Ice Age 4: Continental Drift (2012)

The fourth instalment in this popular animated series, this film is set several years after the previous instalment.

It opens - as with all the earlier films - with Scrat doing everything he can to protect his precious acorn. But in his adventures, all of a sudden, cracks begin to appear in the ice he is travelling on, the ground opens up and he is sucked down into the earth.

The ice continues to crack, and the ground begins to separate; the plates of the earth begin to shift, and newly-formed continents begin to drift (hence the film’s subtitle).

We then see Manny (Ray Romano) and Ellie (Queen Latifah), looking for their now teenage daughter, Steffie (Nicki Minaj). It seems she has gone again to the falls - a place she is forbidden to go to, as this is where all the young delinquents hang out - with her friend, molehog Louis (Josh Gad).

Steffie, you see, has a crush on another mammoth, Ethan (Drake). Manny - after finding her - forbids her from going to the falls yet again.

It is about this time that Sid’s long lost family show up with his Granny (Wanda Sykes) in tow. They leave her with Sid (John Leguizamo), and abandon him yet again.

Manny (Ray Romano), with Diego (Denis Leary) and Sid (John Leguizamo) in the background.

When Steffie goes back to the falls again - only to be found by Manny, Ellie, Sid and Diego (Denis Leary) - again, all of a sudden, the ice begins to crack and the ground begins to fall away, separating Manny, Sid and Diego from the rest of the creatures at the falls.

Pulled out into the open sea by the strong currents, they are swept away, and must spend the rest of the film trying to find their way back to the others.

Along the way, they encounter a group of pirates, led by the egomaniacal Captain Gutt (Peter Dinklage).

I won’t describe the plot any further, for fear of spoiling your own enjoyment of the film.

Sid (John Leguizamo).

The animation in this film continues to improve, as technology has continued to develop in the intervening time since the previous film. The rendering and animation, particularly of the water, is absolutely stunning, and super realistic.

John Powell’s score is excellent, and perfectly matched to the on-screen action throughout the film’s 87-minute duration. In fact - as is the case with a lot of animated films - almost the entire film is scored; there are only brief moments where there is no music.

The screenplay, by Michael Berg and Jason Fuchs, seems - at least to me - to be even better than at least the previous two instalments. It has been some time since I have watched the original film, and perhaps my memory is slightly biased, but I would still attest that the first one was and is the best of the lot. However, even if that is the case, this film comes a very close second. The interaction between all the characters, and the many twists and turns of the plot, will keep you glued to your seat, and your eyes glued to the screen, from start to finish.

Crash (Seann William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck) are back again, too, of course.

The performances of the voice cast are also fantastic. I know I have mentioned the returning cast members in previous reviews (I have reviewed the previous three films already, and will eventually get to the fifth instalment in due course), but I would like to discuss the new cast members for a moment.

A particular standout in this film is Peter Dinklage, who plays his role with the perfect balance of humour and threat. He seems well suited to his character, and brings him to life in a wonderful way.

Directors Steve Martino and Michael Thurmeier have made an incredibly entertaining film here, a difficult task for any film that is the fourth instalment in a franchise (as mentioned above, I will also be reviewing the fifth film in the very near future). If you haven’t seen it, it’s well worth a look, though I would advise you watch the previous films first to get a better understanding of the characters, and how they all relate to each other.

8 out of 10.

Over the Hedge (2006)

Raccoon RJ (Bruce Willis) is always on the hunt for food. He steals the entire store of food from hibernating bear Vincent (Nick Nolte). When Vincent wakes up just in time to see his entire stash of food destroyed by a passing truck, he gives RJ an ultimatum: return his food by the time his hibernation ends in a week, or he will be killed.

Meanwhile, a whole group of foraging creatures are waking up from their own hibernation: turtle Verne (Garry Shandling), squirrel Hammy (Steve Carell), skunk Stella (Wanda Sykes), possums Ozzie (William Shatner) and Heather (Avril Lavigne) and hedgehogs Lou (Eugene Levy) and Penny (Catherine O’Hara). They only have 274 days before the next winter to gather enough food to fill their log that will keep them fed throughout their hibernation.

Hammy remembers somewhere he had left some nuts, and he goes to find them. Instead, he finds that, while they were asleep, a massive hedge has been built in the middle of their habitat. Not only that, but on the other side of that hedge, an enormous housing estate has been built where there used to be forest.

It is at this point that RJ tells this entire ‘family’ of creatures that the humans on the other side of the hedge are not to be feared, but that they have massive stores of food, most of which they don’t eat and end up throwing out.

He tries to recruit them (without telling them the real reason, of course) to get enough food to return to Vincent, to save his own skin.

But it isn’t going to be as simple as that. President of the Housing Association Gladys (Allison Janney) and her cat Tiger (Omid Djalili) are standing in their way.

The script, by Len Blum and Lorne Cameron & David Hoselton and Karey Kirkpatrick, is very clever, and, like a lot of animated films from recent years, is filled with plenty of clever puns and jokes for older viewers such as parents of children made to sit through these films. As I have said before, I think it’s smart of the filmmakers to include these kinds of jokes, knowing that audiences will be made up not only of children, but just as many parents and other adults.

Composer Rupert Gregson-Williams has given us an excellent score that, unlike a lot of other animated films, does not run for the entire length of the film. But when music is used, it is done incredibly well, with just enough ‘accompaniment’ to support what is happening on-screen.

The performances of all the cast are fantastic, in particular Garry Shandling and Wanda Sykes, whose voices are full of so much expression, they fill their respective characters with so much life.

Directors Tim Johnson & Karey Kirkpatrick have done an amazing job in bringing this film to the screen. Even though I have seen this film many times already, I know I will watch it many more times before tiring of it; there is just so much enjoyment to be had on every single viewing.

7 1/2 out of 10.