The tenth film in the The Land Before Time series. It was released on December 2, 2003.
Littlefoot, along with his grandparents and many other longnecks, leave the Great Valley on a migration to meet more of their kind, as they're driven by instinct to try and save the bright circle from going out. In the process, Littlefoot makes a startling discovery when he learns his long-lost father is still alive.
This film contains examples of:
- Award-Bait Song: "Best of Friends"
by Olivia Newton-John, a cover of another song heard in the film. - Broken Pedestal: Littlefoot, upon learning that Bron is his father, runs away crying. There might have been mitigating circumstances, but the fact of the matter is that from Littlefoot's point of view, he was abandoned after his mom died, so this longneck is saying that, "You remember all the trouble you went through in the first nine films? I could have helped you with that, but I didn't." He feels abandoned and betrayed, and it takes a while before he warms up to Bron.
- Bullet Time: Slow motion is used when Cera tries, and fails, to jump across a fast moving river.
- Central Theme: Familial tradition, as well as the discovery of a lost parent, its impact on the child, and what can be done to fix the relationship.
- Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: Bron explains to Littlefoot that he tried to look for a new home for his wife and unhatched son, but when he returned, the Great Earthshake had occured and his wife had died to the Sharptooth, and Littlefoot was nowhere to be found. After several days of searching with no success, Bron came across other abandoned young longnecks. So he raised them as his own. And soon more longnecks joined Bron, making him the leader of the longneck herd.
- Irony: At one point, a curious and cautious Littlefoot asks his father, Bron, why they haven't encountered any Sharpteeth yet, considering there are hundreds of longnecks gathered in one place at the time. Bron bitterly remarks that they wouldn't try it against a herd that large because "sharpteeth are cowards" (considering what Sharpteeth have done to his family throughout the films, there's clearly no love lost between Bron and carnivores). His hunch turns out to be very off the mark in two ways. One, a trio of sharpteeth do attack the herd the following day, kicking off the traditional "Land Before Time" climax of herbivores versus carnivores. And two, when that does happen, it's the longnecks — Littlefoot and Bron's own species — that abandon a group of little kids and elderly dinos to fend for themselves against the predators, while they watch the fight happen from a distance in a rather cowardly fashion.Bystander: Don't go! Sharpteeth are down there!!
Grandma Longneck (angry and outraged): And so is my grandson! - Never Smile at a Crocodile: A prehistoric crocodile, presumably a Sarcosuchus, almost eats an inattentive Littlefoot. Fortunately, Sue, a Supersaurus, rescues him. Later, it tries to eat Littlefoot's friends, but it fails yet again.
- Series Continuity Error:
- Bron is a debatable one. In the first film, the narrator stated that the only remaining members of Littlefoot's herd was his mother, grandmother, and grandfather. This could either mean that his father was dead, which would make Bron a retcon, or that he was missing in action as shown in this movie.
- Starting with this film, dreams are referred to as "sleep stories" even though the term dream had been used in past films. On a similar note, the sun is now called "The Great Circle" instead of "The Bright Circle".note
- "Setting Off" Song: "Adventuring", in which Littlefoot sings about how he's setting off to some far-off place... and his friends join in, saying they're going with him.
- Twinkle Smile: Littlefoot has a twinkle in his smile during Cera’s dream.
- Wham Line: Shortly after meeting Bron, Littlefoot receives a major shock when he learns that Bron is much more important to him than he initially realized:Grandpa Longneck: Bron?!
Bron: (happily) Papa Longneck!
Grandpa Longneck: Littlefoot, this is your father!
(Cue Littlefoot running away in tears)
