Movie Review: Ice Age: Continental Drift

Overview

Ah, plate tectonics! You learned about them in earth science, but did you ever think you would encounter them again? In this fourth installment, Ice Age: Continental Drift , we find out how it all began. Scrat, chasing that elusive acorn, falls to the earth’s core, and shakes everything up so badly that landmasses break up and drift apart. Funny, I don’t remember that from earth science, but, yes, it is funny!

Up on land things are shaking before the earth starts moving. Peaches the mammoth, daughter of Manny and Ellie, is now a teenager and a rebellious one at that. She thinks her father is way too strict and disobeys him by hanging out with the cool mammoths. This puts the two at odds. When Peaches asks when she will be old enough to hang out with boys, Manny replies, “When I'm dead, plus three days, just to make sure I'm dead.” All of the animosity comes to a head when the earth breaks apart and Manny gets separated from his family. He vows, “No matter how long it takes, I will find you!”

Manny, Sid (the sloth), Sid’s grandmother, and Diego (the saber-toothed tiger) set adrift on an ice berg. The adventure that ensues includes outsmarting and defeating Pirate Gutt (an ape) and his motley crew who want to enslave Manny and friends. Facing seemingly insurmountable odds, Manny and company do find their way back. Father and daughter are reunited, and their conflicts are resolved. Once again, Ice Age has given us a fun summer movie with lots of action, plenty of laughs and a heartwarming message.

Concerns  

As in all of the Ice Age movies, there is lots of slapstick violence with everyone getting bonked on the head at least once. There is fighting between the pirates and the group of friends but no blood and you don’t see anyone die, although it might be implied. Captain Gutt is the scariest character in the movie. He threatens to slash folks with his claws, but the only thing he actually uses those claws for is to break the ice apart. There is some name-calling (weirdo, stupid, loser…to name a few), but that does not flow through the movie, just in isolated scenes.

Teachable Themes

• Obey Your Parents
  • You may not always agree, but they have your best interest at heart.
• Choose the Right Friends
  • Those who seem like the coolest people are not necessarily the coolest people.
• Working Together Gets Tasks Accomplished

• Even in Difficult Situations, There is a Way Out
  Don’t lose heart when things look bad.

Biblical References

• Obey Your Parents
  • Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do.” (NLT)
• Be Loyal to Your Friends and Family
  • Proverbs 3:3 “Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart..” (NLT)
• Choose the Right Friends
  • Proverbs 28:7 "Young people who obey the law are wise; those with wild friends bring shame to their parents." (NLT)
• It is Good to Work Together
  • Ecclesiastes 4:12 “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” (NIV)
• Trust in God
  • Psalm 23:4 “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.” (NIV)

Discussion Questions

1. Did you ever get frustrated by rules that your parents have made? What did you do?
2. Have you ever done something wrong because a cool kid did it- only to be disappointed and in trouble? What happened?
3. Have you ever been separated from your family? What happened?
4. Do you have any funny family members? Tell me about them.
5. What is the best thing about your family?

Conclusion

If this Ice Age has drifted from anything in the original, it is that the characters are not wild animals anymore; they are friends…really an ad hoc family. Family reigns supreme…so does loyalty and self sacrifice.

I might add that Scrat is genius. His scenes are accompanied by theme and variations from Beethoven’s Ninth. What happens when he reaches Scratlantis is priceless!

Go and enjoy this one!