The Land Before Time
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| The Land Before Time | |
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| Directed by | Don Bluth |
| Produced by | Don Bluth Gary Goldman Kathleen Kennedy George Lucas Frank Marshall John Pomeroy Steven Spielberg |
| Written by | Judy Freudberg (story) Tony Geiss (story) Stu Krieger (screenplay) |
| Narrated by | Pat Hingle |
| Starring | Gabriel Damon Candace Hutson Judith Barsi Will Ryan Pat Hingle Helen Shaver Burke Byrnes Bill Erwin |
| Music by | James Horner |
| Editing by | John K. Carr Dan Molina |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  November 18, 1988 March 18, 1989 September 7, 1989 1989-1990 |
| Running time | 69 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English Japanese German Italian French |
| Budget | USD$12,300,000 (estimated) |
| Gross revenue | USD$84,460,846 (worldwide)[1] |
| Followed by | The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure (1994) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
| Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Australia: | G |
| Brazil: | Livre |
| Canada (Alberta): | G |
| Canada (BC/SK): | G |
| Canada (Ontario): | PG |
| Canada (Manitoba): | G |
| Canada (Maritime): | G |
| Canada (Quebec): | G |
| Canada (Home Video)): | G |
| Denmark: | A |
| Finland: | K-3 |
| France: | U |
| Germany: | o.Al. |
| Hong Kong: | I |
| Iceland: | L |
| Ireland: | G |
| Italy: | T |
| Japan: | U |
| Malaysia: | U |
| Mexico: | A |
| Netherlands: | AL |
| New Zealand: | G |
| Singapore: | G |
| Spain: | T |
| Sweden: | Btl |
| Taiwan: | GP |
| United Kingdom: | U |
| United States: | G |
The Land Before Time is an animated film, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, and directed by Don Bluth. It was originally released in movie theaters in 1988 by Universal Pictures. It features anthropomorphic dinosaurs living in a somewhat fantasy-based version of prehistoric earth.
The film's plot concerns a young Apatosaurus named Littlefoot who becomes orphaned after the death of his mother, caused from injuries suffered while battling an malevolent Tyrannosaurus ("Sharptooth") and the effects of an earthquake. Littlefoot flees famine and upheaval to search for the "Great Valley", an area which has been spared devastation. During his journey, he encounters four young companions: Cera, a Triceratops; Ducky, a Parasaurolophus; Petrie, a Pteranodon; and Spike, a Stegosaurus.[2] The film explores issues of prejudice between the different species and the hardships they endure in their journey as they are guided by the spirit of Littlefoot's mother.
The film was a critical and financial success and spawned numerous sequels, merchandise, and a TV series.
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[edit] Plot synopsis
The film opens with an underwater scene of fish swimming with other creatures. The narrator explains that there is a drought, and the dinosaurs are heading west for the Great Valley. During a storm, Littlefoot (an Apatosaurus) is born from a last lonely egg. He is protected by his mother, grandmother, and grandfather... all that remains of his herd. They first meet a group of friendly animals who want to congratulate Littlefoot's mother but Littlefoot is very bashful. His mother knows the animals just want to look at Littlefoot. He soon learns they are friendly and falls asleep on his mother's back.
When Littlefoot is older, his mother explains that the land is changing, and that they must reach the Great Valley. She gives him a single tree star as a gift. Later, Littlefoot encounters Cera (a Triceratops). She chases an insect, which sprays her in the face. Littlefoot laughs, which angers Cera. But Cera's father interrupts, saying that "Threehorns never play with Long Necks." Littlefoot's mother explains that every species keeps to itself, and reassures Littlefoot that there will be other Longnecks in the Great Valley for him to play with.
