A bit of an improvement over the third, but not nearly as strong as the first

Rating: 7/10 (15 February 2013)

It's been a long time since I watched the first Ice Age when I was a little kid and only saw the second film in theaters, but not the third because I knew that it was going to be a disappointment. When I watched it, however, I thought it was OK. Then, Blue Sky made yet another Ice Age movie and being a bit of a Ice Age fan, I went to see this with my dad in theaters before Thanksgiving. Later, we had a great time and I think that this is a pretty good sequel. It's not as strong as the original Ice Age, but it's a bit better than Dawn of the Dinosaurs.
Let me start off the bad points of the movie. The story does have some charming moments including the battle between the main characters and the pirates along with the final battle between Manny and Captain Gutt, but it lacks the heart and wit of the original film and has several scenes that are completely rushed. The dialog is very contrived and the minute length could've been a little bit longer.
Now to the good points. The animation is fantastic especially the ice that floats. The character animation is pretty good too with some nice details on the fur. The main characters from the first three films are still as charming. I liked Peaches, but the best character goes to Captain Gutt who is a great villain thanks to Peter Dinklage's performance. Some of the voice work including Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah and others are as strong. The music from John Powell is rousing and energetic and the there are some gags that gave me a chuckle or two.
Overall, Ice Age: Continental Drift isn't an excellent sequel, but like I said before, it's marginally better than Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Blue Sky Studios is making another Ice Age and I wish they would've ended the franchise with this installment.