The Land Before Time (film)
The Land Before Time is a 1988 animated adventure drama film directed and produced by Don Bluth from a screenplay by Stu Krieger and a story by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss; it is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall. The film stars the voices of Gabriel Damon, Candace Hutson, Judith Barsi, and Will Ryan with narration provided by Pat Hingle. It is the first film in The Land Before Time franchise.
The Land Before Time
Stu Krieger
- Don Bluth
- Gary Goldman
- John Pomeroy
- John K. Carr
- Dan Molina
- November 18, 1988
69 minutes (original)
$12.3 million[2]
$84.5 million[3]
Produced by Amblin Entertainment and Sullivan Bluth Studios, it features dinosaurs living in prehistoric times. The plot features a young brown Apatosaurus named Littlefoot, who ends up alone after his mother is attacked by a villainous Tyrannosaurus rex and dies. Littlefoot flees famine and upheaval to search for the Great Valley, an area spared from devastation, where the adult dinosaurs have moved on to. On his journey, he meets four young companions: Cera, an orange Triceratops, Ducky, a green Saurolophus, Petrie, a brown Pteranodon, and Spike, a green Stegosaurus.[4] 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 and forced to deal with a "sharptooth" (Tyrannosaurus rex).
The Land Before Time is the only Don Bluth film of the 1980s in which Dom DeLuise did not participate (instead, he starred in Disney's Oliver & Company released that same day), and the only film in The Land Before Time series that is not a musical, as well as the only one to be released theatrically worldwide. It was also the last film that Bluth directed that was distributed by Universal Pictures.
The film was released by Universal on November 18, 1988 to generally positive reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing $84.4 million. Its success, along with An American Tail and the 1988 live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit led Spielberg to found his animation studio, Amblimation. The first film spawned a franchise with thirteen direct-to-video sequels, a television series, video games and merchandise, none of which had Bluth, Spielberg nor Lucas' involvement (though Amblin Entertainment was involved in the television series like it was for Fievel's American Tails). It is currently Don Bluth's third highest-grossing animated film, only behind Anastasia (1997) and An American Tail (1986).
Plot[edit]
During the age of the dinosaurs, a famine forces groups of dinosaurs to look for an oasis known as the Great Valley. A longneck dinosaur hatches a single baby named Littlefoot. Years later, Littlefoot encounters and plays with Cera, a young three-horn dinosaur[5] until her father intervenes and says "three-horns never play with longnecks". In the evening Littlefoot plays with Cera again until a large sharptooth dinosaur pursues them. Littlefoot's mother eventually comes to their rescue. During the struggle an "earthshake" strikes and splits the land, swallowing up the sharptooth and dividing Littlefoot, Cera, and other dinosaurs from their herds; several die in the process. Before dying, Littlefoot's wounded mother gives him some words of advice about finding the Great Valley: "let your heart guide you. It whispers, so listen closely". Confused, and in-grief, Littlefoot meets Rooter, an older dinosaur who consoles him. Littlefoot is then guided by his mother's voice telling him to follow the sun to the Great Valley. First, he must pass several landmarks, such as a rock formation that resembles a Longneck and the "Mountains that Burn".
Later Littlefoot meets a young[6] "bigmouth" dinosaur named Ducky and a young[7] "flyer" dinosaur named Petrie, themselves separated from their families during the earthshake, who accompany him on his journey. Looking for her own kind, Cera finds the unconscious sharptooth inside a ravine and inadvertently wakes him up. She escapes and bumps into Littlefoot, Ducky, and Petrie. While describing her encounter, she accidentally flings Ducky in the direction of a lone hatching "spiketail" egg,[8] from which a male emerges; Ducky names the hatchling "Spike" and inducts him into the group. Seeking the Great Valley, they discover a cluster of trees, which is depleted by a herd of longnecks. Searching for remaining growth, they discover a single leaf-bearing tree, and obtain food by stacking atop each other and pulling it down. Cera remains aloof, but at nightfall, she and everyone else gravitate to Littlefoot's side for warmth and companionship.
