ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE
US, 2016, 93 minutes, Colour.
Voices of: Ray Romano, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Lopez, Simon Pegg, John Leguiazamo, Nick Offerman, Seann William Scott, Max Greenfield, Josh Peck, Keke Palmer, Adam De Vine, Wanda Sykes.
Directed by Mike Thurmeier, Galen T. Chu.
This is the fifth film in the Ice Age series. It follows much the same pattern as the previous films and has most of the same characters. It also means that the formula is running down and that this is probably the best place to stop. In the meantime, it is enjoyable in its slight way but reminiscent of the better ice ages of the past.
Of course, Scrat is still there, still pursuing his acorn. He has been the start of the past films and his antics in trying to retain the acorn or searching for it are amusing. However, his scenes are rather futuristic as he gets trapped in a spacecraft (presumably left there by aliens) and does a lot of hurtling around space, messing with spacecraft controls, and creating a certain amount of mayhem in the galaxies including turning the Earth-like luxuriant planet, Mars, into the red planet in one stroke.
The other thing that script does up there in the ionosphere is to set off all kinds of meteor collisions and the hurtling of many of them towards Earth. They interrupt the now rather placid life of all those prehistoric animals that we have got to know, providing fireworks in the sky for our friend Manny, the Mammoth, who has forgotten his wife’s wedding anniversary.
After reminding all our memories of Manny and his wife, his daughter, Peaches, who now has a beau of whom Manny is rather jealous, Sid the Sloth carrying on but, of all things, acquiring a girlfriend! Diego and his fiancee from the previous film are happily content, though still scaring some of the smaller creatures.
Neil, the weasel, returns, pursued by prehistoric flying creatures, who is able to help them avert the meteor that is heading straight towards Earth, getting a whole lot of crystals which have emerged from eruptions and feeding them into a volcano so that, with all other outlets of the earth’s energy covered, there can be an enormous explosion to blow the meteor off course. So, we have the benefit of a rather big physics lesson and successful experiment to make sure that the ice age continues in peace.
The same voice cast entertains us again, zany characters, comic situations – but, unless a screenwriter gets an extraordinary and different inspiration, the end of an era.
1. The popularity of the series? The characters, situations, interactions? Talking animals? Comedy? Crises?
2. The Ice Age? Prehistoric? The landmasses, instability, cracks in the earth? The prehistoric animals? The familiar animals? Survival?
3. The animation and its style, familiar? The opening with Scrat? His perennial search for the acorn? Ups and downs, losing, finding, chasing? The irony of the spacecraft?
The comedy within the craft, the controls, flying through space? The effect on the meteors? Crashing to earth?
4. The visuals, the familiar characters, the voice cast? The musical score?
5. The animals, the community? Manny and his wife, Peaches, Julian as her fiance? Sid and his zany comedy? His finding a girlfriend? Diego, his partner, their peaceful life, yet frightening the smaller animals? The rabbits, the small animals? The prehistoric creatures? The weasel coming to the rescue?
6. Manny, Playing ball with the son-in-law? The jealousies? Peaches wanting to leave with Julian? His unwillingness to let his daughter go? Her mother and the more open attitude? Crises, Julian coming to the rescue, his being accepted into the family?
7. Manny forgetting the anniversary? Covering? The fireworks in the sky? The realisation of the danger? The meteors? Hiding in the cave?
8. The weasel, pursued by the prehistoric creatures? His intelligence, his claim, covering the energy holes? The crystals, piling them into the volcano? The split second activities, dangers?
9. Everybody involved? The huge explosion? The meteor going off course? Community saved?
10. Scrat and his continued adventures, turning Mars into the red planet?
