Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that Ice Age: Continental Drift is the fourth installment in Fox's popular prehistoric animal franchise. Even the youngest moviegoers will want to follow Manny, Sid, and Diego's latest adventures. Like Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, this one's in 3-D and features some cartoonish violence, mild romance, a smattering of insults, and some scatological humor. On the plus side, there are a lot of overtly positive messages about family and friendship.
Sexual
Content
Peaches has a crush on Ethan, while her molehog best friend, Louis, is smitten with her. Peaches calls Ethan "hot." Diego and Shira flirt and eventually declare their interest in each other. Sid and Manny poke fun at Diego for not realizing he's falling in love. In one funny sequence, monstrous "sirens" appear as the opposite sex to lure Scrat, Manny, Sid, Sid's Granny, Diego, etc. to them. The male sloth (who looks like Fabio in sloth form) makes a suggestive statement to Sid's grandma about the "wrinklier the fruit, the juicier the fruit."
Violence
Lots of cartoonish violence, as per usual with the Ice Age movies. Scrat unintentionally causes widespread destruction and personal harm in his attempt to secure his precious acorn. Young kids might be scared when Manny, Diego, and Sid are separated from the rest of the herd. The pirate Captain Gutt is menacing and tells a frightening story about how he got his nickname. He's bent on revenge and is willing to sacrifice any of his pirates to achieve it. None of the other characters is really hurt, however, so there isn't a body count or anything too gruesome. Also, the sirens in their original form are quite creepy looking.
Language
Mild insults include "idiot," "freaks," and "stupid." There's also some scatological humor about puking, farting, burping, etc.
Social
Behavior
The central idea of every Ice Age film is that your herd (family) isn't necessarily the one you're born with but the tribe that protects you and loves you unconditionally. Even though Sid's sloth family abandons him, Manny and Diego never will. The subplot with Peaches reminds viewers that true friends accept you as you are, not under the condition that you dump another friend first.
Consumerism
No product placements in the movie, but the Ice Age franchise has many merchandise tie-ins off camera, including Happy Meal collectible toys, plush dolls, figurines, games, and more.
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Not applicable
