The Land Before Time is a 1988 theatrical animated film, directed by Don Bluth (with production based around his Ireland-based studio), and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Originally released by Universal Studios and Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, it features anthropomorphic dinosaurs living in a somewhat fantasy-based version of prehistoric earth. The plot concerns a young Apatosaurus named Littlefoot, voiced by New Jersey music sensation, Gabriel Damon, who is orphaned when his mother is killed by a Tyrannosaurus. Littlefoot flees famine and upheaval to search for the "Great Valley", an area which has been spared devastation. On his journey, he meets 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. This was the only Don Bluth film in the 80s that Dom Deluise did not star in.
The film was a critical and financial success and spawned a multi-million dollar franchise with twelve direct-to-video sequels (without association with Bluth, Spielberg, or Lucas) as well as merchandise (toys, video games, etc.) and a television series.
Plot
As the film opens, the narrator (Pat Hingle) explains that a drought is occurring. To escape it the dinosaurs are migrating in search of the "Great Valley," a lush, Utopian paradise. A "Longneck" (Apatosaurus) herd gives birth to a single baby, named Littlefoot (Gabriel Damon). As he grows older, his mother (Helen Shaver) tells him of the Great Valley, and informs him of the prejudice between the different dinosaur species when he tries to play with a "Threehorn" (Triceratops) girl named Cera (Candace Hutson), but her father (Burke Byrnes) stops him. That night, Cera and Littlefoot meet again, and play together for a while until a "Sharptooth" (Tyrannosaurus) attacks. Littlefoot's mother intervenes, battling with the Sharptooth and suffering severe injuries, but managing to defeat him by pushing him into a deep chasm. At the same time, an "earthshake" (earthquake) occurs, opening a deep ravine in the ground, which swallows up the Sharptooth and a great deal of other dinosaurs, and separates many herds, including Littlefoot's and Cera's. Littlefoot finds his mother when the earthquake ends, but she is mortally wounded, and dies.
Feeling upset, depressed and confused, Littlefoot accidentally slides down a ravine, where he meets an old armored dinosaur named Rooter (Pat Hingle), who consoles him upon learning of his mother's death. After feeling very upset for some time, Littlefoot hears his mother speak to him through his heart, and reminds him how to reach the Great Valley and soon finds Cera and asks her to join him, but she refuses. He later meets a cheerful "Bigmouth" (Saurolophus); named Ducky (Judith Barsi), who asks to join him. As they travel, and try to find food along the way, they encounter an aerophobic "Flyer" (Pteranodon) named Petrie (Will Ryan), who joins them on their quest. Meanwhile, Cera encounters a comatose Sharptooth, whom she believes to be dead, and charges at mischievously, though this accidentally awakens him. As she flees, she meets up with the others and warns them about the Sharptooth; Littlefoot does not believe her, being convinced that Sharptooth is dead. As Cera describes the encounter (exaggerating her bravery), she accidentally flings Ducky near a patch of grass, which has a hatching egg containing a baby "Spiketail" (Stegosaurus). Ducky names him Spike and brings him into their band.
Seeking the Great Valley, they find a river leading to a cluster of trees, which is rapidly depleted by a herd of starving sauropods. Searching for remaining growth, they discover a single leaf-bearing tree, and obtain food by piling atop each other to reach it and pull it down. Cera remains aloof and arrogant, boasting that she is independent, but at nightfall, she, along with the others, gravitates to Littlefoot's sleeping nest for warmth and companionship. The Sharptooth attacks them in the morning, but they escape through a cave-tunnel too small to admit him, and discover a Longneck-shaped monolith mentioned by Littlefoot's mother. Although they pass other landmarks she mentioned, such as a string of volcanoes, Cera grows impatient as the search begins to yield no results and quarrels with Littlefoot, causing a schism in the little herd. Littlefoot continues in the direction he was told, while the others follow Cera, who goes another way. As Ducky, Spike and Petrie fall into danger involving a lava barrier and a tar pit, Littlefoot comes and rescues them. They then save Cera from an aggressive herd of Pachycephalosaurus while disguised as a giant tar-monster, which frightens Cera. Angry, humiliated and heartbroken, Cera tearfully leaves the group.
