The Land Before Time (1988) Review

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

When you find your way to one place, you can find your way anywhere.


PLOT


Narrated by Pat Hingle, The Land Before Time takes place in the prehistoric era and follows Littlefoot, a longneck (Apatosaurus) that lives with his mother and grandparents. Early on, he bonds with a three-horn (Triceratops) named Cera, but her father bans her from continuing as he believes neither species can get along. Both calves end up playing again at evening, which gets the attention of the predator Sharp Tooth (Tyrannosaurus Rex). Little Foot’s mother does protect them both, at the cost of her life. In her dying breath though, she instructs her son to find the Great Valley, an oasis for the dinosaurs. The conflict also causes an earth shake that causes Littlefoot and Cera to separate from each other and their families. Before moving forward, he encounters an older dinosaur named Rooter (also voiced by Hingle) who cheers him up that it was no one’s fault for what happened to his mom. Littlefoot then passes through a volcano and along the way, he meets a bigmouth (Saurolophus) named Ducky and a flyer (Pteranodon) who also got separated from their families and agree to join him in his quest. Cera reunites with him and tells the group she encountered a Sharp Tooth. As she describes her encounter, Ducky finds a spiketail (Stegosaurus) egg that hatches and she names him Spike as he joins the group as well. They do find a cluster of trees, only for a different herd of longnecks to deplete them all. They do ration off of one tree bearing a single tree and everyone else gravitates to his companionship. By the next morning does Sharp Tooth find them and they escape through a tunnel. When Littlefoot recognizes the landmarks his mom mentioned, he insists the others to follow him but Cera prefers going another way. This leads to them fighting over where to go and the group decides to follow Cera when she wins. Littlefoot ends up saving them all when getting Duckie & Spike out of being surrounded by lava and pulls Petrie out of a tar pit. Together, they would then scare away a domehead (Pachycephalosaurus) group cornering Cera. Cera would then walk away ashamed of her selfishness until Petrie overhears Sharp Tooth nearby. When he tells the others, they plan to drown him on the deep side of a pond with a boulder. Ducky is the first to lure it as bait and Petrie learns to fly in order to save her. With Cera’s help, the plan works as Littlefoot hoped. Littlefoot then hears the spirit of her mom through nearby clouds and she guides him to the Great Valley. As he reunites with his grandparents, the rest of his friends reunite with their families as well and Ducky’s family adopts Spike. The film ends with all the calves embracing each other on top of a hill.


THOUGHTS


When you look back at the 80s, there were quite the diverse list of family flicks and this one sure stands out. Don Bluth had a great era when he was directing animated flicks and it's a no brainer he'd keep going after this. The animation on the dinosaurs are well made and the production design is rightfully timeless. If you're not stunned of seeing Sharp Tooth in action, I don't know how else to convince you except the fact this movie teaches viewers as it taught me not only the accepting the inevitably of loss but also the the gift that comes from friendship. You catch onto this when following a mixed group of characters that all stand out from one another. Everyone loves Littlefoot because Gabriel Damon portrays him to be a kid who lets his modesty do the thinking, which is much like his mom taught him. He has nothing to lose after losing her and he knows if he doesn’t try to find the valley, no one else is gonna help him. If it wasn’t for him taking charge, he would’ve not made such friends. Spike may not be talkative, but he was a delight for being the laidback one willing to trust whoever spoke up first. Judith Barsi easily makes Ducky adorable for being equally optimistic, hence the reason of adopting Spike, because she knew he’d fit in with the group. As for Petrie, Will Ryan had us relate to his nervousness and we admired him building enough courageousness to help his friends. Had he not kept trying to fly, he would’ve never cracked it at all. Besides Sharp Tooth, there was one other character that stirred up the pot and there was no doubt it was Cera. She was far from a villain, but Candace Huston mixed her stubbornness with pride which she learned from her dad. Oddly enough, being separated from him helped her understand being simpleminded doesn’t get you far. While she won’t admit that to Littlefoot, but her actions sure spoke louder when she helped defeat Sharp Tooth. While we all know the dinosaurs did not live forever, it’s nice of an idea to say these creatures got to have good memories before their time is up. And if you don’t think so, Diana Ross’ song ‘If We Hold On Together’ will seal the deal for you. This movie will forever have a special place in my heart, but good stuff like this have moments I’ve scratched my head about to this day. Like where did Ducky’s parents go when she went off course? It didn’t seem like they were sleeping, so I don’t see what gives in that case. And it sounds off putting when the narrator claims the chain of life would be broken if Littlefoot doesn’t find his way to the valley. In a technical sense, death is part of the cycle so he should’ve just said again that his kind would be extinct to get his point across. With that being said, it’s odd he doesn’t panic seeing more adult longnecks along the way. If that’s supposed to be a different breed, that should be clarified because I think they look like his relatives all the same. And of all things I couldn’t stand when it comes to bending reality, it has to be Sharp Tooth getting the jump on Ducky because it’s too big to be quiet and it’s ironic the same thing happens with another T Rex in Jurassic World: Rebirth. Ignore this, then you’ll still love this movie for what it is. In short, The Land Before Time deserves far more recognition for bringing the right kind of warmth. If those are the kind of movies you're into, see this now.