The end of a successful saga

Rating: 4/10 (6 July 2012)

First of all, if you are like me, and were disappointed with this movie, you may be surprised at the ratings on IMDb. For example- The gem of British comedy, Flushed Away, was ranked worse than this. Both Madagascar movies, were ranked worse than this. The third Ice Age installment, was ranked one point off this.
Really? Folks, I'm not going to sugar coat this thing. It was a awful end to a great saga. With the Ice Age movies, I notice each one of them seems to slip deeper and deeper into unrealistic expectations, making it almost impossible for children to believe what is on the screen, as I was doing with the children I had taken with me. First Ice Age - Animals return child to parent. Quite simple, sweet. Second- World is melting, somehow a giant boat will save them all. Pretty weird, but watchable. Third- Dinosaurs under the ice. Right, that's going off the mark. But the character Buck saved the movie with brilliant British comedy and writing.
And then there's this trainwreck. Sid, Manny and Diego, and a Granny of Sids, find themselves battling a ship full of pirates who enjoy singing and bossing little furry creatures around. My god.
I don't even know where to start with this thing. First off, Manny has had the ol 'Disney parent syndrome' slapped on him, and he is dangerously worried about his teenager daughter, Peaches, constantly. We've seen it done in every single daddy-daughter movie. They even had the gall to send Crash and Eddie to watch her frequently. It's like they had just watched Lion King 2, swapped some characters around, then claimed it original.
Peaches problem is just about the most predictable teenage story in the book. > Girl finds cool group. > Ditches lame friends, becomes popular > Regrets it later. Yeah, it's pretty lame. But thats just the start of this...analysis.
Right, so they get separated as continents are drifting at a alarming rate, complete with a pop culture reference about each one which was clearly existent back in the BC. Sid gets dumped with this god awful Granny relative, who is stealing screen time as Sid's side comic relief. She is not funny. Sid is funny. Do not add TWO funny characters in a troupe, it never works. They come across this-ugh, pirate ship, run by a monkey, an elephant seal, a kangaroo, and a predictably female saber tooth tiger. It is awful from there.
This installment even has a song, too. The song itself actually wasn't so bad, but it is SO not in an Ice Age nature to do so, as no other movies did it, that people just kinda were confused as to whether it was a musical. There's a lovely cheesy song at the end too, don't worry. It'll suck any remaining dignity out of the movie.
I'm not even sure if Ice Age 2 or this one is worse. Probably this one, because everything is just so unrealistic. Kids in the audience were even realizing it. It's just a load of action, clichés, corny family messages, and very very predictable rubbish. Keep your money.