Ice Age: Collision Course is the sequel to Ice Age: Continental Drift, and the fifth film in the Ice Age franchise, released on July 22nd, 2016.
This time around, Scrat's own usual mishaps with his acorn causes him to stumble upon an alien spacecraft that takes him on a wacky misadventure through the cosmos in search of his nut, only to send a massive asteroid towards Earth. The Sub-Zero Heroes are forced to leave their own home, and search for answers that will allow them to somehow avoid the approaching asteroid.
Previews: Teaser Trailer
, Trailer 1, Trailer 2, Final Trailer
This ultimately became the final theatrical film of the series after Disney closed down Blue Sky Studios in 2021. A spinoff, The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, released on January 28, 2022, as a Disney+ exclusive.
This film provides examples of:
- Advertised Extra: The trailers and marketing heavily emphasised Geotopia and its inhabitants as main characters in the film, particularly emphasising Brooke and her romantic subplot with Sid. These characters don't appear at all until the third act, and their plotline is quickly sped through due to the threat of the meteor.
- All Animals Are Dogs: After Buck saves her egg from the Dino-bird trio, the Triceratops mother licks his face.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Everyone in Geotopia, possibly thanks to the asteroid's effects.
- Ambiguously Absent Parent: Julian's parents are never seen or mentioned in the film, and are not even shown attending his and Peaches' wedding in the ending.
- Anachronism Stew: Apparently the planets of the Solar System didn't start orbiting the sun until Scrat causes it, alongside the Great Red Spot and the asteroid belt. At one point, Julian also sings "Light 'Em Up".
- Anuscape Plan: When Gavin eats Granny whole, she begins trying to make her way to the end of his digestive system, trying to go to the light as she believes she is dead.
- Artistic License – Biology: Diego and Shira are seen eating grapes at one point. Felines can't detect sweetness, are obligate carnivores who have difficulty digesting anything other than meat, and while we obviously don't know all the specifics of Smilodon biology, grapes can cause acute kidney failure in cats and dogs.
- Artistic License – Physics: In a clear deliberate artistic choice, the characters have much more cartoony animation and motions than they ever had in the previous films. It’s safe to say it's impossible for a mammoth to pull off the dance moves Julian does at the end of the movie.
- Ascended Extra: Crash and Eddie have slightly expanded roles compared to how they were Demoted to Extra in Continental Drift.
- Big Bad Ensemble: While the asteroid is the principle threat, Gavin is the closest thing to being a main antagonist, as he plans to let all the mammals be killed by the asteroid. He's eventually convinced that he won't survive either, so he pulls a Heel–Face Turn and helps save the day.
- Big Fun: Julian, a mammoth who's Peaches's fiancé, is much fatter than Manny, and much jollier as well.
- Big Good: The Shangri-Llama is being built up to be this, and is at least this for Geotopia, though he apparently has no idea how to stop the asteroid. He ends up briefly being a minor antagonist when he refuses to help stop the asteroid
- Bittersweet Ending: At least in regards to Peaches's arc. At the end of the film, the day has been saved and Peaches and Julian are married, but they leave to explore the world together. Ellie and Manny assure their daughter that they will always be with her, and that when she's ready to come back, they'll be there too.
- A Bloody Mess: During Manny and Ellie's anniversary party, Diego and Shira are eating grapes, causing dark red juice to drip down their fangs. Unsurprisingly, a couple of the younger animals get the wrong idea and run away screaming.
- Brick Joke: The suspiciously-arranged rock structure at the end of the fourth movie is back... only to get destroyed.
- The Bus Came Back: After only appearing as a cameo in the previous film, Buck returns in a major role, leading the herd to the meteor's landing site.
- A minor one, but diving birds are shown to make up the population of the animals in the forest. This is the first time the species has been seen since the second movie.
- Calling the Old Man Out: And the old woman, too. Fed up with her parents' attempts to manipulate her and Julian into staying close to home (and with Manny's barely concealed dislike of him), Peaches makes it clear that she's leaving home whether they're happy for her or not.
- Camp Straight: Julian dips into this on occasion.
- Carnivore Confusion: Early into the film, Shira is seen hungrily chasing down an antelope, and nothing more is said of it.
- Chirping Crickets: After Buck's "WHO'S WITH ME!?" The Herd puts their heads to together to figure out if this includes them.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: At the end of Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Buck returned to the dinosaur world to continue his fight with his nemesis, Rudy. Said nemesis does not appear at all in this movie, and isn't even mentioned.
