Review: Kids will love 'Ice Age 4'

Film: Ice Age 4: The Continental Drift (Animation 3D)
Director: Steve Martino, Mike Thurmeier
Cast: Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah and others
Rating: ***

Animation, according to this reviewer, is one of the most glorious ways to watch anything. May it be classics like, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Lion King or the more recent series like Shrek and Madagascar, animation has a certain charm about it. So imagine my excitement over the release of Ice Age: The Continental Drift, fourth in the series.

With my 3D glasses on I settled down for, what I was certain would be a laugh fest, but as the film progressed I realised my laughter was forced and far apart. I knew it then and there that this was going to be Shrek 4: Forever And After all over again, a disappointment.

Ice Age 4 begins, as usual, with Scrat the saber-toothed squirrel's never-ending attempts to get hold of an acorn and in the process triggering the breaking up of Earth into continents. In another part of the now-disintegrating Earth we have Manny the Mammoth, Diego the saber-toothed cat and Sid the sloth, and we realise there has been a major time jump since the last film. Peaches, the baby Manny had with Ellie is now, a teenager. One thing leads to another and Manny, along with Diego, Sid and Sid’s granny, gets separated from his family. The film follows their adventures as they, stranded in the high seas, attempt to get back to their family.

It is parenthood that ruins Ice Age 4. The funny bits have been replaced with sentimental dialogue about family, love and are faintly reminiscent of the last 5 minutes of the American sitcom Full House’s episodes which always ended with a love-filled message and a hug.

The plot is infused with random events and makes for a tedious watch. Too many new characters have been introduced and not all of them really fit into the scheme of things.

The sloths save the film. Sid along with his granny come through and the credit for most (if not all) the laughs go to them. Between her calling Diego 'lady' and trying to get Sid to chew her food, Granny is the most hilarious of them all.

A whole army of Hollywood's known names and biggies have assembled to give voices to the various characters but I’m not sure what purpose they serve as most of them don’t have more than three lines. Remember Jackie Chan as Monkey in Kung Fu Panda? No? Exactly!

It is with a heart filled with sadness I admit, Ice Age: The Continental Drift does not live up to the hype. Don’t worry though, the kids will love it. Every bit of it.