That night, Littlefoot is awoken by a frog (still with a tail) named Hopper. He chases it through a cave and meets Cera. They play with the bubbles in a pond, become friends and are attacked by Sharptooth (a Tyrannosaurus rex). They hide in a thorny growth, and Sharptooth crawls on his belly after them smelling for them. Littlefoot gets caught in some thorny vines and as he breaks free a thorn snaps back and strikes Sharptooth in his right eye, blinding him. Sharptooth leaps up after them, but Littlefoot's mother arrives and engages the carnivore. Sharptooth and Littlefoot's Mother trade blows as an earthquake erupts around them, and she is seriously injured when Sharptooth leaps on her back and rips out a tract of flesh with his jaws and cuts her neck. However, she manages to rescue Littlefoot and Cera, casting the meat eater into a deep ravine opened up by the earthquake.
After the earthquake, many herds and families are separated. Littlefoot searches for his mother and finds her lying on her side, suffering from her injury, too weak to get up despite his urgings. Before she passes away, she asks Littlefoot if he remembers the way to the Great Valley, and reassures him that she'll always be with him, even if he can't see her.
The next day, Littlefoot, sad, angry, and confused, slides down a ravine and falls on an armoured dinosaur named Rooter, who explains that Littlefoot's mother's death was nobody's fault. A pterosaur offers Littlefoot a cherry, but he's too upset to notice his hunger. Later, as he crosses a desert, a gold light shines upon him. When Littlefoot peers into his reflection, he hears his mother's voice guiding him. He understands, and leaves the desert. He meets up with Cera and asks her to join him. She refuses and slides down a chasm.
Littlefoot is greeted by Ducky (a baby Parasaurolophus, also separated from her family) at a lake. Littlefoot says that longnecks don’t speak to other species, so Ducky pretends to be a Longneck. The two journey together. When Littlefoot tries to eat a raw tree, they encounter Petrie, a baby Pteranodon who cannot fly.
Meanwhile, Cera encounters a comatose Sharptooth. Believing him to be dead, she charges at him mischievously, accidentally awakening him. As she flees, she meets up with the others, and tries to warn them about Sharptooth. Littlefoot refuses to believe her. Cera, while describing her encounter (embellishing the story to make herself appear less cowardly), accidentally flings Ducky into a patch of grass, where she meets a hungry Stegosaurus hatchling whom she names Spike.
That night after eating their lunch, Littlefoot settles down by himself, but soon Ducky, Petrie, Spike and Cera huddle with him for warmth. In the morning his treestar is crushed when Sharptooth attacks. They escape through a mountain cave, and emerge next to a rock shaped like a longneck. Littlefoot believes they are going the right way. Soon, ash falls from the sky, and they come to a volcanic wasteland. Exhausted, Cera opts for an easier path. She and Littlefoot fight after she insults his mother and his species. Littlefoot leaves the group, but he goes back to save Spike, Petrie and Ducky from a tar pit.
Meanwhile, Cera is being terrorized by a group of aggressive Pachycephalosaurus. Littlefoot and the others, disguised as a giant, tar-covered monster in form of a Sharptooth, scare them off and then terrorize her. Cera, ashamed and embarrassed about leading her friends into danger, decides to go her own way.
Later on, as Littlefoot, Spike, Ducky, and Petrie are frolicking in a pond, they spot Sharptooth in the distance. In order to stop him once and for all, Littlefoot formulates a plan to lure him into the deep end of the pond and drown him by dropping a large rock on the edge of a nearby cliff onto his head. Ducky succeeds in luring Sharptooth into the water, but Littlefoot and Spike are not strong enough to move the rock. Petrie suddenly learns to fly, rescues Ducky, and attempts to distract Sharptooth. But Sharptooth notices the trap and leaps on top of the rock. Balanced precariously on the edge, he snaps at them. In the nick of time, Cera arrives and crashes into the rock, knocking it off balance just enough to send it and Sharptooth over the cliff and into the pond. Sharptooth attempts to drag Petrie down with him, and the his friends believe him to have perished. However, he escapes by a narrow margin, to the joy of Ducky and the others.
