funny. All of their gags are dumb, pandering, modern references and jokes. Why do we have them here? Sid and Scrat are already fine as comic reliefs, so what's the purpose of including them here? I don't know, I'm probably gonna get hate for saying that. One thing that has majorly improved here is the animation. They basically just took the style and flair of the first film and remodeled everything from the ground up to look smoother and it really payed off. In the end, would I recommend this movie? Maybe. If you're younger and just want more Ice Age, sure, go ahead. If you want a sequel that improves on everything that the first film did, then maybe set your expectations a bit lower. Overall, it's an averagely enjoyable flick.