This has to be my favorite animated movie of all time. It was the first movie that I remember watching. Even today, the characters are like friends to me. The movie, as well as its successors, develops them so well that you can easily become acquainted with one or more. Though many consider "The Secret of NIMH" for this title, "The Land Before Time", in my opinion, is Don Bluth's masterpiece.
In a land in the prehistoric age, a drought is occurring and several herds of dinosaurs seek an oasis known as "The Great Valley". The animation here is very dark and fluid with a nice, earthy color scheme and some amazingly skillful footage of sand wind and the moon's reflection in a lake. You can always tell something is done by Don Bluth by the animation.
The dinosaurs are only stopping on their way to the Great Valley to hatch their young. One of these newborns is an apatosaurus named Littlefoot. He immediately grows close to his mother, and as the narrator tells us, knows that they would always be together. The scene where he hatches is a piece of art.
One scene later, Littlefoot is older and is able to talk. We're not sure how long it's been, but short enough that Littlefoot's mother is just telling him about their journey as she gives a star-shaped leaf, which they call a "treestar". When Littlefoot asks her how she knows the Great Valley exists when she hasn't seen it, she replies, "Some things you see with your eyes, others you see with your heart." This was is one of many very memorable scenes for me. And like the flashback scene in "The Secret of NIMH", there's a sense of wonder as Littlefoot's mother lowers her head to give Littlefoot the treestar. There's hair-rising music in this scene too.
While we're on the subject, this film's breathtaking music composed by James Horner is way up there with the score he wrote for "Titanic". I have every single note of the music from "The Land Before Time" memorized, and it describes the epic tone of the movie flawlessly.
Littlefoot starts to wander off and finds a family of triceratops, including a female hatchling named Cera (spelled as it is in the middle of the word triCERAtops). Littlefoot starts to play with her, but is stopped by Cera's father, who is the most racist dinosaur in the series. As Littlefoot continues the journey with his mother and grandparents, his mother explains to him the dinosaurs' prejudiced behavior nowadays.
Very early the next morning, as Littlefoot chases a frog, he encounters Cera again. They play together briefly, until a ferocious t-rex attacks. He almost has them, before Littlefoot's mother comes to the rescue. But at the same time, a massive earthquake opens a deep ravine that divides Littlefoot and Cera from their herds.
Littlefoot finds his mother languishing. Under the last of her breath, her final words to him are "Let your heart guide you. It whispers, so listen closely." This scene is so heart-wrenching that I can't watch it without getting tears in my eyes. That and this movie was one of the first things that brought to me the concept of death. It seems Littlefoot didn't know what death was, either, before his mother died. When I had learned what really happened, I was haunted. Now Littlefoot has to make the long journey without her. As a child, it was tough for me to wrap my mind around that.
Littlefoot, sad and confused, meets an old Polacanthus named Rooter. He tells him why he's so depressed, and that he blames all of his pain on his mother. He explains to him that it's no one's fault and is part of the great Circle of Life (my only quibble with "The Lion King"). Later, the treestar his mother gave him floats down toward him as he hears her heavenly voice speaking to his heart. As he looks into the drop of water in the treestar, she reminds him to the follow the sun and watch for the landmarks.
Soon, Littlefoot meets up with a saurolophus named Ducky. Acknowledging the racial issues among other dinosaurs, Littlefoot still offers for Ducky to come with him to the Great Valley to find her parents. Soon after, they run into Petrie, an aerophobic pteranodon who and has yet to learn to fly. Littlefoot and Ducky invite him to come too. These last few scenes succeed in lightening the mood after the emotional blow of Littlefoot's mother's death. The movie knows when to be upbeat and when to be emotionally stirring. This a bit more what "An American Tail" should have been like.
They run straight into Cera, who claims that she woke up the t-rex from the floor of the abyss. As she brags about how "brave" she was, she accidentally flings Ducky into a clump of grass where a stegosaurus is just hatching from his egg. Ducky names him Spike, and tells him to come with them to the Great Valley. Spike, who doesn't talk, swallows up all the grass around his nest and then joins the group. So the five hungry dinosaurs set off for the Great Valley, Littlefoot leading the way.
If you haven't seen this movie yet, you should. It is just epic. It's a great story with glorious animation and breathtaking music. Through my childhood, I had come to know the characters almost intimately. If I was lacking friends, I always had Littlefoot. When I needed a laugh, I had Petrie. You might think I'm being silly, but this really is how I felt. Though I still enjoy most of the sequels, not one of them has matched this animated masterpiece. It will stay with me for the rest of my days.
