The Land Before Time
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Cat's Tuxedo
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{{otheruses4|the 1988 film|the series in general|The Land Before Time (series)}}
{{Infobox Film
| name = The Land Before Time
| image = Landtime.jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| director = [[Don Bluth]]
| producer = [[Don Bluth]]<br/>[[Gary Goldman]]<br/>[[Kathleen Kennedy (movie producer)|Kathleen Kennedy]]<br/>[[George Lucas]]<br/>[[Frank Marshall (movie producer)|Frank Marshall]]<br/>[[John Pomeroy]]<br/>[[Steven Spielberg]]
| writer = [[Judy Freudberg]] (story)<br/>[[Tony Geiss]] (story)<br/>[[Stu Krieger]] (screenplay)
| narrator = [[Pat Hingle]]
| starring = [[Gabriel Damon]]<br/>[[Candace Hutson]]<br/>[[Judith Barsi]]<br/>[[Will Ryan]]<br/>[[Pat Hingle]]<br>[[Helen Shaver]]<br/>[[Burke Byrnes]]<br/>[[Bill Erwin]]
| music = [[James Horner]]
| cinematography =
| editing = [[John K. Carr]]<br/>[[Dan Molina]]
| distributor = [[Universal Studios|Universal Pictures]]
| released = [[November 18]], [[1988]]
| runtime = 69 minutes
| country = [[United States]]
| language = [[English language|English]] <br/> [[Japanese language|Japanese]] <br/> [[German language|German]] <br/> [[Italian language|Italian]] <br/> [[French language|French]]
| budget = [[United States dollar|USD$]]12,300,000 (estimated)
| gross = [[United States dollar|USD$]]84,460,846 (worldwide)<ref>[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=landbeforetime.htm The Land Before Time (1988)] at [[Box Office Mojo]]</ref>
| preceded_by =
| followed_by = ''[[The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure]]'' (1994)
| website =
| amg_id = 1:28159
| imdb_id = 0095489
}}
{{Infobox movie certificates
|Australia = G
|Brazil = Livre
|Canada (British Columbia) = G
|Canada (Alberta) = G
|Canada (Manitoba) = G
|Canada (Ontario) = PG
|Canada (Maritime) = G
|Canada (Quebec) = G
|Canada (Home Video) = G
|Colombia_Denmark = A
|Denmark = A
|Finland = K-3
|France = U
|Germany = o.Al.
|Holland_Norway = 7
|Hong_Kong = I
|Iceland = L
|Ireland = G
|Italy = T
|Japan = U
|Finland = K-3
|Malaysia = U
|Mexico = A
|Netherlands = AL
|New_Zealand = G
|Singapore = G
|Spain = T
|Sweden = Btl
|Taiwan = GP
|United_Kingdom = U
|United_States = G
|West_Germany = 6
}}
'''''The Land Before Time''''' is an [[animated film]], produced by [[Steven Spielberg]]'s [[Amblin Entertainment]] and directed by [[Don Bluth]]. It was originally released in movie theaters in [[1988]] by [[Universal Studios|Universal Pictures]]. It features anthropomorphic dinosaurs living in a somewhat fantasy-based version of prehistoric earth.
The film's plot concerns a young ''[[Apatosaurus]]'' named [[Littlefoot]] who becomes orphaned after the death of his mother, caused from injuries suffered while battling a malevolent ''[[Tyrannosaurus]]'' ("Sharptooth") and the effects of an [[earthquake]]. Littlefoot flees famine and upheaval to search for the "Great Valley", an area which has been spared devastation. During his journey, he encounters four young companions: [[Cera (The Land Before Time)|Cera]], a ''[[Triceratops]]''; [[Ducky (The Land Before Time)|Ducky]], a ''[[Parasaurolophus]]'' <!--Despite the popular OPINION amongst fans that Ducky is a [[Saurolophus]], she is explicitly and consistently identified on the official website and in the DVD extra features as a Parasaurolophus. The Land Before Time article is not the place to play Jr. Professor; take your SPECULATION elsewhere. -->; [[Petrie (The Land Before Time)|Petrie]], a ''[[Pteranodon]]''; and [[Spike (The Land Before Time)|Spike]], a ''[[Stegosaurus]]''.<ref>[http://www.landbeforetime.com/main.html The Land Before Time DVD<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> 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.
The film was a critical and financial success and spawned numerous sequels, merchandise, and a TV series.
