What would you like...

Petrie · **on:** September 10, 2004, 08:37:58 AM

This is all for fun mind you, but what would YOU like to see in an anniversary release? The 20th anniversary will be in 2008 so it's a long ways off, but if you could dream up the ultimate anniversary release what would you put on the special edition dvd?

After just drooling over watching the 25th anniversary release of Watership Down, I would definitely want Bluth or Goldman giving a director's commentary explaining the ups and downs of production. If that wasn't in there, I wouldn't buy it. I already have the film thank you, now I want to hear how that film was produced, directed, animated, etc.

Also some special features would be nice: in-production gallery, early sketches, early storyboards (there were some), deleted scenes (there were some of these too but they never were inked or painted), cast and crew-what are they doing now, what did they think of working on the film?

These are my ideas...what are yours?

Littlefoot1616 · **Reply #1 on:** September 10, 2004, 10:03:52 AM

I'd have to say mine requests would pretty much be the same. It would be a wonder to hear from Don Bluth and Gary Goldman (it is Gary isnt it?). Deleted scenes are a MUST! For gawd sake, the movie was supposed to be at least an extra 1/2 hour longer than it currently is but major cuts were made to it coz they reckoned that the kids wouldnt sit still long enough to watch the whole thing. It only seems to be current releases who have the accessibility to input deleted scenes from the movies but Im sure Universal has an entire film reel archived somewhere...I cant believe they'd make trims to the movie and just chuck 'em out! No way! No film director is THAT dense! Annoyingly, the LBT 15th anni DVD never actually left the shores of Region 1 so nowhere else got the privilege to see it but I heard that there was nothing particularly special about it. There is so much to be shown, original sketches, photos of production etc. Hopefully, a new anni release will be planned out much better rather than just a side project slapped up together as a quick idea. I doubt we'll see a 20th anni but maybe a 25th to mark a quarter century (that's normally the first big landmark for an anni). But during that time, hopefully we've got some wicked sequels heading our way!

Malte279 · **Reply #2 on:** September 10, 2004, 12:59:28 PM

As for the 15th anniversary edition of LBT on DvD, it was released in Germany yesterday. I didn't see it, and right now I can't afford to buy this or any of the other six LBT DvDs (2 to 7) which are available in Germany for the first time now. Except for the different language versions, there seems to be nothing special about those DvDs at all. Those of LBT 2 to 6 had a remark on "special features", which in all cases seem to consist of two games of the kind that entertains a three year old for five minutes. The original movie had a remark about the movie being edited digitally (whatever that means), but no reference to any special features.

I definitely agree that an anniversary edition of the movie (sorry, but I doubt that another DvD edition with this features is ever going to be released) should contain the outcut scenes. For all I know 7 minutes of the movie that were actaully produced were cut out later. Maybe more scenes were planned but not finally realized. Maybe it would be possible to find planning sketches of such scenes that give an idea of how such a scene would have looked.
An audio comment of Don Bluth and Gary Goldman would certainly be great. I would also be very interested to hear something from Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss (who created the characters) and Stu Krieger (who wrote the script). I'd be very interested to know who was actually the first one to come up with an idea for LBT, and who really thought of the story. It would also be interesting to know if there were earlier koncepts for the outward appearance of the characters (I doubt anyone just draw a dinosaur and from the first attempt it looked like it looked in the movie), and for the story plot (I read about earlier plans for the storyline that were supposed to stress the topic of racism ("threehorns never play with longnecks") much more than the movie did).

Petrie · **Reply #3 on:** September 10, 2004, 06:56:50 PM

Yep, yep the Anniversary edition had nothing to offer. :angry: No widescreen, no surroundsound, no EXTRAS. WTF?

They sure want to milk the series by leading us to believe that the anniversary edition was worth owning but it was a cheap rip-off.

Seems we all want the same things on an anniversary edition. Hope Universal's listening.

WeirdRaptor · **Reply #4 on:** October 29, 2004, 12:38:18 AM

Darn right I'd like to see a 20th Anniversary version of it!

Petrie · **Reply #5 on:** October 29, 2004, 08:38:39 AM

^ Well yes I'm sure we all would, but what would YOU like on it?

WeirdRaptor · **Reply #6 on:** October 29, 2004, 01:18:36 PM

Things I'd like to see in an EE version:

Further clarification as to why the T-Rex is chasing Littlefoot and Co.