- Contrived Coincidence: Manny forgets about his and Ellie's anniversary, and just when it looks like he's going to be exposed in front of the whole ceremony, meteorites suddenly explode in the sky like fireworks, and the crowd believes it was a gift for Ellie.Manny and Sid: (to each other) Nice save with the light show. Wait. You didn't do this? Then who did?
Ellie: Oh, Manny. I was so afraid you'd forgotten. But you lit up the sky for me? How'd you do it?
Manny: Uh, well... A magician never reveals his secrets.
Ellie: Aw...thank you. - The Cuckoolander Was Right: Buck doesn't know how they're going to save the world; he just wants them to head to the impact site and hope to find the answer. Everyone agrees this is insane, but that they don't have any other option.
- Comet of Doom: The conflict of the film is an extinction-causing asteroid. This isn't the first time an asteroid of this size has crashed either.
- Continuity Nod: Manny forgets his anniversary with Ellie, referring to when they got together back in The Meltdown. This is made even more notable given that this film was released on that film's
10th anniversary. - Dance Party Ending: The end of the movie (not counting Scrat’s usual Book Ends) takes place at Peaches and Julian’s wedding reception where the animals are enjoying themselves.
- Demoted to Extra:
- Scrat spends his time during the film in Outer Space and goes from a major character to a very minor one.
- Louis is only in the film in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo as a guest at Ellie's party.
- Daddy's Girl: Gertie is clearly Gavin’s favorite child. Both of them even take part in bullying Roger.
- Denser and Wackier: You thought Scrat causing the break-up of Pangea was crazy? Try Scrat creating the planets and the Milky Way itself! That's just the tip of the iceberg, as the film contains a whole lot more impossible science, even crazier characters, magic, and does revolve around a group of prehistoric mammals saving the Earth from an asteroid, after all. It's hard to believe that the series started as a solemn story about a trio of misfits returning a baby to his father.
- Did Not Get the Girl: While there was never any evidence that Peaches would ever reciprocate Louis's crush on her, she marries Julian in this film. Louis makes a brief appearance at Ellie's party, but he and Peaches are never seen interacting, and there's no strong indication that they even remained friends.
- Dumbass Has a Point: Roger isn't the brightest bulb in his family, but he alone sees the inherent flaws in his father's plan to let the asteroid hit, and also points out that stealing eggs isn't exactly an "honest living".
- Eaten Alive: Gavin devours Granny alive, but it backfires when she tries to, ahem, exit his body the back way. Luckily, Gertie gets Granny out by using the Heimlich maneuver on her father.
- The End of the World as We Know It: Scrat causes an asteroid to go on a collision course with Earth. He also plows his spaceship into Mars by accident, wiping out all life on the planet.
- Everyone Must Be Paired: Sid laments that he is the only member of the original trio who doesn't have a mate. Naturally, he does get one in the end named Brooke, whom he proposed after knowing her for about fourteen minutes.
- Evil Egg Eater: Gavin, Gertie, and Roger are a Terrible Trio of raptors who fight Buck for a Triceratops egg.
- Evil Laugh: Manny of all characters does this while contemplating sabotaging Julian and Peaches's relationship.
- Exact Time to Failure: That is until Scrat's antics suddenly advance the timetable.Buck: Now, we'd better get on the road because time until impact is roughly [digital clock flashes up on screen] two days, four hours, one minute and 16 seconds...15 seconds...14 seconds...
Diego: I think we get it. - Face Death with Dignity:
- Played for Laughs with Granny when she believes she is dead, and looks forward to meeting her family again (the ones that hate her, that is).
- Played straight when things look their bleakest, as Ellie and Manny gently reflect on the life they've spent together, and how they wish their daughter could've spent her life with her love.
- Fluffy the Terrible: Three vicious Dromaeosaurs who steal eggs from other dinosaurs... but keeping with the theme of giving characters normal human names in the film (even Rudy), they're named Gavin, Gertie, and Roger.
- Forced into Evil: Roger doesn't like hunting and killing, but he tries anyway because his father expects it of him.
- Forgotten Anniversary: Manny. In spite of the approaching apocalypse, it takes some time before his wife forgives him.
- Fountain of Youth: Not only does Geotopia has this effect due to its crystal, but the real deal gets created at the end when a piece of the asteroid falls into a spring.
