The Land Before Time

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The Land Before Time movie
The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time
Directed by:	Don Bluth
Produced by	Don Bluth Gary Goldman Kathleen Kennedy George Lucas Frank Marshall John Pomeroy Steven Spielberg
Written by	Judy Freudberg (story) Tony Geiss (story) Stu Krieger (screenplay) John K. Carr (editing) Dan Molina (editing)
Starring	Pat Hingle (Narrator) Gabriel Damon Candace Hutson Judith Barsi Will Ryan Pat Hingle Helen Shaver Burke Byrnes Bill Erwin
Music by	James Horner
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	November 18, 1988 (United States of America) March 18, 1989 (Japan) June 22, 1989 (West Germany) September 7, 1989 (Australia) December 8, 1999 (Finland) December 15, 1989 (Sweden) December 24, 1989 (Italy) April 17, 2002 (re-release; France) Unknown (Main Germany) Unknown (Hong Kong)
Running Time	69 minutes
Language(s)	English (original) Japanese German Finnish Swedish Italian French Chinese
Preceded by	None
Followed by	The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure (1994)

The Land Before Time is an animated film, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, and directed by Don Bluth. It was originally released in movie theaters in 1988 by Universal Pictures. It features anthropomorphic dinosaurs living in a somewhat fantasy-based version of prehistoric earth.

The film's plot concerns a young Apatosaurus named Littlefoot who becomes orphaned after the death of his mother, caused from injuries suffered while battling an antagonistic Tyrannosaurus ("Sharptooth") and the effects of an earthquake. Littlefoot flees famine and upheaval to search for the "Great Valley", an area which has been spared devastation. During his journey, he encounters four young companions: Cera, a Triceratops; Ducky, a Parasaurolophus; Petrie, a Pteranodon; and Spike, a Stegosaurus.^[1] The film explores issues of prejudice between the different species and the hardships they endure in their journey as they are guided by the spirit of Littlefoot's mother.

The film was a critical and financial success and spawned numerous sequels, merchandise, and a TV series.

Contents 1 Voice Actors 1.1 English Voice Cast 1.2 Japanese Voice Cast 1.3 Swedish Voice Cast 2 Plot 3 Production 3.1 Developing the characters 3.2 Editing of the film 4 Reception 4.1 Box office 4.2 Analysis 4.3 Awards/Nominations 5 Music 5.1 Songs 5.2 Soundtrack 6 Cultural Influence 6.1 Merchandise 6.1.1 Home Video Release History 6.2 Sequels and spinoffs 6.3 TV Airings 6.3.1 United States 6.4 References in media 7 Trivia 7.1 Inaccuracies 8 Character Debuts 9 Memorable Quotes 9.1 Littlefoot 9.2 Cera 9.3 Ducky 9.4 Petrie 9.5 Littlefoot's Mother 9.6 Topsy (only known as "Daddy Topps" in this film) 9.7 Rooter 9.8 Narrator 10 Gallery 11 References 12 External Links

Voice Actors

English Voice Cast

• Gabriel Damon as Littlefoot
• Candace Hutson as Cera
• Judith Barsi as Ducky
• Will Ryan as Petrie
• Pat Hingle as the Narrator/Rooter
• Helen Shaver as Littlefoot's Mother
• Burke Byrnes as Topsy
• Bill Erwin as Grandpa Longneck
• Frank Welker (uncredited) as Sharptooth/Domeheads

Japanese Voice Cast

• Minami Takayama: Littlefoot
• Maaya Sakamoto: Cera
• Satomi Kōrogi: Ducky
• Yūji Mitsuya: Petrie
• George Nakata: Topsy

NOTE: The Japanese voice actors are appearing so far.

