Most underrated sequels?

[credence007]

Most of the LBT fandom seems to hate Invasion of the Tinysauruses, but I absolutely adore it. I may have the unpopular opinion, but I thought it was incredibly cute and funny.

I also find The Secret of Saurus Rock underrated, and many fans seem to hate on that one as well. While there are some obvious errors in the movie (the rock sequence is kind of strangely rotated the wrong way when they first look out onto it from the cliff) I thought it was a great installment, and has some cute and funny moments in it.

[RainbowFaceProtege]

I agree that The Secret of Saurus Rock is actually pretty good. Sure, the western stuff can be pretty corny, but hey, this is a cartoon about talking dinosaurs! And I don't have a problem with Dana and Dinah (who seem to be another reason people don't like this particular sequel). I always thought Saurus Rock was one of the more memorable LBT sequels. As for Tinysauruses, I'll admit it wasn't my cup of tea, but to each their own.
The Great Day of the Flyers is my favorite underrated LBT movie, mostly because of --> <--
I've noticed some people include Flyers when complaining about later LBT sequels that were lower quality, but I always thought Guido alone made it worth watching. He's one of the more interesting guest characters to appear in LBT, and he adds a type of humor you don't see in the series very often. Also, go ahead and accuse me of falling for the cheap "cute baby" character, but what's really not to like about Tricia? Cera's relationship with her was so cute!

[Nanotyrannus]

I'd like to second the twelfth movie being underrated; I consider it to be one of the most charming of the sequels and perhaps the funniest movie in the whole tetradecalogy (largely thanks to Guido).

I'm not sure if the fandom's general opinion on The Time of the Great Giving is low enough for it to qualify as "underrated", but I'll mention it here as well because I think it's a sequel that modestly succeeds for different reasons from those of TGDOTF; it has a great premise, decently high stakes and a smidgen of intensity to boot.

[Mouse-a-saur]

Also gonna agree with Saurus Rock getting a bad rap. I don’t mind Dana & Dinah either; Dana’s my favorite of the two (largely in part to Nancy Cartwright being his VA) I think the final script involving them was the best choice.

Side note: Where are the D&D emojis, lmao? 

[Hammy]

As I've discovered lately, I am a total sucker for morals that provide value to real life kids and adults, as well as cheesy, but meaningful emotional beats. Now, I'd have suggested Time of Great Giving as being underrated for reasons of Topps' small, but impactful arc there, but people on this forum, ie long-time fans, seem to actually quite like that one, so I'll set it aside.

Hard agree on Saurus Rock being underrated. Yes, there are western elements, but honestly, I find them not overbearing outside of the one song. In a dinosaur culture where you have no writing, I have to imagine that storytelling and oral tradition is a major factor, thus what we'd recognize as creation myths as well as western-style tales of heroic loner dinosaurs. It's not really focused on, but there being mythos of sorts it's a neat aspect that I enjoy seeing. Littlefoot's grandpa getting spotlight alongside Doc is really touching, particularly the ending. I quite like Doc too, but that's more of a matter of taste (even if I've wished he was a therizinosaur rather than a diplodocus for a long time now). It's also nice seeing Cera in an older sibling role long before Tricia came into the picture. We see her grappling with being annoyed by Dinah and Danah and genuinely loving and caring for him, though, it's not as interesting here as it's not given so much focus.

On that note, tentatively agreeing on Tinysauruses and Great Day of the Flyers. I really, really wish we'd seen more change within the characters' lives like we did with Cera through dealing with a step-parent and a new sibling. I certainly can't think of any bigger permanent change to the status quo of a particular character. We meet lots of new characters, but the majority are in one movie before disappearing forever and having no effect. Tria, however, becomes a pretty consistent presence, at least after her introduction and into the TV show. I know it's not possible to incorporate every new character consistently, but it would have been nice to see some of them more often before we stopped getting new content consistently.

[StardustSoldier]

I always had the impression Time of the Great Giving was one of the more maligned of the earlier sequels, so I was going to say that I think it's underrated. But reading the comments here, it seems there are a decent number of people who enjoy it too.

And I too will definitely throw in my hat for Secret of Saurus Rock being underrated. I actually liked the western elements. A prehistoric western is an interesting idea, imo, and gave the film a unique flavour. Dinah & Dana never bothered me either. In fact, I was always disappointed we never saw them again in any later films. Seeing them play with Tricia would've been cute. ^^

I even had an idea for a drawing once that would've been Dinah, Dana, & Tricia all cheerfully playing on Cera and jumping on her and annoying her.

[credence007]

I always expected Journey To Big Water to be the one that not as many fans enjoyed, but it actually appears to be a fan favorite, just as The Great Longneck Migration is.

