ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE
Fun family themes, but this animated adventure is better at home.
Should You Watch It?
ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE has a worthwhile center. Manny and Ellie face the difficult transition of a child preparing to marry and enter adult life. The movie promotes marriage and family, and it positively presents the need for trust as parents release a child into adulthood.
But the film’s story does not match its family-friendly values. The meteor threat provides major destruction, yet the conflict never feels credible or compelling. Rapid-paced animation and corny comedy cannot replace a story that draws you deeply into its characters.
There are also several instances of scatological humor, including mention of poop and butts and Granny’s interest in nude bingo. Some small children may find the meteor showers frightening. For your family, this is best saved for home viewing.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESPeaches, the daughter of Manny and Ellie, has fallen in love with Julian and plans to get married. Her parents struggle with the thought of her leaving home just as a surprise wedding anniversary party is interrupted by showers of meteors.
With an apparently world-destroying meteor headed their way, the Ice Age family faces a danger that could change everything. Will the family survive?
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means this is a moderately entertaining film with clear weaknesses. The familiar Ice Age cast returns, and the movie has entertaining moments, rapid-paced animation, and corny comedy.
Still, the film is not as good as previous ICE AGE movies. Its conflict lacks credibility, and the story lacks the substance needed to hold an audience’s attention. Fast movement cannot relieve boredom when viewers are not deeply attached to the characters and their story.
The Worldview
The film’s moral worldview strongly extols marriage and family. It presents a father, mother, and child working through the difficult transition of a child getting married. Like FATHER OF THE BRIDE, it explores how parents can accept someone who has come to take their child into adult life, emphasizing that trust must be built.
The movie also celebrates marriage and portrays distrust and pride as problems that get resolved. At the same time, a llama comes across as an Eastern religious mystic, but his supposed wisdom is exposed as selfishness. That undercuts the idea that every spiritual-sounding teacher is truly wise.
The film’s central longing is for a family to remain loving through change. Scripture gives marriage its proper shape: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife” (Genesis 2:24).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Strong moral worldview extolling the importance of marriage and family; no obscenities or profanities, but several instances of scatological humor with mention of poop and butts, plus elder female sloth looks forward to nude bingo; some slapstick violence and some major destruction as meteors strike earth; no sex; no nudity; no alcohol use; no smoking or drug references or jokes; and, some distrust and pride and that get resolved, and a llama comes across as an Eastern religious mystic, but he’s shown to be anything but wise.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Peaches is preparing to leave home and begin married life. How can parents love their children faithfully while allowing them to grow into adulthood?
Genesis 2:24 · Ephesians 6:4The movie presents trust as something that must be built. What actions help build trust in a family, and what actions damage it?
Proverbs 12:22 · Ephesians 4:25The llama appears wise but is shown to be selfish. Why should we test every claim of wisdom rather than accepting it immediately?
James 3:13–17 · 1 John 4:1Meteor showers threaten the family with destruction. How can fear change the way we respond to one another, and where can we turn for help?
Psalm 56:3–4 · Philippians 4:6–7The Final Word
ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE has positive themes about marriage, family, and trust, but its thin story and scattered humor keep it from matching the best animated films. Save this one for home, where you can decide whether it suits your children. WAIT FOR HOME. For other options, see.
