Well, everyone, hope you’re all ready to go into the world of dinosaurs. Now, as we know, a lot of people seem to be interested in dinosaurs despite those creatures becoming extinct either sometime before, or after the Flood. So much so that there have been countless movies about dinosaurs from the 2000 Disney film, Dinosaur, a BBC show called Walking With Dinosaurs, and a popular film franchise that began almost thirty years ago by the name of Jurassic Park, the first two films, of which, were directed by popular film director Steven Spielberg. Many of you know of Steven Spielberg, yes? However, just four, and a half to five years before 1993 kicked off the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World franchise for almost three decades, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas (who we know for directing films like most, if not all, of the Indiana Jones films, and the original, and prequel trilogies of Star Wars) collaborated with animated film director Don Bluth to directed two animated films that both from Universal Pictures; 1986’s An American Tail, and 1988’s The Land Before Time, the latter of which came out four and a half to five years before the first Jurassic Park film, and featured characters that were dinosaurs. So now, let’s review the Don Bluth/Steven Spielberg/George Lucas directed animated film, The Land Before Time.
Plot: When a great famine begins to cause a scarcity of green grass, and leaves from the trees, several herds of dinosaurs must now migrate to a green paradise called the Great Valley, including an Apatosaurus (or long-neck as the species is referred to in this film) named Little Foot (Gabriel Damon), his mother (Helen Shaver), and his grandparents (the grandfather, who at least speaks, and is voiced by Bill Erwin). During the journey, when a great earthquake splits the land, and Littlefoot’s mother is killed by a T-Rex (or Sharptooth, as they’re referred to), can Littlefoot, with the help of new friends that he meets along the way such as Triceratops named Cera (Candace Hutson), a Saurolophus named Ducky (Judith Barsi), the non-talking Stegosaurus Spike, and a Pteranodon named Petrie (Will Ryan), still successfully make his journey to the Great Valley while facing numerous dangers of different kinds?
Now, I surprisingly remember The Land Before Time being one of those films that I absolutely loved as a kid. There are a couple instances that I can recall, in particular, as to why. One being that my cousin, Shannon, had told me that she observed me me watching this film plenty of times when I was really, really young. The other reason being that there was an incident that occurred with this film, and me, when I was 5 1/2, maybe 6 1/2 years old. Anyway, it was Christmas of, I believe, 1993, or 1994, if I recall correctly, on this incident. Back around then, my family, and I were going to a church called Hope Chapel for the next year, or two, before transferring to another church called Grace Community Church. Anyhow, while still at Hope Chapel, an incident occurred in which one of the leaders had my sister, me, and some other kids watch a Christmas-themed short film by the name of A Charlie Brown Christmas. However, for some odd reason, not fully realizing back then why we were watching it, I asked, and begged, the leader, and the kids that we watch The Land Before Time. Years later, I have now found myself wondering why. Did I not understand that it was Christmas time, and that we ended up watching that Charlie Brown short for reasons like that? Did I end up being so obsessed with The Land Before Time that I was solely interested in watching that film even at church? Or was it just me thinking about my own feelings, and perspective that I didn’t take the time to think about the perspectives of the leaders of Hope Chapel, and/or the kids that also went to that church? Honestly, it’s possible that it was likely for all of those reasons, and maybe even more, but that may just be speculation. Well, long story, short, I got my wish, and we watched it, even though that’s an incident that I’m not exactly proud of. That being said, I watched this film quite a bit more throughout most of the 1990s after that. Years later, part of what made me a little more eager to revisit this film was that one, I wanted to see if it holds up even today. The other reason is that, much like with Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Angels In The Outfield, A Troll In Central Park, and, soon, the popular 1994 Santa Clause movie that stars Tim Allen, I also wanted to rewatch The Land Before Time because of all five of these movies being released in years like 1988, and 1994 especially, when June 24th was on a Friday, November 18th was also on a Friday, December 21st (the official first day of Winter) on a Wednesday, December 25th (Christmas Day) on a Sunday, and so on, and so forth.
