Alright! After sitting through in silence for years, I’ve decided it is time for me to voice up. I believe many Land Before Time fans out there do know the fact that the recently available VCD or DVD copies of the famous film are all the heavily edited version? And from my own experience, I believe the film has only been edited after its official release in the year of 1988, despite what the Wikipedia says.
The first time I watched the film was from a VHS copy my father rented from some shop back in 1996, when I was four. And although my memories of that age are quite vague, I can still remember many scenes from the movie that are not seen in the later VCD copies I watched; one I borrowed from my friend when I was ten and the other one I owned when I was twelve. When I watched the VCD copies many years later, I realized the film has been edited and many scenes were cut out. All those years I wished I was wrong about my speculation of the film’s edition and I chose not to trust my four year-old memories. But when I finally had access to the internet at the age of eighteen(my parents only allowed me to have access to internet after I had finished high school so... yeah) and I searched on The Land Before Time, I came across it on Wikipedia and... I was right all along; the film had indeed been edited. On that very moment, my heart languished, realizing that the VCD copy of the film I bought when I was twelve is the heavily edited version. Afterward, I searched for the original version of the film high and low on the internet for many days but to no avail. I also heard that there is a Finnish dubbed or subbed original version of the film and I tried to search for it on the internet but again, to no avail. I would still look for the original, unedited version of the film every once in a while since then and until now, but it were all in vain. It seems to me that the original version of the film I once saw as a child is lost forever.
In case some of you have never watched the original version of the film and have no idea what it is like, here is what those edited/cut-out scenes are:
The part where Littlefoot’s mother fought with the sharp-tooth(T-rex): In the VHS copy, I saw precisely how the T-rex jumped onto her back and bit her there, leaving a wound. After Littlefoot’s mother knocked him off and ran with Littlefoot and Cera, sharp-tooth got back on his feet and chased after them. After being whipped and knocked off by Littlefoot’s mother a few times using her tail, he managed to bit the back of her neck, leaving another wound before he battered her down to the ground and went after the two kids. In the VCD copies, however, the part where the sharp-tooth bit Littlefoot’s mother’s back was edited so it is only shown in the form of shadows and the part where he bit her neck and then battered her down to the ground is completely omitted. Now, do you remember seeing how Littlefoot’s mother was suddenly seen lying on the ground with a new wound on the back of her neck that seemed to be coming out of nowhere?
Shortly after the death of Littlefoot’s mother, the brief part featuring the wise, old Euoplocephalus who calls himself “Old Rooter” wasn’t seen in the VHS copy I watched before. It is said that that part was added in the edited version to “soften the emotional blow” caused by Littlefoot’s mother’s death in young children. The original version I saw goes like this: After his mother’s death, Littlefoot wandered off in grief(in the edited version, this part is substituted with him encountering Old Rooter) and the scene slowly changed to a bunch of cute baby pterodactyls fighting over a berry where eventually they all each received one berry from their mother. After that, Littlefoot received a “tree star” leaf from his mother’s spirit and was given the direction to the Great Valley. Personally, I believe the part featuring a bunch of cute baby pterodactyls fighting over a berry in a very comedic way must have been done by Mr. Don Bluth himself with the intention of lighten the audience’s mood up after the death scene of Littlefoot’s mother. And I think that was good enough. Still, I don’t have anything against the part with Old Rooter being added in the edited version.
And the scene that had been cut out completely is the part after Spike ate up his make-shift nest made of tall grass and curled up on the ground to sleep. From what I remember, after that, Littlefoot, Cera and Petrie ran up to Ducky and Littlefoot asked in concern, saying something like “Ducky! Are you alright?” and when they noticed Spike, Ducky said something like “This is my new friend, Spike. Can we take him with us? Huh? Huh?”. Cera was abhorred by the idea of taking Spike with them and said something like “No! He will slow us down. All spike-tails do is eat and sleep.” I don’t quite remember the rest of the dialogue but I do know that Littlefoot and Cera had some argument on taking Spike with them. I think one of them even said something about maybe they will find Spike’s parents on the way of their journey or that maybe his parents will be coming back for him, but I don’t quite remember. Then, Cera gave in and she grudgingly accepted Spike to come with them. In actuality, Cera is afraid of travelling alone because she knows that sharp-tooth is still alive and that the rest of the team is adamant on taking Spike with them. Afterward, Littlefoot, Petrie and Ducky tried to push the heavy, sleeping baby stegosaurus to move and failed(Cera refused to help). Ducky then came up with the effective idea of luring Spike to following them with berries.
