Entertainment
 

The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock

From Land Before Time Wiki

The Land Before Time movie
The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock
Directed by: Charles Grosvenor
Produced by Charles Grosvenor
Melinda Rediger
Rocky Solotoff
Written by Libby Hinson
John Loy
Starring Nick Barcelona
Jeff Bennett
Nancy Cartwright
Aria Curzon
Thomas Dekker
Miriam Flynn
Sandy Fox
John Ingle
Kris Kristofferson
Danny Mann
Kenneth Mars
Anndi McAfee
Music by Michael Tavera
Danail Getz (uncredited)
James Horner (music from The Land Before Time)
Jerry Goldsmith (Universal logo only)
Distributed by Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Release date(s) December 1, 1998 (United States of America)
April 1991 (Denmark)
June 1998(Japan)
Released December 13, 1994
Running Time 76 min.
Language(s) English (original language)
Danish
Japanese
Italian
Preceded by The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island (1998)
Followed by The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire (2000)

The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock is the sixth of the Land Before Time movies; directed by Charles Grosvenor.

Contents

[edit] Voice acting

[edit] English voice cast

The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock marked the first of four films in which Thomas Dekker provided the character Littlefoot's speaking and singing voice. He had previously provided Littlefoot's singing voice in The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island. This is the only film in which Jeff Bennett provides the character Spike's voice in place of Rob Paulsen. While Frank Welker usually voices the Sharpteeth, and indeed voices the Tyrannosaurus in this film, Danny Mann voices the Allosaurus.

[edit] Japanese voice cast

[edit] Plot

The movie begins with Grandpa Longneck telling the children a story theorizing on the creation of the world. This is followed by a legend involving the residents of the Great Valley, a number of generations before, and how one day, an extremely ferocious Sharptooth attacked them, but was ultimately defeated by the legendary Lone Dinosaur; a Longneck who was known to protect societies by disarming Sharpteeth with his whip-like tail, but who preferred to live in solitude. Grandpa Longneck continues that some time later, a large rock emerged from the ground, resembling a long neck and bearing life-sized Sharptooth teeth encircled around its neck, which supposedly came from the Sharptooth the Lone Dinosaur defeated. The monolith was named "Saurus Rock", and a legend was spread that bad luck would descend upon the valley if the monolith were ever damaged.

The next day, the children are playing, when Littlefoot accidentally slips off a cliff edge. Before he hits the ground, he is caught by a strange longneck (Diplodocus) who introduces himself only as "Doc" and gives no knowledge of his history. Littlefoot is intrigued by the newcomer, especially upon discovering that one of his eyes bears a scar similar to one the Lone Dinosaur was supposed to have received from the Sharptooth, and when he displays prior knowledge of the Great Valley's topography. Littlefoot is quick to assume that Doc is the Lone Dinosaur, and informs his friends of this theory, narrating an apparently extemporaneous legend to support his assumption. Though Cera is quick to point out that the legend takes place several generations before their time, and the Lone Dinosaur would have passed away long ago, Littlefoot insists that he is right, and goes on to say that Saurus Rock likely resembles Doc to a match.

Cera's visiting niece and nephew, Dinah and Dana, are intrigued by Littlefoot's theory, and set off on their own to find Saurus Rock. Upon discovering their absence, and knowing her father will be furious that she did not watch over them sufficiently, Cera urges the others to help her recover the twins. After narrowly escaping an Allosaurus along the way, they reach Saurus Rock and discover that the twins have climbed to the top. In the process of retrieving them, one of the teeth on the neck of the monolith is knocked off, and they recall the bit of the legend involving the onset of bad luck. The Allosaurus then returns and gives chase. As it is pursuing them, they hide in a fallen log, which is thrown by the Sharptooth towards a gorge, where it becomes suspended between each side of the canyon. They carefully break out and creep to the other side, but the Sharptooth attempts to follow them across the gorge. The rotten log breaks under his weight, sending him plummeting into the ravine.

When they get home, Cera is confronted by her father, who scolds her for not properly caring for the twins. Over the next few days, ill fortunes ranging from injuries to a tornado plague the valley. The adults blame Doc, in whose wake the misfortunes have apparently come. Littlefoot is convinced that the accident at Saurus Rock is responsible for the misfortunes, and eager to redeem himself and prevent Doc from being banished from the valley, he retraces his steps back to the canyon. He walks down protruding rocks on the cliffside and approaches the apparently dead Sharptooth, but as he attempts to extract a tooth from inside his mouth, to replace the broken one, the Sharptooth wakes up and rises to his feet. Littlefoot jumps out of his mouth and flees. As the Sharptooth corners him, he is rescued by his grandfather. A large Tyrannosaurus then enters the fray, but is subdued by Doc. The two Longnecks combine their efforts and imprison the Sharpteeth in a landslide mound.

