Released: November 1988
Director: Don Bluth
Rated G
Run Time: 69 Minutes
Cast(voices):
Judith Barsi: Ducky
Pat Hingle: Narrator
Gabriel Damon: Littlefoot
Helen Shaver: Littlefoot’s Mother
Candace Hutson: Cera
Will Ryan: Petrie
As a kid who was born in the early 80’s, I watched a lot of cartoons and a lot of animated movies. Truth be told, though, the first movie that I honestly remember seeing wasn’t an animated movie. No, it was Star Wars. I remember at times, asking my parents for permission to watch the movie, and most of the time, they let me. It was such an amazing experience. But a lot of the other movies that I saw during that decade were animated. Obviously, I watched a lot of the older Disney films like Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, and Snow White. Looking back at the 1980’s, there really weren’t a whole lot of animated Disney movies. I count 4, including The Fox and The Hound, and The Little Mermaid. The only one of those that I remember with any kind of fondness was The Fox and The Hound. Disney had released a lot of movies during that decade, but most of them were live-action, and some of them were more than a little creepy. Along comes a man named Don Bluth to fill in the gap. Ironically, while Bluth gave us some of the most memorable animated movies during the 80’s he was an animator for some of Disney’s movies. There were four big animated non-Disney movies that Don Bluth gave us during that decade: The Secret of NIMH, An American Tale, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and The Land Before Time.
The Land Before Time opens as Littlefoot is born. After being able to walk, Littlefoot begins to explore his surroundings and eventually getting into a little bit of trouble with the local Three-horns(triceratops). Attempting to make friends with Cera, Littlefoot is essentially ignored and pushed away. After spending time with his family and trying to make friends, Littletooth and his family are suddenly attacked by a monstrous Sharptooth(T-Rex). During this fight, Littlefoot’s mother is mortally wounded and he is separated from his herd by a massive earthquake. With her last breath, Littlefoot’s mother tells her son to try and find his way to The Great Valley where the rest of his herd has gone. Alone and heartbroken, Littlefoot finds some new friends and together, they begin their perilous journey to The Great Valley. The Land Before Time was often criticized for being too depressing for children. Death is not an easy subject to tackle, especially in a kid’s movie such as this. I have to give the filmmaker’s credit for managing to have the mother’s death have a lot of weight to it. The death of a parent would extremely traumatizing for a child, and Don Bluth tackles the subject tactfully and tastefully. I will fully admit that when I was a child, I bawled my eyes out when I saw Littlefoot’s mother die. Even as an adult, I still get choked up about it. It was a very emotional, memorable, and important moment in that movie. 27 years later, the story is still very compelling.
One of the things that I remember most about The Land Before Time, was it’s animation. This is an incredibly detailed film with some very creative animation. The details on the dinosaurs, especially the Longnecks, is astounding. The wrinkles and the colors all help to really illustrate how incredible these creatures are. The art-style is extraordinary. The different environments, which range from deserts to volcanic regions, all have their own distinct look and feel. It really helps give scope and magnitude to Littlefoot’s journey. The music by the late James Horner, gives The Land Before Time, a very powerful and epic feel that just really resonates throughout the picture. Having a colorful cast of characters never hurts, and The Land Before Time really delivers on that front. From the innocent, yet, brave Littlefoot, to the quirky and hesitant Petrie, we’re given characters that we truly care about and don’t want to see hurt. Each one has their own unique personality. Cera is kind of hard-headed and very prideful, yet vulnerable when she makes mistakes. Ducky is the loudmouth of the bunch and yet, is very charming. These characters behave like kids, because they are kids and were voiced by kids.
While the film certainly has its darker moments, it’s truly a family film at its heart. There’s a lot that kids can take from this movie. The fact that despite obvious differences you can still work together to achieve something great, and you can make friends with people who look different. These are some of the lessons to be learned, but it’s a fantastic adventure at the same time. It’s exciting, it’s funny, and it’s emotional. It’s got all of these feelings and more wrapped up in an incredible package that should be seen by everyone. The mark of a truly great movie is regardless of how many times you see a movie, it holds up with each viewing. You need to have a solid story, great characters and writing. The Land Before Time is one of those movies. It’s definitely one of the most memorable films from my childhood that is still amazing. Yes, it packs an emotional punch, but it is absolutely worth it.
For some reason, The Land Before Time got 12 official sequels and an animated TV series. I haven’t seen any of those, because, I know that they will never, ever be able to capture the magic and the imagination of the original film. Don Bluth has crafted an extraordinary experience that needs to be seen by people of all generations. It is simply that good. There were certainly other movies that Bluth had directed during the 80s, but The Land Before Time stands out for me, because….well….dinosaurs. Even today’s children can find something to take away from this movie, whether it’s friendship, courage or humor, but I remember it because Don Bluth and his writers had the courage to give the film an emotional impact the way they did. It’s an amazing adventure that I would absolutely share with future generations. I’m giving The Land Before Time a perfect 10/10. I love this movie, in case you haven’t noticed.