The Ultimate Guide to Ice Age Movies in Order

The cinematic world of ‘Ice Age’ has given us belly-laughs, touching moments, and a slew of lovable characters. Given the series intricate narrative and time jumps, fans often wonder about the order of Ice Age movies. For those aiming to embark on a marathon or simply catch up, here’s your definitive guide to the Ice Age movies in chronological order.

We all watched some movies in our childhood that we still can’t let go of. The Ice Age movies is an adventure-comedy series that is one of them. The characters Sid (John Leguizamo), Manny (Ray Romano), Ellie (Queen Latifah), Diego (Denis Leary), Shira (Jennifer Lopez), and Scrat (Chris Wedge) touched the hearts of people all over the world.

1.   Ice Age (2002)

Starting the list of listing down Ice Age Movies in Order, when the first movie was released, we were all curious about who the characters are, and what the movie will be about. The movie introduced us to Sid, a fun-loving chatty sloth, Manfred (Manny), a wooly mammoth, Diego, a ferocious and intelligent tiger, and the best character of all Scrat, a saber-toothed squirrel who constantly put his life at risk for an acorn.

This movie was based on Sid, Manny, and Diego going off on a comical adventure by saving and returning him to his tribe. In the beginning, all three characters did not seem to get along. Manfred and Diego found Sid annoying as he was continuously talking. Diego had intentions of eating the baby, which kept Manny on alert. However, through every obstacle they all went through, their relationship became stronger. They had become best friends by the time they returned the baby to his tribe.

A sub-story included Scrat trying to get hold of an acorn, but going through hardships and difficulties through humorous queues. He constantly risked his life as well in his dangerous adventure, but, his efforts were comical which bring smiles and laughter to us as the audience.

• Release Date: March 12, 2002
• IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
• Runtime: 1 hour 21 minutes

2.   Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)

Following the Order of Ice Age Movies, we meet Manny, Sid, and Diego once again in the second movie “Ice Age: The Meltdown”. In this movie, they are residing with their friends and families in a beautiful valley that was protected by an ice dam. However, the dam slowly begins to melt which would cause floods and disaster. The main characters understand the dangers this will bring to everyone, and alert them.

They were warned by a vulture who told them that they had three days to move far away. All characters living in the valley had to excavate and find a new home. Our main characters, Sid, Manny, and Diego joined forces to leave the valley together and find a safer place to live while creating fun memories along the way.

Everyone believed that Manfred was the last mammoth, but it turned out he was not the last of his species. It came about that more mammoths also existed that brought about an essence of family for Manny.

Diego on the other side has hydrophobia (phobia of water) and is too frightened to swim in case all the water collapses. Sid meets a small group of sloths, who invite him to stay with them. However, Diego tells him that he is part of a special herd with his best friends.

We are also introduced to a couple of new characters in this movie such as; Queen Latifah, a mammoth who believes she is a possum, Crash and Eddie, two opossums, and Lone Gunslinger, the vulture who warns everyone about the flooding. At the end of the movie, everyone is safe.

Ellie and Manny end up together as Ellie realizes that she is a mammoth and not a possum. Scrat on the other hand has his own storyline. He goes through a wild ride to get an acorn. He goes through a near-death experience where in his subconscious he is in heaven filled with acorns. However, Sid gives him CPR to save him which as a result makes Scrat angry and fights Kung Fu style with Sid.

• Release Date: March 31, 2006
• IMDb Rating: 6.8/10
• Runtime: 1 hour 31 minutes

3.   Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

The movie starts off by showing us that Manny and Ellie are living together and are having a baby, about to start a family of their own. Since Manny is busy taking care of Ellie, he distances himself from Diego and Sid. Diego feels completely neglected and believes that he is no longer the hunter he is supposed to be.

He starts to think of leaving the herd, and finding his own path as family life is not for him. Sid, on the other hand, finds three dinosaur eggs that he attempts to adopt. He names them Eggbert, Shelly, and Yoko. Once the eggs hatch, the baby dinosaurs believe he is their mother and follows him around. The actual mother is a T Rex who finds them and abducts Sid along with her to an underground jungle.

