Land Before Time Retrospective #29
Saw the film again a few days ago. My overall opinion of it hasn’t changed a whole lot, but I did want to chime in with some new thoughts. This time around I’ll be going a bit more… in-depth with it… 😛
Mo has definitely grown on me. I have a certain ImpracticalDino to thank for that one. Still, I find this to be one of the more dull and underwhelming entries in the series.
We do get a pretty cool underwater/stormy opening, at least. Great music too; it’s so bombastic and fits the deep sea mood. Although it does start to get a bit redundant hearing the narrator give a similar speech about prehistoric life at the beginning of every movie.
Likewise, while I enjoy the underwater concept in itself, which helps LBT 9 stand out in a long-running film series, I do wish they’d gone further with the underwater/ocean vibes. It’s a solid concept, but it was underdeveloped. The film focuses on their journey to big water, but they only reach it at the very end, and then we only see it briefly before the Gang heads back home. Why not make the entire journey a full-on ocean adventure with Mo instead? That would probably have made for a more energetic and exciting movie.
Which leads to my next point in that it takes a while for the film to really get going, one of my biggest problems with it. Also, what’s up with Petrie suddenly having an imaginary friend? That sure came off random.
I really don’t think it was a good idea for the characters to start off with a song about boredom. It just gives the film itself a dull feeling. Likewise, as you may have guessed, I’m not a big fan of “Imaginary Friend” either. However, I did enjoy the “Big Water” reprise. I also liked “No One Has to Be Alone”, especially the end credits version!
I’m still not a fan of the way they handled the swimming sharptooth, but his design at least is suitably frightening. Mo’s fake-out death was pretty lame, although I did get a kick out of Mo sticking his tongue out at the sharptooth and then whacking the sharptooth’s face with his flipper. Somehow, I can just imagine ImpracticalDino doing that if he were a fish like Mo.
Lastly, I appreciate that this is the final film where we get to hear James Horner’s music. That’s always a joy even despite some of my more lukewarm feelings.
