The first commercials for Ice Age: The Meltdown have been posted online. We saw some of them in a meeting the other day but one thing is standing out. There is a line in one of the commercials that was replaced. Instead of the word, "Damn!", a beaver says, "Dang!"  Is 'damn' really still a swear word? TV has been more and more lenient in language with continuous use of the word 'ass' and other borderline material. Even cable networks have started allowing the four letter words occasionally. Sure, "Ice Age: The Meltdown" is targeted towards kids, but 'Damn!' (said in a very animated and comical way) doesn't strike me as offensive. Perhaps that's it. Perhaps they just didn't want to run the risk of offending people with it. Although... I question the type of person who would be offended by it. The line in the movie has more context, it's not just a character "swearing", but still. The line is extremely funny as it was written, and coincidentally, the voice is my friend George (aka "the talent"). We're not sure who overdubbed the commercial, but it definitely doesn't have the humor the original line had. Perhaps trading a good funny line grabber, for not offending the way-too-easily offended. It's a wash in my book.Do kids need to hear the word? While I'd imagine most kids who see this film will be  well beyond 'damn', most animated films these days have a slew of ass, poop, and fart jokes built right in (yes, prior Blue Sky films included). I think this is worse. Enough of my banter. Not a big deal really, but I still wonder, is 'damn' still a swear word? Even to the religious population?