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Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is a 2009 American computer-animated fantasy comedy adventure film produced by 20th Century Animation in association with Blue Sky Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the third installment in the Ice Age series and the sequel to Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006). It was directed by Carlos Saldanha and co-directed by Mike Thurmeier. Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary reprise their roles from the first two films and Queen Latifah, Seann William Scott, and Josh Peck reprise their roles from The Meltdown, with Simon Pegg joining them in the role of a weasel named Buck. The story has Sid the Sloth being taken by a female Tyrannosaurus after stealing her eggs, leading the rest of the herd to rescue him in a tropical lost world inhabited by dinosaurs beneath the ice.

The film was released on July 1, 2009, becoming the first Ice Age film and the first 20th Century Fox film to be released in 3D. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, it ranked at the time as the second-highest-grossing animated film of all time, and the highest-grossing Ice Age film earning $886.7 million worldwide. A sequel, titled Ice Age: Continental Drift, was released in 2012, and another film, titled Ice Age: Collision Course, was released in 2016.

Plot[]

Ellie (Queen Latifah) and Manny (Ray Romano), the two woolly mammoths, are expecting their first child, and Manny struggles to make life perfect and safe for the family. At the same time, Diego (Denis Leary) the saber-toothed cat finds himself unable to catch a cocky gazelle (Bill Hader) he has been stalking and decides to leave The Herd, believing that he is losing his predatory nature as a tiger. Sid (John Leguizamo) the ground sloth begins to wish for a family of his own and takes three apparently abandoned eggs that he finds in an icy underground cavern and calls them Egbert, Shelly, and Yoko (Carlos Saldanha). Manny tells him to put them back, but Sid ignores Manny and looks after the eggs, which hatch into baby Tyrannosaurus Rex the next morning.

Although Sid tries his best to raise the three dinosaurs, their rambunctious behavior scares away all the younger animals and ruins a playground Manny built for his child. Not long after, a female Tyrannosaurus Rex, whose eggs Sid stole, soon returns and carries both Sid and her young underground, with Diego in pursuit. Manny, Ellie, Crash (Seann William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck) the opossums follow as well and discover that the icy cavern leads to a vast subterranean jungle populated by dinosaurs thought to be extinct. Here, an angry Ankylosaurus threatens The Herd despite Diego's efforts to fend it off; they are saved from a further crowd of angry reptiles by a deranged one-eyed weasel named Buck (Simon Pegg).

Buck has been living in this jungle for quite some time and is fighting Rudy, a huge albino Baryonyx, intending to avenge the eye he lost to it when he was young with a knife he carved from one of Rudy's teeth. He agrees to lead The Herd through the jungle's perils to Lava Falls, where the dinosaur has taken Sid and her babies. In the meantime, Sid and the mother dinosaur try to outdo each other in feeding the offspring; he loses this contest, but is reluctantly welcomed into the family regardless. The next day, however, Sid is separated from the family and attacked by Rudy. Sid is knocked onto a loose rock slab that is floating on a river of lava and about to plummet over the falls.

As The Herd moves toward Lava Falls, Ellie goes into labor and a Guanlong pack strikes, causing a rock slide that separates her from Manny and Diego. Manny doubles back to protect her and Diego fends off further attacks, while Buck takes Crash and Eddie ahead to rescue Sid.

Buck takes the possums to lava falls where they are flying on a Pteranodon to get there faster to spot Sid from above. When they spot Sid, A pack of ten hungry pterosaurs interrupt the rescue and cause a chase through a canyon where:

One pterosaur blows up into a balloon.

Manny reaches Ellie just in time to hear the cry of a newborn baby girl. Ellie names her Peaches after the fruit. Sid is saddened at the fact that he never had a chance to say goodbye to "his" children as he returns to The Herd and learns of Peaches' birth.

Before they can leave the jungle, they are ambushed by Rudy, who begins to attack them at full force; working together Manny, Sid, Diego, and Buck manage to trap Rudy by ensnaring him in vines. However, he quickly breaks free and resumes his onslaught. The Herd is saved by the timely arrival of the mother dinosaur, who charges at Rudy and knocks him off a cliff. As she and her children wish Sid well, Buck, now without a purpose in life since Rudy is gone, decides to join The Herd and live on the surface. However, a distant roar tells him that Rudy is still alive; he changes his mind and sends The Herd home, blocking off the path to the underground jungle at the same time. Manny and Ellie welcome Peaches into their frozen world and admit that Sid did a good job looking after Momma's children. Diego decides to remain with The Herd, while Buck stays underground, happily battling it out with Rudy.

