The Land Before Time 30th Anniversary Retrospective Part 1 · 3:06pm Nov 3rd, 2018
I was planning to start this Retrospective Yesterday evening, but there was a sudden blackout and deleted what I've just typed. In this regard, I will combine the Thirteenth Movie and the Tv Series into one review. Unfortunately, outside of the fourteenth film, the first three movies are removed from Netflix. I'm largely gonna go by my knowledge with this for the most part. Bear with me, for this, I consider a great countdown to the big day. Let's begin.
We start off underwater, seeing bubbles float up (a detail that i sometimes mistake when I see the first Pokemon movie) and a newt eating a crayfish before almost eaten by an alligator gar.
So begins the movie. The narration, provided by the late Pat Hingle of Commission Gordon fame in the Burton/Schumacher Era, explains that dinosaurs have been around long before mankind and his fellow beasts. And they come in two types, ones of herbivores with flat teeth and the carnivores that prey on them, and no, they did not get along together Zootopia style.
Great as they are, they do run into one problem. Like in Planet of the Apes, the land has become barren and the dinosaurs are forced to migrate. Some, if not many, travel westward to the Great Valley, the place believed to still be good and green. But the Sharpteeth are migrating as well and would pick off any stragglers.
But a few herds stopped by to hatch their eggs. And so three of our main characters are introduced. The first we see is Ducky the Swimmer, voiced here by Judith Barsi. A charming, innocent little creature known for her catchphrase so iconic that is was even carved on Barsi’ tombstone. She would've had the shortest lifespan had her mother not been around.
Next is Cera the Threehorn, voiced by Candace Hudson. Basically, Rainbow Dash and Applejack combined before either existed as we know them today, she was born to be tough and daring… Despite a few fears.
And then there's the leader himself, Littlefoot the Longneck, voiced here by Gabriel Brown. The only egg in his herd to have survived long enough to go through a Rube Goldberg ride thanks to an Egg Stealer/Struthiomimus. This is one of the two scenes my brother loves in this movie. Maybe because he acts like a kitten here, he even curls up into a little ball on his mother's back. In this first breath of life, his first adventure begins.
A few years have passed, and this Dust Bowl has taken its toll on the young Long Neck. But in a fresh pass from eating twigs, Littlefoot is given his first Tree Star. His mother, voiced by Helen Shaver, points that going to the Great Valley would be very rewarding. But then comes the question; if they've never been to the Great Valley, how'd they know it even exists?
Some things you see with your eyes. Others, you see with your heart.
We soon meet Cera again surviving multiple concussions while chasing a bug. Here, one of the core aspects of the franchise is introduced. They may eat the same food, but the dinosaurs don't get along because, well, they're just different.
Littlefoot and Cera meet up again the next morning and chase a frog to a nearby swamp. But their fun doesn't last when a T. Rex comes in. He's as savage as one would expect, that not even losing his eye in the thorn bushes would stop him from his hunt.
Littlefoots Mother arrives soon and fights the Sharptooth. In a typical fight, she would've killed him with the one tail swipe, but things work differently in this world. Jumping like The Incredible Hulk, the Rex manages to tear a chunk off her back. Yet she prevails.
But the danger doesn't end there. A massive earthquake occurs, splitting the land into several pieces. Several dinosaurs are injured or even killed on screen. Sharptooth is among the many to fall into the crevasse. Worse still, Littlefoot and Cera are split from their families.
The moment after comes in perhaps the saddest scene I've seen in an animated feature. Whether it was the battle wounds or the earthquake, Littlefoot hears the last few words he hears from his mother,
I’ll always be with you, even if you cannot see me. Let your heart guide you, it whispers… So listen closely.
These days, it irritates me whenever I hear my colleagues mention animated death scenes like Bambi and The Lion King, but never mention this movie. Those to movies have deaths like an artist using an implied line. Here, we see actually see her get injured (a few shots even show blood running down her neck) before she dies. I don't get why is this is always forgotten.
Okay, grudge aside. The next morning, Littlefoot stumbles across an old Ankylosaurus named Rooter, also voiced by Hingle. After hearing what happened, he tells the boy bad things happen, there's no way around them. But you can honor those you've lost and the pain will away in time.
But time seems to be long for him. Depressed is he that not even being offered a cherry from a Flier wouldn't help his spirits. Being separated from his grandparents doesn't help either. He wanders the wastes until he hears his mother's voice again and sees the Tree Star he's been given. Reminded to continue westward to the Great Valley, he soon meets up with Cera again and offers her to join him. Her choice is made when she slides down the canyon by mistake and leaves in a huff.
In an oasis, Littlefoot meets with Ducky for the first time. She too was separated from her parents. Accepting his offer, the young Saurolophus (yes, that is her actual species) follows Littlefoot before stumbling onto Petrie, voiced here by Will Ryan. The two find it odd that he too would be separated since he can fly. Truth be told, he isn't that all confident in his abilities.
It's not long before the three would meet up with Cera again, frightened out of her wits. The Triceratops rebukes and tells them that Sharptooth, despite falling down a steep drop, is still alive. When Littlefoot continues doubting, she adds more to the drama before sending Ducky flying.
