I'm sorry to say this, but 'The Land Before Time' film franchise really needs to go the way of the dinosaurs and stay extinct. This 12th movie out of 13th sequels not counting the original flick is one such example. Produced by Universal Animated Studios & directed by James Mitchell, this cartoon not only recycles the first film by having the group once again search for a mysterious paradise after an earth shake; but it also dumbed downs the adult driven realistic survival themes of the original to maddening baby levels of comic relief. The introduction of the Dodo Birds like creatures 'The Yellow Bellies' to the flick really killed it for me. Their care free selfish attitudes and clumsy antics were really obnoxious. None of them really had much redeeming qualities. They come across as very unlikeable. Not even the voice work from performers like Cuba Gooding Jr. and Sandra Oh could save them. I was really hoping for their characters demise throughout the movie due to their cantankerous nature. Yet, they're somehow were able to survive by unrealistic convenient dumb luck. The action scenes in this movie are really a step down from the gritty sharp intense thrills of the first film. After all the Yellow Bellies are able to defeat a group of hungry predators by bouncing on their fat stomachs and whine before another rock slide killed them. What an awful message to teach children! Rather than fight back against attackers, just sit on your butt and complain until karma magically shows up. Pathetic. Another problem with them besides their mildly derogatory nick names is how out of place the species look. Like other critics have pointed out before, they really do look like Dr. Seuss creatures. It's so bizarre. That saying a lot given the plethora of animal species from different time periods already being jarring enough for the series when looked upon from a paleontologist. And I thought the Rainbow faces from the 7th movie were weird. To add onto the pain the animation is not top notch. Since Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Don Bluth did not help with the production. The budget for the artwork was really low budget. You can see interpolation blocky motion and unclean curves during certain parts. The visuals were not that seamless or lavish. As for the voice acting. The performers playing the original group of Dinosaurs were not seasoned thespians. Their unnatural lowkey voices lack range and strong emotional delivery. Not only that but the acting in this don't really match the previous voice performers works in the other movies; especially those involved with Cera and Littlefoot's speaking roles. Regardless whoever did all the characters singing work, all them were pretty how out of tune awful. To add onto that, the new musical numbers 'How Do you Know' and 'Say So' written by Michelle Brourman and Amanda McBroom were not really that good. The beats were generic slowed & the lyrics forgettable mediocre. It's nowhere near the lovely nature of singer Diana Ross's version of the original song 'If we hold on together'. I also really miss that iconic powerful and emotional James Horner's theme as well. It was not in this motion picture. Talking about not being part of this cartoon, the flick doesn't continue much of any of the previous sequel's stories. There is no mention of the lands of the mist nor the mysterious island. However, there was yet another Saurus Rock even if different from the last two. As for previous characters. There is no mention of Chomper or Ruby. The gang acts like they never really existed. Nor those the movie involved the previous near-death experiences with the adults. Those events don't really play factor in Littlefoot's nightmares in the beginning of this film when it should have. He quickly fails to recalled those like how he forgot that his elder almost fall down a cliff during earth shake earlier in the movie. He must really have short term memory. Overall: While this film was released on DVD on with the short-lived TV series 10th episode, "The Hidden Canyon" as a bonus feature. Both are not really worth digging for. This indeed was the worst film of all of them. A Tyrannosaurus Wreck!

Excellent series! I do not understand the low ratings and reviews, they seem to be given by adults reviewing cartoons intended for kids. Have they consulted some kids before rating/reviewing? My guess is they haven't.

My daughters (7 and 8) absolutely LOVED all of them, to the point where they were impersonating various characters, making lego dinosaurs and even dreaming about dinosaurs.

I asked them to rate the movie and they both said 10/10 with a big grin.

Having enjoyed most of the sequels, particularly Stone of Cold Fire, Time of the Great Giving and Great Valley Adventure, I was greatly disappointed in this sequel and consider it the worst of the franchise. The voice acting is a redeeming quality and the film moved quickly, but everything else didn't work for me. This sequel does have disappointingly lacklustre animation, complete with choppy editing, and the music is forgettable at best. Other cons are clichéd and lazy dialogue, an episodic plot and the voice acting is only variable, some are good but others are not great at all. As for the characters, Littlefoot is at his least likable and heroic, and Petrie is annoying. And Cera? I know people say she is bratty, but here she is really bratty. Overall, disappointing and almost unwatchable for me. 2/10 Bethany Cox