The rest of his friends find out that he is in trouble and went to save him. In their adventure, they meet Buck, a one-eyed weasel who helps them reach Lava Falls where Sid is captured. Manny and Ellie have their baby in their travels. They finally save Sid after fighting a ferocious dinosaur called Judy, who Buck had to avenge for his one eye. Scrat ends up meeting a female version of himself, Scratte, who fall in love while fighting over the same acorn.

• Release Date: July 1, 2009
• IMDb Rating: 6.9/10
• Runtime: 1 hour  34 minutes

4.   Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)

In this movie Ice Age: Continental Drift, Manny’s and Ellie’s daughter, Peaches is now a teenager ready to explore. This somewhat doesn’t sit well with Manny and he ends up arguing with Peaches and creating a rift between the two.

On the other side, Scrat is burying an acorn, which makes a massive crack that ends up separating Manny, Sid, Diego, and Sid’s granny on an iceberg from the rest of their friends and family. The current of the water ends up drifting them far away from their loved ones. They then have to go back home through risks and struggles while pulling lighthearted stunts and jokes. They end up reuniting with everyone else towards the end.

Scrat ends up finding a map inside an acorn that would lead him to Scratlantis, a place filled with acorns. He follows the map and eventually reaches his destination and is warned not to take too many acorns, but he doesn’t listen. Then he pulls out an acorn that drowns the entire area. He, himself survives and has the acorn with him which he attempts to dig in the ground creating another crack in the land through which he ends up in a desert called Death Valley.

• Release Date: June 29, 2012
• IMDb Rating: 6.5/10
• Runtime: 1 hour 28 minutes

5.   Ice Age: Collision Course (2016)

In this movie, as usual, in an attempt to bury his acorn, Scrat ends up putting the herd at risk once again. He is propelled into space accidentally, which ends up causing asteroids to hit the planet earth and wipe all animals out of existence.

Buck, the weasel from the previous movie finds a pillar that explains all the events that have and will take place due to asteroids. He has a solution but has to involve others to help him. As a result, he reunites with Sid, Manny, Diego, Ellie, Peaches, and their other friends to explain to them the situation at hand. They take a trip to a volcano where the asteroid will land.

There they come up with a solution to throw small asteroid pieces back into space as it will remove the magnetic field of the main asteroid and its path will change back towards space. Diego ends up marrying Shira, who discusses if they should have children or not as the other animals easily get scared of tigers.

Sid on the other hand is in an on-and-off relationship with a female sloth. Scrat has been in space this whole time (on the planet Mars nonetheless) and when he notices the dangers he flees back to earth on the broken spaceship.

• Release Date: July 22, 2016
• IMDb Rating: 5.6/10
• Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes

6.   The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild (2022)

In the beginning of this year, we were gifted with the sixth movie in the “Ice Age” series. As this is a new movie, I will try not to expose any spoilers. Our main characters; Sid, Manny, Diego, Ellie, Shira, Peaches, Crash and Eddie, etc are on vacation. Crash and Eddie are two possums who do dangerous stunts. In this movie, they end up pulling a stunt that creates an avalanche. The rest of “The Herd” tells them they are irresponsible and would never survive on their own.

This ends up pushing Crash and Eddie to go solo and they end up in The Lost World where the dinosaurs reside. Here they meet their old friend Buck the one-eyed weasel and set off on a wild adventure together while the rest of The Herd tries to find them. They do get reunited once again, but the details of the story I will leave up to you all watching the movie on your own.

• Release Date: January 28, 2022
• IMDb Rating: 4.3/10
• Runtime:  1 hour 22 minutes

Wrapping it up

All the movies in the “Ice Age” series are worth watching. They are lighthearted, fun, comedic, adventurous, and bring joy to the audience. They have a sense of nostalgia that warms the heart. An “Ice Age” movie series marathon is vital. So set your popcorn and be ready to laugh and cry as you set off on adventures with beloved characters Manny, Sid, and Diego and watch Ice Age Movies in Order.  

The “Ice Age” series has proven to be more than just animated films. It’s a testament to the power of storytelling, with each installment bringing joy, lessons, and unforgettable memories to audiences worldwide. As we await the next chapter, the magic of the past movies will continue to keep the legacy alive.