The next day, the others are frolicking in a pond when the Sharptooth appears nearby. Determined to defeat him, Littlefoot formulates a plan to lure him to the deep end of the pond, drop a large rock from the edge of a nearby cliff onto his head, and thus drowning him. As Ducky lures him to the water, Littlefoot and Spike have trouble moving the rock. During the proceeding struggle, a hot draft from Sharptooth's nostrils enables Petrie to master his powers of flight. Sharptooth jumps onto the rock Littlefoot and Spike are pushing, taking Ducky and Petrie with him to where they are. At that moment, Cera shows up and helps the plan to be completed; defeating Sharptooth for good. But Sharptooth grabs Petrie in his jaws as he falls towards the water and they both fall in. After a few tense moments, Petrie emerges from the water alive. Sharptooth however is not seen or found and is presumed dead. Littlefoot then follows a cloud that looks like his mother. The cloud leads him to the Great Valley, where the children's surviving relatives are already settled. Petrie and Ducky rejoin their families, and Ducky's family adopts Spike. Cera reunites with her father, and Littlefoot joins his grandparents. The film concludes with an indication of the protagonists' companionship and how the main characters' descendants will tell again and again the story of their ancestors' journey to the Great Valley long ago.
Cast
- Gabriel Damon as Littlefoot, a baby Apatosaurus who is one of the film's protagonists.
- Candace Hutson as Cera, a Triceratops one of Littlefoot's companions and one of the film's protagonists.
- Judith Barsi as Ducky, a Saurolophus and another of Littlefoot's companions.
- Will Ryan as Petrie, a comical Pteranodon who is aerophobic.
- Pat Hingle as the Narrator and Rooter, an old but friendly Sauropelta.
- Helen Shaver as Littlefoot's Mother, an adult Apatosaurus who is killed by Sharptooth (Tyrannosaurus), though she helps Littlefoot reach the Great Valley in spirit form.
- Burke Byrnes as Daddy Topps, Cera's father who says "Threehorns never play with Longnecks."
- Bill Erwin as Grandfather, Littlefoot's maternal grandfather.
- Frank Welker as Sharptooth (uncredited), a sadistic Tyrannosaurus and the main antagonist of the film.
Characters
Littlefoot - A young Apatosaurus, also called a "Long Neck" and the primary protagonist of the film. Littlefoot is young, impressionable, but brave and a born "Long Neck" leader. Guiding his new found friends to the Great Valley, very little can upset his optimism. Still hurting over the loss of his mother, he uses her memory to keep going.
Cera - A Triceratops, also called a "Three Horn" who is very short tempered and as stubborn as her father is and the secondary protagonist. Becoming separated from him during the great earthquake, Cera is pitted for the first time against her hidden, frightened side. She often tries to bully her way through the others, but eventually softens and learns to care more for her friends than she does for herself.
Ducky - A "Big Mouth" Parasaurolophus whose optimism is only overshadowed by her enjoyment of a good swim. Her quoted phrase is "Yep, yep, yep!" which usually follows a positive statement. When saddened she is known to otherwise say "Nope, nope, nope." in a very unenthusiastic way. She becomes Spike's "big" sister when her family adopts him.
Petrie - A Pteranodon or "Flyer" as they're best known as, Petrie is a timid, somewhat cowardly character. Afraid of heights and in fact being incapable of flying he prefers to spend his time on the backs of one of his friends than walking at their side. He eventually learns to fly and with his power of flight he envelops a new bravery toward defending his friends that he never thought he was capable of.
Spike - A Stegosaurus or "Spike Tail", was found as an egg by Ducky and adopted into her family. Unable to speak like the others, Spike often acts more of a family pet than a member of the group, though his expressions of happiness and fear place him more as an equal member of their unique herd.