10/10 for "The Land Before Time".
In a land in the prehistoric age, a drought is occurring and several herds of dinosaurs seek an oasis known as "The Great Valley". The animation here is very dark and fluid with a nice, earthy color scheme and some amazingly skillful footage of sand wind and the moon's reflection in a lake. You can always tell something is done by Don Bluth by the animation.
The dinosaurs are only stopping on their way to the Great Valley to hatch their young. One of these newborns is an apatosaurus named Littlefoot. He immediately grows close to his mother, and as the narrator tells us, knows that they would always be together. The scene where he hatches is a piece of art.
One scene later, Littlefoot is older and is able to talk. We're not sure how long it's been, but short enough that Littlefoot's mother is just telling him about their journey as she gives a star-shaped leaf, which they call a "treestar". When Littlefoot asks her how she knows the Great Valley exists when she hasn't seen it, she replies, "Some things you see with your eyes, others you see with your heart." This was is one of many very memorable scenes for me. And like the flashback scene in "The Secret of NIMH", there's a sense of wonder as Littlefoot's mother lowers her head to give Littlefoot the treestar. There's hair-rising music in this scene too.
While we're on the subject, this film's breathtaking music composed by James Horner is way up there with the score he wrote for "Titanic". I have every single note of the music from "The Land Before Time" memorized, and it describes the epic tone of the movie flawlessly.
Littlefoot starts to wander off and finds a family of triceratops, including a female hatchling named Cera (spelled as it is in the middle of the word triCERAtops). Littlefoot starts to play with her, but is stopped by Cera's father, who is the most racist dinosaur in the series. As Littlefoot continues the journey with his mother and grandparents, his mother explains to him the dinosaurs' prejudiced behavior nowadays.
Very early the next morning, as Littlefoot chases a frog, he encounters Cera again. They play together briefly, until a ferocious t-rex attacks. He almost has them, before Littlefoot's mother comes to the rescue. But at the same time, a massive earthquake opens a deep ravine that divides Littlefoot and Cera from their herds.
Littlefoot finds his mother languishing. Under the last of her breath, her final words to him are "Let your heart guide you. It whispers, so listen closely." This scene is so heart-wrenching that I can't watch it without getting tears in my eyes. That and this movie was one of the first things that brought to me the concept of death. It seems Littlefoot didn't know what death was, either, before his mother died. When I had learned what really happened, I was haunted. Now Littlefoot has to make the long journey without her. As a child, it was tough for me to wrap my mind around that.
Littlefoot, sad and confused, meets an old Polacanthus named Rooter. He tells him why he's so depressed, and that he blames all of his pain on his mother. He explains to him that it's no one's fault and is part of the great Circle of Life (my only quibble with "The Lion King"). Later, the treestar his mother gave him floats down toward him as he hears her heavenly voice speaking to his heart. As he looks into the drop of water in the treestar, she reminds him to the follow the sun and watch for the landmarks.
Soon, Littlefoot meets up with a saurolophus named Ducky. Acknowledging the racial issues among other dinosaurs, Littlefoot still offers for Ducky to come with him to the Great Valley to find her parents. Soon after, they run into Petrie, an aerophobic pteranodon who and has yet to learn to fly. Littlefoot and Ducky invite him to come too. These last few scenes succeed in lightening the mood after the emotional blow of Littlefoot's mother's death. The movie knows when to be upbeat and when to be emotionally stirring. This a bit more what "An American Tail" should have been like.
They run straight into Cera, who claims that she woke up the t-rex from the floor of the abyss. As she brags about how "brave" she was, she accidentally flings Ducky into a clump of grass where a stegosaurus is just hatching from his egg. Ducky names him Spike, and tells him to come with them to the Great Valley. Spike, who doesn't talk, swallows up all the grass around his nest and then joins the group. So the five hungry dinosaurs set off for the Great Valley, Littlefoot leading the way.
If you haven't seen this movie yet, you should. It is just epic. It's a great story with glorious animation and breathtaking music. Through my childhood, I had come to know the characters almost intimately. If I was lacking friends, I always had Littlefoot. When I needed a laugh, I had Petrie. You might think I'm being silly, but this really is how I felt. Though I still enjoy most of the sequels, not one of them has matched this animated masterpiece. It will stay with me for the rest of my days.
10/10 for "The Land Before Time".