The next morning, they are attacked by the sharptooth but manage to escape through a tunnel which is too small for him to follow. They discover the landmarks mentioned by Littlefoot's mother. At the Mountains that Burn, a clash between Littlefoot's intention to follow his mother's directions and Cera's strong-willed insistence on going a different way results in a fight between them which causes the others to follow Cera, forcing Littlefoot to continue alone. When Ducky and Spike become endangered by lava, and Petrie gets stuck in a tar pit, Littlefoot returns to rescue them. Cera gets ambushed by a group of "domeheads" who live in the Mountains that Burn; the rest of the group pose as a tar monster, scaring away the domeheads and frightening Cera. After realizing who it really is, Cera angrily leaves the group and breaks down in tears, ashamed of her selfishness. Later, while crossing a pond, Petrie overhears the sharptooth nearby. The group devises a plan to lure him to the pond and drown him in the deep side using a nearby boulder. During the ensuing struggle, a draft from the sharptooth's nostrils enables Petrie to fly for the first time.
The plan nearly fails when the sharptooth begins attacking the boulder while the group attempts to push it onto him. However, Cera, having overcome her sorrow, reunites with the group and headbutts the boulder, causing the sharptooth to fall into the water, the boulder crashing into him in the process. The sharptooth momentarily takes Petrie down with him, seemingly to his death, but Petrie later emerges unharmed. Littlefoot, alone and about to give up on his search, follows a cloud resembling his mother, which guides him to the Great Valley. He is then joined by the others. After arrival the five are reunited with their families: Petrie impresses his family with his newfound flight; Ducky introduces Spike to her family, who adopt him; Cera reunites with her father; and Littlefoot finds his grandparents. The group reunites at the top of a hill and embrace each other in a hug.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
During production of An American Tail, talk began of the next feature with Bluth and executive producer Steven Spielberg. Bluth and Spielberg wanted to do a film similar to Bambi, but with dinosaurs. Steven Spielberg's longtime friend George Lucas was also brought in on the project after being interested with it. The three persuaded An American Tail writers Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss (both of whom were also prominent writers for Sesame Street) to write the screenplay for the film. Their initial draft was based on their early ideas, but when it was felt the story was too juvenile, Stu Krieger was brought on to revise their draft.[9] Early into story development, the film was about a group of young dinosaurs looking for a wise, older dinosaur.[10] Later on, Bluth explained, "...we came up with another idea that none of these dinosaurs get along with each other, they all hate each other. They're taught from the time they were born not to associate with each other, that's racism".[9] An early working title for the film was The Land Before Time Began.[11] Bluth, Spielberg and 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 make it appealing to children.[9]
Animation[edit]
As work on the script continued, Bluth delegated some of the animation staff to begin creating concept art. As with his previous films, Bluth handled the storyboarding, but with final revisions by Larry Leker. Production was initially delayed by several months as the studio moved to Ireland. Production would eventually begin in spring 1987, a few months after the release of An American Tail.[10]
The production was preceded by extensive research, including visits to natural history museums in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Skeletons, fossils, and paleoart from the turn of the century were consulted to help create a credible landscape and animals. Further research was conducted using live-action footage of quadrupedal modern animals, including elephants and giraffes.[12]
The Land Before Time Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
November 21, 1988[18]
57:49 (original release)
74:00 (2020 expansion)
MCA Records (1988)
Geffen Records (2013)
Intrada Records (2020)
Release[edit]
The Land Before Time opened on November 18, 1988. Attached to the film, Universal and Amblin issued Brad Bird's Family Dog short from their television anthology Amazing Stories.[24]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
During its opening weekend, the film opened at number one in the United States and Canada, grossing $7.5 million.[25] By the end of its theatrical run, it had grossed $48.1 million at the US box office, slightly more than Don Bluth's previous film, An American Tail, but $5 million less than Oliver & Company which was released at the same time.[26] Overall, The Land Before Time grossed $84.5 million worldwide.[3]
Critical response[edit]
