Whereas the previous film in the Ice Age franchise seemed a little more reliant on 3D-showboating than providing consistent entertainment, Continental Drift delivers on both counts. Design and 3D are visual treats throughout - this largely ice-and-water-bound adventure shows how far these difficult CG media have come - and a surprisingly witty and inventive script keeps things moving. After an alarmingly over-preachy start (respect your parents, children), Ice Age 4 barrels along with three well-structured parallel narratives plus an effectively interwoven through-story for the marvellous Scrat, yet it feels that the writers have loosened up and are having a lot more fun: there is even a lovely self-referential dig at the previous film's 'dinosaurs' concept. Fox has tagged an alarmingly dour Simpsons Maggie-centric short at the front, but the pay-off is quite sweet. As a fourth entry, Continental Drift hardly breaks new ground, but it is a lively, well-written and beautifully-crafted affair, and it hits its children's market spot on. It is alarming, however, that the 'children' in the series are now teenagers: what next? Ice Age 5 - The Divorce Years?
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