DANCE THE SHUFFLE WITH SID IN “ICE AGE 4: CONTINENTAL DRIFT”

Teeming with boundless energy, catastrophic creativity and defying continental odds, Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) is back with his best friends Manny the mammoth (Ray Romano) and Diego the tiger (Denis Leary) along with Scrat in the latest adventure for all in “Ice Age 4: Continental Drift.”

While the earth is being subdivided into seven continents due to Scrat’s misadventures, Sid’s long-lost family suddenly appears.  Sid is excited when his relatives arrive, seemingly happy to be reunited with him.  But they leave just as quickly as they came, intentionally ditching his crotchety Granny (Wanda Sykes).  Granny is inadvertently swept out to sea with the trio, making Sid’s job surviving the adventure that much harder when he must take care of her every need along the way.

“Sid’s a lovable guy and always wants to do things his way, which often leads to catastrophe,” says John Leguizamo, who once again brings his unique vocalizations and performance to the character.  This time the catastrophe – his Granny – has come to him.  “Sid has long wanted to be reunited with his family because everyone seems to have a family but him,” adds Leguizamo. “And all of a sudden, here they are. They’re with him, and then they’re not -- leaving him with Granny.”

Granny is a surprise castaway when Manny, Diego and Sid are swept out to sea on an iceberg following Scrat’s continental crack-up.  Moreover, Manny, Sid, Diego and the members of their burgeoning group are changing. “They’re all evolving, and we’re along with them for the ride, physically and emotionally,” says producer/writer Lori Forte.  “But however much they change, they’re still the characters we know and love.”

Indeed, the “Ice Age” extended family is far from conventional, and it’s certainly a distant relative of perfection, but the fact that it is a family is nothing less than ideal.  “The message of the importance of family is integral to the ‘Ice Age’ movies,” says director Steve Martino.  “Audiences around the world enjoy stories about families that work well together.  Even though our characters are imperfect, and very different from one another, they always work things out and they’re the better for it.”