This season is all about summer blockbusters, and more recently, it has become about animated movies. One of the most highly rated animated film this summer was Ice Age 4: Continental Drift. It is the fourth instalment of Ice Age franchise, and took two years to release. It is really rare to see four parts of a movie and hence there are no expectations attached to Ice Age 4, even though it is the second movie of the family to be in 3-D. The first part was the original and the bar kept lowering from release to release - Ice Age 4 is the least rated from the group. Ice Age 4 carries on with the tradition of pure comedy without a purpose. But somehow it didn't work so well this time round.

No doubt each of the pervious movies made millions domestically and fared well in the international market also. In short, the name Ice Age is now a franchise guaranteed to make money whether the movie is good or not. The movie has comedy, fights but not a strong story behind it. There were different storylines, but they had no connection with each other. Ice Age 4 continues from where the previous film left off, and this is shown in a very creative way but the rest of the movie is all over the place. The characters were cute and that was the only thing that coaxed the elders to go watch the movie. And the trailers - that is the amazing 3-D quality of the trailers, though truth be told, the trailers beat the actual movie in every way.

Mostly only those scenes were successful that made everyone laugh and not only the kids. Both the movies Madagascar 3 and Ice Age 4 were released during the same time but Madagascar did much better. The movie had its own story, good message behind it but Ice Age 4 was lacking in all these aspects. The target kids in the audience were giggling and enjoyed the colourful cartoon creatures. Some did find the first five minutes of the movie to be funny but then if we really think about it, those five minutes too made no sense. As the film went on, the laughter became forced.
The plot was infused with random events and makes for a dull watch. Although the characters were cute, too many new ones are introduced and not all of them really fit into the story. Sid along with his granny and pet whale is definitely a hilarious highlight. The action sequences are regular and are children-friendly, chase scenes and physical comedy will keep children as well adults entertained.

There is a surprise in the form of a Simpsons reference, which is sad because by now Ice Age should be able to stand on its own feet. If you do find animated movies dull anyway, you won't miss much, but I'd recommend you watch it for the kids anyway.
— Faiz Rohani
*CINEMATIC SUICIDE
**FORGETTABLE
***WATCHABLE
****COLLECTIBLE
*****AWARD-WORTHY