Ice Age: Continental Drift

Ice Age: Continental Drift

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Steve Martino
Mike Thurmeier
Produced by John C. Donkin
Lori Forte
Screenplay by Michael Berg
Jason Fuchs
Story by Michael Berg
Lori Forte
Starring
Music by John Powell
Cinematography Renato Falcão
Edited by James Palumbo
David Ian Salter
Production
company
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • June 27, 2012 (Europe)
  • July 13, 2012 (North America)
Running time
 88 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $95 million[2][3]
Box office $877.2 million[3]

Ice Age: Continental Drift is a 2012 American 3D computer-animated comedy adventure film directed by Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier. It was written by Jason Fuchs and Michael Berg, and features the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Nicki Minaj, Drake, with Jennifer Lopez, and Queen Latifah.

It is the fourth installment of the Ice Age series, produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the first sequel in the series not directed by Carlos Saldanha,[4] and the second Ice Age installment that utilises Digital 3D. It was released in the US on July 13, 2012, three years after its predecessor Dawn of the Dinosaurs. This was the first Ice Age film to be presented in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio.

Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film became a box office success, with a worldwide gross of over $877 million, marking it the highest grossing animated film of 2012.

A fifth film, as of now titled Ice Age 5 is scheduled for release July 15, 2016.

Plot

While Scrat inadvertently causes the break up of Pangaea, Manny and Ellie are forced to deal with the trials and tribulations of their teenage daughter Peaches, who has trouble fitting in with her peers. Ellie tries to support her daughter, but Manny becomes exceedingly over-protective. Peaches' friend Louis, a molehog, tries to warn her as she tries to approach a mammoth named Ethan on whom she has a crush. Meanwhile, Sid's family returns, but only long enough to drop off the elderly Granny before abandoning them both. Manny catches Peaches sneaking off to meet Ethan, and leading to an argument and their estrangement. Shortly after, a continental break-up separates Manny from the herd. Trapped on a moving chunk of ice with Sid, Granny, and Diego, Manny has no choice but to ride out the current. Meanwhile, a giant land shift encroaches on Ellie, Peaches, and those remaining on land, causing them to make their way toward the land bridge.

Meanwhile, Scrat, in a subplot, finds an acorn that has a treasure map on it that directs him towards an island. After violent weather pushes them further away from land, Manny's group is captured by a band of pirates sailing on a floating iceberg led by a Gigantopithecus, Captain Gutt, who attempts to press them into his crew. When they refuse, Gutt tries to execute them, leading to their escape, which inadvertently cause the ship to sink. Gutt's first mate, a female sabretooth named Shira, joins them after she is left for dead.

The herd washes ashore on Switchback Cove, which Gutt's crew had earlier mentioned had a current that could let them return home. However, Shira, still loyal to Gutt, warns him of their presence, but is punished for not attacking the herd. Manny coordinates a plan to steal Gutt's new ship to return home, and enlists the aid of the hyrax inhabitants of the island. The plan works, and Diego convinces Shira to leave with them, but she stays behind to ensure Gutt does not catch the herd. Enraged that his enemies have stolen his ship, Gutt quickly constructs a new ship, the Sweet Revenge, and sails after the herd, determined to get revenge. Meanwhile, on the continent, Peaches finally begins to fit in with the mammoths her age, but when she tells them that she is not friends with Louis, the molehog is estranged from her. When she realizes the other teens' careless disregard for danger, she turns her back on them, warning that their extinction will come sooner than they think.

After narrowly escaping a pack of sirens, Manny, Sid, Diego, and Granny return home only to find the land bridge destroyed and that Gutt has beaten them and taken Ellie, Peaches, and the rest of the herd hostage. Louis stands up for Peaches and a battle ensues between the herd and the pirates. Shira frees Ellie and helps fend off her former comrades, while Granny's "imaginary" pet whale, Precious, appears and defeats the majority of Gutt's crew. Gutt then attempts to kill Ellie but Peaches manages to save her mother. Manny defeats Gutt in a final duel on an ice floe and reunites with his family and friends. Gutt subsequently encounters a siren that appears the shape of a female Gigantopithecus, and is eaten alive. With their home destroyed, Manny takes his expanded family and the other animals to an island as a new home. Louis is now regarded as a hero among the teenage mammoths, while Shira agrees to stay with Diego as a member of the herd.

In the film's epilogue, Scrat discovers the island on the map, known as Scratlantis (a mock up of Atlantis), but his uncontrollable urge to hunt acorns in the acorn-rich city inadvertently causes the entire island to sink when he unplugs an acorn drain holder; Scrat is then ejected into what is now known as Death Valley, California.

