Another week, another sequel. Hollywood, have you absolutely no shame in churning out mindless garbage, devoid of structure and sentiment? Oh wait, of course you don’t!
After mammoth Manny (Ray Romano) denies daughter Peaches (Keke Palmer) the company of teenage crush Ethan, he is separated from her. Conveniently reunited with old friends Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) and Diego the sabre-toothed cat (Denis Leary), yet another journey of saccharine self-discovery transpires, replete with dizzying chase sequence upon hauntingly dull musical number upon clichéd family didacticism. The oh-so-predictable finale between father and daughter will leave even the youngest of infants vomiting everywhere.
Or not.
Blue Sky Pictures and 20th Century Fox hit the jackpot with this one: Ice Age Four grossed $764 million from a $95 million budget. This really does make one lose faith in today’s toddlers. Produced for kids 
with short attention spans, this is animation at its absolute nadir. Why this film needed two directors (whose names I won’t even bother mentioning) is anyone’s guess.
It might even bore you to know that each depthless supporting character is voiced by an equally depthless musician: mammoth jock Ethan by Drake, sultry sabre-toothed cat Shira by J-Lo, mama mammoth Ellie by Queen Latifah and sassy mammoth Steffie by, um, Nicki Minaj. Yes, Ice Age Four’s characters sound more like cast of The Wire. And don’t even get me started on those 90s hairstyles.
Bizarre and unadventurous as the stereotypical casting may be, it is Jason Fuchs’ and Michael Berg’s appallingly written script that is the primary letdown. Descending into platitudes, the audience is even fed little nuggets of studio wisdom when Ellie claims, “piracy doesn’t pay”…as she stamps out a pirate, of course. I mean, really?
Save yourself four hundred rupees and go rent the first Ice Age picture. It’s poignantly funny. Unlike this.
(Review by Rehan Alexander Mudannayake)
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)
Animation | Adventure | Comedy
Manny, Diego, and Sid embark upon another adventure after their continent is set adrift. Using an iceberg as a ship, they encounter sea creatures and battle pirates as they explore a new world.
Directors: Steve Martino, Mike Thurmeier
Writers: Michael Berg (screenplay), Jason Fuchs (screenplay)
Stars: Ray Romano, Denis Leary and John Leguizamo
Now showing at Savoy Cinema
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja-qjGeDBZQ
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