Swedish Voice Cast

• Samuel Elers-Svensson - Littlefoot
• Hanna Alström - Cera
• Cecilia Schiöld - Ducky
• Sven-Erik Vikström - Petrie
• Olof Thunberg - Narrator
• Sture Hovstadius - Rooter
• Gunnel Fred - Littlefoot's Mother
• Stephan Karlsén - Topsy
• Bill Erwin - Littlefoot's Grandfather

Plot

As the film opens, the narrator (Pat Hingle) explains that there is a drought occurring, and to escape it the dinosaurs are migrating in search of the "Great Valley", a lush, Utopian paradise. A "Longneck" (Apatosaurus) herd gives birth to a single baby, named Littlefoot (Gabriel Damon). As he grows older, his mother (Helen Shaver) tells him of the Great Valley, and informs him of the prejudiced behaviour between the different species when he tries to play with a "Threehorn" (Triceratops) girl named Cera (Candace Hutson), but her father (Burke Byrnes) stops him. That night, Cera and Littlefoot meet again, and play for a moment, until a "Sharptooth" (Tyrannosaurus) attacks. Littlefoot's mother intervenes, battling with the Sharptooth and suffering severe injuries, but managing to defeat him in the end. At the same time, an "earthshake" (earthquake) occurs, opening a deep ravine in the ground, which swallows up the Sharptooth and a grea deal of other dinosaurs, and separates many herds, including Littlefoot's and Cera's. Littlefoot finds his mother when the earthquake ends, but she is mortally wounded, and dies shortly after reminding her son of how to reach the Great Valley.

Now feeling depressed and confused, Littlefoot by chance slides down a ravine, where he meets an old armoured dinosaur named Rooter (Pat Hingle), who consoles him upon learning of his mother's death. After mourning for some time, Littlefoot begins to search for the Great Valley, and tries to get Cera to join him, but she refuses. He later meets a cheerful baby "Bigmouth" (Parasaurolophus) named Ducky (Judith Barsi), who asks to join him. As they travel, and try to find food along the way, they encounter an aerophobic baby "Flyer" (Pteranodon) named Petrie (Will Ryan), who joins them on their quest. Meanwhile, Cera encounters a comatose Sharptooth, whom she believes to be dead, and charges at mischievously, though this accidentally awakens him. As she flees, she meets up with the others and tries to warn them about the Sharptooth; Littlefoot does not believe her, as he is convinced that Sharptooth is dead. As Cera describes the encounter (fabricating it so she seems braver) she accidentally flings Ducky into a patch of grass, nesting a hatching egg containing a baby "Spiketail" (Stegosaurus) whom Ducky names Spike, and brings into their band.

Seeking the Great Valley, they find a river leading to a cluster of trees, which is abruptly depleted by a herd of starving sauropods. Searching for remaining growth, they discover a single leaf-bearing tree, and obtain food by piling up ontop of each other and pulling it down. Cera remains aloof and arrogant, boasting that she is independant, but at nightfall, she, along with the others, gravitates to Littlefoot's sleeping nest for warmth and companionship. The Sharptooth attacks them in the morning, but they escape through a cave-tunnel too small to admit him, and discover a Longneck-shaped monolith mentioned by Littlefoot's mother. As they pass other landmarks she mentioned, such as a string of volcanoes, Cera grows impatient and quarrels with Littlefoot, causing a schism in the little herd. Littlefoot continues in the direction he was told, while the others try to find another route. As Ducky, Spike and Petrie fall into danger involving a lava barrier and a tar pit, Littlefoot comes and rescues them. They then save Cera from an aggressive herd of Pachycephalosaurus, in the guise of a giant tar-monster, but laugh at her for being frightened of their ruse. Angry and humiliated, Cera leaves them, crying on her way out.

The next day, the others are frolicking in a pond, when Sharptooth appears nearby. Determined to defeat him at last, Littlefoot formulates a plan to lure him to the deep end of the pond, drop a large rock from the edge of a nearby cliff onto his head, and thus drown him. As Ducky lures him to the water, Littlefoot and Spike have trouble moving the rock. During the proceeding struggle, a hot draft from Sharptooth's nostrils enables Petrie to master his powers of flight. At that moment, Cera shows up and helps the plan to be completed; defeating Sharptooth for good. Littlefoot then follows his mother's spirit (in cloud form) to the Great Valley, where the children's surviving relatives are already settled. Petrie and Ducky rejoin their families, and Ducky's family adopts Spike. Cera reunites with her father, and Littlefoot joins his grandparents. The film concludes with an indication of the protagonists' companionship.

