Monday, 2 July 2012

Ice Age 4 - Continental Drift review

Ice Age 4 - Continental Drift (PG, 92 mins)
Directors: Steve Martino, Mike Thurmeier
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Massive returns at the international box office are the driving force behind this agreeable but completely unnecessary fourth trip with animated prehistoric pals Manny the mammoth (Ray Romano), sabre tooth tiger Diego (Denis Leary) and dopey sloth Sid (John Leguizamo). In a terrific setup, nut fanatic Scrat, who remains the undoubted star of the show, unwittingly causes the break-up of Pangea, leaving Manny’s wife and daughter, with whom he’s been squabbling, trapped on the landmass and Manny and pals stranded on an iceberg. The addition of a gang of pirates doesn’t add much except to give the plot some semblance of danger, but the iciness of the world is gleefully utilised, with most of the action involving slipping around like it’s a giant water park. The voice work is fine, a couple of jokes hit the spot and everyone learns the lessons they need to learn, about friendship and family and letting go. It's not the freshest animated franchise in the world, but its heart is in the right place and there's definitely a whole lot worse out there. That means you, The Lorax.

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