Oh, 'The land before time.' The original film is a minor modern classic; the subsequent direct-to-video sequels vary in quality, and with exceptions mostly hover in the territory of "so-so" and "softly enjoyable." Filmmaker Charles Grosvenor and writer John Loy were behind the genuinely great tenth film, 'The great longneck migration,' but also the eleventh sequel, 'Invasion of the tinysauruses,' that was pretty much right on par with the bulk of the predecessors. How might still another sequel stack up as the creative duo return with much the same cast? 2006 saw the premiere of twelfth movie 'The Great Day of the Flyers,' and - quell surprise - for better and for worse, it fits right in with most of its brethren. It is in fact a good time to one degree or another, and it's just that as something built for light, unsophisticated fun more than earnest substance, the lasting value is quite modest.
The writing is fairly simple and straightforward, catering to the very youngest of viewers rather than appealing to broader general audiences, but there are still meaningful themes and ideas to anchor the proceedings. In this case that includes feelings of loneliness, inadequacy, and/or being overlooked amidst siblings, and more, as Cera anticipates the hatching of an egg, Petrie prepares for a coming-of-age ritual, and our spotlighted diminutive dinos meet a young newcomer who looks like nothing they've ever seen. Among it all we get the usual mild drama, humor, and adventure that are customary for the franchise. The original songs are gauche, but well done in and of themselves and not outright bad, and every now and again we get one that's kind of catchy ("One of a kind"), or particularly heartfelt ("Things change"). Earlier in the series the voice cast was guided into extra cutesy, childish performances, but a few entries ago that tenor was smartly discarded in favor of more sincere, natural acting, so the regular cast like icons Jeff Bennett and Rob Paulsen can flourish in their own right.
And there's not much faulting the visual experience. We might nitpick; for my part, especially once hand-drawn art was superseded by digital art in 'The stone of cold fire,' I think some nuance was traded out for more vibrant color, and some movement occasionally comes off as inorganic, not least with 3D considerations. Even at that, though, the animation is flush with terrific detail in the beautiful backgrounds, and hardly any less so in the character designs, effects, and other active elements. Further benefiting once again from the reliable score of Michael Tavera, the picture looks and sounds good overall, and some odds and ends are notable nice touches, be it a line, a gag, a fragment of the visuals, or something else. Unless one is inclined to harp on the pointed juvenility of the construction (seen above all during climactic sequence "Flip, flap, and fly"), I don't know that there's even any major issue to highlight except perhaps that the doing here seems extra safe and "middle of the road," to the point that "entertainment" feels like too strong a word and "amusement" may be more appropriate.
No matter how critical we deign to be, however, there is some small delight to be had, and some small measure of heart, and perhaps that's all the feature needed to be. Being so middling, there's hardly any need to go out of your way for this, but if you have the opportunity to watch and are receptive to fare of a decidedly less involved nature, there are far worse ways to spend one's time. 'The Great Day of the Flyers' is nothing special, and well before the final stretch it becomes something we can "watch" without actively engaging - but twelve installments into 'The land before time,' "nothing special" might be just fine.
