While trying to bury his acorn, Scrat accidentally activates an abandoned alien ship that takes him into deep space, where he unwittingly sends several asteroids en route to a collision with Earth.
Meanwhile, Manny is worried about the upcoming marriage between Peaches and her fiancé, Julian, while Diego and his wife Shira want to start a family but their fierce appearance tend to scare kids, and Sid is dumped by his girlfriend, Francine, just as he is about to propose to her. During Manny and Ellie's wedding anniversary party, some of the asteroids strike the place and the herd barely escape with their lives. Meanwhile, at the underground cavern, Buck returns a dinosaur egg back to its rightful owner after it was stolen from a trio of Dromaeosaurs led by their father Gavin, only to discover an ancient stone pillar, which he takes to the surface, where he meets Manny and the others.
Buck explains to the herd that according to the pillar, the asteroids had caused several extinctions in the past and with a massive one still incoming, he claims that the only place they could find a clue to stop it is on the site of the impact of the previous ones, as according to its engravings, they always fall at the same place. However, the three Dromaeosaurs, having listened their conversation, decide to stop them, believing that they could be safe from the impact, as they can fly, thus not only getting their revenge on Buck, but also killing all mammals and securing domination over Earth for their species.
As the herd travels to the crash site, they discover that the asteroids have electro-magnetic properties, thus if a huge quantity of smaller asteroids should be gathered and launched into orbit, they could attract the main asteroid as well and prevent it from falling on Earth. After facing several obstacles and the interference of the Dromaeosaurs, the herd arrives at "Geotopia", a community of animals formed inside one of the asteroids that have fallen long ago, where Sid meets Brooke, a female ground sloth who falls in love with him. However, Shangri Llama, the leader of Geotopia, refuses to cooperate with Buck's plan to send the city's crystals into space in order to prevent the imminent impact, as they are the key to the residents' longevity, until Sid unwillingly destroys the entire city when he attempts to remove one of the stones to present Brooke with, making all the Geotopians grow old up to their real ages, including Brooke herself.
Once Brooke convinces the Geotopians that preventing the asteroid's fall is more important than their lost youth, they and the herd help with Buck's plan, which is to fill up a geyser with the crystals so that the pressure launches them into space to draw the asteroid away, but the Dromaeosaurs attempt to intervene, until one of them, realizing that they will not survive as well if the asteroid falls, convinces the others to also help. The plan works, and the asteroid is pulled back into space. The herd then departs back home, including Sid, who parts ways from Brooke, but just after they leave, an asteroid piece falls inside a hot spring, giving it rejuvenating properties and making the Geotopians and Sid's granny, who stayed behind with them regain their youth. After the herd returns, Peaches and Julian celebrate their wedding, Diego and Shira become heroes to the kids who were scared of them before, and a rejuvenated Brooke appears during the ceremony to reunite with Sid.
In the film's epilogue, Scrat keeps struggling to control the alien ship until it crashes on Mars, destroying all life on the planet.
Meanwhile, Manny is worried about the upcoming marriage between Peaches and her fiancé, Julian, while Diego and his wife Shira want to start a family but their fierce appearance tend to scare kids, and Sid is dumped by his girlfriend, Francine, just as he is about to propose to her. During Manny and Ellie's wedding anniversary party, some of the asteroids strike the place and the herd barely escape with their lives. Meanwhile, at the underground cavern, Buck returns a dinosaur egg back to its rightful owner after it was stolen from a trio of Dromaeosaurs led by their father Gavin, only to discover an ancient stone pillar, which he takes to the surface, where he meets Manny and the others.
Buck explains to the herd that according to the pillar, the asteroids had caused several extinctions in the past and with a massive one still incoming, he claims that the only place they could find a clue to stop it is on the site of the impact of the previous ones, as according to its engravings, they always fall at the same place. However, the three Dromaeosaurs, having listened their conversation, decide to stop them, believing that they could be safe from the impact, as they can fly, thus not only getting their revenge on Buck, but also killing all mammals and securing domination over Earth for their species.
As the herd travels to the crash site, they discover that the asteroids have electro-magnetic properties, thus if a huge quantity of smaller asteroids should be gathered and launched into orbit, they could attract the main asteroid as well and prevent it from falling on Earth. After facing several obstacles and the interference of the Dromaeosaurs, the herd arrives at "Geotopia", a community of animals formed inside one of the asteroids that have fallen long ago, where Sid meets Brooke, a female ground sloth who falls in love with him. However, Shangri Llama, the leader of Geotopia, refuses to cooperate with Buck's plan to send the city's crystals into space in order to prevent the imminent impact, as they are the key to the residents' longevity, until Sid unwillingly destroys the entire city when he attempts to remove one of the stones to present Brooke with, making all the Geotopians grow old up to their real ages, including Brooke herself.
Once Brooke convinces the Geotopians that preventing the asteroid's fall is more important than their lost youth, they and the herd help with Buck's plan, which is to fill up a geyser with the crystals so that the pressure launches them into space to draw the asteroid away, but the Dromaeosaurs attempt to intervene, until one of them, realizing that they will not survive as well if the asteroid falls, convinces the others to also help. The plan works, and the asteroid is pulled back into space. The herd then departs back home, including Sid, who parts ways from Brooke, but just after they leave, an asteroid piece falls inside a hot spring, giving it rejuvenating properties and making the Geotopians and Sid's granny, who stayed behind with them regain their youth. After the herd returns, Peaches and Julian celebrate their wedding, Diego and Shira become heroes to the kids who were scared of them before, and a rejuvenated Brooke appears during the ceremony to reunite with Sid.
In the film's epilogue, Scrat keeps struggling to control the alien ship until it crashes on Mars, destroying all life on the planet.