Movie Review: Ice Age Continental Drift

We took the young guys to see “Ice Age Continental Drift” (Rated PG, 88 min, released July 13, 2012 from 20^th Century FOX) this weekend. It was exactly what you would expect in a movie that’s on its fourth installment in the franchise.

The beloved main players are back – Manny (Ray Romano), Diego (Denis Leary), Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) and Manny’s wife Ellie (Queen Latifah).

The pre-historic squirrel Scrat (Director Chris Wedge) is again wreaking havoc on the planet in pursuit of his precious acorn. This time, his search has caused the continents to drift apart like sponges in a bathtub. It reminded me of Georgia’s Representative Hank Johnson’s 2010 testimony about his worry that Guam was going to tip over.

The drift causes the mammoth family to split apart with Manny and his gang separated from his wife and their sweet yet rebellious teenage Peaches (Keke Palmer) on different chunks of land and ice.

A new villain is introduced – a vile pirate baboon (aren’t all monkeys freaky anyway?) named Captain Gutt (voiced by Peter Dinklage). He and his motley crew try their best to keep Manny from reuniting with his family. One of the crew includes a sleek tigress Shira (Jennifer Lopez) who catches Diego’s eye.

The underlying challenge of the movie is about how to be a good friend. Peaches acts horribly to her devoted (and enamored) molehog friend Louis (Modern Family’s Josh Gad) who still stands up to Gutt even when he’s terrified and tiny. Shira betrays Diego after a flirtation but eventually makes good and changes her ways.

There is some peril – the land masses falling apart and shifting, the pirates wielding fishbone knifes and the threat the family will be separated permanently might be a little worrisome for kids. There is also a scene where freaky siren creatures lure the animals too close to the rocks by appearing to be appealing members of the opposite sex. That could be a little weird from younger kids.

The only questionable word is when Sid is surprised by a giant crab and yells “Holy Crab” at the top of his lungs. My youngest ran around the house saying that afterwards and it sounds a LOT like “Holy Crap,” which kids hear on tv all the time but you may not like them bringing that home from the theater.

You can imagine the end – I don’t have to spoil it but it’s a cute movie. I’d recommend the early show to help save a little money and because you’ll feel better about yourselves. It has some funny moments, nothing too gratuitous beyond a couple of butt jokes.

Good summer movie entertainment – there were 25 MINUTES of previews (almost NONE of which we will be seeing because of their dark and creepy themes) so take your time getting your seats if you have any worries about keeping the kids captivated for the 88 minutes the movie runs.

Photo:  www.iceagemovie.com

Marijo Tinlin is the Editor in Chief of Family First, one of the oldest family-oriented websites on the internet. She writes for Eagle Publishing’s Family Events, is the Managing Editor of www.myColoradoview.com and she runs a small business with her husband. She is also the author of a book about patriotism and teaching our children to love this country called “How to Raise an American Patriot, Making it Okay for Our Kids to Be Proud to Be American.”  It features 13 interviews with patriotic Americans including Ed Meese, Erick Erickson and Jackie Gingrich Cushman. It’s available at www.raisinganamericanpatriot.com.