The Land Before Time (1988)
Let’s get prehistoric.
Brief Backstory
Already reeling in success from An American Tail and the Secret of NIMH, Don Bluth’s studio didn’t let up against Disney. After already bowling two strikes with those two movies mentioned, Don Bluth picked up the turkey strike with the help of the Land Before Time.
Facing off against Oliver and Company, which was released the same day, the Land Before Time gave Disney a huge disadvantage, but this advantage led to the Little Mermaid, which pretty much ended Don Bluth’s fun with giving Disney trouble. Despite the box office wars, the Land Before Time typically ranks as one of the greatest animated movies of all time when not including anything by Disney. Furthermore, both the Land Before Time and the Little Mermaid were the most popular animated movies of their time period (late 80s/early 90s) even when mentioning Beauty and the Beast and the Lion King.
Story
Littlefoot, along with a cadre of other dinosaurs, must find his way to the Great Valley while avoiding the evil Sharptooth, who was responsible for the murder of his mother.
Random Facts
Rite of Spring Fantasia references galore and holy shit are they everywhere. Let’s just start with the fact that Sharptooth is ripped straight from the T-Rex from Fantasia and then of course some of the dinosaurs themselves look like they came straight from that movie as well. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas must’ve considered Fantasia their most beloved childhood animated film (or at least one of them). The fact that the dinosaurs are on a survival job also brings a reference to the extinction scene, which many viewers have claimed as the most depressing part of Fantasia.
Critics often point similarities to Sharptooth vs. Littlefoot’s mother and the T-Rex fight from Fantasia. I’m not surprised.
Another Disney movie, Bambi, is commonly compared to this due to certain scenes.
Sharptooth might’ve been an inspiration for Rex in We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story.
Much like Lion King, this was often a first showcase of the reality of death. Don Bluth had a thing for making depressing movies as seen with An American Tail.
Ducky’s catchphrase “Yep Yep Yep” was used on Anne-Marie’s grave. She and her mother were unfortunate victims to domestic violence. Remember, if you’re being a victim to a domestic abuser, urgently seek help!!
Random Opinions
I know I’ve mentioned Fantasia quite a number of times on my blog but it’s a major influence for so many directors and animators, and that includes Steven Spielberg and Don Bluth.
Bambi comes more to my mind than Fantasia (since it’s only the Rite of Spring segment that this takes some references from and since the Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria (mostly Ave Maria) were the two segments that I remembered the most, with the latter mainly due to Very Merry Christmas Songs and Disney’s Halloween Treat from the 90s.) due to some very similar set pieces. This ranges from the birth of Littlefoot, the death of his mother, and dealing with an enormous adversary (Man in Bambi and Sharptooth in Land Before Time). Also I should mention the run time is identical despite the last few minutes being subjected to credits.
I can’t count the amount of times I’ve seen this as a kid. This and the Little Mermaid (I liked the Little Mermaid a little more) were two of the most seen animated movies when I was a toddler and that’s not even counting Lion King.
As a kid I had no idea this was something from Lucasfilm. To think the guy who made Star Wars (and nearly destroyed the series with his senile bullshit in the early 2000s had it not been for Revenge of the Sith) was also into animated features.
This film is not comedic. One huge difference between Don Bluth and post Fox and the Hound animated Disney movies is that there is way more emotion. You’re not going to find a lot of funny moments in this one; Spielberg saved that for We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story a few years later.
I’ll put it this way – you thought Bambi was depressing? You have not seen this. While An American Tail is slightly more depressing – for fucks sake there’s a choir singing at one point much like with Ave Maria, the Land Before Time’s scene where Littlefoot’s mother succumbs to her wounds from Sharptooth comes pretty damn close.
I personally find Land Before Time sadder than Bambi by a much higher degree. For one I cared more about Littlefoot’s mother whereas Bambi’s mother was not as memorable.
Pros
- While not any better than 70s Disney animation, Land Before Time still looks amazing after 35 years.
- Compared to Bambi which is often considered the father of this, better storytelling and emotions.
- Characters inspired well from Rite of Spring in Fantasia.
Cons
- As noted, you’re not going to sit well with Littlefoot’s mother being killed.
- A little too depressing, though not as bad as An American Tail.
- The sequels are not worth your time unfortunately, frustrating considering Fievel goes West was well made…
Rating: 9/10 – Amazing
Although a lot of people say An American Tail is better, that does not fly with me. Land Before Time is Don Bluth’s pinnacle animated feature, and continues the whole saying of “3rd time’s the charm” which couldn’t be truer for Disney when Fantasia came out (Though I will gladly pick Pinocchio or Dumbo over it). 1988 was the only time Don Bluth slaughtered the competition excluding the Secret of NIMH if you were to pit that against Fox and the Hound.
I’m not going to lie here – Land Before Time is one of the saddest animated movies of all time, and if you got really depressed from seeing the extinction scene from Fantasia, you might not want to see this. If you haven’t seen the Rite of Spring segment from Fantasia and have already seen Land Before Time, go take a look. You can tell where Spielberg, Bluth, and Lucas got numerous inspirations.
One response to “The Land Before Time”
-
No offense, The Land Before Time isn’t the saddest movie ever made. Wait til’ you see Requiem for a Dream. That’ll make you cry uncontrollably. From my point of view, Logan is the saddest movie ever made. When I first saw it, the audience including me were crying non-stop.
Leave a Reply