Ice Age: Continental Drift–Time to Let Go

It’s hard to believe that nearly a decade has passed since I’ve seen the first Ice Age. In the original movie, a cranky mammoth, a klutzy sloth, and a fiercely independent saber tooth tiger reluctantly team up in order to protect an Inuit baby from the cold and from starvation. One might describe it as the animal equivalent of “Three Men and a Baby” set in the Ice Age. In addition to featuring rather intense life and death scenarios, it  illustrated how these vastly different outsiders became friends. Although Ice Age: Continental Drift is a decent adventure film for kids, it definitely falls flat as a formulaic, star-studded work. It’s time for 20^th Century Fox to let go of this animated series and move on to better works.

Scrat (Chris Wedge), the bumbling saber-toothed squirrel, inadvertently causes the continental drift as he pursues an acorn (Am I the only one that finds him annoying instead of cute and funny?). The animation impressively depicts the dissolution of Pangaea, and this sets off the premise of the film.

But of course we have to catch up with our main characters—Manny (Ray Romano), like many fathers of adolescents, struggles to understand and communicate with his teenage daughter, Peaches (Keke Palmer), who resents any sort of curfew and thinks only about the neighborhood hotshot. Sid’s family, who abandoned him during the Ice Age, leaves him with his zany eighty-year-old Granny (Wanda Sykes). And while the family is squabbling, the continental drift intervenes to separate Manny from his wife (Queen Latifah) and daughter. He must join forces once again with his old friends, Diego (Denis Leary) and Sid (John Leguizamo), to return home and reunite with his family. Meanwhile, the plate continues to shift and destroy their home. A band of pirates, headed by the sinister Captain Gutt, confiscate the trio of their supplies and hijack their iceberg-ship.  

Like most animated films, Ice Age: Continental Drift celebrates the value of family, love, and friendship. The adventure plot is appropriately simple for the young kids to follow—the four characters have to get from point A to point B, or else they will never see their loved ones again. The movie includes a common subplot in which the teenage daughter wishes her parent would disappear, and Mother Nature grants that wish. Of course, the daughter learns to appreciate her father during their period of separation. While this may sound sweet, we’ve already seen movies in which parent and child start to understand one another only after encountering life-and-death situations.

It seems that they included the teenage drama subplot in order to attract not only young children but also teenyboppers who just want to fit in. This movie basically imbues animals with not only human emotions and concerns but also overdone tropes. Of course, by the end of the film, Peaches will learn to appreciate her real friends and to accept herself for who she is.

In order to promote the absolute importance of family and love, this third sequel finds a mate for its lone ranger. Diego finds a love interest in Gutt’s first mate, a sassy white female saber tooth (Jennifer Lopez), who hasn’t yet realized the value of herd loyalty and love. All in all, a contrived addition of a love interest contributed to the movie’s overall predictability and formulaic nature. But then again, no man is an island, and who’s to say that Diego is an exception to this rule?

But I always did like the idea that friendship and loyalty can be just as, if not more, powerful and effective than brute force and strength, which Gutt embodies. When everything seems to be going wrong, the trio finds instrumental support from both old and new friends. No matter what happens, your friends will be there to support you. Both the returning and new characters are on the whole, very sweet and adorable, and you just want to give all of them a hug by the end of the movie.

For some reason, this Ice Age tried to incorporate some Disney elements, such as characters randomly breaking out into song. Perhaps I have outgrown this genre, but Captain Gutt’s song about his ferocious crew felt a little silly. But when all else fails, you can always count on sweet old Granny and the bumpkin elephant seal (Nick Frost) to make you laugh.

Although I did not find this film to be especially authentic or refreshing, the adventure aspects are decent and it will still provide young kids with an enjoyable experience. It’s a feel-good movie that people of all ages can enjoy. While the movie often gets very cheesy (especially with the song at the end that celebrates happy families), it’s definitely a safe choice for families with young children.