Manny and Diego of “Ice Age” phenomenon are back the third time around in “Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” as they step into the uncharted terrain of the dinosaurs to save their pal Sid the sloth from extinction.

The Ice Age gang’s game-changing, grand adventure starts out on familiar turf: the makeshift family comprised of mammoth Manny, his wife Ellie (who’s now expecting a mini-mammoth), Sid the sloth, Diego the saber-toothed tiger, and possums Crash and Eddie, is shifting as each finds his or her place within the family.

Manny, the de facto leader of the herd, prepares to face a new challenge – parenthood.  He’s taking it very, very seriously, going so far as trying to baby-proof nature itself by removing the innumerable stones, twigs and other potential “hazards” around him.  Frantic preparations for fatherhood are clearly something that Manny’s alter-ego, Ray Romano, identifies with.  “It wasn’t that different from my own life,” he notes. “Getting crazy preparing for a new arrival comes with the territory.”

Romano also appreciated Manny’s arc through the three “Ice Age” films.  “He was kind of a misanthrope in the first film, with a real chip on his shoulder,” he says.  “Little by little, Manny’s developed friendships, found love, and become a more well-rounded guy.”

Manny’s best pal, saber-toothed tiger Diego, is facing a different kind of crisis: Lately he’s been feeling more like a kitty cat than a fearsome feline, and fears that joining the herd is making him lose his edge.  Instead of participating in the preparations for the baby’s arrival, Diego heads out on his own in search of adventure, wondering if it’s time for him to move on from the herd.  “He’s breaking off on his own,” says actor-comedian Denis Leary, who completed voicing his third turn as Diego before returning to work on his hit series “Rescue Me.”  “Diego also has some great moments with Ellie at a critical time for her, and that was a lot of fun to play.”

Leary continues to marvel at the franchise’s broad appeal, having witnessed it at screenings of the first two films.  “I was with adults, teens, kids – everybody had a great time,” he remembers.   What about the notion of a secret world lying under the ice?  It’s great, says Leary, an avid amateur hockey player and fan:  “But for me, personally, anytime there’s ice, I want to be on top of it, not below it.”

Ray Romano (Manny’s voice) played the lead in CBS’ most respected tv sitcom hit “Everybody Loves Raymond.” He won numerous awards for his work in the sitcom, including an Emmy® for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series in 2002, and received two additional Emmys, as an executive producer, for outstanding comedy series, in 2003 and 2005.  After stints at odd jobs, including futon mattress delivery man and bank teller by day, and journeyman comedian by night, he decided to leave the 9-5 ranks and pursue comedy full-time, eventually winning a standup comedy competition sponsored by a major New York radio station.

Following that success, he continued to regularly appear at comedy clubs throughout the country, leading to appearances on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and then with Jay Leno.  He was eventually invited to appear on “Late Night with David Letterman.”   He made his big screen debut as the voice of Manny the woolly mammoth, in “Ice Age,” and subsequently starred in the follow-up hit, “Ice Age: The Meltdown.” He has also starred in “Eulogy,” “Welcome to Mooseport” with Gene Hackman, “Grilled” with Kevin James and Burt Reynolds, “The Grand” with Woody Harrelson, and “95 Miles To Go,” an autobiographical documentary of his life on tour.  He is the author of The New York Times best-selling book based on his comedy,  “Everything and a Kite,” as well as a children’s book, “Raymie, Dickie, and The Bean: Why I Love and Hate My Brothers.”

Denis Leary  (Diego’s voice) was nominated for a Golden Globe as best actor in a drama, as well as an Emmy for best actor in a drama, and best writing – all for his critically acclaimed hit series “Rescue Me,” which he co-produces with longtime creative partner Peter Tolan.  For the acclaimed HBO film “Recount,” Leary was nominated for a Golden Globe in the category of best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a series, mini-series or motion picture made for television, as well as an Emmy as outstanding supporting actor in a miniseries or movie.  In his long and varied movie career Leary has starred in the box office hits “Wag the Dog,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Ice Age,” “The Thomas Crown Affair,” “Suicide Kings” and ‘Ice Age: The Meltdown.”   He gained critical praise for his portrayal of a cowboy junkie in the indie hit “Jesus’ Son,” as a drug-addled Irish gangster in “Monument Ave.,” as an ethereal trumpet player in “The Secret Lives of Dentists,” and as a hard-working Southern farmer in Terence Davies’s “The Neon Bible.”  His first big project with director Ted Demme, “The Ref,” has become a Christmas-time cult classic.

“Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” opens July 3 in theaters nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

The world’s beloved prehistoric squirrel/rat known as Scrat is back in “Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.” Ice Age’s 3^rd installment ups the stakes even more for the hapless yet indefatigable Scrat, giving him a rival for the nut – a wily and attractive female squirrel/rat named Scratte (rhymes with “sautee”). Their battle of the sexes brings a new level of fun, action and especially romance to the beleaguered figure.

The burgeoning love and the fight for the nut go hand in hand for the rodent couple, no more so than during a scene that has them tangling – then tangoing – to Lou Rawls’ classic “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine.” “When we sat down to map out the scene,” recalls director Carlos Saldanha, we said, ‘Okay, they’re fighting over the nut. What can we do beyond a standard fight scene that will make it romantic, but still action-packed?” The resulting sequence, like so many others, points to the filmmakers’ desire to break new ground with each “Ice Age” film. (Even the object of their pursuit – the nut – gets an expanded role in this film, warbling a heartfelt tune based on Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally),” with special lyrics by co-screenwriter Yoni Brenner.)

Scrat, whose raison d’être is an elusive acorn, is initially envisioned for “Ice Age” as a peripheral character. Scrat’s explosive popularity in that first film’s teaser trailer led the filmmakers to expand the role significantly. “Ice Age: The Meltdown” explored new attitudes and frustrations for Scrat, as his quest remained unfulfilled. Not only did he instigate the meltdown and ensuing flood, Scrat ended up saving the day. The character’s exasperated squeaks, squeals, squawks, grunts and groans are again voiced by Chris Wedge, who helmed “Ice Age” and executive produced the two follow-ups.

Scratte, like all the “Ice Age” characters, was designed by noted artist Peter de Sève, who has been with the films since the inception of “Ice Age.” He worked to make the two rodents physically similar, but with important distinctions. “Scratte is smarter than Scrat,” he points out. “And she’s more refined and evolved.”

Karen Disher, who heads the film’s story department, voices Scratte. But Disher’s responsibilities extended beyond her vocal work. Unlike the film’s main story, scripted by Michael Berg & Peter Ackerman and Mike Reiss and Yoni Brenner, from a story by Jason Carter Eaton, the story department, working closely with Saldanha, created the Scrat-Scratte scenes. Disher and her team embraced the task of inventing new challenges for the beloved Scrat. “Working on the Scrat-Scratte scenes is the purest form of animation,” she notes.

“Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” opens very soon this July in theaters nationwide from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.