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Just before that, Diego, who has fallen in love with Shira, tries to convince her to leave the pirates and join The Herd so she can have a better life, but Shira, while initially accepting, instead stays behind and slows Gutt down so The Herd can escape. Manny coordinates a plan using a group of hyrax to steal a new iceberg ship that Gutt is planning to use, and they are able to escape using the ship. The Herd washes ashore on Switchback Cove, which gives a current back to their home. Gutt's first mate, a female sabretooth named Shira (Jennifer Lopez), joins them after she is left for dead. When they refuse, Gutt tries to execute them, leading to their escape, which inadvertently cause the ship and food supplies to sink.
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After violent weather pushes them further away from land, Manny's group is captured by a band of pirates (Aziz Ansari, Nick Frost, Kunal Nayyar and Rebel Wilson) sailing on a floating iceberg led by a Gigantopithecus, Captain Gutt (Peter Dinklage), who attempts to press them into his crew. Meanwhile, Scrat, in a subplot, finds an acorn that has a treasure map on it that directs him towards an island. Meanwhile, a giant land shift encroaches on Ellie, Peaches, and those remaining on land, causing them to make their way towards a land bridge. Trapped on a moving chunk of ice with Sid (John Leguizamo), Granny, and Diego (Denis Leary), Manny has no choice but to ride out the current. Shortly after, a sudden continental break-up separates Manny from The Herd.
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Meanwhile, Sid's family (Joy Behar, Ben Gleib, Alan Tudyk, Ester Dean) returns, but only long enough to drop off the elderly Granny (Wanda Sykes) before abandoning them both. Ellie tries to support her daughter, but Manny becomes exceedingly over-protective. While Scrat (Chris Wedge) inadvertently causes the break up of Pangaea, Manny (Ray Romano) and Ellie (Queen Latifah) are forced to deal with the trials and tribulations of their teenage daughter Peaches (Keke Palmer), who has trouble fitting in with her peers.
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