Ice Age:
Continental Drift - (July 13th, 2012): PG
Distributor: 20th
Century Fox
Opening Weekend Box Office:
#1 with $46,629,259
Domestic Box Office
Gross to-date: $105,547,000
Gross Revenue: $555,537,862
Production Budget:
$95 million (Estimated)
Directors: Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier
Blue Sky Studios may not have the
same cinematic library or reputation as Disney/Pixar and DreamWorks Animation, but
the fact remains that a tiny and neurotic saber-toothed squirrel named Scrat is
one of the most recognizable animated characters in the world, so audience
interest had to go through the roof when he started showing up in promotions to
signal the future launch of Continental
Drift. And even though they aren’t
exactly A-list talent that can invariably fill theaters, Ray Romano, John
Leguizamo, and Denis Leary have delivered their characters of the past decade with
considerable skill and imbued each with a personality that audiences have come
to love. So, that truth alone was enough
to guarantee interest in this newest animated comedy, but 20th
Century Fox took the extra step within its promotions to accentuate the star
power of its newest film and actually identify and feature the voices behind
both the returning and new characters.
Jennifer Lopez was an interesting enough addition, but new cast members
like music stars Nicki Minaj and Drake were the biggest buzz builders; say what
you will about each of their individual singing abilities, both Minaj and Drake
have huge fan bases that aren’t part of the usual animated audience demographic
and could potentially be drawn-in out of sheer curiousity. No one can deny that so far this summer, Madagascar 3 and Brave have set the bar very, very high for animated movies, thereby
setting up huge expectations for the quality of Ice Age: Continental Drift that would not be easy meet, much less
overcome.
Starting up several years after the
conclusion of Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Continental Drift opens with the
saber-toothed squirrel Scrat hunting for acorns and inadvertently triggering
the break-up of the Pangaea landmass into the individual continents. The narrative then shifts focus to the
familiar Ice Age protagonists Manny
the mammoth (Ray Romano), Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo), and Diego the
saber-toothed cat (Denis Leary); each of our heroes are facing a personal
crisis, as Manny is quarreling with his teenage daughter, Peaches (Keke Palmer),
Sid is being forced to care for his elderly relative, Granny (Wanda Sykes), and
Diego is fearing the loss of his predatory instincts. Once the continental break is triggered,
Manny is separated from Peaches, his wife Ellie (Queen Latifah), and his
brothers-in-law, Crash and Eddie (Seann William Scott and Josh Peck); together
with Sid, Diego, and Granny, the prehistoric animals must navigate the seas and
find a way to reunite with their loved ones.
Unfortunately, the heroes soon cross paths with a pirate gang led by the
villainous ape, Gutt (Peter Dinklage), and his second-in-command, the female
saber-toothed cat, Shira (Jennifer Lopez); Gutt immediately takes a dislike to
Manny, especially after the mammoth steals Gutt’s ship in order to return
home. Desperate to return things to
normal, the heroes must work together to find a way to avoid the dangerous new
villains; all while Scrat continues his desperate search for the perfect acorn.
As one has come to expect from this
successful series, the best part of Ice
Age: Continental Drift is the sharp and quick-witted humor, which may not
be a consistent presence throughout the entire running time, but when the jokes
do hit, they definitely score. And
nowhere is the humor more prevalent than in the character of Granny, whom Wanda
Sykes brings to life with her own trademarked sarcasm; just like Simon Pegg’s
Buck from Dawn of the Dinosaurs,
Granny is a standout addition that overshadows the characters that are now making
their fourth appearance. Unfortunately,
that is where the appeal of the new characters ends, as each of the one-note
villains is far more annoying than threatening, so much so that you wish they
would disappear soon after their introduction; even Jennifer Lopez’s Shira
wasted a considerable amount of potential and added very little to the
story. It really is a shame that the
narrative chose to focus so strongly on this weak characters, all while
relegating entertaining personalities like Ellie and Crash and Eddie to the
background. Now, with the misuse of the
characters severely weakening the appeal of Continental
Drift, one would hope that at least the story keeps things entertaining;
but unfortunately, as this franchise has established many times in the past,
the best parts of the Ice Age movies
are usually the characters.
Now, fourth entries in any film
series are a bit of a gamble, but if you do choose to revisit a story and its characters
for a third go-around, you sure as hell better have a story worth telling in
order to add to the overarching narrative…sadly, such is not the case with Continental Drift. Separating the main characters from loved
ones could have opened the door for a heartfelt emotional journey laced with
humor, but the narrative instead chooses to focus its time on several
inconsequential story arcs, none of which are altogether interesting or enough
to get you invested in the eventual outcome.
If you have to deviate from the main story, I would have loved to see
more elaboration on Scrat’s journey, but filmmakers inexplicably introduced a
love story for Diego and an identity crisis for Peaches; neither of which was
executed appropriately. And, in the “Short
and Sweet” review, I hinted that Blue Sky Studios relegated to heretofore
untouched genre norms, and in Continental
Drift, that shift comes in the form of singing, which has never been seen
in the Ice Age series; when the
pirates break into song to describe their villainy, the moment is
mind-numbingly stupid…that stuff really needs to be left to Disney. So, in the end, with so few engaging
characters and no real story to keep things interesting or altogether coherent,
Ice Age: Continental Drift represents
one of the weakest animated films to his theaters in some time.
As the only new release of the
weekend, Continental Drift was
virtually guaranteed a first place opening, and let’s be honest, virtually
every July release had to try and make its money before The Dark Knight Rises had its record-setting weekend. Still though, when you consider the recent
successes of animated movies, a $46 million opening is relatively weak,
especially with the revenue boost that should have come along with this film
being the first of the series to be featured in 3D. Luckily, the Ice Age franchise is insanely popular overseas, so thanks to a
beefy international presence, Continental
Drift has already secured over a half a billion dollars in ticket
sales. And, even though I believe that
the franchise’s appeal has run its course, it already looks like the brass over
at Fox are working on a fifth installment.
Summing it all up, what should have been a fairly easy continuation of a
popular series fell almost completely flat, and it really isn’t something to
see in theaters, even if you have been a fan for years.
Overall Recommendation: Low