==Plot synopsis==
The opening narrator explains that there is a [[drought]], and the dinosaurs are heading west for the Great Valley. During a storm, Littlefoot (an ''[[Apatosaurus]]'') is born from a last lonely egg. He is protected by his mother, grandmother, and grandfather, which is all that remains of his herd. When Littlefoot is older, his mother explains that the land is changing, and that they must reach the Great Valley. Later, Littlefoot encounters Cera (a ''[[Triceratops]]'') and tries to befriend her, but Cera's father interrupts, saying that "Threehorns never play with Long Necks." Littlefoot's mother explains that every species keeps to itself, and reassures Littlefoot that there will be other Longnecks in the Great Valley for him to play with. That night, Littlefoot and Cera are attacked by Sharptooth (a ''[[Tyrannosaurus|Tyrannosaurus rex]]''). Sharptooth leaps up after them, but Littlefoot's mother arrives and engages the carnivore. Sharptooth and Littlefoot's Mother trade blows as an earthquake erupts around them, and she is seriously injured when Sharptooth leaps on her back and rips out a tract of flesh with his jaws and cuts her neck. However, she manages to rescue Littlefoot and Cera, casting the meat eater into a deep ravine opened up by the earthquake. After the earthquake, many herds and families are separated. Littlefoot searches for his mother and finds her lying on her side, suffering from her injury, too weak to get up despite his urgings. Before she passes away, she asks Littlefoot if he remembers the way to the Great Valley, and reassures him that she'll always be with him, even if he can't see her.
The next day, Littlefoot, sad, angry, and confused, slides down a ravine and falls on an armored dinosaur named Rooter, who explains that Littlefoot's mother's death was nobody's fault, that that she'll always be with him and that he and his mother are always a part of each other. Guided by the voice of his mother, Littlefoot leaves for the Great Valley. When Cera refuses to join him, Littlefoot is greeted by Ducky (a baby ''[[Parasaurolophus]]'',<!--Despite the popular opinion amongst fans that Ducky is a [[Saurolophus]], she is explicitly and consistently identified on the official website and in the DVD extra features as a Parasaurolophus. The Land Before Time article is not the place to play Jr. Professor; take your speculation elsewhere. --> also separated from her family) at a lake. The two journey together. When Littlefoot tries to eat a raw tree, they encounter Petrie, a baby ''[[Pteranodon]]'' who cannot fly. Meanwhile, Cera encounters a [[comatose]] Sharptooth. Believing him to be dead, she charges at him mischievously, accidentally awakening him. As she flees, she meets up with the others, and tries to warn them about Sharptooth. Littlefoot refuses to believe her. Cera, while describing her encounter (embellishing the story to make herself appear less cowardly), accidentally flings Ducky into a patch of grass, where she meets a hungry ''[[Stegosaurus]]'' hatchling whom she names Spike.
The group eventually finds a river leading to a small forest. Unfortunately, Cera proclaims loudly that she found it, leading to a pack of dinosaurs charging down, devouring most of the leaves. The group nearly loses hope in finding food but decide to go and see if there's anything left. True, one of the trees has a nice growth of leaves, but too tall for anyone to climb, even with Littlefoot's asking Petrie to go and get them. As a result, Spike, Littlefoot, Ducky and Petrie carefully stand on each other as Petrie starts tearing off leaves to the ground. Once everyone's got enough, Ducky lets go, dropping Petrie. However, he still fails to fly. Cera refuses to join in on their meal, stating that she can get her own food, despite the tree not dropping any when she charges it. To make her happy, Littlefoot throws a bushel at her just as she hits the tree again. Confident, Cera says she can do everything herself, and taunts the group about Sharptooth and that "I hope he doesn't eat any of you.", but Littlefoot, again, calms the rest down. Littlefoot settles down by himself, but soon Ducky, Petrie, Spike and Cera huddle with him for warmth. The next morning, Sharptooth returns and attacks the group. They escape through a mountain cave, and emerge next to a rock shaped like a longneck, jusst like Littlefoot's mother once said. Littlefoot believes they are going the right way. Soon, ash falls from the sky, and they come to a volcanic wasteland. Exhausted, Cera opts for an easier path. She and Littlefoot fight after she insults his mother and his species. Littlefoot leaves the group, but he goes back to save Spike and Ducky from a lava river and Petrie from a [[tar pit]].
Meanwhile, Cera is being terrorized by a group of aggressive ''[[Pachycephalosaurus]]''. Littlefoot and the others, disguised as a giant, tar-covered monster in form of a demonic-elephant, scare them off and then scare Cera. Cera, ashamed and humiliated (upon learning she is a coward) about leading her friends into danger and discovering Littlefoot was right, tearfully leaves them behind. Later on, as Littlefoot, Spike, Ducky, and Petrie are frolicking in a pond, they spot Sharptooth in the distance. In order to stop him once and for all, Littlefoot formulates a plan to lure him into the deep end of the pond and drown him by dropping a large rock on the edge of a nearby cliff onto his head. Littlefoot also does it to avenge his mother's death. Ducky succeeds in luring Sharptooth into the water, Petrie signals when to push but Littlefoot and Spike are not strong enough to move the rock (having only moved it a few inches slowly). Petrie suddenly learns to fly, rescues Ducky, and attempts to distract Sharptooth. But Sharptooth notices the trap and leaps on top of the rock. Balanced precariously on the edge, he snaps at them. In the nick of time, Cera arrives and crashes into the rock, knocking it off balance just enough to send it and Sharptooth over the cliff and into the pond. Sharptooth attempts to drag Petrie down with him, and his friends believe him to have been perished. However, he escapes by a narrow [[margin]], to the joy of the others, especially Ducky.
