Le Petit Dinosaure: L'Ile mystérieuse

Ok, I am way behind on these.. I think I stopped at #6.. And yes, they're all terrible. But I actually thought this #5 was the least terrible of the ones I've seen. I guess because it does have a pretty touching song in it ("Always There") and at least it's *different*.. for one thing it gets those dang dinos OUT of the Great Valley and onto an island, and they meet Chomper and do some new, different stuff. Then again I do have a thing about movies where people get stuck on islands.. for some reason I just like them. Anyway maybe that bias invalidates this whole review, but I did think The Land Before Time part 5 wasn't too bad. I mean, if you *have* to watch one of them, you could do worse than selecting this one.

One of the reasons I love this film is the song 'always there' where littlefoot sings a verse about his mother. That has NEVER happened before or since this movie was made and it brought a tear to my eye.

The other songs are fun, the art brightly coloured and it's action packed...What more could a fan want?

Well better voices for one. Chomper and littlefoot both sound like they have a cold. ahh well I can't be too picky.

Kids and long time fans will love it.

oh and chomper comes back too.

The least that can be said is that the direct-to-video sequels are consistent. While Don Bluth's original film of 1988 is a minor modern classic with welcome earnestness (however much we may scrutinize it), after Universal Cartoon Studios took over the property, each title in turn has been distinctly lesser. They're still modestly enjoyable, but the shortcomings are evident, and they're built for uncomplicated entertainment and flavor more than sincere storytelling and substance even as solid story ideas and themes may be broached. Notably, this fifth entry is marked by the most significant changes in personnel - in its cast, and even more in its crew - since the first sequel of 1994; would that have any impact on the outcome? It should come as little surprise that for better and for worse the answer is "no," and 'The mysterious island' fits right in with its kin. Scarcely any sooner than it begins one can recognize the same tenor, and how much one can get on board with it will depend on how much one can abide something that says "frivolous Saturday morning cartoon" more than "heartfelt full-length feature."

So we again see a movie that boasts many admirable qualities, but which has been reduced and simplified to a more unsophisticated rendition. There is splendid detail and vibrant color in the visuals, including active elements and even more so the painted backgrounds, but the visuals are also robbed of some nuance, and occasionally there's strange, unnatural and stilted movement. The voice cast is great in and of themselves, including icons like Jeff Bennett and Rob Paulsen, but they seem to have been guided into performances that are extra cutesy and childish. The original score doesn't specifically stand out yet is lovely nonetheless; at the same time, the original songs are unfailingly gauche, some being better and some being worse. And while there are indeed honest and meaningful notions in the screenplay, the dialogue, revised characterizations, scene writing, and overall narrative are decidedly more straightforward and uninvolved, catering directly to the very youngest of viewers and declining the complexity and thoughtfulness that would help the material to appeal to broader audiences and stand the test of time.

There's mild humor to go along with the mild adventure and mild drama, and we even see the return of a supporting character for the first time in a few years. Just as some tidbits are weaker, some are stronger, and even quite clever. The sum total is, in fact, light fun that's suitable for a quiet day. One just wishes that the continuing saga of Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike were treated more mindfully, with a smidgen more of the intelligence and refinement that would make for an honest, engaging viewing experience for viewers older than pre-schoolers. I like 'The mysterious island' well enough as it is, but I also won't think on it at all hereafter, and there's the rub.

After a swarm of locusts devour the entirety of the Great Valley's green food, Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike and their families journey out of the Great Valley in search of a temporary home with a food source. After an extended period of walking tensions build among the group (Particularly between Grandpa Longneck and Cera's father). To prevent the groups from separating the children set off by themselves to find green food and stumble onto a mysterious island via a land bridge. After a tidal wave washes away the land bridge the group finds themselves stranded on the island and reunite with Chomper (now grown and able to speak).

The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island is the next chapter in the ongoing Land Before Time direct to video series. The franchise sees the departure of director Roy Allen Smith and writer Dev Ross, and the introduction director Charles Grosvenor who'd direct the following installments of Land Before Time until Land Before Time XIII when the series went dormant. John Loy replaces Dev Ros and the voice cast from II-IV are largely replaced with the voices of Little Foot and Cera in particular being particularly noticeable. There's not much stylistically different from the Roy Allen Smith entries, but there is a noticeable change in the dialogue which becomes noticeably more anachronistic.

The story is perfectly fine in terms of plotting with the group being forced out of their valley by food scarcity brought about by swarming locusts. From there it's basically the same resource scarcity conflict from Land Before Time III but this time with slightly more focus as it doesn't shoehorn in lessons related to fire safety or bullying. The reintroduction of Chomper is decent and gives a feeling of continuity to what's a very episodic series.

The Dialogue is a slight improvement upon the rather rough exchanges from Land Before Time IV with the absence of Dil and Ichi's Bickering and Ali's nonsensical fear of Littlefoot's friends being nicely appreciated, but there's also some rather distracting anachronisms thrown into the dialogue such as references to modern day cooking techniques. There are some more subtle humorous modern day nods such as a plesiosaurus named Elsie who has a Scotish accent that was somewhat amusing.

The Land Before Time V continues the series at more or less the same level as the last one. The characters are an improvement upon the last movie with slight drawbacks in dialogue, but it's a serviceable if unexceptional entry in the series.

I love the first "Land Before Time", and still consider it one of the better Don Bluth movies. I have liked most of the sequels, but there have been some I have not liked(more about that another time). Along with "Great Valley Adventure" and "Time of the Great Giving", "Mysterious Island" is one of the better ones. The animation, while not as sophisticated or as handsome as the visual style of the first film, is nice and colourful, and I think it is one of the better animated sequels of the franchise. The incidental music is lovely, and while not particularly memorable, the songs are pleasant "Always There" especially is very touching. And the voice acting is excellent, and the characters are at least likable. Who cannot love that adorable Chomper? All these positives make up for a too-short duration, a touch too simplistic writing and a plot that takes a tad too long to get going. I also thought the singing was mixed, Cera's singing was beautiful but Ducky sounded off for some reason. Asides from these flaws, this is a surprisingly pleasant and watchable sequel. 6/10 Bethany Cox