The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild (2022) begins with Manny and Sid expressing concern that Ellie and Diego are spending too much time with Crash and Eddie, who have become increasingly reliant on their elder siblings. Manny suggests that it's time for Crash and Eddie to learn independence. Feeling their family is growing too protective and stifling their desire for adventure, Crash and Eddie decide to sneak away. They stumble upon the entrance to the Lost World, a subterranean land populated by dinosaurs, where they immediately get into trouble with a carnivorous plant. They are rescued by their old friend, the one-eyed weasel Buck Wild, who has been living in the Lost World since the events of 'Dawn of the Dinosaurs'. Buck explains that the Lost World is currently facing a new threat from a dinosaur named Orson, a Protoceratops with an enlarged brain and a penchant for leadership, who was once an outcast. Orson has managed to unite a group of dinosaurs and plans to take over the Lost World, making it safe and orderly but under his tyrannical rule. Buck is attempting to stop Orson by finding a mythical 'Throne of Fire' that he believes holds the key to defeating him, but he’s struggling alone. Meanwhile, Manny, Sid, Ellie, and Diego discover that Crash and Eddie are missing and follow their tracks to the entrance of the Lost World. Ellie, worried sick, convinces the others to venture into the dangerous world to rescue her brothers. Inside, they encounter various perils and eventually reunite with Buck and the possums. Buck initially resists their help, convinced he must face Orson alone, but the group insists. Together, they form a plan to stop Orson. They encounter Zee, a zorilla who was once Buck's partner but left him after a previous failed attempt to stop Orson. Zee reveals that Orson is not actually looking for the Throne of Fire to gain power, but rather to eliminate a 'meteorite fragment' that emits a mysterious energy, which she believes is the actual source of the Lost World's unique environment and its resistance to outside forces. Orson believes this energy is chaotic and wants to extinguish it to bring his desired order. Crash and Eddie, despite their usual goofiness, play a crucial role in distracting Orson's forces and ultimately helping Buck and Zee activate a mechanism that disperses the meteorite fragment's energy harmlessly across the Lost World, thus preventing Orson from concentrating and extinguishing it. Orson is defeated and driven away, and the Lost World returns to its natural balance. With the crisis averted, Manny and Ellie realize that Crash and Eddie are capable of more than they gave them credit for. Crash and Eddie decide to stay in the Lost World with Buck and Zee, having found their own adventure and purpose, but promise to visit. The film ends with the realization that the possums have grown and found their place, while the original herd accepts their evolving family dynamics.
