I've read what some of the other reviews said here, and I actually agree that this film is the best sequel I've watched (so far at least). I thoroughly enjoyed the fourth installment of LBT in its entirety. I liked how this sequel has the concept of death like the first movie, as with the very ill Grandpa Longneck. Littlefoot is horrified by the prospect of this obviously, but this leads us into a very beautiful lullaby by Grandma Longneck about
The Circle of Life, an excellent lesson for children. It reminds me of
The Lion King, another movie I like. The introduction of Ali as a new "girlfriend" to Littlefoot is quite fun and adorable in my opinion, although I did groan at the fact that she was also a bit racist just like the dinosaurs in the first movie. It didn't affect my opinion of her too much, because I knew her perspective would change later on, and it did. This leads us into our next lesson for the movie, and that's the embracing of other races, or in this case other species. It talks about diversity being a good thing that makes the planet not boring and dull. The song,
It Takes All Sorts illustrates it perfectly.
If there's one thing I don't particularly like about the movie, it's how Grandma Longneck keeps telling Littlefoot that he should let nature run its course, that getting the night flower is too dangerous. I cringed at that. Sure, I understand the journey may be dangerous, and sure, Grandpa Longneck is already pretty old, but wouldn't you want to save a loved one that you know still has a fighting chance? Why give up on him so easily? If Littlefoot and his friends obeyed his grandmother, Grandpa wouldn't be alive today, and Littlefoot would have to mourn over another dead body. Since Grandma Longneck knew that he wouldn't survive without the night flower, and that she and the other adults wouldn't dare go to the Land of Mists themselves, why try and keep him alive? Why not go for a merciful kill? So many questions, I know, I know. Even though Littlefoot and his friends go off into danger too often and defy authority like always, which may give off a bad lesson for children, I honestly don't blame them.
Anyways, lets move on from that morbid subject. Now, this movie introduces more characters that I liked upon their first appearance. One of those characters is a sea turtle named Archie. His voice hooked me in, and his character reminds me of an old wise guy who has experienced a lot in his lifetime, all of which actually applies to him. He had a good role of saving Littlefoot from a belly dragger and sharp beak, also new characters which I will go more in depth of later on. I like his heroism in the scene where he shields Littlefoot from those predators, obviously having nothing to lose in his ripe age. Luckily though Littlefoot's friends saved both of them and escaped unharmed. Before departing, he tells the gang of the shortcut to The Land of Mists, crucial for the survival of Grandpa Longneck, as time is of the essence.
Ichy and Dil, the sharp beak and belly dragger in this movie. I didn't really know what to expect of them at first until I saw their character interaction. It was very fun and adorable to be honest, like a playful banter between friends, or a "bickering married couple" like Stardust mentioned already. Even though it seems like they have strong hate for each other, deep inside they actually care for each other. Of course, I enjoyed their little tune known as
Who Needs You? But yeah, one action that Dil did during the chase with the GOF proves he cares for Dil. When he accidentally catches Ichy in his jaws, thinking it was Ducky, an expression of regret and sympathy was on the belly dragger upon hearing Ichy begging to not swallow him. Sadly though, they split up at the end because of their arguing. Sigh, they couldn't make a good team together.
Lastly, we have Tickles, the first mammal character that the GOF befriends. He's adorable and I've taken a liking to him upon first appearance as well. He's also very brave and intelligent too, as shown when he brings Dil's tail towards Ichy's mouth. Nothing else to say about him, although I'll miss the little guy very much.
It's a long review, but I like to tackle each and every important aspect of the movie while explaining my thoughts in full detail. Although, I hope I wasn't too redundant with any statements I've made.
My final assessment?
9/10As a side note, I'll have to rewatch LBT 2 and LBT 5 sometime in the future...Let's see how they fare with a more critical analysis. Watching a movie/show for fun is different from watching something with a focused intent. As for LBT 1, I think I've expressed my thoughts enough on that already.
