After Human Encounter, Global Warming, and Dinosaurs, the Continent is Splitting

Rating: 7/10 (16 July 2012)

We've arrived at the fourth chapter in the "Ice Age" franchise, and believe it or not, it's been a decade since the original film. The fourth one offers a great time for families, and is hilarious. However, after reaching its peak in "Dawn of the Dinosaurs", I felt that "Continental Drift" was unsatisfying when compared to predecessors.
After protecting a human child, avoiding a meltdown, and surviving dinosaurs, the super continent of Pangeaea is separating into today's continents. All this is caused by our lovable squirrel Scrat, accidentally due to his endless quest to get his acorn. This causes a large landmass to move and separates Manny from his family (wife Ellie and now-grown daughter Peaches). Manny, along with sloth Sid, saber-toothed tiger Diego, and Sid's "lunatic" Granny, now stranded on a small block of floating ice, attempt to return back. Meanwhile, the moving landmass forces Ellie, Peaches and the other animals to head to a land bridge.
During their little journey, Manny, Sid, Diego, and Granny encounter a crew of pirates led by the ape Captain Gutt. From here on, we experience a whole lot more action scenes than we expected and needed and makes "Continental Drift" as the most action-packed installment of the series yet. While this is the most action-packed yet, I still think that the story is a bit lacking in richness. This installment lacks subplots causing me to believe that the filmmakers might have been quite lazy when writing the film. In fact, they recycled some of the elements from the previous films for this one. Quite embarrassing when the previous installments were all brilliant.
There were some subplots that try to enrich the story but some of them are just mediocre at best. This refers to the love subplot between Diego and one of Captain Gutt's apprentices, a saber-toothed tiger named Shira. After Diego saved her life, a relationship sparked but it had poor development. I felt it was too rushed and it would have been killer if they had been more careful. But well, it's a family movie. There's another one which features a love triangle between Peaches (Manny and Ellie's 19-year-old daughter), Louis (a mole hog who is Peaches's best friend and who has a crush on Peaches), and Ethan (the popular mammoth whom Peaches has a crush on and is unexpectedly voiced by rapper Drake). This one was done perfectly and was impressive.
I also felt that the film lacked that heart and touching feeling we experienced in the previous three films. I mean, we were sort of tickled when we discovered Manny's desire for family in the first film, and when we discovered Ellie's past in the second film, and when we saw Sid say his final goodbyes to the dinosaurs in the third film. In "Continental Drift" that feeling is gone. Nowhere to be found. I personally felt that that was one of the strongest points of the "Ice Age" films but it was nowhere to be found in this one.
For the first time, we catch a glimpse of Sid's family. That includes his mother, father, Granny and etc. Apparently they only came to dump "lunatic" Granny for Sid before they escaped because Granny is too hard to handle. Granny later on makes an addition to the trio and despite being sort of crazy, she proved to be useful in the climax of the scene.
In "Continental Drift" we meet new species of animals. We meet an ape, kangaroo, wild boar, rabbit, badger, elephant seal, a Blue-footed Booby, and more. Most of them are part of Gutt's crew. But interestingly, we meet a creature that is part of legend, Greek mythology to be exact. They are none other than the Sirens. They take on the appearance of loved ones to lure the animals into danger. They are indeed deadly, but were almost unable to lure Scrat, after taking the form of former girlfriend Scratte.
Speaking of Scrat, his quest to grab that acorn continues. This time, he encounters a map that would take him to the heaven of acorns, Scratlantis. He doesn't interact with the trio like they did in the previous installment. Even if you thought it would be exhausting to see him again and again, it never gets old. Seeing Scratch's futile attempts at getting his hands on the acorn is just hilarious.
I have to say the animation was excellent. It was wonderful, flawless and extremely detailed. This is a significant improvement over the previous three installments. The 3D works although it isn't mandatory.
There is a big crew of voice talents behind the studio. Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, and Denis Leary, reprise their roles as Manny, Sid, and Diego, respectively and they are still better than ever. Queen Latifah also reprises her role as Ellie as she drives her character with power. Keke Palmer fills in the role of Manny and Ellie's teenage daughter Peaches, who is stubborn and grown-up. Some of today's hottest singers are also here. Rapper Drake fills in the voice of Ethan whereas Nicki Minaj provides the voice of Steffie, another woolly mammoth. We even have Jennifer Lopez filling in for Shira.
"Continental Drift" may not be a worthy follow-up to the previous installments but it promises to be a great fun time in the theaters for families. It's hilarious and the most action-packed entry of the series yet. I just felt that it didn't capture the heart of the previous installments and the story wasn't rich enough. But hey, it's a family movie not a drama film.
Rating: 7/10
Final Verdict: It may not compare to its brilliant predecessors but "Continental Drift" is a promising movie-going experience for families filled with hilarious moments and action-packed sequences.