Ice Age 4 Continental Drift Review

It's been ten years since Manny, Diego and Sid first arrived on the big screen.  They are now starring in the fourth installment of their ice age adventures, Ice Age 4 Continental Drift, which was released today on DVD, Blu-Ray and 3D Blu-Ray.

We were sent a copy to watch and tonight we snuggled up to watch the antics of our favourite woolly mammoth and his crew of unlikely heroes.

As usual, it is Scrat in pursuit of his ever elusive acorns that leads to the cataclysmic world event that causes the earth's crust to shift, creating the continents and bringing chaos to the world.  Scrat's stories are always the highlight of the films for me.  I love the imaginative ways that he has been responsible for shaping the world!

Now a father to a teenager, Manny is being over-protective of his daughter Peaches who has discovered boys and is ready to grow up.  (Something my girls related to!)  Sid's family has finally shown up, but the family reunion isn't exactly how Sid envisaged it.  He is reunited with his mad and cantankerous gran!

As the continental shelves shift Manny, Sid, Diego and Granny find themselves all at sea on a floating lump of ice, separated from Ellie and Peaches.  As they drift across the ocean they run into many obstacles including a band of menacing animal pirates captained by a vengeful, crazy baboon called Gutt.  

Will Manny and his friends ever get home to Ellie and Peaches?  How will they evade the pirates? Will Manny ever let Peaches date boys?  Will Scrat ever get his acorn?  These are just a few questions answered in this fun filled sequel.

The voice casting is brilliant.  The girls were surprised to hear Nikki Minaj and Jennifer Lopez's vocal talents!  The animation is up to its usual eye popping standard and the storyline is interspersed with enough laughs and tension to keep the children riveted.  The best new character has to be Sid's granny who adds a riotous dose of slapstick humour and cutting repartee. 

The characters remain as engaging as they were a decade ago and the franchise's brand of humour continues to bring laughs aplenty.  Scrat's appearances throughout the film are simply genius!  It is a perfect family film that fans of Ice Age will love.  We did!

    

© 2012 Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Find Ice Age 4 on Facebook.

Available on 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD December 10th!  Order now here: http://amzn.to/TU7Nhu

We Bought A Zoo

The Uplifting Tale Based On a True Life Story

We Bought A Zoo is a heartwarming and uplifting adventure based on the real life story of Benjamin Mee and his family who  bought and saved a zoo!  Looking for a fresh start for his family following the death of his wife, Mee (Matt Damon)  quits his job and buys a run down rural house outside of the city which has the unique bonus feature of also being a zoo.  Dozens of rare and beautiful animals reside under the care of  zoo-keeper Kelly (Scarlett Johansson) and her dedicated team, but time is running out for them.

With no experience, limited time, the challenges of single parenthood and a hand to mouth budget, Mee sets out to re-open Rosemoor Animal Park to the public.  This adventure is a life changing one which helps rebuild the fractured Mee family, bringing hope, healing and purpose to their lives.

Starring a cast of exotic animals, this film is sure to delight the family.  Cameron Crowe directs with sensitivity and we share the highs and lows of Mee's journey to save the zoo and have it ready for opening day.  A host of problems stand in the way including escaping wild animals, an uncharitable inspector and the weather, but where there's a will there's a way!

We were sent a copy of the film and it proved to be a wonderful watch.  My girls and myself shed floods of tears as we experienced Benjamin Mee's life affirming story.  Matt Damon's performance was touchingly sensitive and we were rooting for him to succeed in saving the zoo and rebuilding his broken family.  The animals are all gorgeous and add to the emotional highs and lows of the film, evoking both tears and laugh out loud moments!

Knowing that this film is based on the real life story of  Benjamin Mee who bought and saved Dartmoor Zoo makes it all the more poignant.  I was incredibly lucky to be invited along to Dartmoor Zoo to meet the man himself and was given the chance to go behind the scenes and get up close and personal with some of the animals.  You can read all about my own amazing zoo adventure here!