- Four Lines, All Waiting: If you thought that a giant meteor was enough, they even thought to throw in some villains who want it to crash into the earth. Then there are even more subplots than that.
- Fourth-Date Marriage: Sid tries to invoke this by proposing to a lady sloth after only one date. Understandably, she turns him down.
- Furry Confusion: Dromaeosaurids are sapient and able to speak like the mammals and birds, in contrast to the other non-avian dinosaurs.
- Garden Garment: Sid makes a bikini out of leaves for Francine. Unfortunately, they were poison oak leaves.
- Glad You Thought of It: Manny and Ellie try to make Peaches give up on the idea of moving far from them by making her think it's her idea. Ellie says this is how they always make Peaches do whatever they want her to. Unfortunately it backfires on them, as not only does Peach catch on to what they were doing, but it actually convinces her to continue her planning, whether they support it or not.
- Goofy Feathered Dinosaur: Ice Age 5: Collision Course has a trio of feathered, flying dromaeosaurids as the main antagonists. They appear to be somewhat smarter than the scaly dinosaurs seen in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, as they talk fluent English, but also goofier and less monstrous.
- Grand Finale: Referred to as the "defining chapter" of the "Chillogy". The trailer also makes note of the "end of the Ice Age", and the above poster says the cast is going out with a bang, implying that this is the last film in the series. And it was.
- Gravity Is a Harsh Mistress: Scrat accidentally turns the gravity on the ship too high, resulting in him being Squashed Flat.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Neil DeBuck Weasel wears a vest.
- Ink-Suit Actor: Neil DeBuck Weasel is just a weasel version of Neil deGrasse Tyson from the look of things.
- It's All About Me: When it comes to the big stuff, Brooke is willing to giving up an immortal life to save the world. Once that's taken care of, however, she shows up at Julian and Peaches' wedding and hijacks the first song, making it about Sid and herself.
- Just Eat Him: Subverted. After Grandma is delivered to the raptor pack, most of them don't know what to make of the aggressive little beast. Gavin promptly swallows her and declares the problem solved. Nope.Gavin: [wipes muzzle with wing] And that's how it's done!
Grandma: Hello! Angel? Am I in heaven? [feels around] It's so dark and squishy in here!
Gavin: Huh?! [ends up head-down-tail-up as he tries to contain himself]
Grandma: [from somewhere in the vicinity of Gavin's rear] Oh no! I can still see the light!Gavin reaches behind himself to force his tail back down. Hilarity Ensues from there. - Know Your Vines: Not only does Sid make his girlfriend a bikini out of poison oak, he also uses it as a handkerchief.
- Logo Joke: Scrat and his acorn are first seen on a blue surface that turns into a wall, prompting the acorn to fall and Scrat to jump for it. The blue surface is the "B" from the Blue Sky logo.
- Love Interest: Sid is actively looking for one and appears to finally find one in this film, having been the last member of the original trio to remain single.
- Magic Meteor: Geotopia, a settlement in the asteroid on the crash site of all previous collisions, keeps everyone who stays there from aging within city walls. After it is destroyed and its pieces used in a volcano to avert the asteroid, a piece of it lands in the geothermal vents of a hotspring, turning it into a Fountain of Youth.
- Mind Meld: Buck does this to deliver exposition to Crash and Eddie.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: The Shangri-Llama has horns like those a bighorn sheep, which real camelids (the family llamas belong to) don't have.
- Mythology Gag: The premise of Scrat encountering a frozen UFO is a nod to the sequence in the first film when the gang passed a UFO in a cave; much like how Dawn of the Dinosaurs was partly inspired by the frozen Tyrannosaurus in that same sequence.
- Nice Guy: Julian is unfailingly jovial and friendly with everyone. Even Diego has fun with him, the two performing a Secret Handshake at one point.
- Not Helping Your Case: Diego and Shira wonder why kids are afraid of him. They are eating grapes at the time, so when some children come by and see two saber-tooths with red liquid coming out of their mouths, they naturally assume the worst.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Julian, trying to convince Manny to go along with his 11th hour plan, tells Manny that all he wants is a life with Peaches and to prove himself to Manny, and does Manny really think he would waste the only shot he has left? It's the first and only time he ever breaks out the serious big boy voice, and Manny quickly follows his lead.
- The Oner: Buck saving an egg from the raptors while singing "Figaro's Aria" is all done in one continuous shot.
- Palette Swap: The Martian Scrat kills when he crashes on Mars is a Siren from the fourth film recolored green.
