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Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

★★★½ — Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs arrived in 2009 as the third instalment in Blue Sky Studios' flagship franchise, directed by Carlos Saldanha, who had co-directed the original Ice Age (2002) and helmed Rio (2011) a few years later. Released at the height of the 3D revival that followed Avatar's marketing campaign (though it actually preceded that film by several months), it was one of the earlier animated features to lean heavily into the format as a selling point. Made on a reported $90 million budget, it went on to gross nearly $887 million worldwide, making it comfortably the biggest hit in the series at that point and one of the highest-earning animated films of the year.

This was the first Ice Age movie I watched with my son, and honestly, it might be the best gateway into the series, especially if your kid is obsessed with dinosaurs (which mine absolutely is). It’s bigger, bolder, and more adventurous than the previous entries, with a fun trip underground into a Lost World-style dinosaur paradise (or nightmare, depending on who’s running). The addition of Buck (the one-eyed weasel with a Napoleon complex) is pure gold. And finally, Scrat gets some company (and maybe romance? Chaos? Evolution? Who knows!). It’s not Oscar-worthy, but it’s got heart, humor, and a lot of great new energy. Definitely one of the stronger entries in the series, and a movie that made my kid say, “Can we watch it again?” within five minutes of it ending.

Rating: ★★★½ | Year: 2009 | Watched: 2025-07-21

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Where to watch (UK)

Stream: Amazon Prime Video · Disney Plus · Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK

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