Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)

Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) is an American animated adventure comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Our main characters, Manny, Sid, and Diego reside in a valley surrounded by a high ice wall. They soon discover that the ice wall is actually a dam holding back a reservoir that could flood their home. Urged by a vulture, they must reach a boat at the other end of the valley within three days to potentially save themselves. As they face this urgent situation, more challenges arise. For Manny, there is also the looming possibility of being the last mammoth alive. Additionally, Diego’s severe fear of water is revealed due to his inability to swim. Meanwhile, two ancient sea creatures, Cretaceous and Maelstrom who have been frozen since the Mesozoic era are awakened by melting ice and plan to feast on all the mammals during the flood. On their journey towards survival, our trio meets Ellie, a mammoth who believes she is an opossum, along with Crash and Eddie, two playful opossums whom Ellie mistakes for her brothers.

Sid invites them to join their journey to the boat and Ellie readily accepts. Following a harrowing encounter with Cretaceous and Maelstrom while crossing a pond, Sid takes it upon himself to teach Diego how to swim, while at the same time, Ellie has an epiphany and realizes her true identity as a mammoth. Despite developing feelings for her, Manny initially denies them due to his fear of replacing his late wife and child. However, things change when they must work together to survive a dangerous situation caused by the ground cracking under their feet. This bonding experience brings them closer together, but their relationship takes a temporary setback when Manny suggests ‘saving their species’. Eventually though, they reconcile when they have no choice but to co-operate again in order to save themselves from danger. As the night falls and the rest of the herd dozes off, Sid faces a bizarre predicament when he is abducted by a tribe of mini-sloths who believe him to be a deity of fire and plan on sacrificing him by throwing him into a volcano. Fortunately, Sid manages to escape and reunites with the group as they awaken from their slumber.