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The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration

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The Land Before Time movie
The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration video cover.
The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration
Directed by: Charles Grosvenor
Produced by Charles Grosvenor
James Wang
Daniel J. Wiley
Written by John Loy
Judy Freudberg
Tony Geiss
Starring John Ingle
Aria Curzon
Rob Paulsen
Thomas Dekker
Anndi McAfee
Jeff Bennett
Tress MacNeille
Susan Krebs
Jeremy Suarez
Kenneth Mars
Miriam Flynn
Kiefer Sutherland
Music by Michael Tavera
Michele Brourman
Amanda McBroom</br>Jerry Goldsmith (Universal logo only)
Distributed by Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Release date(s) December 2nd, 2003 (United States of America)
Running Time 76 min.
Language(s) English (original language)
Preceded by The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water (2002)
Followed by The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses (2005)

The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (known internationally as The Land Before Time X: The Great Migration) is the tenth film in the Land Before Time series.

Contents

[edit] Voice Actors

[edit] English Voice Cast

This was the only film in the series in which Alec Medlock provided Littlefoot's voice. In every film from this one onwards, the character has been voiced by a different actor (although Cody Arens voices the character in every episode of The Land Before Time TV series). This was also the only time Kiefer Sutherland and Brandon DePaul voiced Bron and Shorty. Cam Clarke and Elizabeth Daily voiced the characters in the TV episode "The Big Longneck Test".

[edit] Japanese voice cast

Note: The Japanese voice actors are appearing so far.

[edit] Plot

Plagued by mysterious dreams, (referred to as "Sleep Stories" by the characters), Littlefoot, his grandparents and all the other Longnecks in the Great Valley depart, joining up with other Longneck herds as they travel to a single location. In an effort to catch up with Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie, Spike, and Ducky follow the herds to an enormous crater, which the Longnecks believe is the culmination of their journey. Grandpa Longneck informs Littlefoot of a legend that long ago, the Bright Circle (sun) was about to fall into the earth, until a number of Longnecks came together in the crater and raised up their necks, lifting the Circle back to where it had been. The legend also explains how those of the ethnicity got their "long necks". The migrating longnecks interpret their recent sleep stories as a prophecy that the Bright Circle is soon to fall again, and they must gather in the crater to save it once more.

Littlefoot is in for a surprise, however, as one of the Longnecks proves to be his father, Bron, whom he has never met before. Bron explains his absence to Littlefoot: when the region in which Littlefoot was born suffered from a drought, he went off in search of a better land to raise Littlefoot (who had not hatched at the time). When Bron returned, the Great Earthshake (earthquake) seen in the original film had occurred, and he could not find his family anywhere. He continued to search for them, hoping every time he saw a young longneck that it might be Littlefoot, but found no trace of them. Another dinosaur informed him of what happened to his wife, but gave no information on what became of Littlefoot or his grandparents. In the meantime, dozens of longnecks of various ages looked to Bron for support, and he ended up as the leader of a new herd.

Bron informs Littlefoot that most of the orphaned Longneck children he found were adopted, except for an ill-tempered Brachiosaurus boy named Shorty, who has grown close to Bron over the years. Shorty grows jealous of Littlefoot for now receiving most of Bron's attention, since Littlefoot is his biological son, and bullies Littlefoot consequently. At dawn one day, Shorty plans to run away, but Littlefoot persuades him not to leave, suggesting that they cease in their rivalry and form a brotherly bond. It is at this point that the other main characters reunite with Littlefoot, and are soon followed by one of three Sharpteeth. The Longnecks band together and fight the predators off, after which the Bright Circle appears to fall again, and the Longnecks stretch up to prevent its fall. (The "falling" of the sun is shown to actually be a solar eclipse.)

With their mission completed, the herds depart. Knowing their true places, Littlefoot asks Bron to adopt Shorty as his son, and Bron promises that he will one day visit Littlefoot. Littlefoot then returns to the Great Valley with his friends and grandparents.

