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Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Simon Pegg, Queen Latifah ... see more see more... , Seann William Scott , Josh Peck , Bill Hader , Kristen Wiig , Clea Lewis , Jane Lynch , Chris Wedge , Carlos Saldanha , Karen Disher , Maile Flanagan , Christian Pikes , Harrison Fahn , Eunice Cho , Jason Fricchione , Joey King , Kelly Keaton , Cindy Slattery , Allegra Leguizamo , Lucas Leguizamo , Avery Christopher Plum , Joe Romano , Sofia Scarpa Saldanha

As we rejoin the motley herd from the two previous Ice Age films, Manny the mammoth (Ray Romano) nervously pampers his expectant mate, Ellie (Queen Latifah), while his best friend, Diego the saber-too... read more read more...thed tiger (Denis Leary), bristles at the thought of Manny's domesticated existence. Meanwhile, Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) continues to annoy everybody, and Scrat the rock rat is still trying to get that acorn. When Sid accidentally discovers an underground world populated by dinosaurs, he steals three dino eggs so that he, too, can become a "mommy." After the little ones hatch, their real mom comes to retrieve them, and snatches Sid as well, prompting the others to band together yet in order to rescue their friend. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

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72% liked it

507,485 ratings

Critics

45% liked it

159 critics

PG, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: Carlos Saldanha, Mike Thurmeier

Release Date: July 1, 2009

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DVD Release Date: October 27, 2009

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Stats: 36,722 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (36,722)


  • November 2, 2009
    More of the same but the kiddo liked it :)
  • March 13, 2013
    This is hands down one of the worst sequels made in my opinion. The animation looks nice, but the characters have lost all appeal since the 2nd film, and the jokes range from painful to almost tolerable. This is a major skip for me.
  • July 21, 2012
    Jackpot everybody! the Ice Age franchise started off on a high note of originality and uniqueness but then dipped for the sequel. In my humble opinion this third film is easily the best looking, most exciting and imaginative of the trio by a mile.

    Plot isn't exactly original aga... read morein, this is pretty much a new animated adaptation of classic tales/films 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' and 'The Land Before Time'. All the regular characters are present and correct again including the last addition to the herd...'Ellie'. The idea this time is simply 'Sid' stumbling on some dinosaur eggs, stealing them and trying to raise them as his own (not knowing what they are), getting caught and slothknapped by the mummy T-Rex, taken away underground where the T-Rex lives and the gang following to save him.

    This is where we discover a lost world of dinosaurs that is underground beneath the current ice age above, totally stupid yes but its fun. Its not suppose to be taken seriously of course and being a kids animated film the creators can take enormous liberties. I must point out this film is also much better than the previous film in the fact its back to being enjoyable for all, not just the kids. The adults will enjoy the homages to the old adventure flicks which always seem to work well, classic B-movie stuff.

    The visuals in this film totally surpass everything before, I really loved the bright colourful world they explore down below. Its really sharp and vivid, bursting with life and ingenuity with many old vintage formulaic creations you would expect for a world like this. Giant carnivorous plants, huge bugs, creeping vines, deep dark void like chasm's, dino skeletons dotted around, lava flows and lots of dino variations which are fun to spot.

    The very first action sequence involves 'Diego' chasing down a gazelle type mammal. This short frenzy of a sequence is glorious to watch it really is. The animation clearly shows how far 'Blue Sky' have come creating a virtually seamless wildcat and gazelle in full flow with fur/hair, muscle and displaced flying debris etc...all moving as it should. Its almost too good really.

    Another big hit with me was the introduction of new character 'Buck' who is a one eyed weasel. This guy is designed to be an animated 'Jack Sparrow' if you ask me hehe he has all the traits including being somewhat crazy, unpredictable and behaving a little tipsy at times. This character is a great addition to the film and really boosts the laugh levels plus he looks natty too.
    Voiced perfectly by Simon Pegg which was a surprise to hear actually, would never have guessed, also unsure if he was trying to impersonate Depp's creation, sounded like it. A complete rip off of another classic character he may be but I guess you could look at it as a homage perhaps.

