Drifting Further Away From The Charm Of The Original

Rating: 4/10 (13 July 2016)

The Ice Age series is one of the more endearing animated franchise from the past decade. The first was a heartwarming and genuinely funny adventure taking place during the time of mammoths, sabertooth tigers, and clumsy sloths. The first sequel lost a lot of that magic, but Dawn of the Dinosaurs did do some fresh things with the series. However, generally, over time, the films have gained plenty of characters, but lost most of its charm. The fourth in the series, Continental Drift, is the least exciting, least funny, and cheapest of the bunch. That's not to say that Ice Age 4 doesn't have its moments: the main characters still have their appeal and there are a few good laughs, but it is clear that the Ice Age train is running out of steam here.
Continental Drift kicks off with the lovable rodent Scrat causing the continents to drift apart. The trio of Manny, Diego, and Sid are soon embarking on an adventure adrift on the open sea. They meet up with pirates (and a whole collection of new characters) and try to find their way home. The plots of the Ice Age films have gotten simpler as they go, instead relying on introducing as many new characters as possible.
The problem with Ice Age 4 is that none of the new characters are memorable, funny, or charming. The effort just seems to be down here. Ray Romano, Dennis Leary, and John Leguizamo, still manage to breath some life into the picture, but the passion is clearly not there like it was in 2002. The animation is also less-than-stellar. Ice Age Continental Drift could be a TV movie and I wouldn't know the difference. It's just cheap.
There are some moments of wit and excitement in Ice Age 4, but on the whole, it is an exercise in diminishing returns. Most of the passion and effort of the series is gone, leading to a generic and, dare I say, boring animated adventure. Look elsewhere for family fun.
42/100