After the battle, Littlefoot is on the ledge of a mountain, lamenting at his inability to find the valley, when his mother's soul appears in the form of a sauropod shaped cloud. She starts to leave. He yells for her not to go, but as she dissipates she leads him through a cave and onto a cliff, where her soul shines a light that reveals the Great Valley. Littlefoot returns for the others, and they rejoin their relatives and live in peace for generations. Ducky finds her siblings and mother, Spike meets his new "family", Cera finds her father, Petrie finds his mother and siblings and Littlefoot finds his grandparents. The film ends with the five friends embracing.
==Cast==
{| class="wikitable"
!Character
!English voice actor
!Japanese seiyū
|-
![[Littlefoot]]
|[[Gabriel Damon]]
|[[Minami Takayama]]
|-
![[Cera (The Land Before Time)|Cera]]
|[[Candace Hutson]]
|[[Maaya Sakamoto]]
|-
![[Ducky (The Land Before Time)|Ducky]]
|[[Judith Barsi]]
|[[Satomi Kōrogi]]
|-
![[Petrie (The Land Before Time)|Petrie]]
|[[Will Ryan]]
|[[Yūji Mitsuya]]
|-
!Narrator/[[List of The Land Before Time characters#Rooter|Rooter]]
|[[Pat Hingle]]
|
|-
![[List of families in The Land Before Time#Littlefoot's Mother|Littlefoot's Mother]]
|[[Helen Shaver]]
|
|-
![[List of families in The Land Before Time#Topsy|Daddy Topps]]
|[[Burke Byrnes]]
|[[Katsuhisa Hōki]]
|-
![[List of families in The Land Before Time#Grandpa and Grandma Longneck|Grandfather]]
|[[Bill Erwin]]
|[[Minoru Uchida]]
|}
==Development==
Like [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]]'s ''[[The Black Cauldron]]'', which was made three years earlier, and [[Warner Bros.]]/[[American Zoetrope|Zoetrope]]'s ''[[The Outsiders (film)|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|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.<ref name="AFDB"/>
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.<ref name="AFDB"/>
Some scenes with the characters in the movie screaming were revoiced with them having milder exclamations.<ref name="AFDB"/>
===Production notes===
*[[Steven Spielberg]] and [[George Lucas]] originally wanted the film to have no dialogue, like ''[[Fantasia (film)#The Rite of Spring|The Rite of Spring]]'' sequence in ''[[Fantasia (film)|Fantasia]]'', but the idea was abandoned in favor of using voice actors in order to appeal to children.<ref name="AFDB">[http://www.cataroo.com/DBland.html ''The Animated Films of Don Bluth''] by Jon Cawley</ref>
*It was George Lucas's idea to make Cera a female [[Triceratops]].<ref name="AFDB" />
*[[Judith Barsi]] said, before her death preceeding the releases of ''Land'' 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 [[epitaph]]s.
*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]].
==Reception==
The film was a box office success, grossing $48 million, as well as beating the [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] film ''[[Oliver & Company]]'' for the Number 1 spot during its opening weekend. It has since brought in a box office total of nearly $50 million during its domestic release, more than Don Bluth's previous film, ''[[An American Tail]]''. The movie became a hit worldwide, grossing nearly $84 million worldwide, which ''[[Oliver & Company]]'' did not surpass.It is currently rated "B" at [[Box Office Mojo]].
==Legacy==
{{main|The Land Before Time (series)}}
The movie generated many [[direct-to-video]] [[sequel]]s. 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 recent television series has been released in North America which 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).They are created by the [[World Almanac]].
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
*[http://www.landbeforetime.com/ The Official ''Land Before Time'' Site]
*{{imdb title|id=0095489|title=The Land Before Time}}
*[http://www.cataroo.com/DBland.html Detailed Info on The Land Before Time] (including plot detail)
*[http://landbeforetime.wikia.com/wiki/The_Land_Before_Time ''The Land Before Time''] at Land Before Time Wiki.
*[http://www.retrojunk.com/details_movies/1368---the-land-before-time/ ''The Land Before Time'' at RetroJunk.com]
*[http://www.kookys.co.uk Official Merchandise at Kookys.co.uk]
{{The Land Before Time}}
{{Don Bluth}}
{{George Lucas}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Land Before Time, The}}
[[Category:The Land Before Time| ]]
[[Category:1988 films]]
[[Category:Dinosaur films]]
[[Category:Amblin Entertainment films]]
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:American animated films]]
[[Category:Animated films]]
[[Category:Animated film series]]
[[Category:Children's films]]
[[Category:Coming-of-age films]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs in fiction]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:Fantasy films]]
[[Category:Films featuring anthropomorphic characters]]
[[Category:Films directed by Don Bluth]]
[[Category:Films produced by Steven Spielberg]]
[[Category:Lucasfilm films]]
[[Category:Universal Pictures films]]
[[da:Landet for længe siden]]
[[de:In einem Land vor unserer Zeit]]
[[fr:Le Petit Dinosaure et la Vallée des merveilles]]
[[it:Alla ricerca della Valle Incantata]]
[[no:Lillefot og vennene hans]]
[[pt:The Land Before Time]]
[[ru:Земля до начала времени (мультфильм)]]
[[fi:Maa aikojen alussa]]
[[sv:Landet för längesedan]]