LBT in the new 2020s decade

[OwlsCantRead]

So I was on Youtube today and chanced across one of those Land Before Time TV show clip videos from the official channel that capitalize on trends: in this case, Valentine's Day.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pH7Yxu_ec0
(and no, I actually checked... yeah that title was kinda clickbait-y. )

Well, the video was uploaded just today, although the TV series aired 12-13 years ago and that got me thinking. Surely given the recent propensity to spread these clip videos (hahaha COPPA is that you? ) there must be a population of kids who grew up exposed to the TV series (you can find the entire season on Youtube) as their fix? Are these kids who have been exposed to these videos probable future fans and next generation of LBT fans to-be? It's worth thinking about...

Land Before Time is a niche franchise to some extent, moreso now than ever before. Went strong in the 90s and 2000s when the sequels were produced, but even in the early 2010s, fans could ride off the coattails of the TV series, albeit with the knowledge that the studios have closed. Times have since changed, however, and the valley is nt what it once was. Jurassic World has brought forth a resurgence of sorts, but it seems to be short-lived given the lack of merchandising or relevancy to the young'uns of today.

It's no secret that the series has underwent a decline of sorts. No sugarcoating or embellishing of it, it's a fact that when no official new content is being produced for a franchise, how relevant a fandom is in the public eye and the drive of general non-diehard fans will diminish over time. For instance, I was curious and looked up those videos on Youtube, and it's mostly recycled content from the same 26 episodes. Even to staunch fans, Journey of the Brave was the last huzzah for the franchise officially from Universal thus far. It is the last thing to officially sate our desire for more of these characters, and more adventures and songs.

What I'm curious to discuss today is how relevant you think the Land Before Time franchise as a whole in this new decade, and the apparent ramifications of time horizon and relevancy as the original batch of fans grow older. Now, I won't lie. I'm not the generation who grew up on Land Before Time. Not at all. There's no denying that the original Bluth film will live on, as a testament to its timelessness. But the sequels as a whole, something which has been mocked and vilified quite widely causing even people who'd never seen them to judge the films unfairly... what about them?

Without any new content (officially, that is) in the foreseeable future and a shrinking presence overall in the media, is the franchise on the cusp of a decline, or a renaissance? I state the latter because we might be in a new era of probable fans (sometimes I glimpse at the LBT wiki and see signs that young kids still like this franchise). But is that just an optimistic outlook from fans who, in a sense, just hopes for the best, akin to the Gang of Seven living a timeless existence without change and never growing up? Well, unlike the unaging gang, we are growing up and might outgrow these young dinosaurs (hopefully not ). But if so, will there be an influx of younger fans joining us this decade? Or will it all fall apart as different generations drift away from this 1988 film and the franchise it spawned.

So what do you think? Sorry if I rambled, but it'll be interesting to see if we can garner a consensus on our future and relevancy.

[Sneak]

Oh my... XD (about video, it's name and picture )

---

I simply dunno what would happen with franchise in nearest future.
But LBT franchise took its deserved place in history.

[StardustSoldier]

As a kid growing up in the 1990s, I can remember Land Before Time being quite popular back then. Nowadays, however, the series no longer has the same "hip and happening" status. Which is unfortunate for LBT fans like us, but understandable all the same. There’s certain big franchises like Pokémon and Star Trek which remain widely popular and continue to receive new content, while others come and go with the times.

One thing that is encouraging is that the official LBT YouTube channel, which started up in 2017, now has a very high subscriber count of 225k, and still continues to pick up more subscribers. Even if the LBT fandom is a more niche thing nowadays, it shows that it certainly isn’t a forgotten franchise or anything. Even this upload of the "Eggs" song has gotten an impressive amount of traffic.

Still, it would be nice if we could actually get some brand new content. For one thing, then the official LBT channel wouldn’t be stuck just doing compilations and re-runs of a single-season TV show. And of course, more content would be the best way to bring in some new fans. My gut feeling is that we will get something LBT related at some point down the line, but that it won’t be for another few or several years at least.

[Anagnos]

Indeed, that title for this video is 100% clickbait, but it would have been a grand twist had it been something else other than this… joke of a video. I don't know what I expected when I saw the thumbnail, but I should've known better than this to begin with.

I was born in late 1999 so I obviously didn’t see the initial growth of the Land Before Time franchise like so many others did. It was pretty early in my life did I discover this series and immediately fell in love with it. I practically begged my mother to rent the original movie from the local bookstore every time we happened to take a detour there. Over the years, my interest in the franchise only continued to grow, and I started to gather all of the available movies. Mind you, this was approximately around the time period when most of the sequels were already out, except for a select few, mainly Wisdom of Friends. I would love to disclose a small-scale ''secret'' that I still have these movies in my possession, and I likely will not ever part from them as they're a big part of my childhood and simply giving up on that important part of my early life is something I haven't even considered. Time will tell whether I will show them to my possible future offspring, but that's something I would like to keep in the dark for now.

Despite the fact that the general interest in this universe seems to have rapidly died out over the years as people have grown older and are now focused on other matters entirely, there are still numerous amount of fans still interested in their childhood fantasies, and I guess I am one of those people. I recall to be the only one in my entire family who found this series to be a grand spectacle, which was always something that made me feel slightly down when my friends and cousins would trash talk the franchise that I loved from the bottom of my heart.

At this point, I think it’s very unlikely we’ll ever get new content, but I’d liked to remain optimistic that one day we might get something new. After all, when news of Journey of the Brave reached me, I was very ecstatic that something I cherished throughout these long years would finally make a comeback, and while I didn’t find the film to be one of the best or absorbing, I still like to think it was a rather worthy sequel after such a long break. That being said, I can’t be the only one who finds the amount of sequels a bit… uncanny.

[Dr. Rex]

Jeez, that video just redefined the term "clickbait".

Anyway...while I do agree that the lack of official content for LBT is quite concerning and could put a great dent into the future of the franchise, I think it will endure for a little while longer because of the fanbase. This franchise has been a cornerstone of the 80s, 90s, and early-to-mid-2000s. By this point, the oldest LBT fans are in their 30s to 40s, not all dead. As long as we keep our love and enthusiasm for the franchise alive and in droves, LBT's cultural impact can still be felt. It's so encouraging to see videos like the one @StardustSoldier linked reach hundreds of thousands of views. If we keep it up, Universal's bound to see how much people still love this little gem of a franchise and try continuing it again.

In fact, if we're creative, we could probably help LBT reach a new generation of audiences. Meme are all the rage nowadays, right? Maybe if we somehow make an LBT-centric meme, something akin to the surprised Pikachu face, we can get younger people interested enough to find the origins of said meme.



Like this, for example. If we make the text applicable to anything and then spread it and make it popular enough, we could potentially see a resurgence.

I dunno, that's just me talking. For now, I think we should keep up what we've always been doing to unofficially continue the franchise: create fanfiction, fanart, etc.

[Gentle Sharptooth]

I suspect we will have either a) more of the same since LBTXI, or b) a revival, but that would require major interest from LBT creators.

[StardustSoldier]

^My preference would definitely be for a revival/reboot at this point. While I would still welcome any new content at all, I sort of feel that they've taken it as far as they can with simply making more sequels. Although I do think a second season to the TV show would be interesting, even if it seems unlikely.

[Dr. Rex]

^ There's definitely a lot of material they could cover in a second season.

[Gentle Sharptooth]

^My preference would definitely be for a revival/reboot at this point. While I would still welcome any new content at all, I sort of feel that they've taken it as far as they can with simply making more sequels. Although I do think a second season to the TV show would be interesting, even if it seems unlikely.

I find your thoughts on making more sequels intriguing. I see how there is little left to explore unless the Gang is allowed to age. The character development regresses after major leaps forward; an example is Petrie gains confidence during The Great Day of Flyers, but then reverts to his old timid nature (exception is Cesar Petrieus in LBTXIV, but that was not a test of his fears).

[StardustSoldier]

I'll admit I'm a bit apprehensive about a possible 15th film because I have a feeling they'd just style it after the most recent sequels, and I'm not the biggest fan of #11-14. I preferred the tone of the early-to-mid sequels.

Although you raise a very good point. And I would agree; more sequels would be interesting if they showed us a grown-up version of the Gang.

I also like your idea on the other thread:

What I would prefer is Bluth or a successor makes a new set of sequels that are darker follow ups to the Original. This way fans have the best of both worlds.

[Gentle Sharptooth]

I'll admit I'm a bit apprehensive about a possible 15th film because I have a feeling they'd just style it after the most recent sequels, and I'm not the biggest fan of #11-14. I preferred the tone of the early-to-mid sequels.

Although you raise a very good point. And I would agree; more sequels would be interesting if they showed us a grown-up version of the Gang.

I also like your idea on the other thread:

What I would prefer is Bluth or a successor makes a new set of sequels that are darker follow ups to the Original. This way fans have the best of both worlds.

I too am rather disatisfied with the style and simplistic music from XI to XIV, we have lost the depth of “All Sorts” and the witty and silly of “We’ve Gotta Have Eggs.” I am hoping they can get some composer to restore the music to its original level, that being contigent on if they make more movies or a Season 2 of the series.

Thanks for the quote from my other post , a Bluth Saga of Dark LBT films would satisfy fans of the Original, while I say the innocent song filled saga could live on in a series (season 2).   

[Dr. Rex]

^ That is such a great idea. Darker sequels with a stronger sense of continuity (with the addition of a season 2 as a kid-friendly alternative) would be the ideal way of bringing old and new fans into the community.

[Gentle Sharptooth]

^ That is such a great idea. Darker sequels with a stronger sense of continuity (with the addition of a season 2 as a kid-friendly alternative) would be the ideal way of bringing old and new fans into the community.

I always believe in a middle road when it comes to entertainment; allow fans to have options when it comes to more mature content while keeping the wholesome and more child friendly content. A company that did this well was EA and Tolkien, they gave casual fans Lego Lord of the Rings and Aragorn’s Quest which were E for Everyone and softened the darker elements like the Belrog of Morgoth, but they also made the Mature and gory Lord of the Rings The War in the North where fans could preform Aragorn level decapitations and limb removal.

This muti-theme, light and dark creations made it possible for fans of all ages and types to enjoy Middle Earth. My hope is TLBT could have a similiar fate with content for mature and younger fans. 

[ImpracticalDino]

Probably gonna come back and formulate a longer response to the topic of the thread in general.

Still, it would be nice if we could actually get some brand new content. For one thing, then the official LBT channel wouldn’t be stuck just doing compilations and re-runs of a single-season TV show. And of course, more content would be the best way to bring in some new fans. My gut feeling is that we will get something LBT related at some point down the line, but that it won’t be for another few or several years at least.

If there’s something that I never comprehend up to this day with these channels that upload clips, how are people willingly to come back to the channel and watch literally the same thing that was uploaded days ago, but just under a different title or thumbnail? For things like Gordon Ramsay I totally understand, but for LBT wouldn’t it get a bit boring? Most of the views from their recent vids come from their subscribers I would assume, with a small percentage coming from recommended vids. They have been milking the same content for awhile, and even with the implementation of COPPA, essentially reducing their ad revenue, it’s probably still worthwhile for them. I do have the same hopes as you do that something new gets created in the future.

[Dr. Rex]

^ That is such a great idea. Darker sequels with a stronger sense of continuity (with the addition of a season 2 as a kid-friendly alternative) would be the ideal way of bringing old and new fans into the community.

I always believe in a middle road when it comes to entertainment; allow fans to have options when it comes to more mature content while keeping the wholesome and more child friendly content. A company that did this well was EA and Tolkien, they gave casual fans Lego Lord of the Rings and Aragorn’s Quest which were E for Everyone and softened the darker elements like the Belrog of Morgoth, but they also made the Mature and gory Lord of the Rings The War in the North where fans could preform Aragorn level decapitations and limb removal.

This muti-theme, light and dark creations made it possible for fans of all ages and types to enjoy Middle Earth. My hope is TLBT could have a similiar fate with content for mature and younger fans. 

I didn't even know Lego Lord of the Rings was a thing.

Anyway, I feel like this is something LBT should've quickly capitalized on back when it was still a thing in the 90s and 2000s. I remember comments (not sure if they were here) saying the LBT series looked like something that would've been a lot more popular in the 90s (which I'm inclined to agree with). Nowadays, I can't imagine them having enough support from the higher-ups at Universal to try and be this ambitious with the content.

[Gentle Sharptooth]

^The only way Universal would capitalize on diverse TLBT content is if they make Universal the one stop for all things dinosaur. They own the Jurassic Park/World franchise and have started turning their parks into Isla Nublar. To get the investors interested, the board would have to recieve this pitch: “let’s make all other dinosaur content extinct outside of our studios; making parents ans kids have to come to us to get their dinosaur fix.  Disney may have Star Wars, but we will have dinosaurs; they have Vader, we have Velociraptors.” In this the pitch would include content for youth which is TLBT and continuing the JP/JW franchise.

[Anagnos]

If a possible 15th sequel were to be made, the producers would have to be very careful as to what kind of a storyline they're going to introduce. The tone of the series definitely has switched to a more child friendly environment, and by switching it back to what the original was like, may not be generally accepted by some fans, namely younger generations. Although I would be very eager to see what they could create if they went with this plan, there's always room for further failure if the team is unprepared to bring the series into new light.

^ There's definitely a lot of material they could cover in a second season.

I'm rather skeptical of the potential for this plan. The television series wasn't exactly a big hit, and I found quite a few episodes that I truly enjoyed. Most of the episodes seemed to have no decent plot or execution, and occasionally the animation was just... bizarrely horrible. If a second season were to happen, I hope they'll take things slow instead of rushing into things senselessly. But speaking of potential ideas for a second season, what do you think they could cover? Care to give us a few examples?

[Gentle Sharptooth]

The TV Series was quite a peg below the LBT sequels and it gave us the “Wisdom of Friends,”
I miss the balance LBTII had of whimsy and terror. Child friendly and yet edgy.

[Anagnos]

The TV Series was quite a peg below the LBT sequels and it gave us the “Wisdom of Friends,”
I miss the balance LBTII had of whimsy and terror. Child friendly and yet edgy.

There's a reason why the original film still holds up strong to this day. I like how the producers made it more dark compared to the sequels, but with a slight touch of gaiety towards the end. That's how a great movie should work and I'm rather disappointed they decided to ditch that sentiment altogether. I watched the movie numerous times in my youth, and even if I did not have the capacity to understand everything I saw, the film still managed to make me shed tears. And when If We Hold On Together was showcased in the credits, I couldn't help but feel slightly elevated when it became clear what a wonderful story it was.

[Gentle Sharptooth]

The TV Series was quite a peg below the LBT sequels and it gave us the “Wisdom of Friends,”
I miss the balance LBTII had of whimsy and terror. Child friendly and yet edgy.

There's a reason why the original film still holds up strong to this day. I like how the producers made it more dark compared to the sequels, but with a slight touch of gaiety towards the end. That's how a great movie should work and I'm rather disappointed they decided to ditch that sentiment altogether. I watched the movie numerous times in my youth, and even if I did not have the capacity to understand everything I saw, the film still managed to make me shed tears. And when If We Hold On Together was showcased in the credits, I couldn't help but feel slightly elevated when it became clear what a wonderful story it was.

I concur, the original LBT has the heart strings, and is it any doubt that because ot explored darker themes like Littlefoot’s Mother’s Death? I find myself weeping profusely when I hear “If We Hold On Together.” It has a special place in my heart and reflects my own life, particularly my own family. :sobs