Gillywood117
Since: Aug, 2012
01/24/2013 23:21:03
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WesternAnimation Fantastic, but Dark
Though I can't speak for the sequals, I will say the first film is absolutely amazing. The characters are great, the plot's fantastic, heck, even the MUSIC gets to be epic from time to time.
That being said, it is very dark. While Bambi tried to follow up his mother's death with a lighthearted scene, Land Before Time doesn't even try. Littlefoot becomes very realistically depressed, and trust me when I say your five year old will be able to tell.
If I had to sum up the movie in a word, I'd have to use 'memorable'. I haven't properly seen this movie in a little over a decade, but I remember it vividly. I would reccomend previewing it before letting your kids watch it.
WesternAnimation The Land Before Time (The Original)
Well, what can I say. This is Don Bluth when he and his crew were at their golden age. This was the second proof that not only was Animation still relevant, but it was very profitable and (some would argue most importantly) it didn't have to be made by Disney to be good.
I love this movie, it's one of the movies I watched as a kid that I remembered very vividly and with very fond memories. The tone (as usual with Don Bluth) is rather dark, but it's characters more than make up for it. The film has very poignant Tear Jerkers, Heartwarming Moments, and Crowning Moments of Awesome.
The Cast is awesome, Littlefoot is a kid who's pretty much lost everything that mattered to him and it shows. All he has to go on is the story his mother and grandparents told him. Cera is your typical girl who acts all tough, but they add another layer to her by showing that underneath all that jerkiness, she really does care about those close too her. It even hints at her being very insecure about how she really does get scared and how she almost leads the characters to their deaths. She probably was affected by her parents absence just as much as Littlefoot, but refuses to show it.
Ducky is extremely adorable, Judith Barsi(may she rest in peace) does a spectacular job and Ducky is the sort of character you just want to cuddle. Petrie is good as comic relief. So is the least developed character Spike. Note, not being developed much doesn't make Spike bad, it just let's him fulfill his role in the group.
The Villain, T-Rex is very threatening, I mean it freaking shows him killing Littlefoot's mother! Speaking of the nightmare fuel, several scenes in this movie are very notable as well as the abundance of Tear Jerkers. The scene in which Spike is nearly burned alive by lava and the group nearly drowns in a tar pit still gives me the chills.
But all the tears and fright that the characters and the audience have to go through to get to the end is well worth it because when they find the Great Valley it is one of the most touching sequences this troper has ever seen. The song "If We Hold On Together" perfectly compliments the film.
As for the sequels, I'll admit, they are a bit of a guilty pleasure to me as I watched them also as a kid. But I'll say right off, the original is the best. All in all, watch this one, it's a gem.