Ice Age 4

Unlike Pixar films, the Ice Age films have never been essential viewing but they have always been consistently fun, funny and well-designed, with plenty of heart and character.

After the breakout hit of the first Ice Age in 2002 (which single-handedly saved 20th Century Fox's animation wing), the sequels have wisely blended the familiar with the new. The much-loved characters have remained - Sid the annoying Sloth, Manny the grumpy Mammoth, Diego the cynical sabre-toothed tiger and the acorn-addicted Scrat - whilst their adventures and companions evolve with every film.

No two Ice Age films are the same: the first was the animation equivalent of Three Men and a Baby, the second was a race against time and the third was a rescue mission with dinosaurs. Now, we have a pirate adventure with icebergs instead of ships, whereby Manny, Diego and Sid have to get back to Manny's family after Scrat single-handedly splits the continents apart. This variation is an admirable attempt to stop the formula getting stale.

Manny's story arc as a family man has served as an emotional anchor throughout the franchise and also helps keep things fresh. Over the four films, we have seen him develop from a lonely bachelor to leader of his herd to husband to expectant father. In Ice Age 4, he is now the father of a headstrong teenage daughter and naturally he does not approve of her friends because he wants the best of her. It is an old story, as is often the case with child-friendly animations, but at least it has been given the Ice Age twist. Maybe the next film will be the Ice Age interpretation of Father of the Bride?

The comedy set pieces are typically top-notch. An encounter with enticing sirens is particularly hilarious, not to mention a Braveheart-style moment with gung-ho hyraxes (possibly, an attempt to rival the penguins of Madagascar?) but the true stand-out is the ever-reliable Scrat. Scrat has long been the franchise's ace and he appears for some slapstick humour whenever the audience is getting a bit fidgety. His escalating addiction to acorns and his self-sacrificing attempts to retrieve them remains an instant crowd-pleaser, often framing the movie to ensure it starts and ends with a belly-laugh. The opening of Ice Age 4  is possibly the best (and most bizarre) Scrat-astrophe to date.

There are flaws with Ice Age 4. The franchise certainly has suffered from serious bouts of stunt-casting over the years. The original Ice Age, as with many Pixar films, utilised the talents of numerous lesser-known actors, prioritising great voices over big names. Whereas, three films later, we now have Jennifer Lopez as a sabre-tooth cat, Nicki Minaj and rapper Drake as sassy mammoths and anyone else who happens to be popular at the moment is given two lines to say as an extra. The film unashamedly showboats its big names over the closing credits where we get shots of everyone recording their lines. It feels a little cheap.

That said, not all new additions feel forced. The casting of Peter Dinklage (Tyrion from Game of Thrones) as villainous captain, Gut, is a welcome addition to the cast. His deep voice is perfect for an animated film and he injects his prehistoric ape with plenty of snarling charisma. Furthermore, Sid's grandmother (voiced by Wanda Sykes), another new addition, has her own share of scene-stealing moments, particularly when her pet Precious shows up. Let's hope they return for Ice Age 5.

In a nutshell, Ice Age 4 is another solid instalment in the franchise. Unlike Pixar, the Ice Age films will never be heralded as an Oscar-winning masterpiece. But provided they keep mixing up the formula whilst retaining the same four core characters, the series will continue to sell tickets and provide entertaining, highly-visual escapism for audiences around the world. 

And based on this evidence, it could be another four films before this series is extinct.

★★★★