That also kind of gets me wondering, since The Wisdom of Friends seems to be almost completely universally hated by the entire fandom, I kind of wonder if there’s anyone in the fandom that actually LIKES it  let alone even considers it their favorite...

[Hammy]

That also kind of gets me wondering, since The Wisdom of Friends seems to be almost completely universally hated by the entire fandom, I kind of wonder if there’s anyone in the fandom that actually LIKES it  let alone even considers it their favorite...

Funny you should mention that. It's been a while since my last viewing of Wisdom of Friends, but I distinctly remember being way more entertained by it than I expected. I didn't think it was amazing, but it certainly held my attention more than Journey to Big Water (not a big fan that one, to relate to your previous point.) Gotta rewatch 11-13 properly, and then I'll see if I'm the weirdo who kinda likes Wisdom of Friends.

[RainbowFaceProtege]

That also kind of gets me wondering, since The Wisdom of Friends seems to be almost completely universally hated by the entire fandom, I kind of wonder if there’s anyone in the fandom that actually LIKES it  let alone even considers it their favorite...

I think this is your moment @LittleDas75
(And I’ll admit to the rest of you guys that I, too, am guilty of enjoying Yellowbellies to some extent!)

[Gentle Sharptooth]

I think the Secret of Saurus Rock is underrated. It gets slammed for Dina and Dana, Littlefoot sleeping in a Sharptooth Mouth, and The Lone Dinosaur song. But honestly its one of favorites, perhaps my favorite of all because its so memorable,

[StardustSoldier]

^The Lone Dinosaur song is one of the better LBT songs, imo.

That also kind of gets me wondering, since The Wisdom of Friends seems to be almost completely universally hated by the entire fandom, I kind of wonder if there’s anyone in the fandom that actually LIKES it  let alone even considers it their favorite...

I'm not the biggest fan of #13 myself, but nor do I hate it or anything. I probably like it better than a lot fans do, and imo it does have some redeeming qualities. The Yellowbellies are annoying, but at the same time there is a part of me that kinda likes them. I am somewhat of a Yellowbelly fan myself in an ironic way.

[RainbowFaceProtege]

I'm not the biggest fan of #13 myself, but nor do I hate it or anything. I probably like it better than a lot fans do, and imo it does have some redeeming qualities. The Yellowbellies are annoying, but at the same time there is a part of me that kinda likes them. I am somewhat of a Yellowbelly fan myself in an ironic way.

Same here. I mean, at least the movie owns the fact that the Yellowbellies are weird and annoying. The Gang's reactions to them are priceless!

(Um, what happened to Goldenwind, anyway? I thought for sure he would've gotten in on this Yellowbelly discussion by now.)

[StardustSoldier]

I will make sure he sees this then.
 
@Goldenwind

[LittleDas75]

That also kind of gets me wondering, since The Wisdom of Friends seems to be almost completely universally hated by the entire fandom, I kind of wonder if there’s anyone in the fandom that actually LIKES it  let alone even considers it their favorite...

I think this is your moment @LittleDas75
(And I’ll admit to the rest of you guys that I, too, am guilty of enjoying Yellowbellies to some extent!)

Hello. It's your local Yellow Belly lover here. Now I don't consider XIII my absolute favorite, that obviously goes to the oringial, but it's one of my top favorite's next to The Great Longneck Migration.

[sordessie]

I agree about Secret of Saurus Rock. It may be a little bit of Nostalgia talking, since it was one of the VHS tapes I watched a lot as a kid, but it's top of the list in sequels for me. Can't count the times that Lone Dinosaur song creeps into my head when I least expect it. I always found the western gripe a little odd since the movies surrounding it also take a common movie theme (shipwreck for Mysterious Island, western for Secret of Saurus Rock, and SciFi for Stone of Cold Fire).

Also, I'm not sure if people usually lump The Big Freeze in with the lesser liked ones, but I always assumed so since I remembered disliking it as a kid. But I rewatched it for the first time not too long ago and it definitely bumped up on the list for me, I can't even remember why I didn't like it now! I also really like Great Day of the Flyers but I don't know the general consensus, I'm way out of the loop on fandom. And I'm biased because I just really like pterosaurs. 

[StardustSoldier]

I always found the western gripe a little odd since the movies surrounding it also take a common movie theme (shipwreck for Mysterious Island, western for Secret of Saurus Rock, and SciFi for Stone of Cold Fire).

That's a good point, actually. Surely the western elements can't be any stranger than the Rainbow Faces?

