This evolutionary sequel deserves a warm reception. Not only does it pack pack plenty of laughs, incident and adventure into a simple story, it also gets across a few life lessons for the young 'uns without preaching or patronising.

Unlike Disney's recent turkey Chicken Little, Meltdown is cool.

First, the bad news. Fast Tony the wheeler-dealing armadillo (Jay Leno) says that the glacier is melting and anyone who doesn't move out soon will be fish food.

Tony is not the most reliable source but Sid the irritating but big-hearted sloth (Leguizamo), Manny the mopey mammoth ('Everybody Loves Raymond' Romano) and toothy tiger Diego (Leary) discover that he’s right.

Thus begins a mass exodus of Cretaceous critters to safe territory. Though nobody is thrilled by the perilous trip ahead, Manny - fearing that he is the last of his species - is particularly troubled by extinction issues.

His future looks bleak until he and his friends come across comely she-mammoth Ellie (Queen Latifah). Problem is, she thinks she's a possum - just like her two hyperactive 'brothers' Crash and Eddie.

"Her tree doesn't go all the way to the top," sighs Manny. But she has enough sense to listen to the travelling trio, so on they all go.

They all have issues to deal with along the way. Ellie needs a reality check. Manny might have mammoth needs but he also needs to work on his sensitivity. Diego has to face his only fear: water.

Sid, meanwhile, wants some respect. He thinks his dream has come true when he is abducted and treated like a god by a tribe of mini-sloths - until they throw him into a volcano.

Other distractions include a flock of singing vultures, a minefield of boiling geysers and a pair of nasty sea predators.

Then there are the show-stealing interludes with Scrat, the scrawny rodent who, like a prehistoric predecessor of Wile E Coyote, will do anything to capture that elusive acorn.

Hopefully, Meltdown won't mark the end of this fun-filled era.

Elliott Noble