The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave

The Land Before Time: Journey of the Brave (also known as The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave) is a 2016 direct-to-video animated feature and the fourteenth film in The Land Before Time series. It is the first installment in the franchise to be released since 2007's The Wisdom of Friends. The film was directed by Davis Doi and written by Cliff Ruby and Elana Lesser. It was made available on DVD and Digital HD on February 2, 2016, with the DVD version exclusive to Walmart stores in North America until May 10, 2016, when it became available in other stores. The film features the voices of Damon Wayans Jr. and country singer Reba McEntire, who performs the song "Look for the Light". Like all other The Land Before Time movies, it is traditionally-animated.

Plot
Littlefoot, a young Apatosaurus living in the verdant Great Valley, is eagerly awaiting the arrival of his father Bron, who returns to the valley with his herd once a year. However, he soon learns from a Nothronychus member of his dad's troupe named Wild Arms that his father became stranded in the wilderness when the "Fire Mountain" erupted, leaving the rest of the herd to go on without him. They ask Wild Arms for help, but he belligerently says no. The other grownups agree with him. After worrying about his father, Littlefoot sets out alone at first. However, his friends soon catch up with him.

They do fine at first, but run into the earth divide. It is suggested that they follow the Long Valley instead, but Littlefoot says that that will take too long and that they must cross there. Luckily, they are able to knock down a tree and get across. As they approach the "Land of the Featherhead Sharpteeth", an area inhabited by feathered Allosaurus known as Featherhead Sharpteeth, they realize they cannot make it through without coating themselves with stinkweed, as the Sharpteeth have an excellent sense of smell. It works at first when they encounter the predators, but the gang soon play in water, washing off the stinkweed, causing the larger pale green sharptooth of the pair to pick up their scent.

After being chased and cornered at a small cliff at the top of a steep hill by the sharpteeth, the gang use a vine and rocks to fight off the sharpteeth, tripping the larger pale green with the vine sending it off a small cliff, and Cera causing rocks to fall sending the olive sharptooth sliding back down the hill. The gang soon go to sleep after they escaped the sharptooth land as dusk had fallen and they had walked all day. Meanwhile, the elder dinosaurs learn about their children's trek, and decide to go after them with two younger ones - Chomper and Ruby. They attempt to have Wild Arms guide them back to where Bron was last seen, but he faints at the mere sight of Chomper, a "sharptooth", and has to be carried, leaving Chomper to lead the way with his nose.

The next day, a disagreement between Littlefoot and Cera on which path to take causes Littlefoot to go ahead alone. A sand cloud (sandstorm) happens and Littlefoot is forced to take shelter inside a cave, where he meets a Pteranodon named Etta who knows his father.

Littlefoot's friends, meanwhile, become caught in it, and they are buried in sand. They soon lose Petrie, who comes across an army of "diggers". They crown him as their leader after he knocked down fruit for them to eat. Littlefoot's friends find him, and are afraid of the diggers at first. Soon Petrie tells them he has to go find Littlefoot with his friends, but tells them not to be sad. The Diggers soon find a new leader in a lone Parasaurolophus. Etta, meanwhile, tells Littlefoot what happened to Bron, and that he may very well be dead. She also says that it was because Bron had rescued Wild Arms that he got into that mess. She sings a song to lead him on his way as they go through the cave looking for a way out.

The rest of the kids soon run into an extremely fast, agile and intimidating Carnotaurus, known as a Horned Sharptooth, which pursues them. The kids briefly evade it somewhat by entering a small cave where it can't reach them. Etta and Littlefoot learn of this attack, who are under said cave. Etta climbs up to the roof after Littlefoot and her hear them, and pushes a rock out of the way and helps the children get away from the sharptooth, asking Cera to give it a push so the others can get through. The Carnotaurus nearly breaks its way through the pillars of rock preventing it from getting into the cave to reach Cera, but she quickly escapes and it roars in frustration.

Etta soon leads Littlefoot and his friends through the cave and they come across an area filled with glowing mushrooms and different colored crystals. They soon fall off a waterfall at the end of the cave, helping them get out and helping them reach the Moving Water. Past here, they finally reach the fire mountain where they find Bron. Littlefoot tells him that they've come to rescue him. It looks hopeless as he is surrounded by lava and his leg is pinned under a large rock. Bron tells Etta to take the children home so they don't get hurt, but Littlefoot refuses to leave his dad behind and his friends agree.

Meanwhile, the grown-ups, plus Chomper and Ruby, come across the Carnotaurus who is still searching for Littlefoot and his friends. Chomper luckily smells it and they are able to hide from it. Wild Arms nearly gives away their position as the sharptooth hears him cowering before the sharptooth is distracted by a flock of Ornithomimus and chases after them. It is not seen again.