It is said that there is also a cut-out part where the group came upon an oasis inhabited by “crown-heads”(Pachycephalosaurus) and “gray-noses”(Saurolophus) who refused to share food and water with one another and they also refused to share them with the five young dinosaurs when they asked them for some. While I don’t remember much about this part and the dialogue, I do remember seeing a part in the VHS copy where there were some dinosaurs guarding the “green-food” and some other guarding a spring of water that refused to share them with the five young dinosaurs and gave them stern looks when they asked some from them. And because of this, the group had to go find their own food and water. They found a flowing river shortly and drank from it(this part is also omitted in the edit version) before they found some green-foods two times afterward(this still exist in the edited version). They couldn’t eat from the first one because it was immediately devoured by a herd of adult long-necks. But they managed to eat from the second one they found.
The original ending and that of the edited version are also different. The one I saw from the VHS copy has Littlefoot found the Great Valley on his own at first after he and the rest of the group parted ways. That is, after Cera insulted his mother by calling her “a stupid long-neck” and the two of them fought fiercely, and when Cera decided to go her own way with the rest of the team chose to follow her instead of Littlefoot, he was angered and he continued his way alone, disregarding his unfaithful friends. After some time, he came upon a rocky cliff where his mother’s ghost appeared before him in the form of a long-neck shaped dark cloud and was guided by her to the Great Valley. There, upon seeing the Great Valley, instead of just settling down in there he went running back to search for his friends who were still in the region of lava streams and tar pits. After he helped his friends out of tough situations and after the young dinosaurs killed the sharp-tooth together by drowning him in a huge lake with a heavy boulder, Littlefoot guided his reunited friends to the Great Valley he found earlier. Upon seeing the Great Valley, Cera cheered, saying: “Littlefoot, you found it!” and Ducky yepped five times in agreement(this part still exist in the edited version).
Another interesting part that should be noted is when the five young dinosaurs were in the process of “getting rid” of the sharp-tooth. There are roughly three scenes in that part that have also been omitted in the edited version for I-don’t-know-why reasons. The first one being when Ducky was taunting Sharp-tooth by making (really funny) faces at him in the water in a failed attempt to buy her friends more time, which eventually angered the sharp-tooth into attacking her. The second one being when the sharp-tooth is sinking into the deep lake water with the heavy boulder, he is seen looking up to the water while dragging Petrie down with him in the teeth. The third one is when Petrie returned from his “death”, Ducky wasn’t the only one who was overjoyed by it. Littlefoot, Cera and Spike were also rejoiced when they saw Ducky carrying Petrie to them. Littlefoot then even happily carried Petrie on his head. And it is after this that Littlefoot guided his reunited friends to the Great Valley, which isn’t far from where they killed sharp-tooth.
The heavily edited version of the film, which is very likely the only existing version now, is such a crying shame. It was such a wonderful piece of work but for some ridiculously stupid reasons, it was mutilated to make it more “children friendly”. This is what I read in Wikipedia on The Land Before Time where Steven Spielberg, one of the douchebags who are responsible for editing the film, said: “It’s too scary. We’ll have kids crying in the lobby, and a lot of angry parents. You don’t want that.” Seriously?! What the hell?! What is so scary about all those cut-out parts of the film? To be honest, there is nothing more tragic then the death of Littlefoot’s mother in the movie and yet, my sisters and I haven’t experienced any “psychological damage” after we watched that part as toddlers almost twenty years ago. I think those editors edited the film did it just for self-interests. And they would give whatever B.S. reason they could think of to justify their actions. Steven Spielberg’s partner in crime in movie editing is George Lucas. These two directors are quite (in)famous for editing other people’s works. If I ever meet those two scoundrels in person, I think I might want to blacken their eyes for what they had done to the movie, if that action bears no consequences.
All in all, The Land Before Time is truly a brilliant, breathtaking and heart-warming movie like no other. All the baby or young dinosaur characters are certainly cute but not cutesy(i.e. way too cute that it is revolting) and all of them, with the exception of Petrie and Spike, are voiced by actual children, very talented children. The movie talks about life-circle(life and death), which is something most avoided by many other children friendly movies or kids shows, because many “clever” adults actually think that all young children are too weak and can never cope with the trials of life and death. The movie also tackles on the issue of diversity/racism. But it is exploited well by not involving offensive stereotyping, which is something many other kids shows have failed utterly to do so far. The most epic part of the movie is when the five young dinosaurs are tired of sharp-tooth stalking them all the time and decided that it is time to “get rid of him once and for all” by working out a plan to kill the big carnivore themselves. Now, how many other kids movies/shows, especially those featuring adult characters, have such bravery or brilliancy? Other than having the villains die because of some divine retribution or because of something they did themselves which eventually bring their own dooms(i.e. Karma)? All I can say is; Mr Don Bluth is a brilliant man who understands the hearts of young children and knows the essential, important lessons of life little children need to learn, unlike many “clever” adults who like to “keep the lessons from young children until they are old enough to learn”.
Last but not least, I sincerely wish the original, uncut version of the film I once saw as a child still exist somewhere, or that Mr. Don Bluth had kept a copy of the uncut version with himself so it can be released again one of these days. I really wish with all my heart that I will be able watch the original, uncut version of that movie at least once again in my lifetime, so I can die with no regret.
