The Land Before Time
Platform: Netflix
Director: Don Bluth
Release Year: 1988
Watch Date: June 26, 2021
My Rating: 8.4
This movie hit way different as an adult than it did when I was a kid. I don’t think I have seen it since High School or before. It his especially different when I watched it because it would have been my mom’s 70th birthday. She only made it to 55. I also didn’t realize that my childhood crush from Newsies (Gabriel Damon) plays Littlefoot.
One of the messages I missed when I was younger was the deliberate separation of different species. The five dinos working together is a rarity and a lesson that when we work together (whether it is different social classes or different races) we can accomplish great things. Each of the main dinos has different characteristics and different lessons to teach her is my take on what the creators want us to learn:
Littlefoot - I find him to be slightly annoying because he is whiney and unwilling to take anyone else’s advice on how to get where they are going. It also bothers me that he doesn’t believe Cera about the Sharptooth. I get that she is prone to exaggeration, but you should always be worried about sharpteeth. One thing I do love though is that the movie creators took the time to show the depression Littlefoot went though after his mother died. For a kids movie, this is huge because it doesn’t show him pushing through and trying to be happy, he is given a normal emotional response. Life lesson: it is okay to be depressed as long as you keep going.
Cera - summed up in a nutshell her basic characteristics are obstinacy, rudeness, and pride (not the good kind). As a kid I thought my mom and brother were a lot like Cera….I still feel the same. She has some borderline personality characteristics. She is unwilling to admit when she is wrong. She pretends to be WAY more than what she is. Life lesson: I’m sure there is one, but I don’t really feel like she has a life lesson to offer.
Ducky - my favorite character. I love her perpetual optimism. She is the mother hen of the bunch. She is always kind, she loves fun, and she tries to make the most out of every situation. I self identify with Ducky. Life lesson: just because things are hard, doesn’t mean you can’t have a positive attitude anyway.
Petrie - My second favorite character. He can’t fly, because he has a deep fear of failure. He wants to fly, but it is clear that he is holding himself back. However, when it becomes necessary he is able to overcome his fear and learns to be a powerful flier. Life lesson: sometimes we let our fear get in the way of who we can become.
Spike - is the “chill” member of the friend group. He does what feels right to him and goes with the flow. Life lesson: go with the flow, everything will work itself out.
Photo Credit: imdb.com