So, with all that said, does The Land Before Time hold up even today? Well, for the most part, it does. First of all, with the animation, even if there might be one, or two aspects of it that may feel slightly dated, it is still absolutely beautiful. I mean with films like this, Anastasia, The Secret Of NIMH, and An American Tail especially, Don Bluth must have taken some top quality animators with him, when he, and his group left the Disney animation studio, because he most definitely proved how colorful, and crisp you can make animation even back in the 1980s. Next, there is the script. Like, you know how, in the plot section, I mentioned that T-Rexes were referred to as sharp tooth/sharp teeth, and apatosauruses as long necks? Well, directors Don Bluth, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg not only come up with creative names for theses creatures, but also for creative phrases for different objects that appear in this film, rather than calling those objects by their actual names (i.e. phrases like “the mountains that burn,” or “the big bright circle”). I mean even if this story was just a novel by someone else, it hopefully shouldn’t be too hard what phrases like those would be referring to. Yeah, you’d be surprised by how enriching the language ends up being at points in this film. Oh, and how could one not think it clever that Cera, the Triceratops character, is spelled C-E-R-A, as opposed to say S-A-R-A-H? Just a thought! Additionally, how shocked would you guys if I were to tell you that the characters of this film would most like make really good friends with characters of other animated films like 2000’s Dinosaur (which, of course, is a given), 1994’s The Lion King, or 2016’s Zootopia? How so, you may ask? Well, with Dinosaur, obviously because of both films featuring dinosaur characters, and having somewhat similar storylines, but defecting from each other in some aspects, and making them more different from each other than similar. With Zootopia, besides both The Land Before Time, and Zootopia having only animal characters in them, there’s also the issue of prejudice, and racism that both films tackle for different reasons. Okay, granted, Zootopia put a much bigger emphasis on those topics than The Land Before Time did. Still, it’s interesting how those topics are handled in The Land Before Time. Now, with The Lion King, wow, it’s very surprising how similar these films seem to be yo each other. I mean, if you think about it, both films have a main character who loses one of his parents at some point, and we witness them mourning the parents, dealing with that loss, and struggling with it along the way, making new friends along the way, as well as having a mentor that basically convinces the main character to press on in the midst of a hardship like that. In The Land Before Time, that mentor briefly appears in the form of an elder dinosaur named Rooter (who is voiced by Pat Hingle, and also narrates throughout this film). I will say that even if he didn’t have as much of an involvement in The Land Before Time as Rafiki the baboon (who, of course, was a mentor to Mufasa, and, later, to Simba) did in The Lion King, what little screen time he does have still greatly impacts both the main character Littlefoot, and us, the audience, in a positive way. Seeing as The Land Before was released five and a half to six years before Disney’s The Lion King would begin the trope of the main character losing a parent, and having to deal with it in at least a few Disney films that followed it, that kind of makes this situation a little more special for The Land Before Time, does it not? So, did these elements make The Lion King a rip-off of The Land Before Time? I wouldn’t so high say that as I would say that Disney’s The Lion King at least seemed to take some inspiration from The Land Before Time. Plus, Lion King went a more different direction than The Land Before Time, you know? Oh, and one more thing! Did I forget to mention that both films include the phrase, “circle of life?” Sure, Lion King seemed to put much more of an emphasis on that, but still, very interesting, is it not? Well, anyway, we then have the characters themselves. They all stand out, and are very well written to one degree, or another. What’s even more astonishing is that, much like 2016’s Zootopia, the minor characters, though having only a brief amount of screen time, end up still being memorable in the scenes that they are in for different reasons. The five main characters that consist of Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Spike, and Ducky have superb character arcs, Littlefoot, and Cera in particular. And yeah, for those of you who haven’t seen this film, and are now curious to know why, let’s just say that you’d be surprised to find out why. Oh, and one more thing about the great character development in this film. It is amazing how Littlefoot is willing to press on in his journey, whether he has to brave the journey alone, or ends up taking the journey with friends of his. Another thing to note is that there are scenes, like the beginning, that are visually pleasing to the eye. I won’t spoil as to why, but for people who are Christians, let’s just say that Christians may find themselves picturing the very, very beginning likely being similar to what the Garden Of Eden might have been like, aside from meat-eaters already being in existence in this story, while carnivores didn’t exist quite yet before the fall of man, and Eden. Speaking of Christian aspects, if you want to see a film that could have some potential underlying Christian messages, and potential Christian symbolism in it, all the more reason to see The Land Before Time, since, much like Mufasa in The Lion King, we have a character that acts like a spiritual figure to especially the main character. There is also really great, and creative symbolism in other areas of this movie as well. Oh, and there is also the deal about having faith, and believing that a person, or place exists, even without seeing, or witnessing it. Very good parallel to the whole deal about God’s, yes? And yeah, there are additional good messages about being willing to press on, and not blaming yourself for situations, especially when a situation gone wrong wasn’t your fault, you know? Finally, James Horner has a surprisingly great score. I don’t recall hearing about him winning an Oscar for Best Original Score. Still, the score is most definitely worth listening to. And let’s note that Diana Ross sings a song that’s surprisingly also really good called “If We Hold On Together,” that’s sung during the end credits. I would probably listen to that song again sometimes fairly soon.
The only shortcomings that The Land Before Time has are that the storyline might have felt a little underdeveloped at times. Thankfully, it doesn’t detract from the film’s enjoyment. Still, was it hard to maybe ask for an extra ten, if not twenty minutes? Well, hey, at least the movie still ends up being mostly well done. Also, there are times, especially when “Sharptooth” is onscreen, when Land Before Time could probably be a little dark, and scary for really, really young kids.
And that’s my review for The Land Before Time. I mean, even if films like The Lion King, and Zootopia might have been a little more well done in terms of slightly better storylines, The Land Before Time also still has a great story that will be timeless, and memorable. Well, let me put it to you guys this way, both The Land Before Time, and Disney’s Oliver & Company were apparently released on Friday, November 18th, 1988. Although I’m a somewhat hardcore Disney fan, even I won’t deny that while Oliver & Company was good, Universal’s The Land Before Time ended up being the more magical, and memorable film. The Land Before Time has well-written characters, a script that’s both brilliantly, and even hilarious at times, stunning animation, and a really great score. Honestly, if only Don Bluth could have collaborated with Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas with at least a few other films instead of only An American Tail, and The Land Before Time. Still, at the same time, I suppose Don Bluth needed to have space, and make a few mediocre films before making a temporary comeback years after The Land Before Time was released. Anyway, if you want to see a dinosaur film that was released five years before Jurassic Park, and a mostly well done film, I would highly recommend it. If you haven’t seen The Land Before Time yet, let’s just that you’d be surprised by how good it is. So, if you haven’t seen The Land Before Time yet, I definitely think you need to. You’ll have a great time with it even if it’s a non-musical animated film. So yeah, definitely watch The Land Before Time, or rewatch it for the first time in years, and see what you think!
Final Grade: A-
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 