Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) - You Can't Keep A Good Series Down

Ice Age: Continental Drift - At Least There are No Dinosaurs in this One

"Ice Age: Continental Drift" (2012), the follow-up to 2009's "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," 2006's "Ice Age: The Meltdown," and 2002's "Ice Age," was yet another blockbuster box office success. It took in $874 million worldwide, virtually assuring that this will not be the end of Sid the Sloth (John Lequizamo), Diego the prehistoric tiger (Denis Leary), Manny the Mammoth (Ray Romano), Ellie the Mammoth (Queen Latifah), the possum brothers (Seann William Scott and Josh Peck), Buck the weasel (Simon Pegg), and, last but not least, Scrat the squirrel (Chris Wedge). When the recurring cast list of an animated film starts getting that long, you know it is a bit long in the tooth. However, against all the odds, the "Ice Age" series has endured to become one of the most successful Hollywood franchises in history.

It is several years after the events of "Dawn of the Dinosaurs," and Manny and Ellie have a teenage daughter, Peaches (Keke Palmer) who has become interested in boys. This subplot, though, gets quickly swept aside by larger events. Meanwhile, Sid reunited with his family, but again has been abandoned along with his Granny (Wanda Sykes).

The continents separate, thanks to Scrat and his acorn, and Manny gets stuck on an iceberg with Sid and Diego. Granny winds up in a tree in the iceberg. Ellie, Peaches and many other animals are on a landmass moving towards a land bridge. The herd encounters an ice ship manned by animal pirates led by ape Captain Gutt (Peter Dinklage) and smilodon first mate Shira (Jennifer Lopez). He makes them walk the plank, but they escape and in the process sink the ship.

The herd makes it back home, while Shira changes sides. Gutt creates a new ship out of ice and sets out after the herd to get his revenge. The herd reaches the land bridge, but Gutt captures Ellie and Peaches and prepares to kill them. Manny and Gutt then duel it out to the death as the herd searches for a new home.

Directed by Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier, with a screenplay by Michael Berg, Jason Fuchs and Lori Forte, Blue Sky Studios and Twentieth Century Fox are at the point of simply milking this concept for all that it is worth. The original idea was for the leads to be frozen in block of ice and thawed out in the present day, but, then, that would make further sequels a little more difficult - or at least make calling them "Ice Age" problematic. In any event, Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha, who between them directed all the preceding installments, are around as Executive Producers to make sure their legacy isn't tarnished too much.

There is no question that this "Ice Age" has similarities with "Madagascar," though set in different time periods. While each series has it devotees, "Ice Age" has done more business. Both series are aimed at kids, so they almost seem like they go together despite the different voice actors.

There are so many characters that some of the hold-overs, such as the Possum brothers, get little screen time. Character development is tough under those circumstances, and the plot has degenerated to the cartoonish. Even the antics of Scrat, which provided awesome comic relief in the previous films, are wearing a bit thin. There are plenty of goofy laughs if that is what you are after, and, given the huge box office, that certainly seems to be enough for a lot of people.

The "Ice Age" franchise seems to be running out of steam with this entry. The list of characters is expanding while the stories get more outlandish. It is slapstick humor which adults are likely to find increasingly tiresome, but small children are still enthralled by all the colorful 3-D animation animals. Be prepared to put the DVD on constantly for days when you get it, just be sure to tape the glasses on your child or something.

Should you go out of your way to see "Ice Age: Continental Drift"? It is an OK film if you have invested time in the first three installments, but this probably is not the one you want to start out with. And even if you saw the first three, this isn't one I would waste too much time on.

2012

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Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) - Ice Age Gets Hot!

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - You Just Knew They Would Work Dinosaurs into this Series At Some Point

The "Ice Age" series hits its peak with "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" (2009). Directed once again by Carlos Saldanha (along with Mike Thurmeier), Blue Sky Studios and Twentieth Century Fox do precisely what they were told not to do by the experts they consulted before the first film: mix dinosaurs and the Ice Age. In doing so, they hit the box office jackpot, earning back ten times the cost of this film as people flocked to see the two things every kid seems to want in an animation film: laughs and dinosaurs. For those who were a tad disappointed in the second film, which kind of just drifted along, this revived interest in the series and led to yet another sequel, 2012's "Ice Age: Continental Drift."

We're rollin', we're rollin' along....

