Ice Age: Continental DriftMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Ince Age: Contintental Drift."

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So-so

Avg. Critic Score: 49 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

OK for kids 6+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

75

Washington Post |
The fourth Ice Age freshens up the 10-year-old franchise by shunning easy pop-culture jokes and embracing its weird side. Read full review
75

Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman
The film keeps throwing things at you, like a colorful ape pirate (Peter Dinklage) and a fun hallucination sequence. That said, the laughs are starting to feel prehistoric. Read full review
70

The Hollywood Reporter |
It's familiar, drawn-out shtick, and the humor lacks the subtlety of the first and best Ice Age, but there are some visually inventive high points. Read full review
63

ReelViews | James Berardinelli
It is as comfortable and predictable as any Saturday morning cartoon, although with higher production values and a spiffier look. Read full review
50

San Francisco Chronicle | Amy Biancolli
The less-good stuff: the pirates, who are so blandly and predictably drawn that they sap all the personality out of Peter Dinklage (as an ugly ape skipper), which isn't easy. And the plot, which just barrels forward with very few surprises. Read full review
50

Boston Globe | Tom Russo
It makes you wonder if the series' animators, who took time out for "Rio" just before this, aren't so secretly yearning to sail different creative waters. Read full review
50

USA Today | Claudia Puig
Much of the action in Ice Age: Continental Drift takes place on an iceberg fashioned into a seagoing vessel. No one seems to be piloting the boat, which is an apt metaphor for the film. Read full review
50

Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert
Watching this film was a cheerless exercise for me. The characters are manic and idiotic, the dialogue is rat-a-tat chatter, the action is entirely at the service of the 3-D, and the movie depends on bright colors, lots of noise and a few songs in between the whiplash moments. Read full review
40

Movieline |
A sugary jumble of goofy voices, hyperkinetic action scenes and rote plot elements that rolls forward just enough to get us to the de rigueur pop song that plays over the closing credits. Read full review
40

New York Daily News | Elizabeth Weitzman
Something has surely gone wrong when there is not a single moment in Ice Age: Continental Drift that equals the four-minute "Simpsons" short that precedes it. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for Ice Age: Continental Drift on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says OK for kids 6+ Prehistoric pals hit the seas for an exciting adventure.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that Ice Age: Continental Drift is the fourth installment in Fox's popular prehistoric animal franchise. Even the youngest moviegoers will want to follow Manny, Sid, and Diego's latest adventures. Like Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, this one's in 3-D and features some cartoonish violence, mild romance, a smattering of insults, and some scatological humor. On the plus side, there are a lot of overtly positive messages about family and friendship.

Families can talk about the franchise's defining message about the meaning of family. What defines a family? How is Sid's "biological" family a disappointment compared to his herd?
Is Peaches a believable teenager? Why are teens embarrassed by their parents? How do Peaches and Manny reconcile their difference of opinion?
Do the Ice Age movies feel complete now, or would you like to see another one? How does Continental Drift compare to the three others? Which one is your favorite?

The good stuff

Educational value: Kids might be inspired to learn about prehistoric animals, but Ice Age: Continental Drift is obviously intended for entertainment purposes and shouldn't be considered an accurate depiction of the way ancient mammals interacted.
Positive messages: The central idea of every Ice Age film is that your herd (family) isn't necessarily the one you're born with but the tribe that protects you and loves you unconditionally. Even though Sid's sloth family abandons him, Manny and Diego never will. The subplot with Peaches reminds viewers that true friends accept you as you are, not under the condition that you dump another friend first.
Positive role models: The main characters are all committed to their herd, even in the direst of circumstances. Sid and Diego never question Manny's determination to get back to Ellie and Peaches. Ellie is a patient and understanding mother. Peaches is a somewhat stereotypical teenager who's embarrassed by her over-protective parents, but she learns how lucky she is by the end of the movie. Ellie's best friend Louis might look like a weakling, but when things get scary, he summons his courage to save Peaches. Even usually senile Grandma knows a lot more than she lets on.

What to watch for

Violence and scariness: Lots of cartoonish violence, as per usual with the Ice Age movies. Scrat unintentionally causes widespread destruction and personal harm in his attempt to secure his precious acorn. Young kids might be scared when Manny, Diego, and Sid are separated from the rest of the herd. The pirate Captain Gutt is menacing and tells a frightening story about how he got his nickname. He's bent on revenge and is willing to sacrifice any of his pirates to achieve it. None of the other characters is really hurt, however, so there isn't a body count or anything too gruesome. Also, the sirens in their original form are quite creepy looking.
Sex: Peaches has a crush on Ethan, while her molehog best friend, Louis, is smitten with her. Peaches calls Ethan "hot." Diego and Shira flirt and eventually declare their interest in each other. Sid and Manny poke fun at Diego for not realizing he's falling in love. In one funny sequence, monstrous "sirens" appear as the opposite sex to lure Scrat, Manny, Sid, Sid's Granny, Diego, etc. to them. The male sloth (who looks like Fabio in sloth form) makes a suggestive statement to Sid's grandma about the "wrinklier the fruit, the juicier the fruit."
Language: Mild insults include "idiot," "freaks," and "stupid." There's also some scatological humor about puking, farting, burping, etc.
Consumerism: No product placements in the movie, but the Ice Age franchise has many merchandise tie-ins off camera, including Happy Meal collectible toys, plush dolls, figurines, games, and more.
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue

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