After the battle, Littlefoot is on the ledge of a mountain, lamenting at his inability to find the valley, when his mother's soul appears in the form of a sauropod shaped cloud. He yells for her not to go, but as she dissipates she leads him through a cave and onto a cliff, where her soul shines a light that reveals the Great Valley. Littlefoot returns for the others, and they rejoin their relatives and live in peace for generations. Ducky finds her sisters and mother, Spike meets his new "family", Cera finds her father, Petrie finds his mother and siblings and Littlefoot finds his grandparents.
[edit] Cast and crew
[edit] Voice actors
[edit] English voice cast
- Gabriel Damon .... Littlefoot
- Candace Hutson .... Cera
- Judith Barsi .... Ducky
- Will Ryan .... Petrie
- Pat Hingle .... Narrator/Rooter
- Helen Shaver .... Littlefoot's Mother
- Burke Byrnes .... Daddy Topps
- Bill Erwin .... Grandfather
[edit] Japanese voice cast
- Minami Takayama: Littlefoot
- Maaya Sakamoto: Cera
- Satomi Kōrogi: Ducky
- Yūji Mitsuya: Petrie
- George Nakata: Topsy
[edit] Crew
- Directed by Don Bluth
- Story by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss
- Screenplay by Stu Krieger
- Executive producers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas
- Music by James Horner
- Music performance by the London Symphony Orchestra
- If We Hold On Together performed by Diana Ross
[edit] Editing of the film
Like Disney's The Black Cauldron, which was made three years earlier, and Warner Bros./Zoetrope's The Outsiders, which was made five years earlier, The Land Before Time went under a severe cutting and editing of footage. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas thought that some scenes in the movie would appear too frightening or could even cause psychological damage to young children. Around 10 minutes of footage, a total of 19 fully animated scenes, were cut from the final film. Much of the cut footage consisted of the Tyrannosaurus rex attack sequence and sequences of the five young dinosaurs in severe situations of peril and negative stress. Don Bluth was unhappy with the cuts, and fought for all the footage, but in the end he had to settle on a final running time of 66 minutes, one of Don Bluth’s shortest.[3] Because this cut footage no longer exists, the deleted scenes are not available on video or DVD.[citation needed]
Another part of the movie that was going to be eliminated was the death of Littlefoot’s mother. However, it was thought that if the scene were removed it would simply produce problems in explaining why Littlefoot had to journey to the Great Valley alone. In the end, psychologists were shown the scene and gave feedback to the production team. The character of Rooter was brought into the story to soften the emotional blow, and teach Littlefoot and the audience that although loved ones may die, they are always with us in the lessons we have learned from them.[3]
Some scenes with the characters in the movie screaming were revoiced with them having milder exclamations.[3]
[edit] Box office
The film was a box office success, grossing $48 million, as well as beating the Disney film Oliver & Company for the Number 1 spot during its opening weekend. It has since brought in a box office total of nearly $50 million during its domestic release, more than Don Bluth's previous film, An American Tail. The movie became a hit worldwide, grossing nearly $84 million worldwide, which Oliver & Company did not surpass. Currently Has A "B" At Boxofficemojo.
[edit] Sequels and spin-offs
The movie generated many direct-to-video sequels. The sequels depart from the style of the original significantly by adding "sing-a-long" musical numbers akin to Disney animated films, and toning down the intensity seen in the original film. Don Bluth and his animation studio have no affiliation with any of the film's sequels.
A recent television series has been released in North America which follows the style of the sequels in terms of the morality and the musical numbers (with some of the songs being shortened, reworked versions of songs from the sequels).
[edit] In popular culture
[edit] Films
- The plot of the Disney film Dinosaur (a multi-species herd must work together to search across a barren wilderness for a verdant valley safe from carnivores) was extremely similar to the plot of The Land Before Time.
- At the beginning of Beethoven's 3rd, there are VHS covers for the first five films in The Land Before Time film series seen in the background of the video store. Later, there are shots from The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock.