Special features on the WE BOUGHT A ZOO Blu-ray include:

• “The Real Mee” Travel to the Dartmoor Zoo for a heartwarming look at the real Benjamin Mee and his incredible family whose actual story inspired "We Bought A Zoo"
• “We Shot a Zoo” Join the cast, crew and animals in this behind-the-scenes documentary chronicling their exciting journey filming "We Bought A Zoo"
•  “Their Happy is Too Loud” Director Cameron Crowe joins Composer Jónsi in the recording studio for a never-before-seen look at the making of the music for the film.
• Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy including theatrical film
• Deleted & Extended Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Audio Commentary with Director Cameron Crowe, Star J.B. Smoove and Editor Mark Livolsi

We Bought a Zoo is available on Blu-ray Triple Play and DVD on 16^th July, from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Get Chipwrecked This Easter

On April 2nd, Alvin, Simon and Theodore return to DVD in a brand new, un-fur-gettable family film.  The fun begins as the Chipmunks and the Chipettes go on vacation with Dave on a luxury cruiseliner.  The all singing , all dancing chipmunks are back to their best, getting up to mischief and having fun from the offset!

We are lucky enough to have had a sneaky peek at the film and we enjoyed it!  It is real family fun, which is exactly what you need to entertain the kids, especially with the Easter holidays fast approaching.  The kids were singing along to the songs and laughing at the antics of the chipmunks throughout.  They were delighted to see the return of the rather mean Ian, down on his luck and intent on getting revenge!

Alvin and the gang find themselves having a bigger adventure than they anticipated when they wind up marooned on an island after one of Alvin's pranks goes wrong.  Queue the infighting, the acapella renditions of "Survivor", journeys of self-discovery and shipwreck gags!  They soon realise that they are not alone on this tropical island!! Some escapades including an erupting volcano, a personality altering spider bite and some hidden treasure add to the excitement.  Will Dave be able to save the day??  Will they get off the island with friendships intact and still be able to perform at the International Music Awards? 

If you can put up with the squeaky, rodent voices and predictable humour, then you will be able to enjoy this latest offering from the Chipmunk franchise.  It is energetic, a bit silly and full on with its slapstick humour and funky covers.  For me, the novelty of singing Chipmunks is still enough to keep me entertained...I can't help it .  The rendition of  "I Whip My Tail Back and Forth" sold it for me!  

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked is available on DVD and Blu-ray Triple Play 2 April. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

If you want something more to keep the kids entertained, you can click on the activity sheet below and print it out, so the kids can learn how to draw their own Alvin! 

The Tooth Fairy 2

Whenever any of my children lose a tooth, we leave it under the pillow for the Tooth Fairy.  But never do we imagine the Tooth Fairy to look like the star of the new movie from 20th Century Fox.  Available on DVD on March 12th, The Tooth Fairy 2 introduces us to an all new and very unlikely Tooth Fairy played by Larry the CableGuy.

When Larry Guthrie loses his first love to the sleazy town hot shot, he decides to try and win her back by tugging at her heart strings.  He volunteers at the local kids' after school club but soon slips up when he tells the kids that the Tooth Fairy is not real.  He then becomes magically transformed into a pink-winged, tutu-clad fairy in order for him to learn his lesson.  He is sentenced to collect ten children's teeth in ten days.  If he fails he loses his best ever memory.

The story is heart warming as you see Larry becoming a better man through his experiences and see his first love warming to him again.  Her fiancée does all he can to sabotage Larry at every possible opportunity, creating some funny moments.

There were loads of funny moments which kept both Kizzy and Freddy entertained.  We were all rooting for Larry on his journey of self discovery.  It is a good fun-filled family film with some touching moments.  The cute kids definitely added the 'cute' element to the film.

The Tooth Fairy 2 DVD is jam packed with extra special features...including an introduction to 'Larry The Hairy Fairy'.  Tooth Fairy 2 is also available as part of a special double-pack that includes the original Tooth Fairy film starring Dwayne Johnson.

Release Date             12th March 2012
Running Time             86 minutes
Certificate                   PG
DVD Price                 RRP £15.99
DVD Double Pack     RRP £19.99