Sharptooth - A Tyrannosaurus rex and the primary antagonist, who kills Littlefoot's mother during the early stages of the film. He has a brutal and determined nature, pursuing the protagonists during their journey to the Great Valley. He becomes (unintentionally) blinded in his right eye by Littlefoot in their initial encounter (though it is sometimes seen open in close ups.)
Development and production
An early working title for the film was “The Land Before Time Began”.[3] 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.[4] It was George Lucas's idea to make Cera a female Triceratops.[citation needed] 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.
Editing
Throughout production, 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.[citation needed] About 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 stress. Some scenes with the characters in the movie screaming had to be revoiced using milder exclamations by voice over artist and singer Lucy Mitchell. It was felt this would be more suitable for young children.[4] Though Don Bluth was unhappy with the cuts, and fought for all the footage, he had to settle on a final running time of 69 minutes, one of his shortest.[4]
The sequence of Littlefoot's mother's death was also going to be eliminated; however, it was thought that if the scene were removed it would complicate explaining why Littlefoot had to journey to the Great Valley alone. The scene was shown to psychologists who gave their feedback to the production team. The character of Rooter was added to the story to soften the emotional blow, and teach Littlefoot and the audience that even after loved ones die, they are always with us in the lessons we have learned from them.[4]
Soundtrack
The theme song If We Hold On Together was sung by Diana Ross, and became a successful single. It reached #1 in Japan.
The soundtrack was released on November 21, 1988.[5]
Track Listings
- The Great Migration
- Sharptooth and the Earthquake
- Whispering Winds
- If We Hold On Together
- Foraging For Food
- The Rescue/Discovery of the Great Valley
- End Credits
Reception
The film was a box office success, grossing $48 million, as well as beating the Disney film Oliver & Company which was released on the same day for the #1 spot during its opening weekend. It brought in a box office total of nearly $50 million during its domestic release, slightly more than Don Bluth's previous film, An American Tail. The movie became a hit worldwide, and while Oliver had grossed over its domestic earnings, Land grossed nearly $84 million worldwide, which the Disney film did not surpass.
At the film review site RottenTomatoes.com it holds a 77% Certified "Fresh"[6] from critics while the movie's fans gave it a higher score of 85% Certified "Fresh"[7].
A review in the Motion Picture Guide 1989 Annual notes that the film "has been called a sort of prehistoric Bambi", and considers it to be more in the style of a classic Disney film than Oliver and Company.[8]
Analysis
In Children’s Films: History, Ideology, Pedagogy, Theory, Ian Wojcik-Andrews sees Littlefoot as a prophet and religious leader guiding the other characters to a garden of Eden;[9] Andrews also notes relatively common children's film motifs such as how Littlefoot and Cera become surrogate parents to the others.[10]
Legacy
The movie generated many direct-to-video sequels. Currently there are 12 sequels in circulation. 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 2007 television series was released in North America. It 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).
Note
The song If We Hold On Together was also peformed by teen pop singer Jordin Sparks.
References
- ^ The Land Before Time (1985) at Box Office Mojo
- ^ The Land Before Time DVD
- ^ Maltin, Leonard (1987). Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. New American Library. pp. 354. ISBN 0-452-25993-2.
- ^ a b c d The Animated Films of Don Bluth by Jon Cawley
- ^ Amazon.com page for original The Land Before Time soundtrack.
- ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/land_before_time/?name_order=asc
- ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/land_before_time/reviews_users.php
- ^ The Motion Picture Guide: 1989 Annual. Jenny Mueller (Editor), Jeffrey H. Wallenfeldt (Senior Editor), Jennifer Howe, Michaela Tuohy (Associate Editors), William Leahy (Editorial Director). Evanston, Illinois: Cinebooks, Inc.. 1989. pp. 185-186. ISBN 0-933997-20-5.
- ^ Wojcik-Andrews, Ian (2000). Children’s Films: History, Ideology, Pedagogy, Theory. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc.. ISBN 0-8153-3794-9.
- ^ Wojcik-Andrews (2000), p. 21.
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