Voice cast[]

Production[]

Blue Sky decided to do "more of a what-if adventure" in the third Ice Ageinstallment, titled Ice Age: A New Beginning, "like finding the giant ape in King Kong or a Shangri-la in the middle of snow," and added the dinosaurs to the story. Character designer Peter de Sève welcomed the new plot addition, since he could not think of any other giant mammal to put into the story. The "lost world" approach led to colorful dinosaurs, because "the dinosaurs didn't have to be just brown, and you can take liberties because no one knows what color they were", according to de Sève. Rudy's design was inspired by the Baryonyxbecause of his crocodile-like look, which de Sève considered even more menacing than the T. rex.

The film was released in RealD Cinema where available. The release sparked some controversy when Fox announced that it would no longer pay to supply 3D glasses to theaters, which led to a number of exhibitors threatening to only show the film in standard 2D projection.

The film's original trailer debuted with the film Horton Hears a Who! on March 14, 2008, then online on April 7, 2008. There are three others that have been released, with the third and fourth (which shows Buck) being the most closely resembling each other. Queen Latifah recorded a cover of the song "Walk the Dinosaur".

Reception[]

Box office[]

The film earned $196,573,705 in North America and $690,113,112 in other territories, which gives it a worldwide gross of $886,686,817 against a budget of $90 million. Worldwide, it is the third-highest-grossing film of 2009, the highest-grossing animated film of 2009, the 53rd-highest-grossing film of all time, the highest-grossing Ice Age film, the 12th-highest-grossing animated film of all time. It is also the highest-grossing animated film of 2009 worldwide. It set a worldwide opening-weekend record for an animated feature ($218.4 million), previously held by The Simpsons Movie ($170.9 million). However, it was later surpassed by Incredibles 2 ($235.1 million) in 2018. It marks the highest-grossing film of the Ice Age series, the second-highest-grossing film of 20th Century Fox for 2009 (after Avatar) and stands as the studio's third-largest film of all time behind the latter and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

North America[]

The film made $13,791,157 on its opening day in 4,099 theaters. It reached $41,690,382 on its first weekend, putting it at number 2 behind Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, marking the lowest-grossing first weekend for the franchise, although it had a Wednesday release and therefore burned off attendance until the weekend. The film became 20th Century Fox's third-largest 2009 release in North America behind Avatar and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. It is the third-highest-grossing animated feature of 2009. It heavily out-grossed its predecessor, Ice Age: The Meltdown which earned $195,330,621 three years before, to become the highest-grossing movie in the franchise, but it was way behind the two first Ice Age movies in estimated attendance.

Other territories[]

On its opening weekend it earned $151.7 million, which is the biggest opening for an animated feature and the 13th-largest of all time. Outside North America, it is the fifteenth-highest-grossing film of all time and the second-highest-grossing animated movie of all time (out-grossing Finding Nemo, later out-grossed by Frozen). Its highest-grossing market after North America was Germany ($82.2 million), followed by France and the Maghreb region ($69.2 million), and the UK, Ireland and Malta ($56.9 million). It was the highest-grossing animated film of the year in all major countries, except Spain and Australia.

As of March 2012 it is the highest-grossing animated film of all time in Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, where the film holds the opening-weekend record, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Italy, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Croatia, France and the Maghreb region, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

General response[]

Despite receiving mixed reviews from film critics, the film was positively welcomed by audience who praised its story, humor, screenplay, emotional weight, soundtrack, the Sid and Momma T-Rex's subplot, action scenes, character development, the character of Buck, the Scrat and Scratte's subplot and the climax, with many calling it the best Ice Age movie.

Accolades[]

The film was nominated in two categories at the 8th Visual Effects Society Awards, for "Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture" and "Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture."

Home media[]

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs was released on high-definition Blu-ray Disc and standard DVD in North America on October 27, 2009, and in the United Kingdomon November 23, 2009. Two versions of the DVD exist: a single-disc DVD, and a "Scrat Pack" double DVD pack with three Scrat games.

The 3-disc Blu-ray combo pack includes a Blu-ray, the single-disc DVD, and a Digital Copy, as well as an Ice Age digital story-book maker, commentary by director Carlos Saldanha, deleted scenes, making-of featurettes, the two Scrat shorts: Gone Nutty and No Time for Nuts (that each originally came on home video for both the first and second films), and a how-to-draw Scrat tutorial with the filmmakers.

On September 21, 2010, a 3D DVD was released as a two-disc set, with the first disc being the TrioScopics 3D (green-magenta anaglyph) version and the second disc being the 2D version.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - The 4-D Experience[]

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - The 4-D Experience is a 14-minute 4D filmshown at various 4D theatres over the world. It retells the condensed story of Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs with the help of 3D projection and sensory effects, including moving seats, wind, mist, snow and scents. Produced by SimEx-Iwerks, The 4-D Experience premiered in May 2012, at the San Diego Zoo 4-D Theater. Since June 2012, it is being shown at the Roxy Theatre, at the Warner Bros. Movie World in Australia, and since July 2012, at the Shedd Aquarium's Phelps Auditorium in Chicago.