Back at the Fire Moutain, Etta and the kids spring into action to save Bron. Cera knock's down a big rock and sends water down onto the Flowing Fire cooling it into rock. They use a tree to pry the rock off Bron's leg. The lava soon comes back, and Littlefoot makes sure Etta and his friends get to safety, but he and Bron are trapped on the large rock they are standing on. Bron then scoops up Littlefoot and bravely jumps over the lava. Right after, the adults, Chomper and Ruby arrive. Reunited with his father and the rest of the herd led by Chomper, the group extol the virtues of working together and finding bravery through companionship.

After Bron is rescued, Wild Arms, Etta, Grandpa, Topps, and the Gang of Seven, head back to the Great Valley as the sun sets.

Voice cast

 * Felix Avitia as Littlefoot
 * Anndi McAfee as Cera and Petrie's Mother
 * Aria Curzon as Ducky
 * Jeff Bennett as Petrie
 * Rob Paulsen as Spike
 * Barry Bostwick as Grandpa Longneck (replaced the late Kenneth Mars)
 * Miriam Flynn as Grandma Longneck (successor to the late Linda Gary)
 * George Ball as Mr. Threehorn (replaced the late John Ingle)
 * Issac Brown as Chomper
 * Meghan Strange as Ruby and Ducky and Spike's Mother
 * Scott Whyte as Bron
 * Tony Amendola as the Narrator (replaced the late John Ingle)
 * Reba McEntire as Etta
 * Damon Wayans Jr. as Wild Arms

Production
News of a new Land Before Time movie was first revealed in a November 2014 Yahoo! Finance article detailing Universal Studios' future film plans, though no further information was given. A January 2015 interview with child actor Felix Avitia revealed that he had been cast as Littlefoot in the tentatively-titled The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Heart, which was planned for release later that year. The following July, the first trailer for the film was released on Rotten Tomatoes, revealing the movie's finalized title Journey of the Brave, along with a new release date on DVD and Digital HD on February 2, 2016. The North American DVD version would be available exclusively at Walmart and Walmart.com, and would be preceded by a Land Before Time compilation album featuring songs from the series on January 29, 2016 by Back Lot Music.

Journey of the Brave was directed by series newcomer Davis Doi and written by fellow series newcomers Cliff Ruby and Elana Lesser, with music by Land Before Time series veteran Michael Tavera. It features four sing-along songs, including "Look for the Light" performed by country singer Reba McEntire, who also provides the voice for the Pteranodon character Etta. McEntire finished recording her dialogue in August 2015, and later remarked on how the cast of characters "remind me a lot of my friends when I was a kid." Actor Damon Wayans, Jr. was also cast as the character Wild Arms.

Deleted scenes
On January 1, 2019, storyboard artist Llyn Hunter revealed that the Featherhead Sharptooth chase was originally going to be longer. This was the first ever confirmation of deleted scenes in The Land Before Time films other than the original. During production, the chase contained a sequence where Littlefoot and Ducky climbed into "an old ribcage" (which ended up "bouncing down a hill like a barrel") in order to escape the two Featherhead Sharpteeth (identified by Hunter as Allosaurus) that were pursuing them. According to Hunter, there were numerous versions of this sequence, but in the end the whole thing was cut from the film, as well as "many like that" (implying there were many more scenes cut during production that are currently not known about).

Music
As with all other The Land Before Time sequels, series veteran Michael Tavera composes the film's score. There are some tracks reused from other films, while on the other hand, there is a number of new tracks.

Songs

 * Today's The Day
 * Hot and Stinky
 * Better Off Alone
 * Look for the Light

Reception
Hannah Wilkes of the blog Rotoscopers remarked, "In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting to be blown away by Journey of the Brave but it was much better than I expected," complimenting the movie's "satisfying animation" and "appealing visual style". While the reviewer felt that Reba MacEntire's performance was the musical highlight of the movie, the remainder of the songs were "not nearly as enjoyable," but ultimately remarked that the film will "absolutely entertain kids." Elizabeth Learned from TheCelebrityCafe likewise stated that "After fourteen movies, the films still encompass the heart and friendship that lies in the storylines featured," and that "Fans of Littlefoot and friends will love this movie."

Common Sense Media rated the movie a 3 out of 5 stars stating: "Parents need to know that The Land Before Time: Journey of the Brave is another entry in the Land Before Time series, which followed the release of the initial film in 1988. In this tale, a band of young dinosaurs join with Littlefoot, the kind and brave hero, to rescue his dad from the aftermath of a volcano eruption. On their journey, the little ones must wend their way through a series of adventures, which provide cartoon danger and suspense (a sandstorm, a rock slide, chases by scary predators, and falls from on high). Though there are no injuries or deaths, it's still best-suited for kids who understand the difference between pretend and real violence. Reba McIntyre and Damon Wayans, Jr. provide the voices for guest characters, with McIntyre singing one of the four original songs that accompany the easy-to-understand story."