Production

The animation production for The Land Before Time took place at Sullivan Bluth Studios in Dublin, Ireland. The film had originally been planned for release in fall of 1987, but the production and the release date were delayed by a year due to the studio's relocation to Dublin.

An early working title for the film was “The Land Before Time Began”.^[2]

Developing the characters

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas originally wanted the film to have no dialogue, like The Rite of Spring sequence in Fantasia, but the idea was abandoned in favor of using voice actors in order to appeal to children.^[3]

Littlefoot was originally going to be called "Thunderfoot", until it was found out that there was a Triceratops in a children's book who already had that name.^[4] It was George Lucas's idea to make Cera a female Triceratops,^[5] when she was in mid-animation as a male named Bambo.^[4][3] Steven Spielburg's son, Max, suggested the voice of Digit, from An American Tail, for the character Petrie, which resulted in Will Ryan, who had voiced Digit, performing the voice of Petrie.^[3] The character of Spike was inspired by director Don Bluth's pet chowhound, Cubby.^[4]

Editing of the film

"It's too scary. We'll have kids crying in the lobby, and a lot of angry parents. You don't want that."

— Steven Spielberg, on the scenes from The Land Before Time which hit the cutting room floor.[4]

Like Disney's The Black Cauldron and The Jungle Book, which were made years earlier, and Warner Bros./Zoetrope's The Outsiders, which was made five years earlier, The Land Before Time went under a severe cutting and editing of footage. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas thought that some scenes in the movie would appear too frightening or could even cause psychological damage to young children. Around 10 minutes of footage, a total of 19 fully animated scenes, were cut from the final film. A lot of the cut footage consisted of the Tyrannosaurus rex attack sequence and sequences of the five young dinosaurs in severe situations of peril and negative stress. Don Bluth was unhappy with the cuts, and fought for all the footage, but in the end he had to settle on a final running time of 69 minutes, one of Don Bluth’s shortest; in fact one of the shortest feature films ever produced (depending on how "feature film" is defined).^[3] As of today, the original cut of the film with the removed scenes has not been released on video or DVD.

Another part of the movie that was going to be eliminated was the death of Littlefoot’s mother. However, it was thought that if the scene were removed it would simply produce problems in explaining why Littlefoot had to journey to the Great Valley alone. In the end, psychologists were shown the scene and gave feedback to the production team. The character of Rooter was brought in to the story to soften the emotional blow, and teach Littlefoot and the audience that although loved ones may die, they are always with us in the lessons we have learned from them.^[3] Shortly after the information was released, a rumor was spread that all five of the young dinosaurs died, with the Great Valley as an interpretation of heaven, as one of the deleted scenes. However, this has been denied by Don Bluth, who said the ending used was always the intended one.

Some scenes with the characters in the movie screaming were revoiced with them having milder exclamations.^[3]

Reception

Box office

The film was a box office success, grossing $48 million, as well as beating the Disney film Oliver & Company for the Number 1 spot during its opening weekend. It has since brought in a box office total of nearly $50 million during its domestic release, more than Don Bluth's previous film, An American Tail. The movie became a hit worldwide, grossing nearly $84 million worldwide,^[6] which Oliver & Company did not surpass.