Sequels[]

Main article: Ice Age (franchise)

The fourth film, Ice Age: Continental Drift, was released in 3D on July 13, 2012. It was directed by Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier—the first time without Carlos Saldanha. The film takes place a few years after the events of the third film, with Peaches in her teenage years. Scrat's never-ending pursuit of acorns has world-changing consequences, separating Manny, Sid and Diego from the rest, forcing them to stand up to a pirate gang, led by Captain Gutt.

The fifth film, Ice Age: Collision Course, was released in 3D on July 22, 2016.

Trivia[]

  • Dawn of the Dinosaurs is the highest-grossing Ice Age film.
  • Despite mixed reviews from critics, Dawn of the Dinosaurs was well-received by Ice Age fans and the general public.
  • Dawn of the Dinosaurs was a massive blockbuster success.
  • Dawn of the Dinosaurs grossed $886 million worldwide against its $90 million budget.
  • Buck proved to be a hugely popular character with audiences and Ice Age fans that he was brought back 7 years later in 2016's Ice Age: Collision Course.
  • The idea of this film was deeply rooted in the first Ice Age film in which Sid comes across a dinosaur incased in ice.
  • This is the second time Scrat screams in frustration to end the film, the first being No Time For Nuts, Ice Age: Continental Drift being the third and Scrat: Spaced Out being the fourth.
  • Was the highest-grossing animated film of 2009.
  • Outgrossed Michael Bay's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
  • First Ice Age film to get rated PG for mild rude humor.
  • Dinosaur and Pterosaur sound effects in the film were created from the sounds of Mammals which were: elephants (for huge dinosaurs and Rudy), camels (for herbivorous dinosaurs) and pigs (for Pterosaurs).
  • At its peak, it was the 2nd highest-grossing animated film of all time, right under Dreamwork's Animation's Shrek 2 (2004).
  • This is the first Blue Sky Studios film to be released in 3D.
  • This movie contains a reference to The Flintstones.
  • The original title was "Ice Age: A New Beginning".
  • The shell Manny is seen carrying in the beginning is Stu's from the previous movie.


v - e - d
Ice Age logo
Media
Films: Ice Age (2002) • Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) • Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) • Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) • Ice Age: Collision Course (2016) • The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild (2022) • Untitled main sixth Ice Age film (TBA)
Shorts: Gone Nutty (2002) • No Time for Nuts (2006) • Surviving Sid (2008) • Scrat's Continental Crack-up (2010) • Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe (2015) • Scrat: Spaced Out (2016) • Scrat Tales (2022)
Television Special: Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas (2011) • Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade (2016)

Games: Ice Age (Video Game)Disney InfinityDisney Infinity: 2.0 EditionDisney Infinity: 3.0 EditionDisney Magic Kingdoms

Characters
ScratMannySidDiegoAriscratleBrookeBubbles and MistyBuckZeeCaptain GuttCindyClaireCrash and EddieCretaceous and MalestromDobsonEgbert, Shelly and YokoEllieEthanEthelEuniceFlynn the Elephant SealFrancineFuzzyGavinGertieGrannyGuanlongGuptaHyraxJennifer and RachelJulianKatieLennyLouieMarshallMeghanMiltonMini-slothsMommaNarwhalsNeil deBuck WeaselOscarPeachesPrancerPreciousQuetzalcoatlus PackRazOrsonRogerRoshanRudySanta ClausScrattyShangri LlamaShiraSilasSotoSquintSteffieSylviaTeddyThe Lone GunslingerUncle FungusZekeBaby Scrat
Locations
Ice ValleySnow ValleyDinosaur WorldHerd Valley
Songs
Send Me on My WayReal LoveFood, Glorious FoodMy Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)We AreChasing the SunIce Ice BabyYou'll Never Find Another Love Like MineWalk the DinosaurAlone Again (Naturally)Master of the SeasMy Superstar
Home media
Ice Age (video)Ice Age: The Meltdown (video)Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (video)Ice Age: Continental Drift (video)Ice Age: Collision Course (video)
Galleries
Ice Age (video)/GalleryIce Age: The Meltdown (video)/GalleryIce Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs/GalleryIce Age: Continental Drift/GalleryIce Age: Collision Course/Gallery
See Also


v - e - d
Blue Sky Studios New 2023-presnet
Theatrical films
Ice Age (2002) • Robots (2005) • Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) • Horton Hears a Who! (2008) • Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) • Rio (2011) • Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) • Epic (2013) • Rio 2 (2014) • The Peanuts Movie (2015) • Ice Age: Collision Course (2016) • Ferdinand (2017) • Spies in Disguise (2019)
Cancelled films
AnubisNimona (moved to Netflix)
Short films
Bunny (1998) • Gone Nutty (2002) • Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty (2005) • No Time for Nuts (2006) • Surviving Sid (2008) • Scrat's Continental Crack-up (2010) • Scrat's Continental Crack-up: Part 2 (2011) • Umbrellacorn (2013) • Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe (2015) • Scrat: Spaced Out (2016)
Television series
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