As for Big Freeze, it always seemed like one of the more middle-of-the-road entries within the fandom; neither the most popular nor the least. It doesn't seem all that polarizing like #3 and #6 either; people are more generally 'eh' about #8. But it was always one of my personal favourites. The winter/snowtime atmosphere really sells the film.

[LittleDas75]

I think the Secret of Saurus Rock is underrated. It gets slammed for Dina and Dana, Littlefoot sleeping in a Sharptooth Mouth, and The Lone Dinosaur song. But honestly its one of favorites, perhaps my favorite of all because its so memorable,

Why are people saying that Littlefoot slept in a Sharptooth mouth? That is not what happened. I mean yeah he did go into a Sharptooth mouth but he didn't sleep in it.

[Goldenwind]

I'm not the biggest fan of #13 myself, but nor do I hate it or anything. I probably like it better than a lot fans do, and imo it does have some redeeming qualities. The Yellowbellies are annoying, but at the same time there is a part of me that kinda likes them. I am somewhat of a Yellowbelly fan myself in an ironic way.

Same here. I mean, at least the movie owns the fact that the Yellowbellies are weird and annoying. The Gang's reactions to them are priceless!

(Um, what happened to Goldenwind, anyway? I thought for sure he would've gotten in on this Yellowbelly discussion by now.)

(Sorry, I was focused on other things. ^^')

What I like about the yellowbellies is their silly behavior and positivity. They are like the Tinysaures in movie 11, but more interesting as they all have traits that make them stick out more, especially with other guest dinos in the franchise. Their dance, their "bush disguise", and how they all love berries.  :PLoofahThe Tinysaurses were just small longnecks and that was basically it I think. XD Sure there are times where they can be seen as annoying, but personally, only Doofah annoyed me. While not the best in the series, I think it's so silly, it's good.

[Gentle Sharptooth]

I agree about Secret of Saurus Rock. It may be a little bit of Nostalgia talking, since it was one of the VHS tapes I watched a lot as a kid, but it's top of the list in sequels for me. Can't count the times that Lone Dinosaur song creeps into my head when I least expect it. I always found the western gripe a little odd since the movies surrounding it also take a common movie theme (shipwreck for Mysterious Island, western for Secret of Saurus Rock, and SciFi for Stone of Cold Fire).

Also, I'm not sure if people usually lump The Big Freeze in with the lesser liked ones, but I always assumed so since I remembered disliking it as a kid. But I rewatched it for the first time not too long ago and it definitely bumped up on the list for me, I can't even remember why I didn't like it now! I also really like Great Day of the Flyers but I don't know the general consensus, I'm way out of the loop on fandom. And I'm biased because I just really like pterosaurs. 

I wholeheartedly agree. The Lone Dinosaur song is iconic. It is one of the most memorable songs,

Great point about how other genres like Sci-fi are used, so why is a Western theme such an issue? I mean with so many sequels, it is invitable a western was bound to happen.

I think part of the reason The Secret of Saurus Rock was criticized so severely is it came right after The Return of Chomper in The Mysterious Island. LBT V is universally loved, and so Saurus had a tough act to follow. I however, prefer The Secret of Saurus Rock to The Mysterious Island.   

[Hammy]

I rewatched Invasion of the Tinysauruses and can absolutely abide by the idea that it's underrated, and it's largely thanks to Cera's arc in the film. Maybe it's just me, but she really does act like a kid dealing with a new step-parent and suddenly not being the center of her dad's world. Her anger coming out at her friends, and her keeping the tinysauruses a secret initially out of spite before finding that she really likes them and especially Lizzie.

It just feels like a really good movie for feelings talk. Topps trying to have a heart to heart with Cera especially. He really feels like he's come a long way, and it seems to me like a direct follow-up to Time of Great Giving. I really felt the line "This is so much harder than yelling" and just the acting in that scene really gets me. Topps is trying so hard to explain to Cera that his relationship with Tria could be a really good thing for all of them in a way she'll understand, and God, I feel like the whole "Someone to help [your dad] worry about you" could be a really good thing to help kids going through the same thing process a step-parent. That it's okay to feel angry and sad and hurt, but that a new parent isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Also, another shout-out to the scene where Littlefoot asks his friends to explain why they're mad at him, and it's very clearly explained that they're all having trouble with it, but they still manage to be clear about why without being entirely unreasonable. It's clear that they're still friends, but they need to be mad for a while and can't really talk to him in that state. Then, once that's done, they're able to realize how much they miss him being around. All of this is normal and a fine thing to do, even if it hurts Littlefoot and his friends in the moment. It's just a really good thing, I think, for kids to see and hopefully understand those kinds of feelings better. Just a really good movie for feelings and emotional development. Not quite as adventurous as say, movies 4, 5, 7, or 9, but still surprisingly good.