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Drifting into la-la-land

The smaller details of Ice Age’s fourth edition  — like the Bengal badger’s prehistoric version (who incidentally is called Gupta) hoisting itself up the flag post real quick to flutter atop as the black and white pirate flag — highlight the creativity of the artists. These are few and far between though. When it comes to the bigger picture, all Ice Age 4: Continental Drift could manage is a big fat yawn. But seriously. What did we expect fourth time round: that Manny the mammoth and the gang would keep us in splits with the stretched-to-its-limit storyline?

Still, if only we didn’t have to go through typical American teenage tantrums. Between the last film and now, Manny has a teenaged daughter, Peaches. It’s bizarre watching a mammoth — caricatured version notwithstanding — tuck hair self consciously. It gets worse. Remember Diego? The sabre-toothed cat with a biting tongue? Last we met him, he was unattached. So the team decides to set this anomaly right. In comes Shira (backed up by Jennifer Lopez), the supposedly feisty female sabre-toothed cat. But she is too meek in front of the super-villain, the prehistoric ape called Gutt, to carry off the feisty bit convincingly. Somehow the lovey-dovey act doesn’t really gel, either. In the process, our sharp-tongued Diego gets a little tongued-tied at times. Alas. Gutt, the villain, has his lines — and moments. Unfortunately, his cackling villainy doesn’t really go behind clichés. Alas, again.

Just when we are ready to say enough is enough, Ice Age series’ legendary Scrat, the sabre-toothed squirrel, whose insatiable appetite for acorns, according to filmmakers, leads to every disaster known to mankind, walks into Scratlantis. And walks into some of the best moments in the film.

Let’s keep our fingers real crossed and hope there’s no Ice Age 5. Imagine having to sit through a teenaged sabre-toothed cat’s antics!
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