Review: Ice Age 4: Continental Drift

Directors: Steve Martino, Mike Thurmeier

Writers: Michael Berg, Jason Fuchs

Thanks to Scrat (Chris Wedge) and his eternal acorn quest, the continents are separating and great land masses are being torn apart. It is no surprise, therefore, when our beloved trio’s herd get ripped away from one another and they have to embark on an epic journey to reunite with their loved ones. In this respect, Ice Age 4: Continental Drift is in very much the same vein as the first two films; but while the plot may be wholly unoriginal, it is a format that works well and makes for a very enjoyable story.

While Diego (Dennis Leary) partakes in a session of egotistical self-love, he is knocked down by a family of sledging sloths. It turns out that these sloths happen to be Sid’s (John Leguizamo) relatives, who stick around just long enough to dump Granny (Wanda Sykes) on him before abandoning her and Sid for a second time.

Meanwhile, Peaches (Keke Palmer) goes to the falls to meet cut boys – or in the case of Ethan (Aubrey Graham), ‘hot’. When Manny (Ray Romano), her over protective father finds out, he crashes the party and embarrasses in front of all her friends. It is here, during a big argument, that an earthquake cracks the ground beneath them, and Manny and his friends are separated from Peaches and his wife, Ellie (Queen Latifah). As they drift out to sea, Manny promises to find them again at the land bridge.

Jeremy Renner was originally cast in the movie, but he dropped out because of scheduling conflicts.

Originally, the story was rumored to involve Manny, Sid, Diego, Ellie and Scrat frozen solid and accidentally defrosted in a museum in present day. The film was to be called "Ice Age: Th4w".

The villain Captain Gutt is a Gigantopithecus which is a prehistoric orangutan.

From http://www.imdb.com/

The film introduces a host of new characters, including Shira (Jennifer Lopez), a sabre-tooth pirate. When I first saw the trailer, I was dubious; I thought she was just going to be a token female love interest for Diego. This is true to an extent, but to be fair, there are other female characters in the film, and the romantic element is kept to a minimum. My only concern now is, if they bring out a fifth film, it might be too overcrowded with characters.

Continental Drift is a marked improvement on the previous sequels, and apart from a few technical inaccuracies (Manny walking across a think plank of wood without it breaking), it is almost on par with the first film. Fully of funny dialogue and stunning visual effects, this animated movie will be enjoyed by young and old alike. While a personal prefer 2D, the action scenes in Continental Drift lend themselves to the 3D experience, and would be worth the extra cost.

Whether in 2D or 3D, I recommend seeing Continental Drift. While the plot devices may be clichéd and overused (getting separated by breaking ice becomes a bit repetitive), the story is still well told and hugely entertaining.