Land Before Time Retrospective #17
Rewatched the film yesterday. I enjoyed it even more the second time around. 😀 Originally in my LBT sequel rankings I put this just below #4, but now I think I’d rank #5 higher. Definitely among the most epic in the series.
In response to the thread question/original post [discussing the differences between the two halves of the film], hmm, I didn’t think the two halves were that different from each other. The first half was a little more consistent overall, imo, but both halves were still great. I kinda wish the desert trek portion in the first half had been a little longer, but I love how atmospheric the entire journey is.
From my original review: [LBT 5] I had seen previously [many years ago], although it wasn’t familiar to me at first. It wasn’t until around halfway into the film where I began to think, “Oh yeah, I remember this.” But even there, the only parts I could recall were:
– The kids travelling across that rocky path to reach the island, only to later have the path get swallowed up by the ocean.
– When the plated Sharptooth first shows up, as I remembered Chomper’s parents along with a third, more openly antagonistic adult Sharptooth. And then the final battle between Chomper’s parents and the plated Sharptooth, before they knock him into the drink. (Although curiously, I’d forgotten about Chomper himself.)
Adding onto that, when I watched it again, I found that I could also faintly recall the desert trek from when I was a kid.
From my original review: I’m still not really digging the songs, although “Big Water” and “Always There” are two of the better ones so far. I liked that “Always There” touched upon the fact that Littlefoot misses his mother.
Actually, upon second viewing, I think these two songs are really good. I was lukewarm about the songs initially when I began watching the sequels, but some of them have since grown on me.
Also on second viewing, I was a bit surprised to discover that I’d forgotten about the log-riding part from the last time I watched the movie, even though my last time seeing it was only a few months ago. I mean, I recognized it once it actually began, but prior to that, the whole scene had slipped from my memory.
It annoys me that Chomper’s parents never appeared again, especially since they were some of my favourite supporting characters of the whole series. Of course, I had the same issue with Ali. For that matter, I kinda wish we’d seen Elsie again too.
But all in all, a good time was had.
Topps: “What do you expect them to do? Rise up out of the ocean?”
Grandpa: “That’s… that’s exactly what they’re going to do!”
XD