This time around, Manny (Ray Romano) and Ellie (Queen Latifah), two friendly wooly mammoths, have overcome their differences and are expecting a child. Diego (Denis Leary), the prehistoric tiger, is unable to catch an annoying gazelle (Bill Hader) he has been following and feels he is losing his hunting edge. Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo), feeling a bit left out, decides that he, too, should be a father. He finds three eggs in an icy cave and takes them, believing they are abandoned.

Believe me, this looks better with the 3-D glasses

It turns out that Sid's three eggs in fact were not abandoned, and are from a Tyrannosaurus Rex. The angry mother returns and carries them and Sid back into the cave. Diego, Manny, Ellie and the two possum brothers Crash (Seann William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck) follow the dinosaur through the cave and into a hidden jungle full of dinosaurs. Disaster looms from an attacking dinosaur, but the group gets help from a one-eyed weasel named Buck (Simon Pegg).

This was released on Blu-Ray and DVD; some versions have a second "Scrat Pack" disc of games

Buck leads the rescuers through the jungle to Lava Falls, where the mother T. Rex has taken Sid and the baby dinosaurs. Along the way, they have to cross the Chasm of Death, which is full of laughing gas and causes travellers to laugh themselves right into the chasm.

Well, hello there!

The mother dinosaur takes a liking to Sid, who energetically tries to feed the baby dinosaurs. Sid, though, is attacked by Rudy, a fish-eating dinosaur that previously had attacked Buck. Ultimately, Buck, Crash and Eddie have to try and save Sid. At the same time, Ellie goes into labor, and later the group has to try and find its way out of the dinosaur jungle and back to their home.

The 3-D really does make the dinosaurs look scarier

Scrat (Chris Wedge), meanwhile, is still worried about his nuts, but finds a female saber-toothed squirrel named Scratte (Karen Disher) with whom he loves and fights. Does Scrat get the girl and the acorn? We have to wait to the very end of the film to find out.

The Possum Brothers add comic relief

Blue Sky really changed the game plan with this film. When the series began, it had consulted with scientists to try and get as accurate with its characters as possible. At this point, though, with the characters firmly established, it threw scientific accuracy out the window and went for a crowd-pleasing tale full of scary dinosaurs and cute little dinosaur children. If you were a purist about the series, this was the episode to skip, but if you were a little kid, one look at the dinosaurs and you were probably clamoring for mom to take you to see it.

Aw, look at the cute little baby dinosaurs, they couldn't hurt you - right?

The 3-D animation is nicely crafted, looking much improved and definitely worth the trouble. The pace is noticeably faster than the second film, "Ice Age: The Meltdown." The jokes also seemed to work better in this episode, as everyone just sits back and lets it rip without any pretensions to this being a serious examination of anything. It does follow down the path of the second film, though, in its continued lack of much originality. With the characterizations set in stone, this is like another episode of a TV series where we know what to expect, and everyone delivers as expected. Once again, John Powell does the music (along with many, many other animation films, including the upcoming, highly anticipated "How to Train Your Dragon 2").  Chris Wedge, who directed the first film, oversees everything as Executive Producer.

My, what big teeth you have....

Clearly, the series moves further toward the younger part of the audience spectrum with this effort. This is a crowd-pleaser more than a critic-pleaser, and on that scale it works very well. Children are apt to find the baby dinosaurs and mammal kids fantastically endearing. and everybody loves Scrat. Adults should not be worried about having to see this, though: they will find plenty to like, as the series sprinkles pop culture references around liberally. With the pressure of establishing the franchise behind him, Ray Romano as Manny shines with the kind of humor that made him a favorite on television

Maybe they got the first divorce?

As far as the underlying theme goes, it is all about family and the next generation, so it can't be all bad in terms of its effects on kids. The breakout star continues to be Scrat, and Chris Wedge continues to voice him as he rides out perhaps the most successful director's cameo in film history. For the third film in the franchise, a position that often leads to disaster, this is a worthy effort. Get "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" on Blu-Ray, strap on those 3-D glasses, and be prepared to have a fun trip back in time.

2012

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Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) - Let's Do the Meltdown Shuffle with Manny, Sid and Diego!

Ice Age: The Meltdown - Scrat Takes Over the Franchise

When we last left our intrepid ice-age denizens Manny (Ray Romano), Sid (John Leguizamo) and Diego (Denis Leary) in, um, "Ice Age," they had survived the first rumblings of global cooling and taken care of a human child entrusted to their care. They're not out of the woods igloo yet, though: so far they've seen just the beginning of their troubles. In "Ice Age: The Meltdown" (2006), one of our heroes starts thinking about starting a family - and we all know that's when the real trouble usually starts.

