Review: Ice Age: Continental Drift

Hobo Dan: I wasn't really looking forward to Ice Age: Continental Drift. It's not that I don't like the Ice Age movies because I really do (the first two, I did not see the third installment with dinosaurs) I've just had my fill of computer generated kids movies for the year (Brave), and am now in full anticipation mode for The Dark Knight Rises this Friday. That said, I really enjoyed this movie. It was everything you want in a summer movie for kids and had plenty of comedy for us adults as well. I was able to pick right up on the story without needing to have seen the last one.

The film itself is computer generated and looks great; not as good as Brave, but still great. The voice work is top notch and surprisingly full of stars. The Wife and I spent the entire movie trying to figure out who the voice of the villain was. We knew we'd heard it before and had that "duh" moment when the credits rolled (Peter Dinklage). The story was entertaining and full of fun moments. There is no reason to take it that seriously or get technical. It was just fun, that's the point. If you have kids, or still have a kid in you (not that any of you eat kids), go see this new Ice Age. It is great fun and I am going to say this and get flamed for it, but this movie had more noticeable 3D effects than all other 3D movies I have seen this year combined. Not a selling point for me, but at least I don't feel so ripped off for paying three extra dollars for a 3D ticket (had no other choice).

Also, the squirrel that make small appearances in all the films has his day, it is so gloriously funny...

The Wife: I love movies. Movies that appeal to the “elitist” crowd, hilariously dumb movies, romantic comedies and yes, even so-called children’s movies. I try to approach movies without judgment and enjoy them for what they are. People who think every single movie that they see must be “Oscar Worthy” really need to get over themselves. If you are one of those types, then you probably would never give the latest Ice Age sequel the time of day. And for that, I feel sorry for you, because once again Ice Age didn’t fail to entertain and keep me laughing!

Ice Age: Continental Drift is the fourth installment of the Ice Age franchise. Let me start by saying that I love the Ice Age movies, so perhaps this review could carry a shred of biased thought. The first Ice Age, of course, is the best one. The sequels, however, haven’t been bad. They have all been entertaining and made me laugh like a kid again. I like the Ice Age series because while they are geared for children, they contain many jokes and are funny enough to appeal to adults. I was slightly concerned that this particular Ice Age film may have lost its edge due to being a fourth sequel. This seemed to have happened to the Shrek franchise, which started great and then got a bit stale by the third movie (don’t get me wrong I still like all of the Shrek movies). However, Ice Age: Continental Drift held up nicely with it’s predecessors, and Hobo Dan and I both had a great time at the theatre watching it.

Visually, this movie looked great. It didn’t compare to Brave looks-wise, but let’s face it; Pixar is tough to compete with. Ice Age: Continental Drift was a perfect summer blockbuster for children, and one that parents, or adults like us, could enjoy as well. It delivered laughs and once again, the plot involving the hilarious trio of sloth, Sid, saber, Diego, and woolly mammoth, Manny, was hilarious. The squirrel from Ice Age nearly stole the show in his never-ending search of his beloved acorn. While I wouldn’t deem this latest installment of Ice Age to be Oscar worthy in the animated category, it was still a great movie and one that families will enjoy. Brave, of course, is the better of the two “kids” movies, but like I said above, Disney-Pixar is just hard to compete with. I should also mention that you get a fabulous Simpsons short prior to the movie, and I think we enjoyed that as much as Ice Age: Continental Drift, if not more. That was almost worth the movie ticket cost alone!