How to Watch Ice Age Movies in Order

Some of us have grown up watching the Ice Age movies. Being one of the longest-running animated franchises, it debuted in 2002. After two decades, we still have new Ice Age movies coming out almost every year.

Have you watched all Ice Age movies? So far, the franchise has churned out six full-length movies, eight short films, two TV specials, and one web series. Additionally, there is a theme park and a live theatrical performance. 

If you are planning to re-watch the entire franchise, you should do it in the proper order for a better understanding. Don’t worry; we have done the heavy lifting for you. We have created a list that will help you watch the Ice Age movies in the correct order. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get to the list already! 

Ice Age Movies In Chronological Order

Created by Blue Sky Studios, the Ice Age franchise is now owned by Disney. Therefore, all the movies can be readily streamed on Disney+. As far as short films and TV specials are concerned, they can be watched on YouTube.

Since there are no prequels, you can easily watch the movies in the release order. All the feature-length films are connected, which is why you should watch them in the correct order. As for the short films are not related to the main story, so you can watch them as you like. With that said, let’s take a look at the list.

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Ice Age Films

• Ice Age: 15th March 2002
• Ice Age: The Meltdown: 31st March 2006
• Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: 1st July 2009
• Ice Age: Continental Drift: 13th July 2012
• Ice Age: Collision Course: 22nd July 2016
• The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild: 28th January 2022

Ice Age Short Films

• Gone Nutty: 26th November 2002
• No Time for Nuts: 21st November 2006
• Surviving Sid: 9th December 2008
• Scrat’s Continental Crack-Up: 25th December 2010
• Scrat’s Continental Crack-Up Part 2: 16th December 2011
• Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe: 6th November 2015
• Scrat: Spaced Out: 11th October 2016

Ice Age Television Specials

• Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas: 24th November 2011
• Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade: 20th March 2016

Ice Age Animated Series

• Scrat Tales: 13th April 2022

Ice Age Films & Shorts Viewing Order

The short films are not related to the movies. So they can be watched in any sequence. However, the films pick up where the last one ends. Since you want to re-watch the whole franchise, we have listed the movies and shorts in the exact order.

1. Ice Age (2002)

Ice Age is the first feature film in the franchise. It was created by Blue Sky Studios and released in 2002. It follows the story of three misfits, Manny, Diego, and Sid, who tries to return a lost human baby to their tribe. Throughout the film, we get glimpses of scrat, a saber-toothed squirrel searching for a safe place to hide in the acorn.

2. Gone Nutty (2002)

Gone Nutty is a short film that focuses on Scrat’s adventures. The story takes place after the first film’s events as Scrats continues searching for a place to hide his beloved acorns. He finds a tree and tries to screw in the acorn, but the tree breaks, resulting in an avalanche. The developers wanted to continue showing how Scrats learned from his mistakes. This short film was nominated in the Animated Short Film category for the 2003 Academy Awards.

3. Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)

The second feature film came 4 years after the first film. Manny, Sid, and Diego are now best friends and live happily together. However, their happiness comes to a halt when they know that the dam will break. The trio embarked on a journey to board the boat to save themselves while tackling enemies. Unlike the first film, Ice Age: The Meltdown received mixed reviews. Despite the poor reviews, it collected $661 million worldwide.

4. No Time for Nuts (2006)

This short film focuses on Scrats and his struggle to collect acorns. He finds a time machine that sends his beloved acorn to a different time. As expected, Scrats travels through different periods to get his acorn back. Even after so many struggles, he ends up with no nut. The humorous storytelling got it nominated for the Academy Awards.

5. Surviving Sid (2008)

Surviving Sid is another short film that differs from the previous two shorts. Instead of Scrats, it focuses on Sid. Different species of baby animals follow the loud-mouthed sloth as Sid tries to impress them without knowing the consequences of his actions. Scrats, the constant part of the Ice Age franchise, makes a guest appearance in the movie.

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

The third film picks up where the second film ended. Manny is married to Ellie, and they are expecting their first child. Sid wants to start his own family, while Diego is no longer confident about his hunting skill. In the hopes of raising his own family, Sid collects three Tyrannosaurus eggs and pledges to protect them. They soon reach the land of dinosaurs, where they face various challenges but are saved by Buck, the one-eyed weasel. Meanwhile, Scrat finds a female squirrel and falls in love with her.

7. Scrat’s Continental Crack-Up (2010)

This funny short is once again about poor Scrats and his acorns. It shows how he finds a great place to bury his acorn and ends up in the earth’s core. His actions to save his acorn caused the land to break into different continents. This short is made for entertainment and quick laughs. It also gives us an idea of how the continents were formed due to tectonic plate movements.

8. Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas (2011)

This is the first TV special released by the franchise. The story fast-forwards to eight years after the events of the third film. It shows how the troupe celebrates Christmas. But of course, the story is incomplete without some Sid action as they go out to find Santa Claus at the North Pole. This TV special is perfect to set the holiday mood for kids.

9. Scrat’s Continental Crack-Up Part 2 (2011)

This is the second part of Scrat’s Continental Crack-Up. After his adventures in the first part, Scrat ends up in the sea. He finds a small island where he sees an acorn beneath the water. He then discovers it is a map of a treasure full of acorns. But as expected, Scrats faces unfavorable situations while trying to find the acorns.

10. Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)

The story starts many years after the third film. Peach is in her teenage years and living happily with her family and others. But other animals have yet to feel the after-effects of Scrat’s continental crack-up. Diego, Manny, and Sid are stuck on a shrinking glacier. The crux of the story is Manny and his buddies trying to get back to their family. But they get into double trouble after meeting a gang of pirates and their leader Captain Gutt.

11. Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe (2015)

This is the sixth short in the franchise that follows the story of Scrats discovering a spaceship. Once again, his actions lead to severe consequences. This time it’s a massive cosmic event that will affect life on earth. The story ends with Scrats being stuck in space with no acorn in his hand.

12. Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade (2016)

This is another TV special that takes place after the events of the fourth film. The story shows the troupe preparing for the Easter holidays while Clint and Squint plot against Manny. The troupe faces hard times, but in the end, everything is fine, and Clint becomes the Easter Bunny.

13. Ice Age: Collision Course (2016)

This is the fifth film and shows the story of Manny as he prepares for his daughter Peache’s marriage to Julian. Meanwhile, Diego and his lover Shira want to have kids, but they are not confident about their decision. During Ellie and Manny’s anniversary celebration, the earth is hit by a small asteroid due to Scrat’s actions. After finding out that the meteorite might cause extinction, the herd sets out on a journey to avoid its impact.

14. Scrat: Spaced Out (2016)

It is a sequel to the previous short film. It shows Scrat in space and his struggles to save his acorn from the aliens called Scratzons. This entire short amalgamate new and old clips from the fifth film.

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

This is a spin-off to the main story and focuses on the adventures of Buck Wild. The two opossum brothers, Eddie and Crash, accidentally end up in the land of dinosaurs, where one-eye Buck saves them. Afterward, the trio saves the lost land from the grip of Orson, a protoceratops.

16. Ice Age: Scrat Tales (2022)

This is the first animated TV series released by the franchise. Blue Sky Studios created it before shutting down its operation. It is now owned by Disney+ and available on its streaming platform. The story is about Scrat finding a baby squirrel. It explores his life as a new father.

So these are all the movies, shorts, and TV specials released by the franchise. Watch them in the given order to understand the story better. You can watch all the movies on Disney+ and the rest of the content on YouTube.

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