The family comedy begins once again with the comedic sketch of the ancient squirrel that can never get his hands on the thing he wants most - the nut/acorn. We are then introduced to the familiar and well loved characters of Manny and Ellie who are the two huge mammoths that we fell in love n the previous film of the sequel however this time there are new faces around including their own baby mammoth Peaches. This opening up the old father and daughter storyline that has been done in many films on many occasions where we see a father that would do anything to protect his child and from the off it is clear there will be some rebellion from the youngster. Peaches - "So tell me when exactly will I be able to hang out with boys." with Manny replying "When I'm dead plus three years just to make sure I'm dead."and there begins the overprotective father routine that every family can relate to hitting the raw humour of truthful reality.
Sid's family arrives and dumps the grouchy grandma whose voice in done very well by Wanda Sykes on him and he is expected to take care of her which is funny due to the fact that Sid is unable to take care of himself let alone somebody else. Yet again we are let sympathising with Sid as he is the same hopeless and idiotic character that we all know and love "Here granny, granny, granny, I have prunes for you" he croons.Back to the main motif of father and daughter, Manny manages to embarass Peaches in front of a group potential friends making her feel even more like an outcast and silly in front of her love interest Ethan. Although what Peaches fails to typically understand is she already has all the friends she needs in her pal Lewis who she takes for granted. After harsh words are exchanged between the two; suddenly the family get separated by the ice splitting beneath their feet showing Manny and Ellie reaching for each other helplessly. The close up shots show the pain of the obvious separation what is to come. And so the continental drift begins. Diego quickly saves Manny from a jump that he never would have made and we se the making of another adventure between the three amigos and the unexpected friendship between a mammoth, sloth and sabre tooth tiger. Once again they must stick together in a quest to make it home to their loved ones yet again.
With the ice caps melting we see the underlying tones of change and evolution from the way the world used to be to how it was becoming. Once more it is Sid's lighthearted humour and comedy that keeps us amused in what could be viewed as a dark scene as the float of ice they are stuck on is heading into a thunderstorm where they face more danger in the form of sea creatures such as a huge crab that is soon dispatched by a huge wave. The rest of the characters are now on a journey to the man bridge which they deem to be a safe place leaving their home behind with Ellie hoping to reunite with Manny when she arrives there.
Granny sloth makes an appearance as she happened to be hiding in a tree on the float and she slept through the storm drawing on the stereotypes of old people. We see she will be part of the struggle to get home with Manny, Sid and Diego. The trio encounter a boat full of pirates full of various animals who begin to fire ice cannons at the float in a bid to get the three of them to surrender. It appears the pirates had taken over the float with a fade to black on the screen., with a return to the ship showing Manny, Sid and diego all tied up. Then we are treated to a colourful sing song by the crew of how the captain came to be with his villainous crew consisting of what looks like a very angry bunny and a dumb walrus which does not seem enough to strike fear if I do say so myself. They make a quick getaway turning over the pirate ship and creating a enemy in the captain that Manny may live to regret.
After saving the pirate female sabre tooth tiger, this looks like a bidding relationship between her and Diego bringing something new to the sequel that we haven't previously seen before. Diego is usually viewed as the cold character that always manages to do the right thing but it is few and far between that we are treated to sensitive moments between Diego and other characters making the moments more special. Succeeding in making it to a new island alive and finding away home they find they must ally themselves with creatures native to the island that look a lot like cute guinea pigs to steal the ship from the pirates that have also washed up ashore and seemed to have enslaved some of the guinea pig lookalikes that later turn out to have ninja like moves whilst rocking blue war paint.
And here comes the comic face off between the typical good versus evil with the good bearing shell shields whilst flying of leaves and the bad using sharp dangerous looking weapons. The diversion pays off including a touching moment where Diego appeals to the female sabre tooth to come with them however she decides to stay behind in an attempt to let them flee and protect Diego from the captain. But actions have consequences with a vow from the captain to destroy Manny and everything he loves.
With a flash of Peaches yet again hurting someone she loves by saying to Ethan and the other teen mammoths that Lewis is not really her friend in an attempt to impress them but finally gets the confidence to tell the group how she really feels and storms off with a muster of teenage angst.
Back on the stolen ship Manny, Sid and Diego fall for an illusion on the ship as they experience a vision of the one they love with Manny realising it is a trick by sirens he quickly saves his friends and they appear to be on the home straight with crazy granny appearing to feeding the food supply to her imaginary pet she calls Precious. Only to realise that the captain has arrived before them and have his family, after being tied up it appears the only willing and able to save Peaches is her hedgehog friend Lewis who although small shows great courage and bravery reflecting the meaning of true friendship.
Also arriving to save the day is granny's pet precious who does exist and turns out to be a huge whale causing laughs at Sid using the blow hole as a lookout point. Peaches manages to get to her mother Ellie using the skills she learnt from possums showing the further significance and importance of family with Manny remarking how she is all grown up which is an emotional point in the film. However an ongoing fight continues with Manny and the captain with Manny being saved by Sid, Granny and Precious and the Captain finally getting his comeuppance with the sirens.
The finale of the film approaching when the family is all happily and safely reunited together and although they have lost their home they have each other which is what really counts here. They find a new home in which the community are part of a herd that all look out for each other, Sid finds a companion in Granny, Diego falls in love with Serra the sabre tooth and Manny, Ellie and Peaches are finally how they should be- together. Manny has come full circle during the film allowing his daughter to now go out into the world and experience the life he was so afraid she would get hurt in at the beginning of the film.
Ice Age 4 ends where is begins with the squirrel unable to overcome his rodent impulses to get the nut/acorn although he has found a place of his own kind. I think I would have quite liked to see the squirrel who has been a main feature of the four films to have uttered a word for the what could be the final film in the franchise. Although it was an enjoyable film to watch I felt it wasn't as original as it could have been and did not stand out from the other films in the sequel. However the all star cast brought it back for me as it produced a great range voices that brought the characters to life from Queen Latifah to Simon Pegg to Nick Frost to Jennifer Lopez to Ray Romano, you cannot complain about the range you were given.
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