- The Pollyanna: Julian is always upbeat and positive, even under the threat of wholesale extinction. When it seems like all hope is lost, he tries to a positive spin on things by telling Peaches that if their lives end up flashing before their eyes, it means he'll get to fall in love with her all over again.Peaches: Only you could make the end of the world sound like a good thing.
- Race Against the Clock: Buck even starts counting down the seconds until he's told to stop.
- Ragnarök Proofing: The Flying Saucer in the ice.
- Raptor Attack: Gavin, Gertie, and Roger zigzag this trope — they're predatory, pack-hunting, and quite intelligent by dinosaur standards, but they have feathers and even wings. A major plot point is that they're also capable of and quite competent at flying, despite Dromaeosaurs being primarily ground-based or tree-climbing hunters (and in the case of the smaller species, poor flyers at best).
- Really 700 Years Old: Everyone at Geotopia is hundreds of years old due to its Fountain of Youth effect.
- Satellite Love Interest:
- Brooke is only introduced towards the end of the film to give Sid a love interest, and it's never said why she falls in love with him. After what's stated to be fourteen minutes, she proposes to him.
- Shira and Diego's romantic relationship amounts to two conversations where they discuss having kids (one of which is soured by Diego rather smarmily insisting he wants a boy) and one easily missed shot of them leaning into each other while they wait for the asteroid. Other than that, Shira mostly just stands next to him.
- Screw Destiny: Buck finds an ancient prophecy depicting the asteroid as a recurrent event. However, he figures that since some of the dinosaurs managed to escape their extinction that the mammals are capable of achieving the same.
- Sequel Escalation: The stakes have never been higher as now the heroes are setting out to somehow save the planet from an asteroid collision.
- Shout-Out: To asteroid movies, especially Armageddon, including reenacting the slow walk scene from the movie, while the movie's theme song plays.
- Shown Their Work: With Tyson on board, the filmmakers occasionally asked for scientific input on the film... As much as there can be given its a movie about a herd of prehistoric mammals stopping an asteroid collision.
- Stripped to the Bone: Scrat messes with the gravity on the flying saucer at one point and winds up with his skeleton standing upright while his flesh is stuck to the floor.
- Suddenly Speaking: This marks the first film where the prehistoric reptiles are capable of speaking English and communicating with the mammals, when previous films indicated that the mammals (except humans) and birds had separate languages from the reptiles.
- Tempting Fate:
- Granny isn't concerned about lightning as she's already been struck by it four times over. She gets struck an additional two times before she even finishes her line.
- Gavin is confident that he and his kin will be safe from the approaching apocalypse since they can fly, and claims they'll be as safe as a flock of birds above him. One is killed by a meteorite, and Gavin scoffs that it was a lucky shot. Then the whole flock is shot down, which Gavin nervously tries to pass off as an extra lucky shot.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Sid gets to be together with a girl that genuinely loves him.
- Toilet Humor: Ramped up for this film. There are several more poop jokes, and Granny has a scene where she's swallowed whole by Gavin, and tries to exit his body through the back way.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Brooke is a beautiful, colorful sloth who takes an interest in the ugly, slovenly Sid.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Scrat's really done it this time, because this time he's threatening the Earth with an extinction level event! Additionally, he destroys all life in Mars by accident.
- Teleporter Accident: Scrat has multiple in a single scene, all involving his acorn and a transporter.
- First his acorn is fused with his head.
- His head is teleported off his body leading to a Cranium Chase.
- His body (minus his legs) is fused with his acorn which dances to the tune of Trepak.
- His tail and acorn switch places.
- His fur is burned off his body and transplanted onto his acorn.
- He gets an Ass Shove from his acorn twice.
- His acorn takes the place of various parts of his body: his hands, uvula, eyes, and nipples.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Roger really wants to make his father proud, even if he isn't fully behind his schemes.
- What Does She See in Him?: Most of the characters are surprised (and more than a little disgusted) by Brooke's interest in Sid.
- Wish Upon a Shooting Star: In the "Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe" teaser short, the guys mistake a meteor shower for shooting stars, one of which hit Sid and send him flying into a tree.Manny: Hey, look! Shooting stars!
Sid: Quick, make a wish! You gotta make a— (gets hit and is launched into the air) WIIIIIIIISH! (lands on the top of a tree)
Manny: Wow! My wish came true!
Sid: I'm okay! (spontaneously combusts)
Diego: Mine, too!
