Land Before Time Retrospective #3
Released: 1995
As with the first and second films, this too I can remember from my childhood, if only barely. There was already much I’d forgotten about the first film when I rewatched it as an adult, and even more I’d forgotten about the second film. Whereas there was even more still that I forgot with this one, to the point that I really don’t remember any specific scenes at all. There was just something about the bully characters that was familiar to me, and I could ever-so-vaguely recall the forest fire, but that was it.
Interesting to see that a lot of people don’t like this one and/or regard it as one of the weaker entries. Personally, I thought it was an improvement over the second film.
I like that there was a redemption arc for Daddy Topps in the same way that Cera had hers in the first film. It was established in the second film that, while Cera had mellowed out, Topps was still prejudiced against other dinosaurs, so I’m glad they addressed that more fully here.
Making the parallels even stronger, notice how during the fire, Topps leads himself and Cera down his own path and nearly gets them killed, but they are saved just in time by Grandpa Longneck, whereupon Topps gets his slice of humble pie. Very similar to how, in the first film, Cera led the other dinosaurs down her own path and nearly got them killed, but they were saved by Littlefoot, and Cera subsequently got her slice of humble pie. The tree star certainly does not fall far from the tree.
My favourite part of the film comes shortly after this when Topps sees Hyp’s father yell at him, which shames Topps into realizing how much of a jerk he himself has been.
Topps: “Yelling is no way to teach your child what is right or to show that you care.”
Hyp’s father: “How would you know?”
Topps: “I know because… because I have a daughter… and I yell at her. Too much. Especially when I’m worried for her safety. […] If you always react with anger, that’s all your son will know, and that’s all he’ll be able to express to others.“
A very touching moment of self-realization. I especially love the way Topps hesitates after “because” and his face falls. You can tell it’s painful for him to have to admit it, but he ultimately owns up to his flaws while passing on a valuable lesson to someone else. His last line is especially profound in bringing things full circle and explaining Cera’s own behaviour in the first film.
Also…
Grandma Longneck: “We must come up with a plan to free the water.”
Topps: “I have a plan.”
Mr. Clubtail: “I hope it’s better than your fire escape plan.”
XD
And Ducky has a great line too: “I do not like Sharpteeth, oh no. Their teeth are too sharp.”
Quote from WeirdRaptor: Well, I have always found the Guest Characters of Week (Hyp, Mutt, and Nod) neither memorable or interesting. They’re pretty typical bully characters, the kind you see in EVERYTHING (especially if you read a lot of Stephen King like I do). Sure, they graft on a “kids emulate their parents, and if you’re a big meany-pants, your kid probably will be, too” at the last minute, but…
Don’t Daddy Tops and Cera already have that covered? Yet it rarely ever gets the attention I think it warrants (outside of the original 1988 film, anyway). LBT3 could actually have been an opportunity to explore in-depth the many underlying issues of Cera’s father being the resident backwards thinking racist and the effect that has on her.
That is an excellent point, and I can’t fully disagree with it. I personally didn’t mind the bullies, however. The topic of bullying in their dinosaur society was an interesting concept, at least. If nothing else, I’m thankful for the bully characters because it was a build-up to the reveal about Hyp’s father, which in turn led to the aforementioned scene with Topps and was a key moment in his development. I felt it was significant that Topps seeing his own flaws within another lousy father is what likewise caused him to see those flaws within himself.
The bullies and Hyp’s father being redundant to the story is a solid argument, but I liked the parallels between the different characters, and how they all come to realize that despite their prejudices, they’re really not that different from each other. I’ve dealt with friends in the past who were racist or otherwise prejudiced, so it speaks to me on a personal level.
[Responding to a forum conversation discussing Topps’s actions in the film…]
Regarding the debate about whether Topps was justified in taking charge of the water supply or not, I actually agree with both sides of the argument to an extent. In itself, I don’t think Topps was wrong to step up and take charge, even if he had to be “tough” about it. At the very least, someone had to do it. However, I don’t think Topps was the best candidate for that position.
The main reason I feel this way is because of his harsh prejudice against other dinosaurs, which was demonstrated multiple times, as well as his general jerk-ish behaviour, which likewise had a toxic influence on his daughter in the first film. In particular the fact that he’s so quick to declare Littlefoot, a very sweet kid, as a “bad influence.” Not to mention his “fire escape plan” that nearly got himself and his daughter killed. Yeah, not someone I’d be super-enthusiastic about trusting. He just wasn’t a good leader, at least not until he reforms near the end of the film.
I do agree that something needed to be done about the water supply problem, but I also feel that Topps was just a bit too quick to step up and decide that he and he alone was going to be the one to take care of it.
Anyway, I loved reading the discourse and seeing everybody’s thoughts on the manner.
Overall, I give this film 6 out of 8 tree stars.
