Ice Age: Continental Drift
dir. Steve Martino & Michael Thurmeier (2012)
The Ice Age family continues to grow, affording each member no more than a rudimentary character arc. The latest storyline is equally superficial, yet packed with comedy moments. Continental Drift disappoints as a feature film; as a 90-minute cartoon, it succeeds brilliantly.
Ice Age: Collision Course
dir. Mike Thurmeier & Galen T. Chu (2016)
Film five of the Ice Age franchise offers more of the same: beautifully animated and very funny in parts, but with an ever-expanding cast that ipso facto demands a scattershot apportioning of screen time (and thus precludes any thought of serious undertones).
Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe
dir. Michael Thurmeier & Galen Chu (2015)
Scrat the squirrel has always been a highlight of the Ice Age franchise. In this five-minute film — a curtain raiser that threatens to steal the show from The Peanuts Movie — Scrat manages to activate a spacecraft and blast off beyond the stratosphere.