REVIEW: 'Ice Age 4: Continental Drift'

Manny, Sid and Diego are back for a fourth adventure after their continent is set adrift. The group set a course for home using an iceberg as a sea vessel, however a band of pirates look to halt their expedition… Now playing nationwide in 3D. Also showing in 2D.

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If you’re not expecting any surprises going into Ice Age 4: Continental Drift 3D then that’s probably the best approach. OK, there is one literally earth-shattering moment as the film gets underway, but besides setting in motion the dramatic shifting of land masses, this fourth instalment of this animated prehistoric franchise in just ten years doesn’t set out to shake anything up.

Instead, the gang of walking talking mammalian chums prove as reliably consistent as ever, their ranks bolstered by a few new characters to freshen things up a little and provide the requisite celebrity voiceovers – Jennifer Lopez, Drake, Nicki Minaj and Aziz Ansari in the mix. Not that most of these newbies make their presence particularly felt, with the exception of Peter Dinklage (TV’sGame of Thrones) who steals the show with a nicely over-the-top vocal performance as the similarly OTT-looking ape pirate Captain Gutt.

In further not-a-surprise news the plot of Ice Age 4 is pretty basic, with the aforementioned pirate and his cohorts showing up halfway through the film when core characters Manny the mammoth, Diego the sabretooth and Sid the sloth find themselves adrift on the ocean. They’re trying to return home, with Manny’s need to be reunited with his missus and daughter providing the motivation, and there’s also a father vs teenage daughter subplot going on which hints a little at the parental dynamics of Brave but without the depth, and in much more traditional male-dominated fashion.

This is solid family fare though, will work for parents and kids alike, and as always the animation looks great on the big screen (and in 3D). Plus, the short that precedes it featuring Maggie from The Simpsons is a real treat.

• Watch trailer for Ice Age 4: Continental Drift 3D
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