Land Before Time XXIV : New Beginnings

Your favorite characters are back! Petrea, Sarah, Little Foot and the rest of the gang deliver big for more wacky prehistoric fun! Along with the classic characters come new faces and personalities including Chica, the South-Central American Wombat; and Joseraptor, an Asian-pacific Islander Raptor. Nikko, the mildly-tempered and open-minded Sea Turtle, proves that slow water animals are people too, and that through understanding, those with open minds can get along with dinosaurs of any race. The last new character, Jesse, is a dinosaur mix, often made fun of... he is called names like 'Half-Claw,' 'Sir Mix-a-breed' and 'Prehistoric Soup Boy'.

The storyline follows the last 23 movies, but adds a new twist towards the end that audiences of all ages with adore. The basic storyline goes a little like this: Nikko and Joser (nickname) are always fighting. Joser can't seem to understand why Nikko is so slow moving. He teases him incessantly, ignoring Nikko's feelings and making him feel bad for only having one Sea-Parent. Nishi, Nikko's Sea-Parent, is a Long Neck who adopted Nikko after his parents were killed in a stampede in The Great Valley. Even though Nishi can't actually go into the water, the two love spending time together.

In a very touching scene towards the end of the movie, the group of friends is gathered around a blazing fire, singing a medley of uplifting songs. One song, entitled "Friends across the Plain" has meaningful words that every parent wants their child to hear. Here's a snippet:

"La la la, friends we are
La la la, sent from far
Are differences are one, for sure
We love and respect each other, for sure
We help each other grow and learn,
Our spirits soar with the golden sun,
With one heart together, we sing
La la la, friends for sure."

This song is only one of the many life-enriching musical numbers throughout the movie. Others include (but aren't limited to:) Friends Rrrrr Family, Our Strengths United; Differences Abandoned, and Beauty Through Acceptance.

In the last few scenes comes a surprise worth waiting for. One of the characters, Nikko, finds the coveted Magic Treestar, which has supernatural and peaceful powers to transport and / or unite people. After Nikko holds up the Treestar to his heart and whispers the Magic Phrase over and over (Friends for ever! Friends for ever!) he and all the gang is transported to...... the middle of New York City! That's right - it's all just a wild set up for the next movie: Land Before Time XXV: Lost in New York. Any movie lover will find these adventures even more wild, crazy and heart-warming than the previous 24 films. The basic synopsis of THIS movie is creative beyond words! The entire gang finds themselves in fun-loving perils like being lost in the NYC subway system or sneaking into a play and then getting kicked out! Other wacky, original moments include the never-seen-before-in-a-movie sleeping in central park and then getting chased by a cop on a horse! The last scene of the movie happens in a crazy taxi ride! They tell the immigrant driver they want go to the HOTEL but he thinks they said BOAT-EL (a popular boating attraction). The whole group ends up falling off the boat and swimming back in time to The Great Valley! They dry off around another blazing fire, arms around each other, swaying back and forth and singing another classic, "Home is Where we Belong, Loving Each Other Forever United... in Harmony".