The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water

The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water is the ninth film in the animated  Land Before Time  series. Produced and directed by Charles Grosvenor, with a soundtrack composed by James Horner, it was originally released direct-to-video and DVD on December 10, 2002. In the movie, Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike befriend a mischievous Opthalmosaurus named Mo, who has been stranded from his home in the Big Water by recent heavy rains. When none of the grownups offer any assistance, the children decide to take him home on their own.

The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water was well received by the critics, and received nominations for several awards. Along with being re-released several times, the movie also spawned a [http://landbeforetime.wikia.com/wiki/The_Land_Before_Time:_Big_Water_Adventure PlayStation video game. ]

Plot
After a period of harsh rain, the Great Valley is partially flooded and covered in debris. Littlefoot rushes to find his friends after the storm ends, but they are preoccupied: Cera and her father are removing a large log from their nesting area, Ducky and Spike are relocating their nest with their family, and Petrie has gotten a cold. Littlefoot is bored and wishes intently for a brother, but eventually explores on his own and discovers a large area flooded by the rains. The adults advise their children to stay away, fearing creatures from the outside may have been washed into the Valley. However, Littlefoot returns and meets Mo, a playful young "swimmer" [1 ] that had been caught in the floodwater.

Littlefoot quickly strikes up a friendship with Mo, and describes him as his "mud brother" (a pun on blood brother). His other friends are unsure of Mo initially, but also take to him. Mo explains that he is from the "Big Water" and had flown into the valley during the flooding. He confirms that he is alone, but soon after a "sharptooh swimmer" attacks the group. Littlefoot requests help from the adults to help Mo return home, but they refuse, not wanting to risk leaving the Great Valley to aid a strange outsider. A subsequent earthshake separates the children and Mo from the rest of the Great Valley, though also imprisons the sharptooth swimmer in an underwater cavern. Unable to return, they decide to deliver Mo home on their own.

The children follow a river that they believe leads to the ocean. A Whiptailed Longneck mother, after a brief misunderstanding, allows them to take refuge at her nest for the night, and the friends are present to witness the hatching of her offspring. The next day, Littlefoot and the others realize that they are nearing the ocean, as they have begun to taste salt in the water. However, the sharptooth swimmer, having escaped from the cave, attacks them that night. The land surrounding the river is steep and slick with mud, and the children are unable to escape. Mo distracts the carnivore, farewells his friends, and lures the sharptooth down the river. Mo has seemingly been killed, but he reappears the next day, unharmed; the sharptooth swimmer had smelled the ocean in the distance and abandoned the chase, choosing to return to the sea.

The children reach the ocean, but Mo is saddened that his friends' must depart. He wishes to remain with them, but the others explain that he cannot, and Littlefoot reminds Mo that the two will always be brothers. Mo reunites with his family and asks them for directions to the "smoky mountains", as the children know how to find the Great Valley from that location. Before leaving, Mo offers to show Littlefoot his home. Littlefoot accepts the offer, and is amazed by the underwater world's beauty. Littlefoot and his friends exchange farewells with Mo and return home, where they are greeted warmly by the relieved adults.

Analysis
The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water was received considerably well by the critics. In the film's review on DVD.net, it was said that like the other films in The Land Before Time series, The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water followed a winning formula, which consisted of "fun characters, fun adventures, good morals and lessons, and happy songs for young children to sing along with".[2 ] James Anthony on Webwombat.com rated the film's overall quality as 65% out of 100, and said that it was likely to be fun for kids, and non-offensive to adults. He also praised the songs, and that Donny Osmond sang No One Has to be Alone.[3 ] In the Walker County Messenger's review of Journey to Big Water, the films in the series were each described as teaching a valuable lesson to children; this film's lesson was about courage. It also said that the film had been called "71 minutes of fun", and would make a good Christmas stocking stuffer.[4 ] On IMDB, the film though was less received, with a 5.1 rating with 577 votes.[5 ] On Rotten Tomaotes, there are no critic reviews, but the film has a 54% audience rating of 42,650 votes.[6 ]

Awards/Nominations
Thomas Dekker received a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role in 2003, for voicing the character Littlefoot in The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water.[7 ] Also in 2003, singer Donny Osmond and songwriters Michele Brourman and Amanda McBroom received DVD Premiere award nomination for Best Original Song, for the end credits version of "No One Has to be Alone", which lost to Jennifer Love Hewitt and Chris Canute for the song "I'm Gonna Love You" from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame II.[8 ] Brourman and McBroom were nominated for Best Original Song again in 2003, this time together with performers Aria Noelle Curzon, Anndi McAfee, Thomas Dekker, and Jeff Bennett, for the song "Imaginary Friend".[8 ] Michael Tavera was nominated for Best Original Score, for his composition for the film, but lost to Arnie Roth for Barbie as Rapunzel.[8 ] Charles Grosvenor was nominated for Best Animated DVD Premiere Movie, but lost to Hiroshi Saotome and Chris Henderson for The Hunchback of Notre Dame II.[8 ] Voice actor Kenneth Mars character animation artist Bunis Yang were nominated for Best Animated Character Performance, for the character Grandpa Longneck, although the award went to voice actress Anjelica Huston, animation directors Gino Nichele and Sebastian Brodin, and character designers Jean Gillmore and Sean Newton, for the character Gothel from Barbie as Rapunzel.[8 ]

Also in 2003, The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water garnered Universal Cartoon Studios an Annie nomination for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Home Video Production, although the award went to Sparkling and Nelvana Limited's Rolie Polie Olie: The Great Defender of Fun.

English
The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water was the last of the films in the Land Before Time series in which Thomas Dekker provided the voice of the character Littlefoot.
 * John Ingle as the Narrator/Mr. Threehorn
 * Kenneth Mars as Grandpa Longneck
 * Miriam Flynn as Grandma Longneck/Diplodocus Mom
 * Thomas Dekker as Littlefoot
 * Anndi McAfee as Cera
 * Aria Noelle Curzon as Ducky
 * Rob Paulsen as Spike/Mo
 * Tress MacNeille as Mama Swimmer/Mama Flyer
 * Jeff Bennett as Petrie
 * Frank Welker as Swimming Sharptooth

Japanese
Note: The Japanese voice actors are appearing so far.
 * Minami Takayama as Littlefoot
 * Rica Matsumoto as Cera
 * Satomi Kōrogi as Ducky
 * Yūji Mitsuya as Petrie
 * Sailor King as Spike
 * George Nakata as Mr. Threehorn

Errors

 * In the DVD special features for the movie, Petrie is incorrectly referred to as a Pterodactyl, and Ducky is referred to as a Parasaurolophus, which contradicts the  Sing-Along Songs  video which calls her a Saurolophus.