Ice Age 4: Continental Drift

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 27th July, 2012
Time : 88 minutes
Director : Steve Martino, Mike Thurmeier; Writers : Michael Berg, Jay Fuchs; Music : John Powell
Starring (voices of): Ray Romano, Dennis Leary, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Lopez, Peter Dinklage, Josh Gad, Kunal Nayyar, Wanda Sykes

Our herd is split. Ellie & Peaches, Manny’s ‘wife’ & daughter, are left behind as the continents begin to break up. The rest of the herd (Manny, Diego, Sid), along with Sid’s grandmother, is adrift on an iceberg. Manny has sworn to return and reunite. Storms, whirlpools, pirates, sirens and many other obstacles will test that resolve. Will he succeed ? And more pertinently, will Scrat ever get that goddamn acorn ?

A more complicated storyline, many new characters coupled with a greater reliance on slapstick humour makes this the weakest film in the franchise. There are fewer catchy one-liners. Its predictable and there are just too many threads to keep track of. Peaches juggling between her crush (Ethan, the mammoth) and friend (Louis, the mole). Diego’s new rival, Shira. The ruthless pirate Captain Gutt, with his bloodthirsty, yet bumbling, crew. Manny’s troubled relationship with his daughter thanks to his over-protectiveness. And last but not the least, Sid’s grandmom and her mysterious, invisible pet.

Having said that, its short, its fun, its breezy and keeps your attention hooked for its one and a half hour duration, making you laugh in a few places and smile in a lot more. Keeps the kids thoroughly entertained. Scrat and his fascination for the elusive acorn, continues to endear and provides for a lot of the laughs. I liked the way they’ve kept the characters consistent, in terms of the behavior, throughout the four films. They’ve developed nicely as the films have progressed.

With the continents breaking off, icebergs calving and the climate becoming increasingly warmer, it seems to be the end of the Ice Age. However, in true Hollywood style, there is always an opening left for another sequel…

PS : Historically, apparently the continental divide happened a couple of hundred million years prior to the Ice Age…

PPS : There is an Indian voice too, Kunal Nayyar (of Big Bang Theory fame). A skunk, no less…wonder if this will raise an outcry ?