- The trailer for another Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment animated film We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story contains the opening instrumental music from The Land Before Time. Both We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story and The Land Before Time were composed by James Horner.[4]
- An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island contains James Horner's music from The Land Before Time and Michael Tavera's music from The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure and The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists and Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure contains Michael Tavera music from The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze. All of these films are composed by Michael Tavera, who also composed the scores for the sequels, and one of the films have James Horner's music from An American Tail, The Land Before Time, and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West.
- The theatrical trailer for the Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment live-action/computer-animated film Casper contains the instrumental music of the song If We Hold On Together from The Land Before Time. Both Casper and The Land Before Time were composed by James Horner.[5]
- The video trailer for another Universal Pictures film Lorenzo's Oil contains James Horner's instrumental music of the song If We Hold On Together from The Land Before Time.[6]
- A TV spot for another Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment animated film Balto contains the instrumental music of the song If We Hold On Together from The Land Before Time. Both Balto and The Land Before Time were composed by James Horner.[7]
[edit] TV series
- Similar to the original 1988 film was the 1989 animated television series Dink, the Little Dinosaur. A multi species herd of dinosaur children (which includes an Apatosaur leader, a duckbill girl, and a Pteranodon) live together and have adventures in Dinosaur Valley while looking out for Tyrannor the Tyrannosaurus. One episode also showed a ghostly Apatosaur, perhaps inspired by Littlefoot's mother. The makers of The Land Before Time film series may have been aware of Dink when they created Archie the old Archelon for The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists, a character similar to Dink's Crusty the Turtle. (Both are old cave dwelling turtles that lecture the young dinosaurs.) By coincidence, however, Nancy Cartwright has provided voices for both Dink (TV.Com credits her as "Additional Voices") and for The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock as Dana, Cera's nephew.
- The "Retro" episode of Lilo & Stitch: The Series contains music from The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure The television series was composed by Michael Tavera, who also composed the scores for the sequels.
- In the "Before Time" mini episode of the 2003 animated television series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Raphael says "Hey! I thought we had to save power while we're stuck in The Land Before Time".
- The title for the "Land Before Timmy" episode of Nicktoons television series The Fairly OddParents is a parody of The Land Before Time.
[edit] Others
- The 75th and 77th Academy Awards contain James Horner's instrumental music of the song If We Hold On Together from The Land Before Time.
- The webcomic xkcd refers to Littlefoot's mother's death in its 233rd issue.
[edit] Production Notes
- Steven Spielberg and George Lucas originally wanted the film to have no dialogue, like The Rite of Spring sequence in Fantasia, but the idea was abandoned in favor of using voice actors in order to appeal to children.[3]
- It was George Lucas's idea to make Cera a female Triceratops.[3]
- Before her death before Land, and another Don Bluth film starring the actress All Dogs Go to Heaven, were released, Judith Barsi said that her role of Ducky was her favourite of her film roles, and Ducky's trademark line "Yep Yep Yep" was placed on she and her mother's tombstones.
- The film was originally planned for release in fall of 1987, but the production and the release date were delayed by a year due to the relocation of Sullivan Bluth Studios to Dublin, Ireland.
[edit] References
- ^ The Land Before Time (1988) at Box Office Mojo
- ^ The Land Before Time DVD
- ^ a b c d e The Animated Films of Don Bluth by Jon Cawley
- ^ http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/121655/We-re-Back-A-Dinosaur-s-Story/trailers
- ^ http://www.retrojunk.com/movie/trailers/999-casper/967/#intro
- ^ http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0104756/trailers-screenplay-E11203-310
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP4nh0m27Xc
[edit] External links
- The Official Land Before Time Site
- The Land Before Time at the Internet Movie Database
- Detailed Info on The Land Before Time (including plot detail)
- The Land Before Time at Land Before Time Wiki.
- The Land Before Time at RetroJunk.com
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