The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists

The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists is a 1996 American direct-to-video animated adventure musical film produced by Universal Animation Studios and directed by Roy Allen Smith. This is the fourth installment and third Land Before Time sequel directed by Smith, as well as the last to feature any of the original voice cast. The film was nominated for two Annie Awards.

Plot
Littlefoot and his dinosaur pals go in search of a medicinal flower that will cure his ailing grandfather.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The biggest problem with the movie is that its plot and characters have no development. Speaking of the story, it is extremely predictable and its time feels longer than that of the other Land Before Time movies because of the plodding, uninspired plot.
 * 2) Ichy and Dil are uninteresting, horrible, and dull antagonists.
 * 3) Cera is unlikable in this movie, unlike some of the Land Before Time films.
 * 4) The songs, as usual, get in the way of the plot and feel random and all over the place, even though the first movie is not even a musical.
 * 5) The animation is cut-rate and cheap, still compared to the original movie, but that is to expected for direct to video standards.
 * 6) Some scenes involving The Land of the Mists can get rather terrifying for children, despite this being rated G.
 * 7) The voice acting, while not terrible, can be obnoxious at times.
 * 8) *It doesn’t help that this is the last time Candace Hutson voices Cera.
 * 9) It is a step down from the previous three films.
 * 10) As mentioned on WIS #1, the characters are underdeveloped.
 * 11) Some suspicious animation errors.
 * 12) Sometimes, the lip syncing can go wrong.
 * 13) While the other Land Before Time movies had their dark moments, this one has a tone too campy.
 * 14) Some lame dialogue, mostly because of the bad writing.

Good Qualities

 * 1) It has a great message about friendship and learning how to make new friends.
 * 2) Ali is well-liked by fans, as she gave the franchise some "girl power" for a change.
 * 3) The musical score is decent, particularly the themes by James Horner.
 * 4) The animation, while still not as good as the first film, is at least a slight improvement over the other two sequels.
 * 5) The voice acting, though it can get annoying at times, is overall pretty good.
 * 6) It does show Littlefoot caring for his grandfather as he tries to help him get well using the medicinal flower.
 * 7) Spike does talk at one point, as he was trying to say Ducky's name after Ducky got caught by Ichy and Dil.

Reception
While some fans found it one of the more popular Land Before Time films, Journey Through the Mists was still given negative reviews by critics; many who generally criticized the lack of plot and character development, although some liked Ali for giving the series some girl power.