Voice cast

Production

The first details of the sequel were announced on January 10, 2010, when The New York Times reported that Blue Sky was working on a fourth film and was in negotiations with the voice cast.[13] Fox later confirmed on May 5, 2010, that Ice Age: Continental Drift would be released on July 13, 2012.[14]

Soundtrack

Ice Age: Continental Drift
Film score by John Powell
Released July 10, 2012
Recorded 2012
Genre Score
Length 57:57
Label Varèse Sarabande
John Powell film scores chronology

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
(2012)		 Ice Age: Continental Drift
(2012)		 Rio 2
(2014)

Ice Age: Continental Drift is the soundtrack of the film scored by John Powell and was released on July 10, 2012.[15]

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Morning Peaches"   2:22
2. "Schism"   2:28
3. "Storm"   3:50
4. "No Exit Gutt"   5:37
5. "Escape from Captivity"   3:02
6. "New Loves"   4:50
7. "Hyraxes / Prison Talk"   2:57
8. "Diversion"   3:57
9. "Pirating the Pirates"   4:37
10. "Teen Cave"   4:42
11. "Sirens"   2:35
12. "Land Bridge Trap"   8:22
13. "Herd Reunion"   3:08
14. "Scrat's Fantasia"   5:30
Total length:
 57:57

Featured in the film was "Chasing the Sun", performed by The Wanted[16] the film's first theme song, and the second theme song "We are (Family)" written by Ester Dean, performed by: Queen Latifah, Jennifer Lopez, Keke Palmer, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Heather Morris, and Ester Dean, herself.[17] Both songs play during the credits and are not available on the soundtrack. "Chasing The Sun" can be found on The Wanted's 2012 American debut extended play, The Wanted EP, while an alternate version of "We are (Family)" sung only by Keke Palmer is available for download.

In addition to the original score by John Powell, the film also features Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Powell explained his decision: "At the beginning of the film, the creation of the geographical world as we know it seemed just such an immense idea to musically convey, that I gave up entirely and used Beethoven's Ninth Symphony instead. With a bit of obscenely crass re-orchestration and blatantly cheap arranging tricks normally associated with strippers, we got it to fit the action perfectly. But the cost that I must now bear is having to live forever in hiding, since the "Beethoven Society" issued a "fatwa" on me."[18]

Release

Ice Age: Continental Drift had its premiere on June 20, 2012, at the CineEurope film distributors' trade fair in Barcelona.[19] It publicly premiered on June 27, 2012, in Belgium, Egypt, France, Switzerland, and Trinidad, and was released on July 13, 2012, in the USA.[20] The film is accompanied by the short animated film The Longest Daycare featuring Maggie Simpson.[21][22]

Marketing

As a promotion for Ice Age: Continental Drift, Fox released two 3-minute short segments from the film,[23] titled Scrat's Continental Crack-up and Scrat's Continental Crack-up: Part 2. The first part premiered as a theatrical release attached to Gulliver's Travels in 2010,[24] and it was released on-line on January 6, 2011, on iTunes Movie Trailers.[24] The second part was released on November 16, 2011, on iTunes,[25] and debuted in theatres with Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.[26] The first part shows how the Scrat's actions lead to split of the continents, while in the second part, Scrat's underwater pursuit of acorns leads him to a pirate ship.

The film was featured on Tommy Baldwin Racing's #10 car driven by Tomy Drissi for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 held on June 24, 2012.[27]

Home media

Ice Age: Continental Drift was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D on December 11, 2012.[1]

Reception

Box office

Ice Age: Continental Drift earned $161,321,843 in North America, and $715,922,939 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $877,244,782.[3] Its worldwide opening weekend totaled $126.9 million.[28] Worldwide, it is the thirty-fifth highest-grossing film,[29] the fifth highest-grossing film of 2012 (also, the highest-grossing animated film of that year),[30] and the second highest-grossing film in the Ice Age series.[31] Overall, it is the eighth highest-grossing animated film.

North America

In North America, the film earned $16.7 million on its opening day and $46.6 million on its opening weekend, which was the second-largest opening weekend in the Ice Age series, only behind The Meltdown ($68 million).[32] The film closed from theaters on February 7, 2013 with $161 million, thus standing as the lowest grossing film in the series.[33]

