The Land Before Time 1 Showcase - March 2022

[rhombus]

Now that we have finally ran out of major characters to showcase, it is only proper that we begin a new showcase with the film that started it all!



In this topic please feel free to discuss your thoughts on the first film.  I will go ahead and present a few questions to get things started:

1) Was the first film what introduced you to the series?  If so, when did you watch the first film?

2) Which scenes really stood out to you when you first watched the film?  Upon later viewings did any other scenes rise in prominence?

3) There are certain details in the first film (Petrie moving in a more quadruped way in certain scenes; Spike not speaking because he just hatched as opposed to other reasons; a darker theme in the original film; etc.) that seem to have been lost in the sequels. Which of these (including others I may have left out) do you wish would have been retained in the sequels, if any?

[chomper94]

• This was the first film that introduced me to the series.  I first watched it back in January of 2019 when HBO had the first 10 films on their movie lineup.
• My favorite scene in the film had to be when the gang cuddles up with each other for the night (even Cera), and really shows how it doesn’t matter if you’re different than someone, your still friends no matter what.
• The thing I wish could have been retained in the sequels would be a darker theme, just imagine if Don Bluth made the sequel himself, then we would’ve continued with a darker tone of the franchise.  But to be honest, I’m sorta fine with Universal changing the tone of the films by the time they started making the sequels because I’m used to it at this point.

[Sneak]

Oh, holy original movie...
The best one so far, and I doubt we will see something that surpasses it.
I already have spoken a lot of words about this movie many times before, and almost all of them were 100% positive ones.

1) It was the first LBT film I ever watched. I watched it on one of local TV channel in early age.

2) For my child mind, all intense scenes affected me very much. Every appearance of Sharptooth (thanks to him I had some nightmares), earthquake and volcano scenes were very impressive.
One particular scene I felt differently about in next rewatches of the movie was scene of Littlefoot's mother death, because, as I remember, during the first time, this scene didn't affect me so much, at that early age, concept of real death was not learned by me yet.
During the peaceful scenes, I simply enjoyed adventures of main chaarcters, I liked and still like dinosaurs very much.

3) Darker and more serious atmosphere of original is the main thing I wished they kept in sequels, at least in some aspects. :[
Sharpteeth being dangerous, not stupid pushovers, is the second thing I wish to see in sequels. XD
Spike's silence is something I'm completely against in sequel, I wish he talked normally, since he grew up from his newborn age long time ago already. Or, if they keep him silent anyway, I wish they developed his character more, so I could consider him as actual character. :/

[Enchanted-Valley96]

Every time I see the scene of Littlefoot's Mum die. It makes me very sad.

[somerandomfangirl]

1) Was the first film what introduced you to the series?  If so, when did you watch the first film?

Actually, no. I'm pretty sure I watched a few of the sequels before the first film. I started watching LBT when I was really young, but I remember watching at least the second, fourth and sixth film before the first.

2) Which scenes really stood out to you when you first watched the film?  Upon later viewings did any other scenes rise in prominence?

The whole sequence of sharptooth and the earthquake, and the following death of Littlefoot's mother. Another thing that stood out to me was that we were shown Littlefoot's depression following his loss, rather than jumping straight into a cheering-up moment.

3) There are certain details in the first film (Petrie moving in a more quadruped way in certain scenes; Spike not speaking because he just hatched as opposed to other reasons; a darker theme in the original film; etc.) that seem to have been lost in the sequels. Which of these (including others I may have left out) do you wish would have been retained in the sequels, if any?

Oh definitely the darker theme. I think the earlier sequels had a good balance between making it more for the younger audience while keeping some darker themes of the world, but the latter seemed to vanish as time went on. Having sharpteeth that are actually a threat to the gang would be good too. 

[Compsognathus]

It is a good movie, but I was used to sequels, and this was probably fifth movie, that I watched, so it is not one of my top movies. Littlefooot moms death scene was very sad indeed, and when Petrie was presumed dead, that was sad too.
I find the atmosphere of the movie darker, than sequels, but I like it still, and I agree, that darkness of earlier sequels (for me between  II and VI) was more enjoyable.

And what I did not like, was even more prejudiced Topsy, and how he raised Cera to be prejudiced too.

[Mouse-a-saur]

1. I can't remember how old I was but somewhere between 5-10 was when I first saw it. VHS trailers for Longneck Migration stick out in my mind as my clearest memories of LBT back then, funnily enough. 

2. I mean, it's gotta be Littlefoot's mom for sure and the ending. In later viewings, what sticks out to me is just how *long* Littlefoot is in that weakened emotional state. They don't just cut to him feeling better; he carries that weight and pain in full force where everyone can hear it. Him thinking he sees his Ma's shadow absolutely kills me  It's impossible not to feel that depth of loss.

3. I would like to see Petrie's quadrupedal mannerisms return. Something that was also somewhat lost is the scale; the dinosaurs feel so big and weighty because of how they're animated, but also because of the sound design (the big thuds & the 'slappier' thunks the gang make when they walk).

[The jewelstone queen]

Think I recoll doing a review for this one, maybe it got lost or something? Or maybe I'm not paying attention all that much.

Anyway, this movie was infact the film that started it all. And OH MAN what a watch! The traditional animation is inspiring, the coloring and imagery is beautiful, and the story made us all cry and laugh!

This wasn't the first lbt film I've watch, it was actually the second one with the hatching of Chomper. I won't get into that right now since it's not its time.

I just want to point out that this movie was definetly the most creative and better constructed movie than the others, sure new animation techniques made the sequals look more polished and modern, but this film was more unique and had some intense scenes. If I remember, wasn't the first movie rated pg unlike the other sequals with G ratings?  Anyway, this is the film that everyone thinks of when they hear 'the land before time' and honestly I can understand why! Good job film!