Ice Age: Collision Course

This fifth installment in the animated franchise begins, as usual, with a Paleolithic prologue in which Scrat the neurotic squirrel is chasing that elusive acorn. But this time he discovers a frozen UFO and is catapulted into space, inadvertently sending a huge, destructive asteroid hurtling toward Earth. This spurs the perpetually bickering wooly mammoth family—Manny (voiced by Ray Romano), his wife Ellie (Queen Latifah), and grown-daughter Peaches (Keke Palmer) along with her betrothed, Julian (Adam DeVine)—into action, pushed by their old friend Buck the weasel (Simon Pegg), who has a clever plan to avert the inevitable catastrophe. Also onboard are Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo), his sassy Granny (Wanda Sykes), and the saber-tooth tigers, Diego (Denis Leary) and wife Shira (Jennifer Lopez). There's also a cameo by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson as scientist Neil deBuck Weasel, and a yoga-loving guru, Shangri Llama (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), who dabbles in crystals, plus a trio of “dino-birds” whose leader is voiced by Nick Offerman. Unfortunately, the writers have run out of original ideas and are now into recycle mode, rhyming words with “duty,” “poop” and “butt,” so co-directors Mike Thurmeier and Galen T. Chu are left with little narrative substance and an overabundance of tiresome characters. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the “Scrat: Spaced Out” mini-movie (15 min.), the behind-the-scenes featurettes “The Story So Far” (14 min.), “The Science of It All: deGrasse Tyson deBunks” (9 min.), “Scratasia: Scrat's Solo Adventures” (5 min.), “Mysteries of the Scratazons” (5 min.), and “Star Signs of the Animal Kingdom” (5 min.), a “Figaro” sing-along featurette (2 min.), a stills gallery, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a rather tired franchise entry.] (S. Granger)