The Land Before TimeIn a team environment, working together can mean the difference between success and failure, life and death. The Land Before Time is an animated children's film about an eclectic band of youthful dinosaurs who set out to reach the "Great Valley"--the fabled last hope for their kind in the wake of a crippling blight devastating their homelands. Separated from their guardians, the quintet--led by the "Longneck" (Brontosaurus) called "Littlefoot"--overcome myriad obstacles and dangers in their quest for their new home, including being hunted by the tenacious Tyrannosaurus Rex called "Sharptooth".
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Directed by Don Bluth--with executive producers including Steven Spielberg and George Lucas--The Land Before Time was a highly successful animated feature film, which would go on to spawn over a dozen sequels. As with the rest of the franchise, The Land Before Time is principally aimed at children, with child-like dinosaurs confronting complex and challenging issues in their adolescence--and coping with them in the same way that children might in their place. This begins with the mass migration to the mythical Great Valley; the inquisitive Littlefoot tries to understand how his mother "knows" that this place even exists, despite the landmarks which she tells him will lead them there. She claims that they have to accept it exists on faith--a difficult concept for a child to grasp. Littlefoot crosses paths with a prideful, young triceratops named "Cera", who is coached by her parents that she shouldn't fraternize with other species like Longnecks--despite enjoying playing together--and this prejudice creates a rift between them that escalates over time. The most challenging emotional hurdle for Littlefoot comes after his mother defends him and Cera from an assault by Sharptooth, which is swiftly followed by a massive earthquake that separates the young dinosaurs from their surviving guardians. Littlefoot forced to seek the Great Valley by himself, orphaned after his mother passes away from wounds sustained defending him. His grief is so profound that he is unable to carry on or forage for food, absently seeking out the Great Valley in his consuming sorrow. This is when he encounters the young "Bigmouth" (Saurolophus) named Ducky, who comforts him and gives him purpose to seek the valley other than for mere obligation. He understands that a dinosaur even smaller than himself (i.e. Ducky) needs a partner to make the trek who knows the way. They are joined by a skittish "Flyer" (Pterodactyl) named Petrie--who is, paradoxically, afraid of flying--and a quiet, lumbering "Spiketail" (Stegosaurus), whom Ducky names "Spike"; they are later joined by a semi-antagonistic Cera en route to the Great Valley. The varied dinosaurs represent a wide cross-section of personalities, emphasized by their species. Cera tends to attack her problems head on, constantly trying to ram her way through her issues. The nervous Petrie only discovers his true potential when forced into a do-or-die situation, while the adorable Ducky punctuates her sentences with a rapid-fire "yep, yep, yep" to emphasize her enthusiasm.
The Land Before Time offers several lessons for children in its comparatively brief running time, like how Littlefoot interacts with his colleagues in his exhausting journey to the west. He encounters the most resistance from the stubborn Cera, who shrugs off Littlefoot's efforts to befriend her, claiming that she "doesn't need help" because she is a "Three-horn". Like Littlefoot, Cera struggles with loss; she was separated from her family by the "Clash of Continents", and is unready to admit that there are some things she can't overpower. Cera sees herself as the "leader" of the group, showing her strength through her independence; but this only makes her appear obstinate and even ignorant. Her inability to lead even endangers her allies after she parts ways with Littlefoot following a fight that leaves the rest of the party visibly disconcerted. Littlefoot and Cera's culmination of stress and unresolved sorrow is what eventually brings them to butt heads (literally), and underscores the dangers that arise when members of a group allow individual differences to drive them apart--they are exponentially weaker and more vulnerable when divided. Littlefoot is generally the peacemaker in the group, but even his patience is tested after Cera perpetually boasts that she encountered Sharptooth, despite tumbling into a deep crevasse after slaying his mother. Each time Cera summons the specter of his mother's killer, it comes with the painful implication that if Sharptooth survived, that his mother's sacrifice was in vain. The Land Before Time also explores what it means to leave the world a better place for generations to come. The famine afflicting the dinosaurs is emblematic of assorted crises in contemporary civilization, from economic downturn to ecological sustainability. The film suggests that the dilemma is made into a bigger problem by the older generation's position that members of one species do not associate with another--a prejudicial attitude that would have surely led to the demise of Littlefoot and the rest had they embraced it. But this new generation realizes that diversity and camaraderie is crucial for survival--en route to the Great Valley and beyond.
Recommended for: Fans of a gorgeous animated film that explores important themes to learn at a young age. The Land Before Time is the perfect film for kids who grew up studying various species of dinosaurs, and will likely be able to recognize them on sight while watching the movie.
The Land Before Time offers several lessons for children in its comparatively brief running time, like how Littlefoot interacts with his colleagues in his exhausting journey to the west. He encounters the most resistance from the stubborn Cera, who shrugs off Littlefoot's efforts to befriend her, claiming that she "doesn't need help" because she is a "Three-horn". Like Littlefoot, Cera struggles with loss; she was separated from her family by the "Clash of Continents", and is unready to admit that there are some things she can't overpower. Cera sees herself as the "leader" of the group, showing her strength through her independence; but this only makes her appear obstinate and even ignorant. Her inability to lead even endangers her allies after she parts ways with Littlefoot following a fight that leaves the rest of the party visibly disconcerted. Littlefoot and Cera's culmination of stress and unresolved sorrow is what eventually brings them to butt heads (literally), and underscores the dangers that arise when members of a group allow individual differences to drive them apart--they are exponentially weaker and more vulnerable when divided. Littlefoot is generally the peacemaker in the group, but even his patience is tested after Cera perpetually boasts that she encountered Sharptooth, despite tumbling into a deep crevasse after slaying his mother. Each time Cera summons the specter of his mother's killer, it comes with the painful implication that if Sharptooth survived, that his mother's sacrifice was in vain. The Land Before Time also explores what it means to leave the world a better place for generations to come. The famine afflicting the dinosaurs is emblematic of assorted crises in contemporary civilization, from economic downturn to ecological sustainability. The film suggests that the dilemma is made into a bigger problem by the older generation's position that members of one species do not associate with another--a prejudicial attitude that would have surely led to the demise of Littlefoot and the rest had they embraced it. But this new generation realizes that diversity and camaraderie is crucial for survival--en route to the Great Valley and beyond.
Recommended for: Fans of a gorgeous animated film that explores important themes to learn at a young age. The Land Before Time is the perfect film for kids who grew up studying various species of dinosaurs, and will likely be able to recognize them on sight while watching the movie.