Ice Age is amongst the most popular and successful computer animated movies. And the fact that it's not a Pixar film, but 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios, makes it stand up even more. Ice Age grossed $559,646,618 and Ice Age 2: The Meltdown $651,565,743. With such high numbers and trilogies being a new convention a third installment isn't surprising.
Other than being entertaining and funny ' especially Scrat' small appearances with his nut, maybe he should have his own show - what I like most about Ice Age in general is the story set in the glace age with prehistoric animals. Even tough it might not be historically correct, like the fact that smilodon also known as saber-toothed tiger, meaning Diego and the gang he was part of, were extinct during the year -10,000, it's still a great story. I would have loved to see dinosaurs make an appearance too, but since the ice age is possibly one of the reasons behind their extinction, I let it go. That's why I'm so glad that 20th Century/Blue Sky Studios managed to introduce them in Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs.
Like the previous movies, it was produced by John Donkin (Robots, Gone Nutty) with Lori Forte (Bartok The Magnificent, No Time For Nuts) and directed by Carlos Saldanha (Robots, Gone Nutty). It was written by Michael Berg (New Jersey Turnpikes) who wasn't part of the crew in Ice Age 2: Meltdown, with Peter Ackerman (seems he is a new comer).
No plot has been released, but in the teaser, we see Scrat, as usual, going after a nut, when he falls down a hole in the ice and lands on a tyrannosaurus rex, slides down to the tip of his tail as it moves towards his face. How will Manny, Sid, Diego, Ellie, Crash and Eddie end up below the ice, in the tropical area where dinosaurs who had survived extinction reside? We'll have to wait till July 04th to find out.
Considering the fact that it is a third installment, I can't help but worry. Third parts don't do so well. Batman Forever, Spider-Man 3, X-Men: The Last Stand, Shriek The Third are proves and Transporter 3 didn't have such a good opening. Yet again it has some tough competition: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Quantum Of Solace, Twilight and Four Christmases. But since Michael Berg is back - let's face it, Ice Age 2: Meltdown wasn't as interesting as Ice Age ' I have some faith.