Analysis

The Land Before Time received a 77% at Rotten Tomatoes.com.^[7] Geoff Andrew, on Timeout.com gave it a six out of ten rating, and said that Don Bluth could have made a better film than TLBT. Andrew complained that it wasn't educational enough for kids, what with the dinosaurs not being referred to with their scientific names.^[8] Janet Maslin of the New York Times said that Don Bluth had a fondness for making his characters overly-cute, but that it worked to the benefit in this movie.^[9] Wendy Miller of the Mohave Daily Miner thought that the characters were loveable, but not excessively syrupy. She described their personalities as being reminiscent of Kermit the Frog, The Cowardly Lion, and Lucy Van Pelt. She also said that their voice actors helped make the characters enjoyable, rather that "trite". She finished her review with "Betweeen the earthquake and Littlefoot's Mother dying, The Land Before Time gets off to a turbulent beginning. Afterward, however, it settles into a comfortable journey by endearing characters. It's a wonderful film for the entire family." Her review was titled "Animated film lives up to promises".^[10]

Hal Hinson, of The Washington Post, said that the film was entertaining, but not good enough to be considered a classic film. However, he praised it for not having the dinosaurs occasionally "pick up guitars and launch into dinosaur renditions of rock songs", like The Chipmunks and Care Bears.^[11] The Sci-fi Movie Page rated it with two stars, and said called it "not exactly much better than most Saturday morning kid television shows. They also commented briefly on the "numerous" amount of straight-to-video sequels it spawned.^[12] In Mark R. Leeper (of the Internet Movie Database)'s review, the capsule reads "Apparently inspired by the art of William Stout, THE LAND BEFORE TIME is short on characterization as well as screen time. The idea of doing a Disney-style cartoon with dinosaurs as characters was a good one, but THE LAND BEFORE TIME does not deliver enough. Rating: low +1."^[13]

The movie got two thumbs up by Siskel and Ebert, although Roger Ebert did have a few issues with the film. He said in his review that The Land Before Time made a strategic error in its attempt to attract children, as he believes that it destroys the distinction between children and dinosaurs (he earlier describes the two as being very similar). He also thought TLBT copied a lot of previous animated movies, and was not surprised that it was written by the writers of An American Tail. He also said the film was too apocalyptic and tragic, with all the death and implications of death occuring, as well as the erupting volcanoes and drought, and famine in the film.^[14] Interestingly, Ebert mistook Littlefoot to be "the last of his species", even though Pat Hingle, the narrator, had said Littlefoot was the last of his herd.

Steve Rhode's said on Internet Movie Database that this was his favourite of all the TLBT films, and that while it does not have the same effort put into the animations as a Disney film would likely have, he still thinks that the designs and the music, including the song "If We Hold On Together", have a warm and natural beauty.^[15] In general, the film seems to have received better reviews than its direct-to-video sequels, with Rhode's in particular saying in his review on The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists that TLBT's sequels were "purely formulaic", and that the film was suffering from the "excessive sequel syndrome".^[16]

In his book, Children's Films: History, Ideology, Pedagogy, Theory, Ian Wojcik-Andrews criticized what he saw as allusions to Christian Mythology, in the film. He thought that Littlefoot was meant to depict the "Chosen one", in that he was the last of his herd, and their only hope for the future. He also pointed out that the concept of Littlefoot leading Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike to the Great Valley was reminiscent of the Calvinist theology that souls can only be saved if they follow Christ, and resist temptations that will lead them astray from the path. Finally, he believed the Great Valley was overly-similar to the Garden of Eden.^[17]

Awards/Nominations

In 1987, The Land Before Time was nominated for a Young Artist Award, for Best Family Animation or Fantasy Motion Picture, although it lost to Beetle Juice.^[18] One year later, it received a Saturn award nomination from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films in the USA, for Best Fantasy Film. This award, however, went to Disney's Who Framed Roger Rabbit.^[19]

Music

Songs

There is only one lyrical song in The Land Before Time; called "If We Hold On Together". It was sung by Diana Ross, and became a hit.

