The Land Before Time (film)

This article is about the 1988 film. For the series in general, see The Land Before Time (series).

The Land Before Time
File:Landtime.jpg
Directed by	Don Bluth
Written by	Judy Freudberg (story) Tony Geiss (story) Stu Krieger (screenplay)
Produced by	Don Bluth Gary Goldman John Pomeroy Executive Producers: Steven Spielberg George Lucas Kathleen Kennedy Frank Marshall
Starring	Gabriel Damon Candace Hutson Judith Barsi Will Ryan Pat Hingle Helen Shaver Burke Byrnes Bill Erwin
Narrated by	Pat Hingle
Edited by	John K. Carr Dan Molina
Music by	James Horner
Distributed by	Universal Pictures Sullivan Bluth Studios
Release dates	November 18, 1988
Running time	69 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English Japanese German Italian French
Budget	USD$12,300,000 (estimated)
Box office	USD$84,460,846 (worldwide)

Template:Infobox movie certificates The Land Before Time is 1988 theatrical animated film, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, and directed by Don Bluth. It was originally released by Universal Pictures and Sullivan Bluth Studios. It features anthropomorphic dinosaurs living in a somewhat fantasy-based version of prehistoric earth. The plot concerns a young Apatosaurus named Littlefoot, who is orphaned when his mother is killed, battling a malevolent Tyrannosaurus, and from the effects of an earthquake. 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. The film explores issues of prejudice between the different species and the hardships they endure in their journey as they are guided by Littlefoot's mother's spirit.

The film was a critical and financial success and spawned a dozen sequels as well as merchandise and a TV series.

Plot

As the film opens, the narrator (Pat Hingle) explains that there is a drought occurring, and 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 prejudiced behaviour between the different 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 for a moment, until a "Sharptooth" (Tyrannosaurus) attacks. Littlefoot's mother intervenes, battling with the Sharptooth and suffering severe injuries, but managing to defeat him in the end. At the same time, an "earthshake" (earthquake) occurs, opening a deep ravine in the ground, which swallows up the Sharptooth and a grea 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 shortly after reminding her son of how to reach the Great Valley.

Now feeling depressed and confused, Littlefoot by chance slides down a ravine, where he meets an old armoured dinosaur named Rooter (Pat Hingle), who consoles him upon learning of his mother's death. After mourning for some time, Littlefoot begins to search for the Great Valley, and tries to get Cera to join him, but she refuses. He later meets a cheerful baby "Bigmouth" (Parasaurolophus) named Ducky (Judith Barsi), who asks to join him. As they travel, and try to find food along the way, they encounter an aerophobic baby "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 tries to warn them about the Sharptooth; Littlefoot does not believe her, as he is convinced that Sharptooth is dead. As Cera describes the encounter (fabricating it so she seems braver) she accidentally flings Ducky into a patch of grass, nesting a hatching egg containing a baby "Spiketail" (Stegasaurus) whom Ducky names Spike, and brings into their band.

Seeking the Great Valley, they find a river leading to a cluster of trees, which is abruptly depleted by a herd of starving sauropods. Searching for remaining growth, they discover a single leaf-bearing tree, and obtain food by piling up ontop of each other and pulling it down. Cera remains aloof and arrogant, boasting that she is independant, 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. As they pass other landmarks she mentioned, such as a string of volcanoes, Cera grows impatient and quarrels with Littlefoot, causing a schism in the little herd. Littlefoot continues in the direction he was told, while the others try to find another route. 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, in the guise of a giant tar-monster, but laugh at her for being frightened of their ruse. Angry and humiliated, Cera leaves them, crying on her way out.

The next day, the others are frolicking in a pond, when Sharptooth appears nearby. Determined to defeat him at last, 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 drown 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. At that moment, Cera shows up and helps the plan to be completed; defeating Sharptooth for good. Littlefoot then follows his mother's spirit (in cloud form) 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.

Cast

• Gabriel Damon - Littlefoot
• Candace Hutson - Cera
• Judith Barsi - Ducky
• Will Ryan - Petrie
• Pat Hingle - Narrator/Rooter
• Helen Shaver - Littlefoot's Mother
• Burke Byrnes - Daddy Topps
• Bill Erwin - Grandfather

Development

Like Disney's The Black Cauldron, which was made three years earlier, Columbia's The Karate Kid, which was made four years earlier, and Warner Bros./Zoetrope's The Outsiders, which was made five years earlier, 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. Around 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 negative stress. Don Bluth was unhappy with the cuts, and fought for all the footage, but in the end he had to settle on a final running time of 69 minutes, one of Don Bluth’s shortest.

Another part of the movie that was going to be eliminated was the death of Littlefoot’s mother. However, it was thought that if the scene were removed it would simply produce problems in explaining why Littlefoot had to journey to the Great Valley alone. In the end, psychologists were shown the scene and gave feedback to the production team. The character of Rooter was brought into the story to soften the emotional blow, and teach Littlefoot and the audience that although loved ones may die, they are always with us in the lessons that are learned from them.

Some scenes with the characters in the movie screaming were revoiced with them having milder exclamations.

Production notes

• An early working title for the film was “The Land Before Time Began”.
• 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.
• It was George Lucas's idea to make Cera a female Triceratops.
• Judith Barsi said, before her death preceding the releases of The Land Before Time and another Don Bluth film starring the actress, All Dogs Go to Heaven, that her role of Ducky was her favorite of her film roles, and Ducky's trademark line "Yep Yep Yep" is written in her and her mother's epitaphs.
• 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.

Soundtrack

On October 25, 1990, A Soundtrack was released for The Land Before Time.

Track Listings

1. The Great Migration
2. Sharptooth and the Earthquake
3. Whispering Winds
4. If We Hold On Together
5. Foraging For Food
6. The Rescue/Discovery of the Great Valley
7. End Credits

Reception

The film was a box office success, grossing $48 million, as well as beating the Disney film Oliver & Company 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. It is currently rated "B" at Box Office Mojo.

The theme song If We Hold On Together was sung by Diana Ross, and became a successful single especially in Japan where it reached # 1. It was also performed by Jordin Sparks on American Idol in 2007.

Legacy

Main articles: The Land Before Time (series) and The Land Before Time (TV series)

The movie generated many direct-to-video sequels. Currently there are 13 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).

External links

• The Land Before Time Funsite
• The Official Land Before Time Site
• The Land Before Time at IMDb
• Detailed Info on The Land Before Time (including plot detail)
• The Land Before Time at Land Before Time Wiki.
• The Land Before Time at RetroJunk.com
• Official Merchandise at Kookys.co.uk