The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island

The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island is a 1997 direct-to-video animated adventure musical film produced and directed by Charles Grosvenor. This is the first film in the series to be directed by Grosvenor, as well as the first film in which Anndi McAfee voices Cera, Aria Noelle Curzon voices Ducky, and Miriam Flynn voices Grandma Longneck. It is also the only film in which Brandon LaCroix plays Littlefoot; it is the first in which Thomas Dekker provides the singing voice for Littlefoot. Three songs for the film were written by Michele Brourman and Amanda McBroom, with music composed by Michael Tavera.

Plot
One day, a swarm of "leaf-gobblers" descends upon the Great Valley, devouring all plants and reducing it to a barren wasteland. The inhabitants of the Great Valley have no choice but to find another place where they can survive until the plants have grown back. However, the leaf-gobblers have left a path of devastation behind them, leaving no food for the dinosaurs to find. After searching for many days, tension enters the group as Cera's father and Littlefoot's grandfather argue over changing their course, beginning a fight between Littlefoot and Cera. The fight immediately breaks up when Cera's father announces that every herd should go its own way the next morning. Not wanting to be separated, Littlefoot leads his friends off in the night, in the hope they can find food before they are caught. They leave a trail for the grownups to follow, and eventually reach the "Big Water". Disheartened by the undrinkable water, the children spy a verdant island connected to the mainland by a thin land bridge. On their way, an earthshake occurs, which creates a tsunami from which they narrowly escape. They quickly tuck in to the plentiful bounty of the island, but are then horrified to discover the tsunami has destroyed the land bridge.

Isolated on the island, they try out Cera's idea to return by using a log as a boat. The plan initially works well, but Cera is suffering seasickness and Petrie is too terrified of the Big Water to act as lookout. However, a Cretoxyrhina attacks, and in the confusion and fright which follows, they end up on the island again. That night, they remember their families, while the herd, having followed the trail, sleep on the shores of the beach on the mainland, worrying for them while Cera's father blames their leave on Littlefoot.

The next morning, the children wake up to the shadow of a Sharptooth. They take off, but find themselves cornered by high cliffs. They huddle together when the sharptooth approaches, only to find that it is Chomper, a young Sharptooth who hatched in their care before returning to his parents in the second film. Since then, Chomper has learned how to speak. While Chomper takes them to a safe refuge to hide from his parents, Ducky is kidnapped by a Pterodactylus, but manages to escape before she can come to any harm. Chomper hides the children in foul-smelling plants, and provides them with leafy food upon their request. However, an overcautious Cera openly displays distrust to Chomper because he is a Sharptooth, which grieves him, and he departs. Littlefoot follows him and apologizes, but he is interrupted by Chomper's mother. She nuzzles him, then leaves. Littlefoot is intrigued by her display of love to Chomper.

Meanwhile, a Giganotosaurus living on the island finds and chases the children. Chomper tries to help, but is overcome by the Sharptooth. His parents come to the rescue and battle the Sharptooth near the edge of the island, during which he falls into the Big Water and takes Chomper with him, much to his parents' shock. Littlefoot plunges in to save Chomper while the Sharptooth is swept away by the current. Another swimming Sharptooth appears, but this time they discover a plesiosaur (an Elasmosaurus) named Elsie who then saves them both from drowning. She returns them to the island, where Chomper's grateful family promises never to harm the children; Chomper's father grudgingly admits that, after sniffing Spike (who had eaten some of the foul-smelling hideout) anything that smelt that bad wouldn't taste very good anyway. Chomper's mother also nuzzles Littlefoot, in gratitude for his actions to save Chomper from drowning. Cera realises and accepts that not all Sharpteeth are so bad and monstrous as she thought. Elsie offers to take them across the sea, so Chomper and his parents happily bid them farewell, promising that they will see each other again. When they get back on the mainland, they find that the herd found a lush, green, little sanctuary on the shore where they can stay until the Great Valley has become fertile again. As the credits roll the film shows The Great Valley becoming fertile again and the herd returning there.

Voice cast

 * Brandon LaCroix as Littlefoot (speaking voice)
 * Thomas Dekker as Littlefoot (singing voice)
 * Anndi McAfee as Cera
 * Aria Curzon as Ducky
 * Jeff Bennett as Petrie / Mr. Clubtail
 * Rob Paulsen as Spike
 * Cannon Young as Chomper
 * Kenneth Mars as Grandpa Longneck
 * Miriam Flynn as Grandma Longneck
 * Christina Pickles as Elsie
 * John Ingle as Narrator / Cera's Father
 * Tress MacNeille as Ducky's Mother / Petrie's Mother

Songs

 * Big Water - Ducky, Petrie, Littlefoot and Cera (Aria Noelle Curzon, Jeff Bennett, Thomas Dekker and Anndi McAfee)
 * Always There - Ducky, Petrie, Littlefoot, Cera (Thomas Dekker, Anndi McAfee, Aria Noelle Curzon and Jeff Bennett)
 * Friends For Dinner - Ducky, Petrie, Littlefoot, Cera, Chomper (Thomas Dekker, Anndi McAfee, Aria Noelle Curzon, Jeff Bennett and Cannon Young)

Soundtrack

 * "If We Hold on Together" (instrumental)
 * "Whispering Winds"

Home video release history

 * December 10, 1997 (VHS and laserdisc)
 * December 9, 1998 (VHS and laserdisc, the last laserdisc release - Universal Family Features)
 * December 4, 2001 (VHS)
 * April 1, 2003 (DVD)
 * December 5, 2003 (VHS and DVD - 4 Movie Dino Pack (Volume 2) and 9 Movie Dino Pack)
 * February 8, 2005 (DVD - 2 Great Movies Featuring Chomper)

Reception
Denise Lanctot of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an "A" and praised the "first-class orchestral score" and its "tail-thumping" songs. Aria Curzon received an award for "Outstanding Young Voice-Over" at the 23rd Young Artist Awards in 2002 for her role as Ducky in this film, as well as The Land Before Time VI, The Land Before Time VII, and The Land Before Time VIII.