Landing in front of an abandoned nest with an unhatched egg, Ducky then reveals to us the fifth of the Gang of Five. Spike the Spiketail. Fun fact, Michael Gagne, who would be involved in projects like The Iron Giant and the new My Little Pony movie last year, began his animation profession with his scene. Anyway, even when hatched, his belly calls to him and so he devours his nest (which always makes me hungry too, he makes things look good) before taking a snooze.
Taking him along (There is a deleted scene with Cera objecting to this but is overruled when Ducky lures him with berry's), the mixed bag of cats continue their journey to the Great Valley. Along the way, they come across a bunch of green trees, their first sight of food in days. Unfortunately, a herd of Diplodocus rush in and strip the place dry. Luckily, one tree still has leaves on it and feast. Cera doesn't take part in this and decides to camp out, but not before giving them on last warning about Sharptooth. A moment of being forlorn, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike soon join Littlefoot before Cera too caves in and joins them.
Unfortunately, things turn to bad to worse when Cera was indeed true to her word. Just barely making it out alive, they come across one of the two signs they are close; a rock formation that looks like a Long Neck with his head pointing west.
But things still get bad enough when they climb a mountain and find another wasteland. Seeing their efforts as vain, Cera leaves the group, but not before insulting Littlefoot's mom. A scuffle breaks out, and the two part ways in bad terms. But when they see that the right way involves more rock climbing (I guess one of them saw The Lost Continent), Ducky, Petrie and Spike go with Cera instead, adding more salt to Littlefoot's wounds.
The three regret their decision when Cera's way brought them barefoot to Hell. Just when Ducky and Spike get lost in a group of volcanoes, Petrie falls off Cera into a tar pit... And she doesn't take notice of him. For reasons I will explain a little later, Littlefoot returns and saves Ducky and Spike from being incinerated, but gets into trouble when they all get trapped in the pit.
Yet, for unexplained reasons even if the movie ever gets fully restored, they make it out of the pit and rescue Cera from being killed by a trio of Friar Tucks, er... Pachycephalosaurus' using a rather disturbing disguise. Her pride stricken down, she leaves once again, but this time, we see her finally breaking down...
The group continues on the right way, but there's still one obstacle left to overcome: Sharptooth. Ducky involuntarily baits the beast while Littlefoot and Spike push a boulder. The plan goes awry, and it pisses off the Rex. But in this madness, Petrie finally gets the courage to fly. And when all seems lost, Cera, like what Sunset Shimmer would do twenty-six years later, survives another concussion and sends the flesh eater down the drink. Petrie is dragged down with him, but miraculously survives (though he now has that speech impediment that the sequels carry on).
But the same isn't for Littlefoot as he finally starts breaking down. A miracle happens once again as a cloud take on the shape of his mother and leads him the way home.
The Great Valley is everything they hoped it would be. A land of green, of leaves, and life. There were waterfalls, grassy meadows, enough tree stars to feast them forever. And grazing upon them, their families.
Okay, let's be honest. This will always be the best of the movies thanks to it's darker, violent atmosphere and lack of songs throughout. Usually, you see adventure stories like this with young adult characters, but this is more engaging when we focus more on children around eight, ten years old. They braved starvation and death just to get home... All the while forming the friendship magic isn't involved with.
The animation is very great as would be expected in a Don Bluth movie. Truth be told as well, Don wasn't much of a dinosaur fan and when the time came to produce the film, he and his crew went into numerous museums and researched the hell out of dinosaurs. It pays off as the animals move realistically. His use of mute colors adds more to the otherwise grim atmosphere.
The soundtrack is one of my favorites I've heard. Composed by James Horner, it gives both adventurous and saddening based on the mood. The track "The Whispering Winds" always gets me, if only because I think of my grandfather (my father's father, not the one who just passed away the past February. God rest both their souls).
Of course, no one, nothing, is perfect. The film is very short, running at sixty-nine minutes. As mentioned before, there are the infamous deleted scenes (comprising of about ten minutes) because they're "too frightening" as Spielberg puts it. Truth be told, the "frightening" aspect would only apply to the Sharpooth scenes, and that only covers a fraction of the scenes. In animated form, we devoted fans found at least three in the trailers. Pictures and production cells of these scenes are better found, like the aforementioned scene with Spike.
The Soundtrack also has parts that were cut from the final movie. And it's here I'll go on a limb and say the ending we see here is a rearranged version of what was going to happen. Littlefoot would see the cloud, and therefore discover the Great Valley, a little while after his fight with Cera before saving them.
As of this year, someone found the original scipt, and it adds a lot more detail to the story. We would see more of the journey and see more of Cera's soft side (one part tells of her coming across a group of flowers and admires them).
Nonetheless, this is still a great film to see for you, your parents (if they were old enough to see it in theaters), and your children. If not available on Netflix, see about getting it at your nearest video store and start reliving the memory.
But my journey isn't over yet. My tribute has only begun.
Onwards!
Oh and also a belated Dia de los Muertos.
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Great review, BTW, and I also loved that movie; and I love the animation, the storyline and the characters. Also big question, if all dinosaurs from different time periods lived together at the same time period, does that mean that the LBT series is part of the Jurassic Park series? Or just an animated movie series about talking dinosaurs? I'm just saying.
Actually, Rooter is a Scolosaurus, not an Ankylosaurus.