Here we are. We are at the 10th movie of The Land Before Time series. By this point, the Universal executives have totally lost their minds. There’s really not much else to say, so let’s find out if they actually put effort into this one (spoiler alert: no).
Background
This movie is directed by Charles Grosvenor and he has directed several other Land Before Times that we have already reviewed (and the next 3 movies that we are reviewing). And that’s about it. Nobody went to the effort to put up behind the scenes facts about this movie. Of course can you blame them? I would go back in time and stop this movie from being made (correction, I will go back in time and stop every single sequel of this series from being made).
Plot
All the longnecks are having this bizarre dream (and of course longnecks’ minds have to be connected in some way in order for this to make any bit of sense, which it does not). So anyway, Littlefoot and his grandparents have to go away from the Great Valley because apparently this dream is telling them something (even though this dream made absolutely no bit of sense, but who knows maybe it did in the writers’ minds..oh wait, I forgot they have no minds anymore). Anyways, Ducky, Petrie, Sarah, and Spike have to go and find him and, they meet up with several new characters (we may or may not see them again in future movies).
Opinion
As I was writing this and I was looking at the writers of this movie, it turns out that one of the writers was Judy Freudberg and that name probably means nothing to all of you, and it didn’t for me either. But as i was looking at her Imdb page, I found out something very interesting. She wrote a movie you may have heard of and it’s the first Land Before Time (I repeat the first Land Before Time) and several other Land Before Time movies as well. Now how can you go from writing a really good movie such as The Land Before Time, and then go on to several really crummy sequels to that movie? When I wrote the plot of this movie, I jokingly said “Oh wait, I forgot, the writers have no minds anymore!”, and, well, I must be right because going from a really good movie to several really bad sequels does not make any sense (Her mind must have been clouded by dollar bills). Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get into my opinion. The character animation was passable. What is not passable was the CGI backgrounds even by 2003 standards. I already mentioned that the story is not good. In this movie, they introduce (Spoiler alert) Littlefoot’s dad. He is a poorly written character, almost to the point he is unlikeable. His backstory made no bit of sense and doesn’t fit the continuity of the series. Apparently, when Littlefoot’s mom was pregnant, he went off to find a suitable place to live. When he got back, there was apparently an earthquake that totally changed the geography and he couldn’t find his family. Here’s are some problems; #1 he left his pregnant wife for god knows how long to find a place to live - not a smart move. #2 The earthquake wouldn’t have changed things too much. #3 When Littlefoot was born (and all the others), they were looking for the Great Valley in the first movie which was a legend that had probably been going around for years. When he came back and the geography had changed, he should have assumed that his wife would do that. In short, they made this character very unlikable. This is the first time in nine movies that they mentioned that Littlefoot had a mom. Another problem is in the story when they literally held up the sun. #1 the sun is really, really hot (via a google search - 10,000 degrees at the surface which they’d have all been touching). So, pretty much, if they held up the sun, they’d have been burned to a crisp. On the scientifically-accurate meter, this movie ranks a 1. With the voice acting, the biggest problem was that they weren’t even trying. We have really talented actors in the cast, but they sounded like they just wanted a paycheck (James Garner and Keifer Sutherland for example). And the songs are awful! There is one song that is not awful but sang twice (the first time by the cast, the second time by Olivia Newton John). The one by the characters just makes touch the sun with my ears. The second time is just your very typical song about friends. On a side-note, there’s a bonus feature on the DVD where Olivia Newton John talks about her recording the song. Nowhere will you hear her mention the words “the land before time”. Overall, this movie is BAD, but I have seen a lot worse. So, overall, this movie barely escapes the golden garbage can. Which is why it gets one lonely star. Goodnight, and Bee Happy!™
By Mr Bee 
images courtesy of Comcast Corporation of Fiction Foundry - Fandom respectively.
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