Everything Bluth wanted in there.

No offense, but this film is not an example of what Bluth can when he's just 'let go'. "The Secret of NIMH" is the best example of that, "Land Before Time" could have been, if it weren't for Spielberg and Lucas toally misunderstanding the strength of animated films all together.

Petrie · **Reply #7 on:** October 29, 2004, 11:42:29 PM

That is true... SON was much darker than LBT ever was, and that's mostly because of the cut rex scenes.

WeirdRaptor · **Reply #8 on:** October 30, 2004, 12:58:58 AM

Agreed.

Don't get me wrong, I like LBT, I just wish that Spielberg and Lucas had realized the potential for dramatic storytelling that animated features have to offer. "Cartoon's only for kids". I wish I could say what I feel about remarks such as that while here, but I will reframe. :angry:

Malte279 · **Reply #9 on:** October 30, 2004, 06:19:19 AM

I have to admit I never watched the secret of Nimh which most people consider Bluth's greatest masterpiece. I hope that I find the time to borrow it at a video store to watch it.

Petrie · **Reply #10 on:** October 30, 2004, 08:41:00 AM

It's really nice...and a nice effort for an independent studio with limited funding.

And yes, Justin does say "damn".

And WR, you have a point there about Speilberg mentioning it as a kid flick, and that's why Bluth really doesn't like this film much as others because Speilberg/Lucas restricted them to what they could produce. <_<

WeirdRaptor · **Reply #11 on:** October 30, 2004, 02:13:35 PM

You really should watch it Malte, it is his greatest film.

I feel for Bluth in the matter. I wish I could have seen all that stuff that Mr. "Jaws" and Mr. "Star Wars" made him cut.

You know, after filming a film like "Jaws", it makes Spielberg kind of a hypocrit to make Bluth make his film child friendly.

Petrie · **Reply #12 on:** October 30, 2004, 02:46:29 PM

Yeah but Jaws was made for an adult audience.

LBT really wasn't shooting for an older child audience.

WeirdRaptor · **Reply #13 on:** October 30, 2004, 07:59:40 PM

Yeah, but I think that Spielberg very much underestimates what kids can handle.

Petrie · **Reply #14 on:** October 30, 2004, 11:09:59 PM

Well, what you have to understand is though kids today, 2004 can dish out a lot more...those weren't the views of parents and the way kids acted/behaved in 1988. It is very much different now.

WeirdRaptor · **Reply #15 on:** October 31, 2004, 12:23:28 AM

True. So, Bluth was a bit ahead of his time. If he had released NIMH, American Tail, Land Before Time in 1992, 1996, 1998, instead of when they did come out, and as HE intended for them to be: They would have made SO MUCH money....it would not have been countable.

Malte279 · **Reply #16 on:** October 31, 2004, 03:38:22 AM

Quote

They would have made SO MUCH money....it would not have been countable.

Much as I'd like to see the scenes that were cut from LBT, I seriously doubt that they would have made the movie sell THAT much better. In fact they might have scared the kids in the cinemas. Even Bluth writes in his Toon Talk magazine:

Quote

On that day, nineteen fully colored Rex scenes were cut from the movie. I mourned for a week. Were Steven and George right to do it? In hindsight, I think, yes.

I'm actually even more interested in scenes that contain more story rather than more running away from the sharptooth. For example a scene was cut after Spike's hatching in which Ducky manages to get him up. I would have loved to see the others first reaction upon seeing Spike. One LBT book I have suggests that Cera doesn't want to take Spike along but is overruled.
Another scene (which I'm afraid was never produced but may have been planed) is that "Oasis" chapter from one of my land before time books, which I quoted repeatedly in the forums.

WeirdRaptor · **Reply #17 on:** October 31, 2004, 04:46:08 AM

Weren't you reading? I said that it would have done IF it was released in 1998, INSTEAD of 1988. Its impossible to scare kids these days.

Malte279 · **Reply #18 on:** October 31, 2004, 08:36:26 AM

Still I don't really think that some more scary scenes would have made land before time so much more of a success than it is already.

Petrie · **Reply #19 on:** October 31, 2004, 11:01:59 AM

I couldn't tell if it would sell better with those scenes but it sure would give the movie more action to it when it really deserved to have it.

I don't think it would scare kids these days either.