Littlefoot and his friends then retreive a tooth and repair the monolith, while Doc declares his departure, assuring Littlefoot that he already has a hero on whom to depend - his grandfather. Littlefoot later creates a legend of his own based on this new paradigm, portraying his grandfather as a savior.

[edit] Reception

[edit] Analysis

Brian Webster, on Apollo Guide, said he was tired of hearing the characters' catchphrases ("Yep, yep, yep!") and that he wished they would not portray the dinosaurs as living in nuclear families, sitting around campfires and listening to stories, as it makes them seem too human.[1] TheOnion.com, in its review for this film, mistook all of the Land Before Time movies to be associated with Don Bluth,[2] when only the original movie was.

[edit] Awards and nominations

In 1999, The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock was nominated for an Annie award, for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Home Video Production, but lost to Disney's The Lion King II: Simba's Pride.[3] In 2002, voice actress Aria Noelle Curzon won a Young Artist Award for Outstanding Young Voice-Over, for her role as main character Ducky in The Land Before Time IV: The Secret of Saurus Rock, as well as for voicing the character in The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island, The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire, and The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze.[4]

[edit] Music

[edit] Songs

The songs are written by Michele Brourman and Amanda McBroom.

[edit] Cultural Influence

[edit] Merchandise

The original VHS cover for The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock.

Universal Studios Home Video teamed up with Quaker Oats in a promotion for The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock. On January 3rd, 1999, Quaker Oats issued $1 off coupons on videos for the film; also including fifty cents off of a box of their "Dinosaur Eggs" cereal.[5]

The movie was originally released direct-to-video and laserdisc on December 1st, 1998. It was released on VHS again on December 4th, 2001. On April 1st, 2003, it was released for the first time on DVD. On December 2nd that same year, it was released on DVD again, as well as being released on VHS for the final time, in the "4 Movie Dino Pack (Volume 2)" and the "9 Movie Dino Pack". The movie was released on DVD again in the "2 Mysteries Beyond the Great Valley" DVD, on November 29th, 2005.

[edit] TV Airings

After five months of disappearance on American television since March 2008, the film re-aired on Cartoon Network on September 10, 2008.

[edit] United States

  • Disney Channel (1999-2004)
  • Toon Disney (1999-2004)
  • Cartoon Network (2000-present)

[edit] References in media

  • The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock is analyzed in the fifteenth episode of the twenty-first season of the Danish series Troldspejlet.
  • Beethoven's 3rd shows some scenes from the film.

[edit] References to media

  • "The Lone Dinosaur" seems to be a parody of The Lone Ranger. Doc also contains similar traits to characters played by John Wayne; his name even sounds similar to Wayne's nickname of "Duke."

[edit] Trivia

  • This is one of two films in The Land Before Time series in which John Ingle is not the narrator.

[edit] Inaccuracies

  • Allosaurus was portrayed as having two fingered hands.

[edit] Character Debuts

[edit] Memorable quotes

Cera: And I can still remember the day when Dinah said her first words... or was it Dana? "Shiny peepeye no-no"; whatever that means.
Ducky: It is simple. That means "The bright circle is shining in my eyes and it hurts".
Cera: How do you know that?
Ducky: I am also a twin. Thirteen of us hatched at the same time. Thirteen twins!
Cera: So... what does "No-no Grampy three-dee grr" mean?
Ducky: That means "Do not make Grandpa Three-Horn mad".
Cera: Are you sure about that one?
Ducky: No, but it is good advice just the same.
Littlefoot: I just figured out who Doc is!
Cera: What's to know? He's a squinty-eyed old Longneck with no friends.
Petrie: Me could have told you that!
Littlefoot: Who needs them, anyway? I'm a lone dinosaur; I don't need anyone! Gee, I wonder if all the other lone dinosaurs talk out loud to themselves like this? They must; it would be too quiet.
Littlefoot: Guys! You came for me!
Cera: Don't we always?

[edit] Gallery

The Brachiosaurus boy.

Dinah and Dana, Cera's niece and nephew.

The Sharptooth Doc defeated.

Doc.

The Sharptooth and Doc, in combat.

Saurus Rock.

[edit] References

  1. ↑ Brian Webster's review of The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock www.apolloguide.com Retrieved on April 26th, 2008.
  2. ↑ Hollywood California's The Onion.com review of The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock.www.theonion.com Retrieved on March 19th, 2008.
  3. ↑ The Annie Awards Ceremony of 1999, at theInternet Movie Database. Retrieved on August 28th, 2009.
  4. ↑ The 2002 Young Artist Awards Ceremony, at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on August 28th, 2009.
  5. ↑ Billboard magazine; 5 Dec 1998, page 107. ISSN 0006-2510 Published by Nielsen Business Media, Inc. [1]


[edit] External links




Preceded by:
"The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island" 		The Land Before Time film series Followed by:
"The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire"


Retrieved from "http://landbeforetime.wikia.com/wiki/The_Land_Before_Time_VI:_The_Secret_of_Saurus_Rock"