Soundtrack

• "The Great Migration"
• "Sharptooth and the Earthquake"
• "Whispering Winds"
• "Foraging for Food"
• "Discovery of the Great Valley"
• "End Credits"

Cultural Influence

Merchandise

Sullivan/Bluth Studios teamed with the U.S. Postal Office, JC Penny's and Pizza Hut to help promote The Land Before Time.^[3] At Pizza Hut, several hand puppets of the characters Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike and the Sharptooth were issued,^[20] and until the public promotions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, nearly a year later, the characters were used as a feature at birthday parties held at the restaurants, and on the children's menus.^[3] The U.S. Postal service issued stamps featuring Dinosaur species used in the film, as well as T-shirts featuring the stamps and the character Littlefoot.^[3]

On October 25, 1990, a soundtrack was released for The Land Before Time.^[21]

Home Video Release History

• September 14, 1988 (VHS and laserdisc)
• Novenber 22, 1995 (VHS and laserdisc)
• February 20, 1996 (VHS and laserdisc)
• May 13, 1997 (VHS and laserdisc - The Land Before Time Collection)
• October 14, 1997 (VHS and laserdisc)
• November 18, 1997 (DVD by DTS)
• December 1, 1998 (VHS and laserdisc, the last laserdisc release - Universal Family Features)
• May 4, 1998 (DVD)
• December 3, 2001 (VHS and DVD - 75th Anniversary Edition, 4 Movie Dino Pack (Volume 1), and 9 Movie Dino Pack)
• March 20, 2007 (DVD - 2-Pack with Curious George)
• November 6, 2007 (DVD - Animated Family Favorites 3-Movie Collection; this DVD also contains An American Tail and Balto)^[22]

Sequels and spinoffs

Main articles: List of The Land Before Time movies and The Land Before Time (TV series)

The movie generated many direct-to-video sequels. Currently there are 13 sequels in circulation. The sequels depart from the style of the original significantly by adding "sing-a-long" musical numbers akin to Disney animated films, using softer, more brightly-coloured animation (in later years, also including some shots in 3D animations), and toning down the intensity seen in the original film. Don Bluth and his animation studio have no affiliation with any of the film's sequels.

A television series was originally released in North America in early 2007, which follows the style of the sequels in terms of the morality and the musical numbers (with some of the songs being shortened, reworked versions of songs from the sequels).

TV Airings

The film aired on Disney Channel from the 1990s to early-2005. Then it aired on Toon Disney from 1998 to 2004. The film also aired on Cartoon Network from 1998 to November 2004. The film finally aired on HBO from July 3, 2006 (being the film's first high-definition broadcast on HBO HD) to December 2007, while it aired on Cinemax from December 2006 to 2007. It also aired on HBO Family around the same month as its first HBO airing in 2006. Then the film once again re-aired on Cartoon Network on February 25, 2008. The film re-aired on HBO on January 1, 2009, along with the HBO premiere of The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure. Both of these films aired on HBO Family on January 4, 2009.

United States

• Disney Channel (1990s-2005)
• Toon Disney (1998-2004)
• Cartoon Network (1998-2004)
• HBO (2006-2007, 2009-present)
• HBO Family (2006-2007, 2009-present)
• Cinemax (2006-2007)