Scrat just can't get rid of that nut!

Echoing the first film, this one has Scrat (Chris Wedge) trying to bury a nut, this time on a glacier. He manages to pound it in, but then out spurts a jet of water. It just so happens that the ice is melting. Once again, Scrat appears in hilarious vignettes elsewhere in the film.

Diego was supposed to be killed off in the first film!

Manny hasn't seen another mammoth like himself for... ages, but one day he stumbles upon what must be the last female mammoth left on earth. They can't tolerate each other, but there's something more: turns out she's crazy and thinks she's a possum. Now, we've all dealt with crazy partners - oh, wait, that's just me - OK, we usually know someone who's dealt with a crazy partner with baggage. Ellie (Queen Latifah), though, goes one step further and actually brings hers out in the open in the form of what she claims are her two possum "brothers."

I love that expression on Sid's face

The two possums, Crash (Seann William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck), are cocky, loudmouth pranksters who cause everyone around them nothing but trouble. They enjoy playing "whack-a-mole" and generally annoy everyone. They sure do breath some extra life into the middle of the film, though.

For some reason, this reminds me of a scene in "2001: A Space Odyssey"

However, everyone now has a bigger problem: the water levels are rising, and the animals need to escape the flood. Diego is terrified of the water, and Sid tries to help him deal with that in some amusing "You just have to believe in yourself" exchanges.

Scrat still has the nut....

Manny puts some clumsy moves on Ellie, but she won't have any of it. They eventually learn to work together in order to save the others when the ground beneath them starts cracking.

The two possum brothers acting like frat boys.

Meanwhile, Sid the Sloth gets mistaken for a god by a group of mini-sloths, who intend to sacrifice him, but he manages to escape. In one of the funnier sequences in the film, nobody believes him when he tells his story in all seriousness.

I love how stoic Diego looks.

When the flood finally comes, everything is thrown into turmoil. Manny must prove his manhood when Ellie faces destruction, while Diego must confront his fears of water if he is to help the others to escape.

A little heroism is always good.

While the film ostensibly is about the main characters Manny, Sid and Diego, again it is Scrat who gets the biggest laughs. One can imagine the discussions about this in the studio cafeteria, when a voiceless character takes over a franchise. Some of the promotional materials even feature Scrat exclusively. Director Carlos Saldanha, though, did not rest on the franchise's laurels such as Scrat's break-out status. He re-tooled the characters to make them more expressive and emotive. As a result, this is a livelier film than the first installment. Saldanha's efforts were appreciated so much that he was invited back to do the follow-up film, 2009's "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs."

Manny and Ellie kind of cramped on that ice floe.

The film was the highest grossing animated film of 2006 worldwide, even somehow topping "Cars." That is most likely because the characters and themes of "Ice Age" are more universal than those of "Cars." This also is a more comical franchise, whereas "Cars" tends slightly more toward drama and romance. What romance there is here is played strictly for laughs. Laughs travel well across the oceans, at least good ones do.

This just shows how universal this series really is.

The two possum brothers come near to stealing this film, just as Scrat did the last time. The pace also picks up appreciably in the second half after dragging a bit early on. Sequels aren't usually that original compared to their predecessors, even highly respected ones such as "The Godfather: Part II," but this is even more derivative than usual. The phenomenal popularity of Scrat is a double-edged sword, because, while he is a perfect comical character, his antics don't advance the story. The activities of the others, though, at times seem to be there just to give Scrat time to rest up for his next act.

"I'm dancing as fast as I can!"

In summary, this is not the best sequel ever made, but that probably isn't where they were aiming. It manages to again be a very funny film, which isn't easy with follow-ups. It only runs 91 minutes, and much of that is taken up with Scrat, so the plot is very simple and easy for the youngsters to understand. It's not really necessary to have seen "Ice Age" to understand this film, though it would help. The computer animation by Blue Sky Studios and Twentieth Century Fox Animation again is quite good, but not ground-breaking this time out. It is more of the same - which was quite excellent the first time around, and still is here.

Scrat never will get rid of that nut....

This plays exactly as it should, like a continuation of the first film without too much new thrown on the screen. Sure, a little more originality would have been nice, but you don't always get what you want. This will pass the time before you get to the follow-up, which is the jewel in the crown of the series.