Fan Reception
From the initial, accidental confirmation of the film's existence, Journey of the Brave was a highly anticipated release among fans of the series. Many fans have welcomed the new director, hoping for a better film than the perceived disappointment of The Wisdom of Friends.

Once the Journey of the Brave was released, reception was quite mixed; though additions such as the character of Etta have generally been praised, alongside the presence of Chomper and Ruby, references to previous films, and the song 'Look for the Light', aspects of the film such as Topps and Grandpa Longneck's new voice actors and the character of Wild Arms have been much more divisive, and other aspects, such as the 'Hot and Stinky' song, the absence of Shorty, and the ending (which is often seen as rushed), are generally seen as negatives.

The sharpteeth were also praised by fans as being more scientifically accurate and giving them better senses of smell and hearing. The Carnotaurus was also praised for its intimidating appearance, but was criticized for its lack of screen time. Also, the lack of the character interactions with the Sharpteeth was another negative.

Trivia

 * This is the first film in the series in which Chomper appears but his parents do not.
 * Even though Bron and his entire herd appear in the film, Shorty is completely absent and is not mentioned by any of the characters at any point throughout its runtime, although it is possible he came with the herd and was just not seen in the movie.
 * It is revealed in the movie that since the events of the tenth movie, Bron has come to visit Littlefoot every year at the beginning of Spring. This implies that since his appearence in the TV series he has visited once or twice more before the events of the film.
 * Chomper and Ruby appear as secondary characters. This marks the first film that Ruby is featured in a movie and the third in which Chomper appears. It is also the first Land Before Time film to be presumably set after the events of the television series.
 * This is the third The Land Before Time film whose title starts with "Journey". The first was The Land Before Time IV: Journey through the Mists and the second was The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water.
 * The significant real-life time gap between The Wisdom of Friends and Journey of the Brave marks the largest amount of time between Land Before Time movies in the series, even larger than the gap between The Land Before Time and The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure. The largest timeline gap in The Land Before Time canon occurs in the original film, between when Littlefoot and his friends hatch and when the story picks up again.
 * The film was originally titled Journey of the Heart. It is unknown why the film was retitled, though the discovery of the film's production amongst fans may have contributed.
 * This is the first Land Before Time film to have an original widescreen Region 1 DVD release.
 * This is the first film in the series to be directed by Davis Doi, and the first written by Cliff Ruby and Elana Lesser.
 * This is the first film in which Barry Bostwick voices Grandpa Longneck and George Ball voices Daddy Topps. It is also the first Land Before Time film in which Petrie's mother and Ducky's mother are voiced by Anndi McAfee (the voice of Cera) and Meghan Strange (the voice of Ruby) rather than long-time voice actor Tress MacNeille, who previously voiced them in most of the sequels.
 * This is the second Land Before Time film to have four songs instead of the usual three, the first being The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water.
 * This is the first Land Before Time film to use more Hanna-Barbera sound effects (including the big whistle zing out sound effect) as well as one sound effect originally from golden-aged Disney cartoons, since some cartoon sound effects were used in some previous films.
 * The film's opening makes a reference to the film Fantasia, with a Stegosaurus fighting a Tyrannosaurus rex. This marks the first time wherein adult individuals from the two individual genera fight in the franchise.
 * A notable achievement in this The Land Before Time film is attempting to make introduced dinosaurs more scientifically accurate than prior, such as adding a coat of feathers to Wild Arms and the extremely Yutyrannus-like Allosaurus, and extensive bodily armor to the Carnotaurus. Due to these additions, Journey of the Brave can be considered the most scientifically accurate film in the franchise to date.
 * The Sharptooth seen in the opening narration closely resembles the Cool Gray Sharptooth from The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration, and may actually be one this sharptooth.
 * The 2013 Universal Pictures logo at the beginning uses the 1997 Universal Pictures theme (composed by the late Jerry Goldsmith) rather than the 2012 Universal Pictures theme (rearranged by Brian Tyler). This is highly unusual for a recent Universal Pictures film.
 * This is the second time Ducky has newly-hatched siblings; the first being The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure (in which Ducky's additional siblings hatched during the end credits).
 * When the film's trailer was leaked in July of 2015, some viewers interpreted Petrie's line after the song Today's the Day from "Special day!" to "Treasure Day!" (as the word "special" was overlapped by another character). However, when the film itself was released, the DVD captions worded the line as "Special day!". The overlapping issue was also resolved for the final film.
 * This is the second Land Before Time film to include the MPAA logo in the end credits after the original The Land Before Time.
 * Tria and Tricia are absent in this film.
 * This was the third Land Before Time sequel not released in December, unlike the past 9 sequels.
 * This is the second Land Before Time film to go over 80 minutes. The first one being The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration.
 * This is the fourth Land Before Time film without James Horner's original score from the first film; the first three were The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration, The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers, and The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends.