Ice Age: Continental Drift – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Ice Age: Continental Drift

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie2012

68%

WISE Score

Manny and the gang go full pirate-adventure mode with family lessons, fart jokes, and Scrat's eternal acorn quest—safe but starting to feel tired.

Ice Age: Continental Drift

movie

NR, 2012

68%

WISE Score

Manny and the gang go full pirate-adventure mode with family lessons, fart jokes, and Scrat's eternal acorn quest—safe but starting to feel tired.

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Screenwise Verdict

Ice Age: Continental Drift is a perfectly serviceable family movie that checks all the boxes—good messages, safe content, familiar characters—but it's also the fourth lap around the track and you can feel the franchise running out of steam.

The family-loyalty plot is earnest and the pirate-adventure setting adds some visual flair, but the scatological humor is relentless (if your tolerance for vomit gags is low, brace yourself) and the story beats are predictable. That IMDB 6.1 tells the real story: even fans shrugged.

It's a fine rainy-afternoon option for elementary-aged kids who already love Manny, Sid, and Diego, but if you're curating a must-watch list, this one's more 'background noise' than 'drop everything.' Start with the original Ice Age if your kid hasn't seen it—that one still has some magic.

Age Fit

Best for ages 6-10 who can handle mild cartoon violence and aren't bothered by endless poop jokes. Younger kids (4-5) might find pirate scenes a bit intense; older kids (11+) will likely find it babyish unless they're hardcore Ice Age fans.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

Strong family-loyalty themes with Peaches learning consequences of disobedience and reconciling with parents. Cartoon slapstick violence is mild (no blood/injury), but there's a fair amount of scatological humor (vomit, booger jokes, regurgitation gags) and 'booty' pirate wordplay that some families might find tiresome. Emotionally healthy core message about respecting parents and sticking together, though the gross-out comedy leans into lowest-common-denominator laughs.

Imaginative

Fourth installment in a franchise that's starting to feel formulaic—continental drift premise is visually interesting with pirate apes and high-seas adventure, but the creativity is more 'remix' than 'original.' Scrat's acorn-chasing antics remain the most inventive part. Bright animation and fantastical prehistoric setting offer some visual wonder, but the story beats are predictable family-adventure fare without much that sparks genuine curiosity or creative thinking.

Safe

PG rating with 'mild rude humor and action/peril' is accurate. Cartoon violence is entirely bloodless—stick fights, pirate battles, characters flung around—nothing genuinely scary for most 6+ kids. A few pirate/siren scenes might startle sensitive younger viewers (hence the 7+ guidance from Australian reviewers), but no gore, death, sexual content, or strong language. Scatological humor is the main 'watch for' element, not a safety concern per se but potentially annoying. Very predictable, no surprise traumatic content.

Enriching

Clear moral lessons about family loyalty, teamwork, and consequences of rebellion, but delivered in a straightforward, paint-by-numbers way. The teenage-daughter-defies-dad plot is relatable and could spark conversations about rules and trust, but the film doesn't dig deep or offer much nuance. Entertainment value is there for younger kids who love the characters, but it's not particularly thought-provoking or skill-building—mostly just a fun romp with a tidy moral bow.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Solid family-values message about loyalty, teamwork, and respecting parents—Peaches' rebellion-and-reconciliation arc is relatable for tweens
Bright, colorful animation and familiar characters make it an easy, low-stakes movie night pick for elementary-aged kids
Scrat's wordless slapstick remains genuinely funny and appeals to all ages
Pirate apes and high-seas adventure add some swashbuckling fun to the prehistoric formula

⚠

What to Watch For

Lots of scatological humor—vomit, booger water, regurgitation jokes—that might annoy parents more than worry them
A few pirate battle scenes and 'scary' sirens could startle sensitive kids under 7, though nothing graphic
Fourth movie in the franchise means diminishing returns on originality—if your kid hasn't seen the earlier ones, start there
IMDB 6.1 and lack of critical buzz suggest even fans found this one just 'fine'

Conversation Starters

"Peaches really wanted to fit in with the cool mammoths. Have you ever felt like you had to break a rule to be popular? How did that go?"
"Manny promised he'd find his family no matter what. What does it mean to keep a promise even when it's really hard?"
"The pirates were pretty scary at first but then they helped out. Can someone who seems like a 'bad guy' actually be a friend?"

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