The Land Before Time holds 65% approval rating from review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes from 65 critics, with the consensus: "Beautifully animated and genuinely endearing, The Land Before Time is sure to please dino-obsessed tykes, even if it's a little too cutesy for older viewers".[27] Metacritic assigned a score of 66, based on reviews by 15 critics, signifying "Generally favorable reviews".[28]
Critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert gave the film "two thumbs up" on a November 19, 1988, episode of their television program At the Movies.[29] Siskel found it to be "sweet more than it was scary" and "quite beautiful", also praising its straightforward story and remarked that he would recommend it to children over Disney's Oliver and Company, released on the same day.[29] In his own review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Ebert gave the film three out of four stars; he wrote, "I guess I sort of liked the film, although I wonder why it couldn't have spent more time on natural history and the sense of discovery, and less time on tragedy".[30] Peter Travers of People magazine felt the film had an unclear audience: "The animation is fine. But the Stu Krieger screenplay contains violence that might be hard on the younger ones, [...] and a never-let-up cuteness that can turn minds of all ages to mush".[31] Los Angeles Times writer Sheila Benson also stated that the film's enjoyment was limited to younger viewers, remarking "do dinosaurs really lend themselves to ootsie-cutesiness?"[32] Hal Hinson of The Washington Post wrote "though it's not a great film, it is an entertaining and, at times, emotionally rich one".[33]
Many reviewers compared The Land Before Time to films from Disney's Golden Age. Steven Rea of the Philadelphia Inquirer said that the film "looks and sounds as if it came out of the Disney Studios of the '40s or '50s. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing", calling it "meticulously crafted" but was also "mildly disappoint[ed]" that the dialog wasn't sophisticated as the older films were.[34] In her review for the Sun-Sentinel, Candice Russel remarked, "The Land Before Time works by evoking the simple virtues of this art aimed at children, as it was in the beginning when Disney animated Mickey Mouse".[35] A review from the Motion Picture Guide 1989 Annual noted that the film "has been called a sort of prehistoric Bambi".[36] David Kehr from the Chicago Tribune felt that the film's title "also refers to the Disney past, but it goes for all the marbles. Its model is nothing less than the life-cycle saga of Bambi, and that Bluth gets even half the way there is proof of a major talent".[37] Kehr gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, calling it "as handsome and honest an animated feature as any produced since Walt Disney's death; it may even be the best".[38]
Don Bluth's membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints influenced the themes of the film. In an interview with Church News he said, "Everything I do is centered around the gospel. Even our films are, although the secular world would never realize it".[39] Randy Astle said that Littlefoot can be read as a Christ figure because of his special birth circumstances and position as a leader of his people. The journey to the Great Valley, which is to the west, mirrors that of the Mormon pioneers, who moved from fertile lands in the east to the arid and mountainous great basin. Astle concluded that "Littlefoot is both a Joseph Smith—he sees a pillar of light and receives heavenly visitors—and a Brigham Young –he leads his followers across the plains".[39]
Home media[edit]
The Land Before Time was released on VHS by MCA Home Video on September 14, 1989, and on November 22, 1991, as well as LaserDisc in regular pan and scan[42] and "Special Collector's Edition" CAV-play editions by MCA/Universal Home Video in North America, and CIC Video internationally.[43] According to the book The Animated Films of Don Bluth, the original release had "very successful business" on the home video market, and included a promotional tie-in with Pizza Hut in North America, which was offering rubber hand puppets based on the film at the time.[44] Pizza Hut also had its partnership with the film's VHS release in Australia. The VHS version was made available once more on February 20, 1996, under the Universal Family Features label,[45] and was later packaged with following three films in the series as part of the Land Before Time Collection on December 4, 2001.[46]
The film was released on DVD for the first time on April 30, 1997,[47] and re-released on December 2, 2003, as the "Anniversary Edition" for the movie's 15th anniversary, which included games and sing-along songs.[48] The Anniversary Edition was later included with An American Tail and Balto as a three-movie pack in November 2007.[49] A widescreen Blu-ray version was available for the first time on October 13, 2015, which included digital HD and UltraViolet copies,[50] which was accompanied by a new widescreen DVD release on the same day.[51] The Blu-ray was re-released on January 15, 2019.[52]