The Land Before Time

The Land Before Time (1988)

Timing: 1:9 (69 min)

7.145/10
2681

8.035/10
85465

7.4/10
107000

All about film

Video 2

Photo 50

Actors and characters

Release date

1988-11-18

Country

Ireland, United States

Production

Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Lucasfilm Ltd., Sullivan Bluth Studios, U-Drive Productions, Don Bluth Limited

Genre

Family, Animation, Adventure

Budget

$12 300 000

Revenue

$84 460 846

Website

https://www.uphe.com/movies/the-land-before-time

Director

Don Bluth

Actors

Gabriel Damon, Candace Hutson, Will Ryan, Judith Barsi, Helen Shaver, Pat Hingle, Bill Erwin, Burke Byrnes, Frank Welker
All actors and roles (9)

Scenario

Producer

Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy, Don Bluth, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg

Operator

Composer

James Horner

Artist

Audition

Nancy Nayor

Editing

Dan Molina, John K. Carr, Cathy Goldman
All team (43)

• This is the only animated film in the franchise that was shown in theaters. Subsequent installments were released directly to video.
• The working title of the film was “The Land Before Time Began”.
• The film was originally scheduled for release in the fall of 1987, but production and the release date were postponed by a year due to the studio's relocation.
• Steven Spielberg and George Lucas initially wanted the film to be without dialogue, like the animated film “Fantasia,” but then abandoned this idea, deciding to use voice actors to make the film more accessible to children.
• Before creating the film, the authors conducted research, visiting natural history museums in New York, Los Angeles, and the Smithsonian Institution.
• Littlefoot was initially named “Thunderfoot,” but it later became known that the name already existed in a children's book called “Triceratops.” Lucas suggested turning Cera into a female Triceratops, although midway through the animation process she was a male named Bambo. Don Bluth was inspired to create Spike by the appearance of his Chow Chow dog named Kabie. Spielberg’s son wanted Petrie to speak with the voice of Digit from the cartoon “An American Tail,” and as a result, Will Ryan, who voiced Digit, was invited to voice Petrie. Petrie was originally intended to be the main character of the cartoon, however, Judith Barsi, who voiced Ducky and became beloved by the entire studio for her catchphrase “yep, yep, yep,” pushed him into the background.
• During production, the film was heavily edited and trimmed. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas believed that some scenes were too dark and would frighten young children. "It's too scary. Children will cry, and parents will be angry. We don't need that," Spielberg said regarding scenes from the film. Approximately 11 minutes of footage, a total of 19 fully animated scenes, were removed from the final version to receive a G rating instead of PG. The majority of the cut footage consisted of scenes of the Tyrannosaurus Rex attack and scenes in which the cartoon characters were in mortal danger. Some dinosaur screams were re-dubbed with calmer voices. Although Don Bluth was unhappy with the changes and insisted that all the scenes be included, he eventually agreed to a 69-minute version, one of the shortest of his career. The scene of Littlefoot's mother's death was shown to psychologists, and based on their feedback, the creators decided to add the Rooter to soften the emotional impact.
• Steven Spielberg and George Lucas initially wanted the film to be without dialogue, like the cartoon 'Fantasia', but then abandoned this idea, deciding to use voice actors to make the film more accessible to children.
• During its creation, the film was heavily edited and cut down. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas felt that some scenes in the film were too dark and would frighten young children too much. “It’s too scary. Kids will cry and parents will get angry. We don’t need that,” Spielberg said regarding scenes from the film. Approximately 11 minutes of footage, totaling 19 fully drawn scenes, were removed from the final version to achieve a G rating instead of PG. The majority of the excised material consisted of scenes involving the Tyrannosaurus attack and scenes in which the cartoon characters were in mortal danger. Some of the dinosaur screams were re-dubbed with more subdued voices. Although Don Bluth was unhappy with the changes and insisted that all the scenes be included, he eventually agreed to a 69-minute version, one of the shortest of his career. The scene of Littlefoot’s mother’s death was shown to psychologists, after whose feedback the creators decided to add Rooter to soften the emotional impact.