The familiar faces of Ice Age consisting of Manny the Mammoth, Sid the Sloth, Diego the saber-toothed tiger, and their newfound friends Ellie, Crash, and Eddie, along with the infamous Scrat the Squirrel and his acorn, all return once again for a new adventure this time in a world of excitement, danger, and dinosaurs. Although much of the humor in Ice Age: The Dawn of the Dinosaurs will probably be lost on older or at least more mature viewers, kids will definitely enjoy the simple jokes and easy to understand storyline of this film. It is definitely not as comedic or as well put together as at least the first Ice Age, but there are a few funny moments along with a message of family and friendship that is perfectly suited for a younger audience.

In this latest installment Manny and Ellie are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their first child. Manny is, as a typical first time father would be, quite excited about the newest addition to their family and is preparing to settle down to a nice quiet life with his wife and child. Unfortunately for Sid, this new life does not seem as if it is going include him, causing him to begin to wonder if he is going to have to make new friends (a difficult prospect for someone like him), find a family of his own, or spend the rest of his life alone. Diego on the other hand is growing weary of the domesticated life and is wondering if he has totally lost his edge and if he will ever be able to survive on his own in the wild again. Weary of being part of a herd that no longer feels as if it his own, Diego announces he is leaving to once again to pursue his ideal life as an independent tiger.

Facing what is the apparent dissolution of their mismatched herd, Sid fears he is going to end up alone again. After coming to terms with the reality that making new friends is going to be next to impossible, Sid sets out to pursue creating his own family since his old one has all but fallen apart. In his quest he discovers the perfect solution for being alone. He finds three large eggs that have the appearance of being abandoned by their mother. Sid takes it upon himself to raise these eggs as his own children and brings them back to show Manny and Ellie, only to have Manny order him to return the eggs to where he found them as Manny knows someone will soon be missing them and will probably not be happy. As the eggs hatch, though, and an unfamiliar species of baby dinosaurs emerges, Sid cannot bring himself to part with his newfound children. Unfortunately for Sid, the young dinosaur's mother, a very large, powerful, and terrifying Tyrannosaurus returns in hot pursuit of her missing children, just as Manny predicted. She finds her missing babies along with Sid and proceeds to drag all of them back to her mysterious and hidden land of dinosaurs.

At this point, Manny and Diego are faced with a difficult decision. Manny has a family to prepare for and the chief concern of keeping Ellie safe and protected until the baby arrives. Diego has already decided to pursue a life of independence and feel like a real, ferocious tiger again. Ellie, however, being the voice of reason, states that they are going to go find Sid. They have to. He is their friend and he's part of their family. Leaving him alone to what is certain danger and death at the hands of a dinosaur is not an option. They must go look for him. Realizing the truth behind Ellie's words, the pack heads into what is a completely unfamiliar world to them. It is a hidden underground land full of dinosaurs and untold danger, hardly a place for a mammoth who is expecting to give birth at any moment.

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