The Perils of Prolonged Sequels: A Critical Look at Ice Age 5
It’s a familiar narrative in the world of cinema: the series that overstays its welcome. Ice Age 5, sadly, epitomizes this phenomenon, coming across as a blatant attempt to squeeze more revenue from a well-loved franchise without injecting fresh, compelling content. It feels as though the creators underestimated the modern audience’s ability to discern genuine quality, especially considering the uneven performance of sequels in recent years – think Batman, Star Wars, Alice, Independence Day, Captain America, X-Men, Divergent, and Now You See Me. While Toy Story 2 showed how it could be done, Ice Age 5 appears to suffer from the generic “sequel fever”.
The Double-Edged Sword of Nostalgia
Nostalgia is one of the primary tools of mass marketing, and studios often go back to the well without thinking about the cost. Savvy audiences are growing more aware of this technique and it is becoming less successful over time. When nostalgia is the sole pillar supporting a project – a foundation bolstered by heavy-handed marketing attempts – the risks are high. Failure to deliver a genuinely engaging story can permanently tarnish a cherished brand’s image and reputation.
The Humor Gap
The humor in Ice Age 5 often comes across as strained, lacking the organic spontaneity that characterizes truly funny moments. While quirky humor is a staple of Western cinema, there’s a clear distinction between authentic comedic timing and forced, illogical antics designed for awkward laughter. Humor should flow seamlessly from the situation, in other words, humour should not be contrived. Think of the farmer in Shaun the Sheep struggling to shear his flock, only to have them scattered and unexpectedly compress a large sheep underground who just brushed it off like it was nothing! Or Tom in Tom and Jerry, who perpetually finds himself comically catapulted into the sky as a shooting star, leaving viewers in tears of laughter. What other animated series has bested the slapstick of what Hanna-Barbera created? Not to mention the positive message when Tom and Jerry side with each other when everything else fails!
Confused Plot and Convoluted World-Building
Paradoxically, despite its sophisticated animation, Ice Age 5 suffers from a confusing and disjointed plot. While the narrative includes the familiar theme of villains finding redemption and enemies collaborating against a common threat, these plot points feel forced. Just like how the redemption in 《盗墓笔记》was so bizarre, in the same way *Ice Age 5 feels very sudden and inorganic. The plot and world-building of Ice Age 5are bewilderingly chaotic.
The film introduces a cosmology in an attempt to depict the origins of the universe through broad comedic exaggeration – the squirrel’s insatiable desire for an acorn triggers a cascading series of cosmic events! While such a “butterfly effect” has the potential to establish a grand epic scope, the film unfortunately wastes that potential. Instead Ice Age 5 focuses on trite family dramas, leaving little room for any cosmic connections. Given the film revolves around trite domestic life, the title should just be called, “Ice Age Family Soap Opera”. It wasn’t until the squirrel voiced out loud, “I’m getting a divorce to get half the assets,” that Ice Age 5 truly becomes a “animated family soap opera” catered to attract only Chinese audiences. It could be stated that Ice Age 5 is geared toward toddlers and young children, given the wild and outlandish scenarios where intelligent Ice Age animals manage to avert global annihilation.