[7.00/10] Ice Age: Continental Drift [3D] (2012)

Ice Age: Continental Drift [3D] (2012)

Brief review: Blue Sky Studios continues to provide us with steadily solid sequels to the original "Ice Age" movie, which quickly became a world-wide favorite back in 2002. Now ten years later, the studio brings us "Continental Drift" - a worthy sequel that proves the series still has a lot of potential, despite its rather narrow premise. Being obviously set in the ice age, this franchise is limited by its own concept, which doesn't allow its creators to run their imagination wild, plot-wise. For that reason, "Ice Age 4" doesn't shine with much originality in terms of storytelling, but compensates that with high entertainment value, wittily written script, amusing characters and gorgeous visuals. The animation has definitely evolved since "Dawn of the Dinosaurs", becoming much more polished. Yes, the color palette lacks that in-your-face vividness, and the visuals aren't particularly vibrant, but considering the icy CGI surroundings, that's kind of understandable. Sadly, the 3D isn't that great, and barely elevates the visuals to another level. Our beloved protagonists Manny, Diego, and Sid are just as funny and likable as we remember them to be, but if you think Scrat steals the show yet again, you're wrong, because all the glory belongs to one newly introduced character - Sid's Granny. She brings the biggest laughs with her mega-cool, free-spirited attitude and funny looks, and in fact, saves the flick from being average.

Overall summary: Yes, it all feels overly familiar, but for a third sequel "Ice Age 4" offers enough wittiness, funny gags, eye-catching visuals and exciting action to stand out from its predecessors, plus, it features one of the funniest, most hilarious animated characters ever.

You can read an extended version of my "Ice Age: Continental Drift 3D" movie review over at White Cat Magazine. The brief version of it is also featured on the site TVFilmNews.com.