‘The Land Before Time’ doesn’t shy from grief
Trending
I'm back again and with another sad children's movie. Don't ask me why this is the niche I've landed in, just know I'm running out of ones that bring back a certain level of nostalgia for me.
"The Land Before Time" is one of my favorite movies from my childhood. The film, directed by Don Bluth and produced by powerhouse duo George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, was released in 1988.
Thousands of years ago, during the age of dinosaurs, plant eaters are forced to travel west due to a famine. The herds, that include big mouths (Saurolophus), flyers (Pteranodon), long necks (Apatosaurus) and three horns (Triceratops) are making this long and dangerous trek in the hopes of finding the Great Valley -- an oasis with an endless supply of food and water.
Along the way the herds stop to give birth. Among the young is Littlefoot (Gabriel Damon) the last hope for his diminished herd of long necks, made up of just his mother and grandparents.
One day, while searching for food to eat, Littlefoot meets Cera (Candace Hutson), a hot headed three horn. While attempting to play with each other, Cera's father cuts in, telling his daughter that "three horns don't play with long necks."
That night, Littlefoot is woken up by a hopper. He chases the frog into a bog where he runs into Cera. The two are laughing and playing until a "sharptooth" (Tyrannosaurus) finds them.
The young dinosaurs run for their lives when Littlefoot's mom intervenes. And because a dinosaur attack just isn't enough, a major earth quake takes place. The sharptooth is thrown down into deep caverns created when the earth split near the group, one side rising higher than the other with Cera and Littlefoot's herds on the other side.
Cera wanders off to try and get to her family while Littlefoot searches for his injured mother. I want to point out that I've seen some sad movie scenes. From Mufasa's death in "The Lion King" to the opening sequence to Pixar's "Up," children's movies really enjoy sad scenes.
None of those will ever compare in my opinion to Littlefoot finding his injured and dying mother. His confusion when she asked him if he knows how to get to the great valley and her eventually lying her head down one last time after saying "I'll always be with you. Even if you can't see me."
And if that isn't enough. His conversation with Rooter, a gruff older dinosaur, is enough to push me over the edge.
"You'll always miss her. But she'll always be with you as long as you remember the things she taught you. In a way, you'll never be apart. For you are still a part of each other," he tells a confused and sad Littlefoot.
Following his talk with Rooter, Littlefoot eventually decides to try and make his way to the Great Valley. Along the way he's joined by big mouth Ducky (Judith Barsi), flyer Petrie (Will Ryan), a spike tail rightly named Spike and a disgruntled Cera. During their travels they must dodge dangerous animals, including the sharptooth that killed Littlefoot's mother. Side note: My sister is deeply annoyed with the logistics behind the sharptooth still being alive which I have to agree with.
To me, "The Land Before Time" is one of those films that showcases found family and going against the norm. Littlefoot and his friends, all from different herds, form a strong bond during their travels. (Although they bicker along the way too.)
And it of course highlights grief and how to cope with the loss of a loved one, as I mentioned earlier with those quotes from Littlefoot's mom and Rooter.
Don Bluth was a master at weaving more real life, and pretty sad, premises into his children's films. As a kid, I never thought twice about it, but as an adult the lessons that were taught really resonate with me more. It's something I deeply appreciate about his films, although they make me want to cry sometimes.
"The Land Before Time" was be a smash hit, followed by 13 direct-to-video sequels (Bluth, Speilberg and Lucas had nothing to with these though) with the most recent released in 2016.
When the original was released in 1988, it rocketed to number one in the United States and Canada, earning $7.5 million dollars opening weekend. It would go on to gross $84.5 million worldwide.
I would absolutely recommend this film to anyone who would be willing to watch it. Obviously prepare to be sad, there is no avoiding that, but the storyline, animation and characters are really wonderful.
"The Land Before Time" is rated G and can be viewed on Netflix.
-- -- -- --
Laura Jameson is a staff reporter for The Express.