Other territories

Outside North America, it is the twelfth highest-grossing film, the third highest-grossing 2012 film and the second highest-grossing film distributed by Fox. It set an all-time record among animated films, until Frozen surpassed it.[34] Ice Age 4 had a two-day (Wednesday-Thursday) opening of $11 million from 12 markets.[35] On its opening weekend (through Sunday), it earned first place with $80.3 million from 34 markets, opening #1 in all of them.[36][37] The film set an opening-day record in Nicaragua and a Thursday-opening record in Guatemala. In Peru, it earned the second highest-grossing opening day and the highest for an animated film. It also set opening-day records for an animated film in Russia[38] and in Sweden[39] and achieved the second highest-grossing opening day for an animated film in France ($4.5 million), Colombia, Argentina and Chile.[35] The film set opening-weekend records for any film in Argentina (first surpassed by Iron Man 3),[40] Colombia, Peru, Central America and Chile, and opening-weekend records for an animated film in Norway, Sweden (surpassed by Frozen),[41] Ecuador and Bolivia.[42] Its largest opening weekends were recorded in Russia and the CIS ($16.9 million), China ($15.7 million),[43] and France and the Maghreb region ($12.8 million).[44] It is the second highest-grossing film in Latin America with at least $181 million, only behind Marvel's The Avengers.[45]

Critical response

Ice Age: Continental Drift received generally mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 37% of critics have given the film positive reviews, with a rating average of 5.1/10 based on 131 reviews. The consensus statement reads, "Ice Age: Continental Drift 3D has moments of charm and witty slapstick, but it often seems content to recycle ideas from the previous films."[46] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 49 based on 29 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[47]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two stars out of four and stated: "Watching this film was a cheerless exercise for me. The characters are manic and idiotic, the dialogue is rat-a-tat chatter, the action is entirely at the service of the 3-D, and the movie depends on bright colors, lots of noise and a few songs in between the whiplash moments."[48] Megan Lehmann of The Hollywood Reporter said: "It's familiar, drawn-out shtick, and the humor lacks the subtlety of the first and best Ice Age, but there are some visually inventive high points."[49] Simon Brew, writing for Den of Geek, gave a very positive four-star review, saying that "not only is Ice Age 4 arguably the best in the franchise yet, it's also, a little surprisingly perhaps (given that it's a fourth movie in a franchise, turned around on a strict cycle), turned out to be thoroughly, thoroughly entertaining family blockbuster."[50]

CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave Continental Drift an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.[51]

Video games

Ice Age Village is a mobile video game, developed by Gameloft, and was released on April 5, 2012 to iPhone, iPad and various Android devices.[52][53]

Ice Age: Continental Drift – Arctic Games, a video game based on the film, developed by Behaviour Interactive, published by Activision and was released on July 10, 2012[54] for Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, and Kinect for Xbox 360.[55]