[edit] Reception

[edit] Analysis

James Plath said on Reel.com that The Great Longneck Migration was among the best of the sequels to The Land Before Time, together with The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving, The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island, and The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze. He believed it was one of the more plot-filled of the installments, and would likely be one that children would want to watch many times over. He also said that the concept of main character Littlefoot finally meeting his father, but in the end deciding to stay with his grandparents whilst his dad stays with his herd, makes the film an ideal choice for children and fathers who live similar lives to watch together.[1] Bonnie Sayers on Bella Online.com said that Littlefoot's union with his father was a great surprise, but she thought it nice to see Littlefoot and his friends get acquainted with Bron and Shorty. She liked that the films in the Land Before Time series typically have more than one story occurring in them, but the stories always end up uniting at the end to solve the overall problem.[2]

[edit] Awards and nominations

The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration received two nominations for a DVD Exclusive Award in 2003. Singer Olivia Newton-John and writers Michele Brourman and Amanda McBroom were nominated for Best Original Song in a DVD Premiere Movie, for the end credits version of "Bestest Friends", but lost to actor Jack Black and writers David Cross, Bob Odenkirk, Scott Aukerman, BJ Porter, Brian Posehn, and Eban Schletter for "The Golden Rule Song" from Run Ronnie Run.[3] Director Charles Grosvenor received a nomination for Best Animated DVD Premiere Movie, but lost to Carolyn Bates and Leslie Hough for 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure.[3]

[edit] Music

The music for The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration was scored by Michael Tavera. This was the first film in the series that did not use James Horner's original score, and was Michael Tavera's first and so far only completely original score in the series, as older themes from the previous sequels to the original The Land Before Time movie and An American Tail were not used in this film.

[edit] Songs

The songs are written by Michele Brourman and Amanda McBroom. The end credits version of the song, "Bestest Friends", is performed by Olivia Newton-John.

[edit] Trivia

  • Mo makes a cameo appearance in the "Adventuring" musical number.
  • It is revealed in this film that Bron was called "Littlefoot" as a child. Therefore, Littlefoot's mother gave her son her husband's nickname as a given name.
  • Pat's name is likely derived from his species name, Apatosaurus. Similarly, Bron's name is apparently derived from "Brontosaurus" the now obsolete scientific name for the species.
  • For years it was uncertain whether Littlefoot's mother was the daughter or daughter-in-law of Grandma and Grandpa Longneck, but Bron's referral to Grandpa Longneck as "Papa Longneck" instead of "Father" indicates that he is their son-in-law.
  • Although Littlefoot and Bron are both saddened by the loss of Littlefoot's mother, Littlefoot understands sharpteeth better than his father does; this is likely due to his experiences with Chomper. With nothing to dissuade him, however, Bron hates carnivorous dinosaurs and thinks of them as "cowards".
  • The movie's title sparked rumors that the guest character Ali (from The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists) would make a reappearance, as she was part of a migrating herd, and many of the character's fans were disappointed that she did not appear. However, she does reappear in "The Brave Longneck Scheme" episode of the TV series.
  • The original title for the film was simply "The Great Migration", the same name as one of the melodies on the soundtrack of the original The Land Before Time.
  • This was last film in which Littlefoot is an orphan, as he finally finds his father, Bron.
  • This was the first film in the series to use fully computer-generated dinosaurs.
  • The first sharptooth to appear in the film has gray coloring. The next two are brown and green.
  • Even though this film was presented in full screen on DVD worldwide (since that was what aspect ratio the film was created in), the film is matted to widescreen (cropping the top and bottom of the image) on a Hebrew DVD in Israel.[4]
  • Littlefoot's eyes twinkle when he's dreaming.

[edit] Character Debuts

[edit] Gallery

A Saltasaurus, watching Sue.

An attacking Sarcosuchus.

Sue.

Pat.

Pat, together with the children.

Shorty.

Bron.

Grandpa Longneck, surrounded by various Longnecks.

Bron confronts Shorty for tormenting Littlefoot.

Migrating Longnecks.

Grandma Longneck and others, watching the Sharptooth battle below.

Bron.

Grandpa Longneck meets and recognizes Bron.

Sue meets an Ultrasaurus male.

Sue and her new boyfriend.

Bron and his wife, in his flashback.

[edit] References

  1. ↑ James Plath's review on The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration at www.reel.com Retrieved on June 7th, 2008.
  2. ↑ Bonnie Sayers' review on The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration at www.bellaonline.com Retrieved on June 7th, 2008.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Second DVD Exclusive Awards ceremony of 2003, at The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on June 14th, 2009.
  4. ↑ The Land Before Time - The Great Migration Por Various


[edit] External Links


Preceded by:
"The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water " 		The Land Before Time film series Followed by:
" The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses"


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