The Land Before Time IV: Journey through the Mists (1996)

## Plot

Littlefoot sees a Longneck herd coming into the Great Valley and he tells his grandparents, who inform Littlefoot that the Longnecks are their cousins and that they must go to greet them. Upon the herd's arrival, the Old One, the leader of the herd, informs the grown-ups that her herd has been migratory ever since a heavy period of rain turned their home into a marshland called "The Land of Mists" and became the territory of many dangerous creatures. Later on, Littlefoot meets a young female Longneck named Ali and invites her to play. Littlefoot introduces Ali to his friends, but as she is not used to associating with diverse species, Ali is scared of Littlefoot's friends. Meanwhile, Littlefoot's grandpa becomes ill. The Old One notes that she is familiar with the illness, having seen the illness many times in her life, which is lethal to any sick dinosaur unless they eat the petals of the "golden night flower," which only grows in the Land of Mists. When Grandma Longneck asks one of the other Longnecks who should take her to the night flower, the other Longnecks refuse to take Grandma there.

Though Littlefoot has been warned by the Old One that the Land of Mists has gotten too dangerous, he becomes determined to save his grandfather and asks Ali to take him there. She agrees on the condition that Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike do not come along, claiming that they will only slow them down. As the two of them make their way, they pass through a big cave, and a sudden earthquake causes various stalagmites and stalactites to crash down, separating them. After Littlefoot's Grandma tells Littlefoot's friends about Littlefoot's Grandpa's illness, Ali returns to the Great Valley and convinces Littlefoot's friends to help her save Littlefoot. Meanwhile, Littlefoot tries to find a way out of the cave and meets an old male Archelon named Archie, who helps Littlefoot dig through the big rock wall. As the two work together, Littlefoot and Archie are interrupted by a mostly-blind female Deinosuchus named Dil and a male Ichthyornis named Ichy, who plan to eat them. Dil and Ichy pursue Littlefoot and Archie, but are knocked out when Ali and Littlefoot's friends dig a hole in the rock wall and send rocks tumbling down on them. Archie (who helps Littlefoot and his friends escape Dil and Ichy for the first time) shows Littlefoot and the others an entrance to the Land of Mists, and he reminds them to stay close together before leaving. In the Land of Mists, Cera is separated from the group. The others meet a Megazostrodon that Ducky names Tickles because of his fur, which tickles Ducky when Ducky hugs him.

Immediately after, Tickles helps them find Cera. However, Cera falls into a river and is pursued by Dil and Ichy, who have now recovered from their prior knockout in the cave (after Ichy thanks the kids for showing him and Dil the shortcut to dinner). Ali rescue Cera while the others distract Dil and Ichy, after which Cera finally softens her earlier stance towards Ali. Later, Ali explains her prejudicial behavior, having never interacted with species outside of her own, but remarks that her attitude towards Littlefoot's friends has now changed. When the seven stop for the night, the children realize they are in a field of night flowers after they grow and quickly stock up on the children. As the children start heading back to the Great Valley, Ichy and Dil return for one last attack. During a pursuit, Petrie is grabbed by Ichy but rescued thanks to Tickles, who tricks Ichy into biting Dil's tail rather than Petrie's stomach, giving him time to rejoin his friends. Dil becomes upset at Ichy, but they quickly resume the chase after Cera gives their alternate hiding spot away, during which Ducky falls into a river and becomes unconscious after being grabbed by Ichy while Petrie tries to save her. Spike then speaks for the first time by calling out Ducky's name, which woke Ducky as she is about to be consumed by Dil. Ichy comes up to Littlefoot (now that Dil has Ducky), and he says that Littlefoot and the others are his and Dil's next victims before calling them "Diet Delights." Ducky escapes when Spike angrily uses his tail to knock Ichy toward Dil's open jaws as she tries to consume Ducky. However, Dil gets Ichy after mistaking him for Ducky. Dil accidentally chomps Ichy. Ichy barely escapes that and Dil and Ichy get into another argument. Finally, the Dil and Ichy declare that they have both had enough of each other and should part ways separate forever. Immediately, after Dil flings Ichy away with her tail, Dil had bumped into a Hydrotherosaurus, who chased Dil away. Dil calls for Ichy while being chased.

With Dil and Ichy now gone for good, Littlefoot and his friends say goodbye to Tickles and start heading home to the valley. The children give Littlefoot's Grandpa the flowers to eat and Littlefoot's Grandpa fully recovers a few hours later. Later, Ali then leaves with her herd, but not before trying to convince Spike to say goodbye, which he does not, as he is too interested in consuming leaves. The narrator concludes that Littlefoot and the others would indeed meet Ali again one day.

## Voice Cast

Main article: List of The Land Before Time characters

* Scott McAfee as Littlefoot
* Candace Hutson as Cera
* Heather Hogan as Ducky
* Jeff Bennett as Petrie/Ichy
* Rob Paulsen as Spike
* Juliana Hansen as Ali
* Tress MacNeille as Ali's Mother/Dil
* Linda Gary as Grandma Longneck
* Kenneth Mars as Grandpa Longneck
* Charles Durning as Archie
* Carol Bruce as Old One/Narrator
* Frank Welker as Tickles
* John Ingle as Narrator

## Songs

The songs are written by Leslie Bricusse.

* Grandma's Lullaby - Grandma Longneck (Linda Gary)
* Who Needs You? - Dil and Ichy (Tress MacNeille and Jeff Bennett)
* It Takes All Sorts - Ali, Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie and Ducky (Juliana Hansen, Scott McAfee, Candace Hutson, Jeff Bennett and Heather Hogan)

An instrumental version of the song "If We Hold on Together" appears on the soundtrack.