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Ice Age 4: Continental Drift Review

August 21, 2012

Although by no means up to the same standard as other animated movies, Ice Age 4: Continental Drift is fine for keeping the kids amused throughout the summer holidays. I doubt adults will share the same opinion

I’ve been pondering over this review for quite some time. As a consequence, I’ll try and make this post a little shorter and just get to the point. As it’s my mum’s favourite film; I’ve seen Ice Age a lot. Whenever I’m over at my parents’ house and it’s on TV, it can’t not be watched. This has resulted in me seeing Scrat and co. far more times than I care to remember. Not that I mind so much; Ice Age is great, as is Ice Age: The Meltdown. Scrat’s nutty pursuit of the cursed acorn, which he’s been after since the dawn of time, has world-changing consequences – a continental cataclysm that triggers the greatest adventure of all for Manny, Diego and Sid. In the wake of these upheavals, Sid reunites with his cantankerous Granny, and the herd encounters a ragtag menagerie of seafaring pirates determined to stop them from returning home. Even Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs isn’t that bad, but they should have left it there. Much like the Shrek Quadilogy should have just been Shrek and Shrek 2; Blue Sky Studios have turned the loveable mammoth and friends into a colossal cash cow. Here’s hoping that the second Ice Age I have seen in an extra dimension, Ice Age 4: Continental Drift; is the last.

As per the previous Ice Age films; Scrat, the scatty sabre toothed squirrel (apparently the most successful character to come out of the franchise) causes yet another historical geographical disaster all because of that blasted acorn. Dubbed as the “greatest adventure of all”; the familiar faces of Manny, Diego and Sid face a number of obstacles that keep them apart from their loved ones. No escapade is complete without an obligatory battle with a rag tag selection of pirates; determined to stop them from returning home. Thankfully, Ice Age 4: Continental Drift contains exactly that.

One would assume, after making millions of dollars and funding seemingly endless sequels, that the people behind Ice Age know what they’re doing. I really don’t think this is the case. Whilst the first couple of films were funny, original and didn’t insult the audience’s intelligence; Ice Age 4: Continental Drift repeats exactly the same jokes and plot lines resulting in such a familiar story that you could have sworn you have seen this film before. And you would be right, you have as the latest edition to the Ice Age family contains splices and morsels from all previous films, resulting in a serious case of deja vu.

It doesn’t seem to matter that Ice Age 4: Continental Drift goes against history (they do, thankfully, highlight that the characters have already fought the dinosaurs; something our prehistoric friends can’t readily explain), nor does it matter that they are recycling the same jokes over and over. What does matter is that Scrat, Manny and Sid will keep children entertained on these balmy summer afternoons. Which, for many, is far more favourable than consistent time frames and fresh jokes.