Don
Bluth. The name alone brings to mind many an animated classic,
especially in the 80s, when he made some of his most memorable works of
art. Of course, when thinking of his work, both All Dogs Go to
Heaven and An American Tale spring immediately to mind.
Both are timeless classics of course and worthy of their positions in
cinematic history. However, for me, it's different. For me, there is
only one Bluth movie that I will always love the most. One that will
always have a special place in my heart, mainly as it was the first of
his movies I owned as a child. That movie is his 1988 heart-warming
thing of beauty and heart, The Land Before Time.
This movie, much like Don Bluth's other tales, is one of heart, hardship,
togetherness, and in this case, overcoming differences and cultural
xenophobia to work together. Indeed, in this story, we follow Littlefoot
The Longneck (apatosaurus, played by Gabriel Damon), a young dinosaur
who gets separated from his herd whilst travelling to a place known as
The Great Valley, a land replete with green food (leaves) for the
dinosaurs to live on indefinitely. Along the way, he comes in contact
with other young dinos of different species, Cera The Threehorn
(triceratops, played by Candace Hutson), Ducky The Beakmouth (saurolophus,
played by the late Judith Barsi), Petrie The Flyer (pteranodon, played
by Will Ryan), and the recently-hatched Spike The Spiketail
(stegosaurus), all of whom are also searching for the valley in
question. As they journey together, they face many hardships in the form
of lack of food, a struggle for power amongst the group, speciesism (the
dinosaurs in this movie discourage interacting with other dinosaurs
outside their species), and the dreaded Sharptooth (Tyrannosaurus,
played by Frank Welker).
This is a true Don Bluth film. Everything you expect in a Don Bluth film,
you will find here. It's got characters both likeable and unlikeable,
suspenseful action scenes, enjoyable happy scenes, tear-jerking sad
scenes, heart-warming scenes of togetherness, and of course Don Bluth's
signature animation style, which I can rightfully assume you will
recognize straight away. I just wish this was as recognizable as two
certain other Bluth films.
But that aside, The Land Before Time remains a Don Bluth classic
that's not to be missed. An American Tale and All Dogs Go to
Heaven may be the most recognizable Don Bluth films, but that
doesn't mean this one deserve its own props. There were many more Land
Before Time films that followed, but I think we can all agree they do
not and won’t ever compare to the original. The original is a classic, a
work of art, a thing of beauty that anybody will enjoy. I certainly
enjoyed this when I was young. Heck, I even own it on VHS, in its
original packaging, which, in my opinion, is the ONLY way to see this
movie. However, if you feel otherwise, it's also on DVD. So if you
haven't seen it... what're you waiting for? You got a Don Bluth film to
go and watch.
Don
Bluth. The name alone brings to mind many an animated classic,
especially in the 80s, when he made some of his most memorable works of
art. Of course, when thinking of his work, both All Dogs Go to
Heaven and An American Tale spring immediately to mind.
Both are timeless classics of course and worthy of their positions in
cinematic history. However, for me, it's different. For me, there is
only one Bluth movie that I will always love the most. One that will
always have a special place in my heart, mainly as it was the first of
his movies I owned as a child. That movie is his 1988 heart-warming
thing of beauty and heart, The Land Before Time.