    It is ironic though that in this film the one element that has always been a winner was the subplot for 'Scrat', but not here. In previous films his antics have been the shinning point against the slightly dull main attraction. In this film its the opposite for me, 'Scrat' must contend with a female of his species and compete for the acorn in typical 'Road Runner' vs 'Wile E. Coyote' fashion. Some may still like these little segments but this time round for me it wasn't as good as before, the female character seems to get in the way and you just yearn for 'Scrat' to kick her ass lol!

    I suppose it was amusing to see him end up married to her and being driven into depression slowly, only to remember what made him tick in the first place. Its such a shame that again little 'Scrat' doesn't win even though I REALLY wanted him to this time. Annoying flying female squirrel grrr leave our 'Scrat' alone!.

    This film wins on all counts really with one amazingly good looking scene after another. I loved the look of the film, how bold and colourful it is with so much creativity, curiosity and how every frame has something happening. The finale is jam packed with excitement which all accumulates with a mega dino battle, must point out that all dinos seen do seem to be based around real species which is cool.

    More of an outright boys own adventure this time, still has the humour but leans more towards big event visuals over dialog and in your face emotions. Of course there is still emotion with the birth of 'Peaches' towards the end but its not as heart felt as what we saw in places with the first two films.

    This time the main attraction is best whilst 'Scrat' falters somewhat in my opinion. Brilliant comeback after the dismal second adventure and manages to earn a spot within the best CGI animations ever yeh!. Shame 'Buck' didn't stick with the herd as you know there will be another film with a grown up 'Peaches', but that might not be a good thing.
  • fb100000145236770
    July 7, 2012
    fb100000145236770
    Rarely does a film franchise peak during the third installment, but somehow "Ice Age" has. This third entry is by far the most entertaining of the film series(well, haven't seen 4 yet). The gang is back, and this time Ellie is pregnant. The herd starts to come unglued, as Mann... read morey is concentrating on Ellie's baby. Diego doesn't like the ideal of a domesticated life. As for Sid, well he stumbles underground and finds three eggs, and decides to have his own family. Only thing is, the eggs are dinosaur eggs, and the mother comes looking for them. She then takes her babies and Sid back underground to a secret dinosaur world below the surface. The group then goes on an adventure to save Sid, meeting the best character besides Scrat, Buck(Simon Pegg). Buck is a swashbuckling thrill seekers who leads the group while underground. Pegg brings a humor to the series that had been sorely lacking. Buck is "Ice Age's" equivalent to Puss in Boots. The comedy is definitely directed in a more broad scope, especially for adults. Lots of "about to have a baby" type of humor that parents will enjoy. The animation was by far the best of the series, and it's good to see how far it's come since the first movie. "Ice Age" as a franchise still ranks below most other animated franchises for me, but it gets better and better with each movie. Hopefully that trend continues. Side Note: I took my nephew Will to see this in the theater, it was his first movie. So funny seeing him, 3 years old I believe, with 3D glasses and a big tub of popcorn on his lap. Things like that make going to the movies so special.
  • fb733768972
    July 5, 2012
    fb733768972
    Feels too long, it's far too boring, and I really didn't care about anything that was going on. "Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" is yet another instalment in ths animated franchise, but quite honestly, it is a very pointless one. There is no plot whatsoever. It starts with all ... read morethe characters wanting to go separate ways once manny is about to have a child. Sid finds eggs which lead to the discovery that dinosaurs are no longer extinct, he gets kidnapped and then the crew must retrieve him. Hmm, sounds like the first film all over again. I hardly laughed at all and by the end, it tries to warm you up with a nice feeling of "life," which just made me role my eyes. This film was just made for an excuse to make money, and absolutely nothing more. It is terrible!
  • November 25, 2011
    Ice Age 3 is not the best in the series, that is still the original, but for what it was this movie wasn't very bad.
  • November 18, 2011
    Warning this film may be hazardous to your child's education. apart from that, it's pretty good. Much better than Ice Age 2 but that's mainly down to the introduction of Simon Pegg's Buck and of course the continued adventures of Scrat. I see Ice Age 4 is on its way, why they hav... read moreen't just made a Scrat spin-off film instead is beyond me though as without him it would be below average.
  • November 4, 2011
    Unlike the horrible Ice Age 2 this entry to the series is entertaining and has some quality witty humour. The animation of course gets better with each one. Unlike the first one it overdoe it with slapstick but there is a more energetic jolt from the voice cast this time round th... read moreat help make this film better for the kids and more watchable for adults. Particularly Simon Pegg.
  • January 18, 2011
    It's okay. I love Simon Pegg. It's cute and all computery-pretty to look at. But it's not as good as the first one and it's all just predictable cuteness. If you like the others you'll like this one just as much. If you want to watch a great dinosaur movie made in to a billion se... read morequels, Land Before Time is awesome.. the sequels are not.
  • December 20, 2010
    Cast: John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Ray Romano, Chris Wedge, Simon Pegg, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader

    Director: Carlos Saldanha

    Summary: Times are changing for moody mammoth Manny (voiced by Ray Romano), motormouth sloth Sid (John ... read moreLeguizamo) and crafty saber-toothed tiger Diego (Denis Leary) in this third installment of the beloved computer-animated children's franchise. Life heats up for our heroes when they meet some new and none-too-friendly neighbors: the mighty dinosaurs.

    My Thoughts: "To be honest, these films have always been just OK for me, but I really enjoyed this one. It was a fun adventure with a lot of humor. Simon Pegg, was my favorite voicing the new character Buck. Of course Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, and Denis Leary were all funny as well. The animation quality is the best of the series. I also enjoyed the story in the story, that being Scrat's love triangle. It was cute and funny. A great animated film I'm sure everyone in the family will enjoy."

Critic Reviews


Andrea Gronvall
August 20, 2009
Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader

The manic pace quickly grows tiresome, as does the influx of cloying baby animals. Full Review

Ben Mankiewicz
July 6, 2009
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies

Certainly not terrible, but ultimately forgettable and that means you should skip it. Full Review

Ben Lyons
July 6, 2009
Ben Lyons, At the Movies

The whole movie is more of the same and I'm afraid the franchis is running out of steam. Full Review

Derek Adams
July 3, 2009
Derek Adams, Time Out

As with the two earlier films, it's all a mite disorderly in tempo but often highly amusing and great fun in the main. Full Review

Claudia Puig
July 2, 2009
Claudia Puig, USA Today

Rather than evolving, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs treads on familiar and infertile ground. Full Review

Joe Morgenstern
July 2, 2009
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

There's a sense of ineptness in a script that constantly reaches, with only modest success, for amusing things that the mammoths and their friends can do. Full Review

James Rocchi
July 2, 2009
James Rocchi, MSN Movies

There are chases and escapes, morals and messages, comedy and character... but when the fur stops flying, it still feels more frozen than fresh. Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
July 1, 2009
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

It's not utterly without charm. Only here, that charm feels less earned than manufactured, a product not of evolution -- or even intelligent design -- but of cynical, soulless opportunism. Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman
July 1, 2009
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

This rambunctious outing -- the third in the franchise -- is cute enough to engage kids and just smart enough to keep the chaperones entertained. Full Review

Peter Hartlaub
July 1, 2009
Peter Hartlaub, Houston Chronicle

If the third Ice Age were a bit better, there would be little need to dwell on the inconsistencies. Full Review

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Facts


    • Manny: [to Diego] That'll be YOU in three weeks.
    • Buck: Let's get you home.
    • Dinosaur Babies: Mommy!
    • Dinosaur Babies: I'm their mommy.
    • Manny: After we save Sid, I'm gonna kill him.
    • Sid: [upon seeing Manny and Ellie's newborn child] It's a boy!
    • Diego: That's her tail.
    • Sid: It's a girl!
    • Manny: No one move a muscle.
    • Adult Molehog Male: [running by] AAAAAAAHHHH!!! [Momma then roars loudly]

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Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Ice Age 3) Trivia

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (I... Trivia


  • What is Ice Age 3 going to be called?  Answer »
  • In Ice Age 3 Dawn of the Dinosaurs what is the code word for it is time for the baby(not exact words)??  Answer »

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