Sequel

In December 2013, 20th Century Fox set Ice Age 5 for a July 15, 2016 release.[56][57]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (October 4, 2012). "Ice Age: Continental Drift Hitting Blu-ray and DVD on December 22". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  2. ↑ Stewart, Andrew (July 21, 2012). "'Drift' does best biz overseas". Variety. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  4. ↑ Harris, Rachel (May 6, 2010). "Ice Age 4 Confirmed By Fox". ScreenRush.co.uk. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 Finke, Nikki (April 26, 2011). "Jennifer Lopez, Jeremy Renner, Wanda Sykes, & Drake Join Cast Of 2012 'Ice Age'". Deadline. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Wloszczyna, Susan (March 1, 2012). "Sneak peek: 'Ice Age: Continental Drift'". Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 Abrams, Rachel (August 4, 2011). "Behar, Minaj, Frost warm to ‘Ice Age’". Variety. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  8. ↑ Hampp, Andrew (December 2, 2011). "Exclusive: Nicki Minaj Barbie Doll to Be Auctioned for Charity (Photo)". Billboard.com. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  9. ↑ Thompson, Erica (August 19, 2011). "Ester Dean Talks 'Ice Age 4,' New Album and Missy Elliott". Billboard.com. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  10. ↑ Kit, Borys (August 19, 2011). "'Bridesmaids' Co-Star Ramps Up Movie Roles (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter (Prometheus Global Media). Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Joy takes us behind the scenes at 'Ice Age'". CNN. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  12. ↑ Cheung, Nadine (August 8, 2011). "'Glee's' Heather Morris to Star in 'Ice Age: Continental Drift'". JSYK. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  13. ↑ Barnes, Brooks (January 10, 2010). "Taking Aim at the Big Names in Animated Film". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  14. ↑ Mcclintock, Pamela (May 5, 2010). "Fox sets 3D 'Ice Age' sequel". Variety. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Ice Age: Continental Drift". Varese Sarabande Records. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
  16. ↑ "The Wanted Single Set For Ice Age 4 Soundtrack". MTV. June 10, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Keke Palmer Sings The "Ice Age: Continental Drift" Theme Song "We Are"". Nickutopia. May 25, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  18. ↑ Rosenbloom, Etan (July 13, 2012). "John Powell on Ice Age: Continental Drift". ASCAP. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  19. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (June 4, 2012). "20th Century Fox to Premiere Fourth 'Ice Age' Film at CineEurope". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Worldwide Release Dates". Ice Age: Continental Drift. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  21. ↑ "YouTube trailer". Fox Broadcasting. May 20, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  22. ↑ Arbeiter, Michael (2012-05-21). "‘Simpsons’ Back on the Big Screen: ‘Ice Age 4’ Debuts 3D Short". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
  23. ↑ Debruge, Peter (June 28, 2012). "Ice Age: Continental Drift". Variety. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Sciretta, Peter (January 6, 2011). "Watch: Ice Age Short Film ‘Scrat’s Continental Crack-Up’". /Film. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
  25. ↑ Gonzalez, Sandra (November 15, 2011). "'Ice Age' star Scrat gets into more acorn-craving mischief -- EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  26. ↑ Sampson, Mike (November 17, 2011). "WATCH THE NEW SCRAT SHORT FILM, CONTINENTAL CRACK UP, PART 2". Joblo. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  27. ↑ Lumpp, Heather (June 19, 2012). "Tommy Baldwin Racing Enlists Trans Am Champion Tomy Drissi For Sonoma Road Course". Tommy Baldwin Racing. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  28. ↑ "All Time Worldwide Opening Records at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  29. ↑ "All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  30. ↑ "2012 Worldwide Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  31. ↑ "Franchises - Ice Age". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  32. ↑ Subers, Ray (July 16, 2012). "Weekend Report: 'Ice Age' Doesn't Melt in Fourth Outing". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  33. ↑ "ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT - Characters". 20th Century Fox. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  34. ↑ "All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 McClintock, Pamela (June 29, 2012). "Box Office Report: 'Ice Age 4' Off to Sizzling Start Overseas". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  36. ↑ Subers, Ray (July 2, 2012). "Around-the-World Roundup: 'Ice Age,' 'Spider-Man' Open Early Overseas". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  37. ↑ Segers, Frank (July 1, 2012). "Foreign Box Office: 'Ice Age: Continental Drift' Opens Wide Overseas, Seizing the No. 1 Spot". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  38. ↑ Subers, Ray (July 17, 2012). "Around-the-World Roundup: 'Ice Age' Back on Top Overseas". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  39. ↑ "UPDATED: 'Ice Age 4' Becomes 10th Highest Grossing Film Of All Time At The International Box Office". BoxOffice.com. August 26, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  40. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (April 28, 2013). "Box Office Report: 'Iron Man 3' Opens to Massive $198.4 Million Overseas, Bigger Than 'Avengers'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 2, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  41. ↑ "GLOBAL: "Frozen" Continues To Dominate, Passes $500M Overseas". Boxoffice.com. February 2, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  42. ↑ Finke, Nikki (July 1, 2012). "‘Ice Age 4′ Foreign Debut $78M And #1 In All 34 Markets: Already Breaking Records". deadline.com. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  43. ↑ Segers, Frank (July 29, 2012). "Foreign Box Office: 'Dark Knight Rises' Commands No. 1 Slot Overseas, Grossing More Than $250 Million To Date Offshore". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  44. ↑ "Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) - International Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  45. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (August 8, 2012). "Box Office Milestone: 'Ice Age 4' Becomes Top Fox Film in Latin America, No. 2 of All Time". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  46. ↑ "Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  47. ↑ "Ice Age: Continental Drift". Metacritic. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  48. ↑ Ebert, Roger (July 11, 2012). "ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT (PG)". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  49. ↑ Lehmann, Megan (June 25, 2012). "Ice Age: Continental Drift: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  50. ↑ Brew, Simon (June 30, 2012). "Ice Age 4: Continental Drift review". Den of Geek. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  51. ↑ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  52. ↑ Molina, Brett (March 14, 2012). "New 'Ice Age' game hitting mobile devices in spring". USA Today. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  53. ↑ Ice Age Movie (April 5, 2012). "The official Ice Age app is here!". Facebook. Retrieved April 11, 2012. The official Ice Age app is here! Help your favorite characters in this heroic challenge, and get ready for fun and surprises along the way!
  54. ↑ "Ice Age Continental Drift - Arctic Games". Ice Age Continental Drift - Arctic Games. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  55. ↑ "Activision Publishing And Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products Announce All New Ice Age Video Game". PR Newswire. April 25, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  56. ↑ Pamela McClintock (December 20, 2013). "'Ice Age 5' to Hit Theaters Summer 2016". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  57. ↑ "Ice Age 5 Set for July 15, 2016, Anubis Moves to 2018". ComingSoon.net. December 20, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.

External links