2012

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Ice Age (2002) - Take a Trip Back in Time with Sid and Manny

Ice Age: In which We are Introduced to Sid, Manny, Diego - and Most Important of All, Scrat

Twentieth Century Fox doesn't do a slew of animation pictures, but when they do one, they tend to do it right. Fox Animation hit one out of the park with "Ice Age" (2002), a tale about assorted prehistoric mammals faced with new challenges when things start getting colder. Directed by Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha from a story by Michael J. Wilson, "Ice Age" twas one of the surprise hits of 2002 and led to several enormously popular sequels.

Scrat became a Phenomenom

A saber-toothed squirrel, Scrat (voiced by Chris Wedge, though Scrat doesn't speak, just makes sounds), is trying to find a place to store his prized acorns. Innocently, he tries pounding them into the icy ground, which suddenly splits open beneath him, causing a rift that rapidly grows until it extends to the horizon. This sets off an avalanche and other disasters.  Then, Scrat is stepped on by a herd of fleeing animals, all heading south. It's turning into a real bad day for Scrat, but he perseveres, continuing at intervals throughout the film to try and bury the acorns, without much success.

Scrat is always trying to bury his nuts

Nearby, Sid (John Leguizamo), a wisecracking, clumsy sloth, is attacked by two large rhinoceros-like beasts. He is saved by Manny (Ray Romano), a deadpan, cynical mammoth who sends them packing. Sid and Manny become friends and team up.

The humans, who don't stick around long

Meanwhile, Soto (Goran Visnjic) also is nearby.  He is a Smilodon, a fierce line of big cats kind of like sabertooth tigers. He has a grudge against a tribe of humans and plans on raiding their camp, carrying off the chief's baby son and eating him. After an attack fails to produce the child, Soto sends his malevolent crony Diego (Denis Leary) off to kidnap the baby for him.

The cute human baby

Sid and Manny wander into Soto's realm and stumble upon the chief's baby and his mother, who have escaped from Soto by jumping over a waterfall. The mother mysteriously disappears, leaving the baby in Manny's care. Looking for the father, they can't find him - the humans' camp is deserted. Instead, they run into Diego, who is overjoyed at his good fortune. Not knowing Diego's true motives, they all join up until Diego guilefully guides them into an ambush. The three animals bond during their journey, but the final showdown with Soto looms.

Sid takes good care of the child

While a comedy with many historically impossible aspects, "Ice Age" is a great introduction to many animals that have long been extinct. Apparently, the producers brought in experts to help select the animals to use, and those experts had only one ultimate bottom line: no dinosaurs, which had died out long before. Thankfully for scientific integrity, there is not a Brontosaurus or T. Rex to be seen - not, at least, until they were introduced in one of the sequels.

Diego Points the Way

The likeable characters will amuse children, while very few adults will recognize all the animals. There are a few pop cultural references thrown in for laughs, such as a crashed flying saucer and asides about global warming. Combined with state-of-the-art computer animation, this is a very sophisticated film that isn't your usual "The Smurfs" "Hey, we're in New York!" set-up. Anyone should find something to like in this film which is voiced mostly by well-known tv character actors.

It's Nice that they take such good care of the baby

The best thing about the film, quite simply, is that it is gorgeous. The DVD transfer is as good as any on the market, and the Dolby surround sound will make you glad you invested in all those speakers. It has a less cartoony feel than "Shrek" or "Monsters, Inc.," to which it is often compared. However, don't be put off by that: it isn't one of those moralistic tales that try to tell kids how they should live or tries to teach them paleontology. It just gives simple insight into how people act in order to get along. A straightforward tale of relationships between animals who are well-rounded and develop as the film progresses, the film is a lot of fun. Many will find the minor character Scrat the real star of the film and the one they like the most. The knowing wise-cracks by the other animals about their own futures will entertain kids and adults alike.

The vistas really are quite scenic

Adults, though, may take extra delight from sequences in the film that remind them of the old "Roadrunner" cartoons of Chuck Jones. These references are a worthy tribute to Jones (which apparently was intended). More than that, "Ice Age" is one of the top animation films to date, which served as the foundation for one of the top animation franchises of all time, right behind "Shrek" and ahead of "Toy Story" in total grosses. This should be at the front of the shelf, right beside those classic animation films.

2012

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