Well-done, cute 'Ice Age' outings are wearing thin

Wire Reports
Thursday, July 12, 2012 9:55 p.m. | Thursday, July 12, 2012 9:55 p.m.

This image released by 20th Century Fox shows teenage wooly mammoths, from left, Katie, voiced by Heather Morris, Meghan, voiced by Alexandra Romano, Ethan, voiced by Drake and Steffie, voiced by Nicki Minaj in a scene from the animated film, 'Ice Age: Continental Drift.' (AP Photo/20th Century Fox)

This image released by 20th Century Fox shows characters, from left, Manny, voiced by Ray Romano, Diego, voiced by Denis Leary, Sid, voiced by John Leguizamo, Granny, voiced by Wanda Sykes and Shira, voiced by Jennifer Lopez in a scene from the animated film, 'Ice Age: Continental Drift.' (AP Photo/20th Century Fox)

‘Ice Age: Continental Drift'

PG for mild rude humor and action/peril; 2 stars (out of 4)

They keep pumping out more “Ice Age” movies, and if they never reach the heights of the best animated fare, they chug along efficiently.

That's certainly true of “Ice Age: Continental Drift,” the fourth film in the franchise, directed by Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier. Nothing new under the prehistoric sun here — the same guys having another adventure, facing down danger with some pretty big stars delivering pretty funny lines (and some not so funny) along the way.

This time around, Scrat, the little creature forever chasing an acorn, sets the plot in motion — and returns throughout. Since he's the worst thing about the “Ice Age” movies, that's not a good thing. His lust for the acorn leads, however improbably, to the creation of the continents. And while on the long-term evolutionary scale that's a good thing, for the “Ice Age” gang, it's not. The cracking earth separates Manny (Ray Romano), Diego (Denis Leary) and Sid (John Leguizamo), from most of their family and friends, shipping them out to sea an a piece of ice along with newcomer Granny (Wanda Sykes), Sid's addled grandmother.

The trick is to get back, difficult enough on a rudderless hunk of ice. But it's made even more so by a band of pirates using an iceberg as their ship. They're led by Captain Gutt (Peter Dinklage). Among his motley crew is Shira (Jennifer Lopez), a saber-toothed tiger. There is a nod to Homer's “Odyssey” with the quick inclusion of the Sirens, but don't get your hopes up — it's just one of many plot elements tossed out along the way.

Meanwhile, back on land, Manny's wife Ellie (Queen Latifah) has to not only take care of their daughter Peaches (Keke Palmer), but nurse her through her first crush. She likes Ethan (Aubrey Graham, better known as Drake), one of the cool mammoth kids, ignoring the obvious affection Louis (Josh Gad), a molehog, has for her.

Other new additions include Nicki Minaj as a shallow mammoth friend of Ethan's, and Patrick Stewart as Ariscratle, the top of the evolutionary scale of whatever Scrat is, with Scrat evidently occupying a much-lower place.

It's well-done and cute and forgettable. Dinklage has a lot of fun as Gutt — he even gets to sing — and the returning cast of characters is reliably solid. One of these days extinction will win out, but don't be surprised if there aren't a couple more “Ice Age” movies before that happens.

• Wide release

— The Arizona Republic

‘The Color Wheel'

Not rated; Not reviewed

An aspiring news anchor drags her younger brother along on a road trip to retrieve her belongings from her former professor and lover's apartment. With Carlen Altman, Bob Byington and Kate Lyn Sheil. Written by Altman and Alex Ross Perry. Directed by Perry. (Showings at 8 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday include the director's intro and post-screening Q&A; the 8 p.m. Saturday screening includes the director's intro only.)

• Regent Square

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