References in media

• The 75th and 77th Academy Awards contain James Horner's music from The Land Before Time.
• The webcomic xkcd refers to Littlefoot's Mother's death in its 233rd issue.^[23]
• The plot of the Disney film Dinosaur (a multi-species herd must work together to search across a barren wilderness for a verdant valley safe from carnivores) was extremely similar to the plot of The Land Before Time.
• At the beginning of Beethoven's 3rd, there are VHS covers for the first five films in the Land Before Time film series seen in the background of the video store. Later, there are shots from The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock.
• The trailer for another Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment animated film, We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story contains instrumental music from The Land Before Time. Both We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story and The Land Before Time were composed by James Horner.^[24]
• An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island contains James Horner's music from The Land Before Time and Michael Tavera's music from The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure and The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists. Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure contains Michael Tavera's music from The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze. All of these films are composed by Michael Tavera, who also composed the scores for the sequels, and one of the films have James Horner's music from An American Tail, The Land Before Time, and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West.
• The theatrical trailer for the Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment live-action/computer-animated film Casper contains the instrumental music of the song If We Hold On Together from The Land Before Time. Both Casper and The Land Before Time were composed by James Horner.
• The video trailer for another Universal Pictures film, Lorenzo's Oil contains James Horner's instrumental music of the song If We Hold On Together from The Land Before Time.
• In the film Brother Bear, the character Tanana said the phrase "yep yep yep!", as a homage to Ducky, who frequently used that line.
• On page 111 of Test-Prep Your IQ with the Essentials of Film by David Alan Herzog, a question is given concerning which of the characters between Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike is not actually a dinosaur.^[25]
• The title is referenced in the title of the first half of the Fairly OddParents episode "Land Before Timmy/Cheese and Crockers".
• The Land Before Time and its sequels are listed in Entertainment Weekly's "14 Movie Franchises We Think Should Stop".^[26]
• The Land Before Time is referenced on page 150 of Category Neutrality: A Type-Logical Investigation By Neal Whitman.^[27]
• On pages 194-195 of the novel In a Brother's Eyes by Aiken Brown, the characters Brant and Tommy discuss getting a video of The Land Before Time for Brant's child, Brandon. Brant mentions Littlefoot as a good role model for the child.^[28]
• The Land Before Time is referenced on pages 256-257 of Donald Glut's 2001 book, Jurassic Classics: A Collection of Saurian Essays and Mesozoic Musings.^[29]

Trivia

• This is the only Land Before Time film that is not a musical.
• Though Spike does not talk in the English version, in the Finnish version, when climbing up the rocky mountain side, he clearly pants "ruokaa," which means "food."
• This is the only film staring Gabriel Damon as Littlefoot, Judith Barsi as Ducky, Will Ryan as Petrie, Burke Byrnes as Topsy (known as Daddy Topps), Bill Erwin as Grandpa Longneck, and the only film to be narrated by Pat Hingle.

Inaccuracies

• The dinosaurs featured existed in different time periods. Apatosaurus and Stegosaurus existed in the late Jurassic period, while Triceratops, Pteranodon, Parasaurolophus and Tyrannosaurus existed in the late Cretaceous period. Therefore, the period where this film takes place is unspecified.
• Pteranodon ate fish and lived near beaches and coastal areas, didn't have teeth, and could not climb trees.
• Tarpits are not just giant pools of tar, they are supposed to have a layer of water and sand. This way the creature being fooled would not realize it was a trap. Also, tarpits did not form during the age of the dinosaurs, they formed during the Cenozoic era.
• A Dimetrodon appears once in the film, which would have been extinct before the dinosaurs appeared. Also, Dimetrodon was bigger than the way it is depicted in the film.
• Pachycephalosaurus were not carnivores. However, they were probably merely defending their territory.
• Grass is often seen in the series, and did not grow until the cenozoic, shortly after the dinosaurs died out (there were grass ancestors found in Titanosaur dung).
• When any animal is ready to hatch from its egg, it takes a few hours for it to come out completely.
• Tyrannosaurus couldn't jump the way it did in the movie.
• Tyrannosaurus did not stand up straight, according to current paleontological thought.

Character Debuts

• Recurring characters:
  • Littlefoot
  • Cera
  • Ducky
  • Petrie
  • Spike
  • Grandma and Grandpa Longneck
  • Topsy
  • Mama Swimmer
  • Ducky's siblings
  • Papa Swimmer
  • Mama Flyer
  • Petrie's Siblings
• On-off characters
  • Cera's mother
  • Most of Cera's siblings (a few were later seen in The Time of the Great Giving)
  • Rooter
  • The original Sharptooth
  • Littlefoot's mother (deceased)
• Species' Debuts:
  • Apatosaurus
  • Triceratops
  • Parasaurolophus
  • Pteranodon
  • Struthiomimus
  • Tyrannosaurus
  • Dimetrodon (Only appearance)
  • Stegosaurus
  • Diplodocus
  • Pachycephalosaurus

