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Ice Age: Continental Drift brings back the beloved mismatched herd of Manny the mammoth, Sid the sloth and Diego the saber tooth in this fourth installment of the Ice Age franchise. While this may not be the most spectacular Ice Age movie I’ve seen, it’s still a fun time for kids and parents to enjoy.

Manny, Sid, Diego and company are doing their thing when Scrat gets in deeper trouble (literally) by kick starting the continental drift. This causes the trio to be separated from Manny’s mate, Ellie, and teenager daughter, Peaches as well as the twin opossums, Eddie and Crash. While the herd and the rest of the landlocked animals find shelter against the giant walls of tectonic plates pushing toward them, Manny, Sid and Diego battle an angry prehistoric orangutan and his scurvy pirate crew in order to get back to land. As always, Scrat steals the show in his scenes involving his beloved acorn and the quest to discover the legendary Isle of Acorns.

Ice Age keeps getting better and better with the cast list in each of its movies. From Jennifer Lopez as a female saber-tooth/love interest to HBO Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage serving as the sinister Captain Gutt, it will have you cruising through IMDB’s entry of Ice Age: Continental Drift as you try to pinpoint the voice actors. Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Dennis Leary are still great as the leading three, as well as their co-stars Queen Latifah and newcomers Keke Palmer and the always-amusing Wanda Sykes as Sid’s hilarious grandma.

Personally, I wasn’t a fan of the whole pirate ordeal plotline. While it seems to me that FOX and Blue Sky Studio are about to beat this Ice Age franchise to death, tossing in a cliché antagonist in an oddly-placed timeline like the Ice Age didn’t help the case. Though, Ice Age has proven it’s worthy of three hit movies, as the franchise has made over $2 billion at the worldwide box office, which is $100 million more than the Toy Story trilogy earned. But I’m not so sure if a fourth one was necessary.

Overall, touching moments of what it means to be a family ring true throughout the movie. From Manny learning how to communicate with Peaches to Diego realizing his soft side toward a particular someone, families will enjoy this light-hearted and humorous movie. Though, I’m hoping that this will be the last Ice Age we see before the franchise melts to a mush.

Until next time,
Rachel