Pretty Good

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

My siblings and I loved and quoted this movie as kids, and nothing has changed with my 3 and 5 year old.

The Land Before time is a personal favorite of mine. It has such a sad story, but still manages to put that spark of hope into our hearts even when times are rough. It is that kind of children's film which excels in teaching important life lessons without stating it by hammering it in. Like friendship is a matter of letting go of your pride once in a while. You can even read a subtle message about racism into Littlefoot and Cera's fights. And that is why I love it. It is simply a piece of art with a message and a story to tell. Dark and scary at times, yes, but it is alright to be afraid and sad, it is life. Yes, there are some real sadness and unnerving moments which you definitely feel deep inside, but that makes the reward of finding The Great Valley just the more rewarding. James Horner's musical score is just amazing, so atmospheric and haunting. Waaay better than those lighthearted song and dance musical numbers of the countless sequels to this masterpiece. Okay, I know most people hate all those unnecessary sequels and they are definitely sub-par to this work of art, but I honestly don't hate them, because most of them teach life lessons, too. I honestly did want to see Littlefoot and his friends' adventures in The great Valley, but maybe a TV-series would have sufficed. Honestly, I have seen more offensive sequels than the ones of The Land Before Time.

I had very fond memories of watching "The Land Before Time" - well over 20 years ago. It was a very simple, easy to follow, and very subtly a teaching moment type of movie. Of course, being a child of around 6 years of age at its release, the teaching moment was simply "DINOSAURS! COOOOL!!"Fast forward a couple of decades. Having scrolled through a vast online movie depository - come on, does it matter which one? - the title "The Land Before Time" triggers a memory. "D-D-D-D-DAAANGEE- E-E-RRRR!" Hmm. My kids are at school - I say let's board the bus and go hit up memory lane!Two days later, after having watched it twice myself, once with my two kids - twice - I started deeply analyzing why this had struck such a chord. I could find absolutely nothing I disliked, nothing that my adult sensibilities would have outgrown. The characters were as innocent, innovative and wily as I had found them to be so long ago. The animation is lively, seamless and warm. The painted backgrounds are vivid, colorful and primal. The score serves to solidify the personalities, the predicaments and the victories of the characters that it is underpinning. The voice acting, especially the youngest of the cast, is heartfelt, brought to life by talented children who, by all accounts, loved their involvement in the production.The combination of Bluth, Goldman, Pomeroy, Spielberg, Lucas and Horner at the helm produced a beloved, classic and timeless movie that nearly 30 years of age has done absolutely nothing to tarnish. No wonder, then, that it was the highest grossing animated film of the, well, time!My children are fond this movie, sure...but I like to think that I found a conduit to my own happy childhood memories, amplified when my kids come in close and accompany me on that memory lane field trip. At this rate, they might tire of "The Land Before Time" sooner than their father. It's a chance I'm willing to take!"The Land Before Time" gets 10 of 10 stars.

I know what people are going to say: you had to see it as a kid. And that's probably right because it found it too cutesy and mellifluent. The story is simple: little dino loses mother. Gets separated from grandparents. Must get to green valley trough desolate land with some sidekicks. Gets there. The end. After The Black Cauldron (my favorite Disney film as a kid, I loved the dark undertone) the director almost p*ssed his pants coz he thought this movie was going to be to dark for kids. They even got a psychologist to approve the death scene of the mother dino (I'm not kidding, look on Wikipedia). The landscape is a bit grim but the film isn't really. The Land Before Time spawned 13 (!) sequels which were allegedly so colorful and glee it made kids puke on their TV screens. So that means this one is probably the only one worth seeing...for your kids. They'll probably weep. Good for them. Get's them to learn the true meaning of death. That's what dino films are for innit