Memorable Quotes

Littlefoot

• We did it. We did it together.
• (to Cera) Go on! Go the wrong way! We never wanted you with us anyway!
• Oh, you can't quit now. What if the Great Valley's just over the top of these rocks?
• (last original lines) Now we'll always be together. (Note: This line was removed from the entire film, although it was used in the Pizza Hut commercial advertising the Land Before Time handpuppets.^[30])

Cera

• My father told me that flatheads had very small brains.
• See? I can take care of myself all by myself. I'm not afraid to be alone, I know my way to go, and I'm not afraid of Sharp Tooth... I hope he doesn't eat any of you!
• I'm gonna find my own green food! (begins banging her head beneath a tree, to make any leaves fall down)
• (to the group) I could see his one, big, ugly eye looking for me.

Ducky

• Petrie, do not feel sad. It is alright. Many things cannot fly. Rocks, trees, sticks, Spike...
• (repeated line) Yep yep yep.
• Spike, do not stop! We must stay together!
• You are a spiketail...so we will call you Spike!
• (trying to coax Spike out of his egg) You should come out. You should. You are late. Yes, you are. Yep yep yep.
• (to Petrie) Up Petrie! Higher! Higher like a flyer!

Petrie

• You've got a nice flat head, flathead.
• [as Littlefoot, Ducky and Spike save him from the tar pit] Flathead! Ducky! Spike! Oh, Petrie is so happy!
• (Trying to smell for green food) I smell, I smell, I smell... Hmm. Ducky.

Littlefoot's Mother

• Let your heart guide you. It whispers so listen closely.
• Some things you see with your eyes, others you see with your heart.

Topsy (only known as "Daddy Topps" in this film)

• Come, Cera, threehorns never play with longnecks.

Rooter

• The Great Circle of Life has begun, but, you see, not all of us arrive together at the end.

Narrator

• One herd had only a single baby - the last hope for the future. And they called him...Littlefoot.
• All that remained of his herd was his mother, grandmother and grandfather. He knew them by sight, by scent, and by their love. He knew they would be together, always.
• At first, Littlefoot could only think about his mother. He hardly noticed his hunger and had forgotten about the Great Valley and that he must somehow reach it.
• Then Littlefoot knew for certain he was alone, and although the Great Valley was far away, the journey there was perilous. He would have to find his way, or the chain of life would be broken.
• So the five hungry dinosaurs set off for the Great Valley. There had never been such a herd before. A longneck, a threehorn, a bigmouth, a flyer and a spike-tail all together, all knowing that if they lost their way, they would starve or find themselves in Sharptooth's shadow.
• Littlefoot had been wrong about the Sharptooth, but the others followed him. Their only hope was to reach the Great Valley, and Littlefoot alone knew the way.
• Cera was still too proud to admit that she'd gone the wrong way. [Cera cries]
• Though, they were sourced out and tired, Littlefoot urged them on. He'd never seen the Great Valley, but his heart told him that they were close. Surely, at the top, they'd behold it, finally.
• And Littlefoot found his grandmother and grandfather at last. The same loving faces he looked into on the day of his birth.
• (last released lines) And they all grew up together in the valley, generation upon generation, each passing on to the next. The tale of their ancestor's journey to the valley long ago.

Gallery

The main protagonist, Littlefoot.	The second protagonist, Cera.	The third protagonist, Ducky.	The fourth protagonist, Petrie.
The fifth protagonist, Spike.	The sisters of Cera.	Minor character Rooter.	Littlefoot, after his birth.
The Sharptooth, searching through the thorns to find Littlefoot and Cera.

References

External Links

• The Land Before Time at the Internet Movie Database.
• The Land Before Time at RetroJunk.com
• Soundtrack audio clips
• The original 1985 TV trailer for The Land Before Time

Preceded by: "---"

The Land Before Time film series

Followed by: "The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure"