One of the Only Times I've Thought a Franchise is Best Off Ending With #4

Rating: 7/10 (2 September 2012)

Ice Age 4: Continental Drift is the latest installment into Blue Sky Studio's big franchise. It's about how the continents of the Earth drift into their own directions, and all this affects our main characters. Is this movie as good as any of the previous movies, maybe even the first? Or does it fall into the typical third sequel-category?
I had fun watching Ice Age 4. That's mainly because I have so many great memories from watching the first Ice Age movie. I did not watch the second movie until I was much older, and the third movie is obviously not old enough for me to have grown up with. But anyway, I really like the first movie, and I think it's definitely one of the best animated movies not done by Disney, Pixar or DreamWorks. The second movie was good, but not as great. Same goes for the third one, which did try something new with a brand new environment and story, which I liked. But this fourth goes back to the traditional Ice Age style.
As I stated, the reason I really liked this one was because of the nostalgia. It was fun seeing some of my favorite animated characters back on the big screen again (the first movie is actually the first movie I saw in theaters). I enjoyed the humor (some of the jokes fell flat, but it was overall funny), and as I said, I enjoyed the characters. One of the things I didn't care about, however, was the story...
The story is the same as Ice Age 2, only dumped down. It's the same "the environment is becoming dangerous to live in, so we gotta move in packs to a safe location before the time is out"-concept that was used in Ice Age 2. The only differences is that the three main characters are separated from the pack, and that the movie would include some elements such as pirate villains and of course the continental drift concept.
Another problem with the movie is that it had some terrible musical numbers. One is to introduce the main villain (which by the way, I didn't like at all), which is a cliché opera-style villain theme that's been used in multiple Disney movies. And then there's a credits song, that's just the worst thing ever. I have never heard something this embarrassing in the theatre all year!
Overall, Ice Age 4: Continental Drift is hugely flawed, but still enjoyable if you like the previous movies in the series, especially Ice Age 2. With the same memorable characters from the previous installments, some very nice-looking animation and scenery and funny moments, this is a movie that parent should consider taking their kid(s) to.