Soundtrack Review: Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)

Posted by Jon Blough

August 12, 2009

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Front Cover This is a review of the motion picture score Ice Age: The Meltdown by John Powell.

“An addictive, rambunctious joy”

By now John Powell appears to reign supreme over the animation genre, at least in terms of quantitative output. The composer has averaged one animated score per year during the 2000s, and all have maintained an impressive amount of energy and ruckus, even with some of the latter entries in the decade becoming more familiar and less consistent. Considering Powell’s prior score was for 20th Century Fox’ Robots, it was not surprising to see the studio bring the composer in to take over the Ice Age scores from David Newman, who produced a likeable but ultimately anonymous effort for the first film. Was it a good move? Is the score fun? Does Scrat save the day? Find out more below! (too much exuberance on my part?)

Peppy Main Motif

Powell’s main motif is as peppy as they come, full of plenty of finger-snapping, toe-tapping excitement in every performance. The infectious, jazzy nature of the theme spills over into most of the score, crafting a very jovial atmosphere throughout. Newman’s similar peppy motif for the first Ice Age tended to become anonymous as it became more frenetic, but the increased tempo and ruckus suits Powell’s theme much better, allowing for free-spirit abandon in “Sad Manny and the Possums”. Even those rankled by such fare will have trouble saying “No” to the album. Certainly part of the score’s selling point is its wonderfully diverse range of percussion, whether the trek-like beats of “Migration” or the more plucky nature of “Call of the Mammoth” and “Traveling With Possums”. It’s this element, as well as the score’s often-upbeat energy, that gives even the moments of pure comedy a memorable identity, something Newman’s score for the series couldn’t pull off even at its most energetic. If nothing else, it’s better than Powell returning to his tired drumpads from his early days at Media Ventures.

Other Attractive Elements

If such rambunctious fare isn’t your thing, be advised the score does have a number of other attractive elements. The theme for the mammoths is both stately and sprightly, qualities both found in “12 Ton Mammoth and A 10 Ton Possum”. Anyone not blown away by the performance in the climactic “Mammoths” needs a better speaker system. An additional theme for the group pops up throughout, giving the score more freewheeling joy in “Extreme Possum” yet also being light and elegant in “Log Moving” and “Goodnight Sweet Possums”. The action material is good as a whole though it certainly gets better as it goes along. “Attack From Below The Ice” may be a bit too harsh for some listeners and the enjoyable “Foggy Balance” does owe some rhythms to David Arnold’s Bond scores (which would be reprised in the composer’s score for Bolt), but the stretch from “Manny To The Rescue” to “The Water Recedes” is about as dynamic as the composer gets.
Conclusion

Some listeners think that Powell’s animation scores all sound the same, and there is merit in pointing out that most of his ventures in the genre during this decade have upheld a wild sense of slapstick. Yet Meltdown’s consistency and upbeat approach make the package far too addictive. The only real jolting moments are the ones solely for fans of the films. The “Food Glorious Food” cue breaks the mood, and the Sing-A-Long cues, while inventive, get a bit tiresome after a while. Does anyone really feel like having prehistoric squirrels squealing out of their speakers? Didn’t think so. Thankfully, such moments are few and far between, and the adaptation of the Adagio from Spartacus is downright hilarious. It speaks volumes about the score that it is still an addictive joy even with the sequel music for Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs being more furious and heroic. Meltdown would kick off a very good year for the composer as he would later pull off the scores for X-Men: The Last Stand and Happy Feet, though for some, the unabashed joy within this score would stand above the rest.

Album (62:58)
1. The Waterpark (2:24)
2. The Vulture of Doom (1:19)
3. Migration (3:32)
4. Call of the Mammoth (1:52)
5. Sad Manny and the Possums (1:44)
6. Manny and Ellie Meet (3:44)
7. Traveling with Possums (2:00)
8. 12 Ton Mammoth & a 10 Ton Possum (1:55)
9. Attack from Below the Ice (2:04)
10. Extreme Possum (1:50)
11. Who Will Join Me on the Dung Heap? (0:44)
12. Log Moving (0:59)
13. Ellie Remembers (2:41)
14. Foggy Balance (3:53)
15. Goodnight Sweet Possums (0:48)
16. Kidnapped (0:56)
17. Sid’s Sing-a-Long (2:08)
18. Food Glorious Food (1:34)
19. The Boat and the Geysers (2:40)
20. The Dam Breaks (1:54)
21. Ellie Gets Trapped (0:32)
22. Manny to the Rescue (2:08)
23. Rescues All Round (3:05)
24. Scrat to the Rescue (1:28)
25. The Water Recedes (1:52)
26. Mammoths (1:24)
27. With the Herd (0:25)
28. Into the Sunset (3:00)
29. The Pearly Gates (“Adagio” from Spartacus) (1:32)
30. CPR (0:14)
31. Mini-Sloths Sing-a-long (2:13)
32. The Meltdown (4:24)