Two concepts that most people don’t usually associate with children are vulgar stand-up comics and gangster rappers. So the decision to have Denis Leary, Wanda Sykes, Nicki Minaj and Drake provide voices for animated arctic animals in a children’s movie should, in theory, end in disaster. However, the potty-mouthed stars kept it clean and professional, which helped to make “Ice Age: Continental Drift” a charming, well-made movie.
“Ice Age: Continental Drift” is the fourth adventure of Manny the Wooly Mammoth (Ray Romano), Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) and Diego the Sabre-Toothed Tiger (Denis Leary). The plot once again focuses on their journey across prehistoric Earth. This time, Manny is trying to return to his family, who he is separated from by the splitting of the supercontinent Pangaea. Despite being called “Ice Age”, most of the ice has melted at this point and the majority of the action takes place on the newly formed oceans. And now that there are oceans, there obviously must be pirates.
Captain Gutt (Peter Dinklage), an early species of monkey, serves as the film’s antagonist. Gutt becomes thirsty for revenge after Manny and the gang sink his ice ship. After the ship goes down, Manny and friends must race to get back to his family before Captain Gutt and his sinister crew.
As always, the adventures of the main trio are shown alongside the adventures of a tacit little rodent named Scratt. Scratt’s plot-less, Looney Tunes-esque misadventures provide the comic gold that gets kids peeing in their little pants. Sure, the movie is smart enough to sneak in references to Braveheart and The Odyssey, but who cares? Scratt just crashed into a mountain! And his eyes popped out! Hysterical.
Another character that exists solely for cheap laughs is Granny (Wanda Sykes). Granny is the typical senile old person, wandering through the movie completely oblivious to her surroundings. While her character is amusing at first, the gag quickly grows old as there are only so many ways to make the “old people are silly!” observation.
Despite these characters, the writing for the main trio is remarkably witty. There are an abundance of references and jokes that only older viewers will understand. They even manage to make a few self-aware jokes about their own historical accuracy (Sid: “Yeah, last time we fought dinosaurs! It didn’t make any sense, but it was a lot of fun!”)
The animation itself, while not Pixar-level gorgeous, is still moderately appealing. The fluffy, shiny appearance of the animals is coupled with well-choreographed action scenes to make a movie that’s thrilling as well as funny. I would go as far to say that the movie has as much prehistoric animal fighting as it does prehistoric animal jokes.
There are parts of the movie that fall flat. Occasionally we are shown scenes of Manny’s daughter Peaches (Keke Palmer) trying to befriend the cool mammoth kids, namely the cute mammoth boy named Ethan (Aubrey Graham, AKA Drake). These scenes are boring and predictable, and the attempted comic relief character, Steffie (Nicki Minaj), is unable to deliver laughs.
Overall, there are a lot of things that “Ice Age: Continental Drift” does right. The original band of misfit animals is still funny, and the guys behind the animation make them look spectacular. While this movie is far from groundbreaking, it executes well, albeit predictably. It sticks to a familiar formula and in this case there’s nothing wrong with that. Despite losing momentum at times, the film is still worth your money. If you’re looking for a relaxing, no-thinking-required summer weekday with the kids, “Ice Age: Continental Drift” is a great choice.
