Aspect Ratio of DTV movies

Kirben · **on:** March 21, 2016, 01:00:47 AM

When exactly did the Land Before Time DTVs switch to widescreen aspect ratio (1.78:1)?

The 12th (The Great Day of the Flyers) and 13th (The Wisdom of Friends) movies were released in widescreen in Australia and Europe. Are there any signs of earlier movies been produced for widescreen?

I thought the switch to widescreen might have happened when the break occurred between movie 10 (The Great Longneck Migration) and movie 11 (Invasion of the Tinysauruses). But I can find no sign of the 'Invasion of the Tinysauruses' been released in widescreen on DVD anywhere worldwide. The movies (and series) were frequently cropped to full screen for DVD releases in the USA, but other countries usually got the widescreen version.

Kirben · **Reply #1 on:** March 21, 2016, 05:09:13 AM

I tried compared the screenshots on the back cover of the DVD releases for "Invasion of the Tinysauruses" to the video I could find on YouTube, and I was really surprised.

Compared this screenshot from the movie:

To the second image on the back cover:

Invasion of the Tinysauruses was clearly designed for widescreen, as the image on the back cover shows more of the left/right sides, without any vertical cropping. The DVD releases has been cropped to full screen, causing the left and ride sides to be cut off.

Looking over the back cover of the other Land Before Time movies, and it looks like the back cover starting offering widescreen images from movie 10 (The Great Longneck Migration) onwards. I'm wondering if 'The Great Longneck Migration' was designed for widescreen now, and I will try to do a comparison later.

The real problem is whether 'Invasion of the Tinysauruses' is available in widescreen anyway? does anyone have the movie in widescreen on DVD?

Kirben · **Reply #2 on:** March 21, 2016, 09:16:18 AM

Final proof that "Invasion of the Tinysauruses" was produced for widescreen:
Trailer on YouTube.

That trailer shows that first two scenes from the back cover in widescreen.

I'm really tired of movies been cropped to full screen on DVD, it is looking like the widescreen version will be impossible to track down on DVD.

Kirben · **Reply #3 on:** March 22, 2016, 01:35:01 AM

I finally matched the screenshots on the back cover the DVD releases of "The Great Longneck Migration" and confirmed the screenshots have been cropped to widescreen for that movie.

So movie 11 (Invasion of the Tinysauruses) was the point the DTV movies switched to widescreen, which makes sense, considering the break at that time.

Can anyone help find movie 11 (Invasion of the Tinysauruses) in widescreen on DVD?

Using IMDB for translations and back covers from each country, I confirmed:
Australia: Cropped
Brazil: Cropped
Finland: Cropped
Germany: Cropped
Greece: Cropped
Hungray: Cropped
Spain: Cropped
Sweden: Cropped
USA: Cropped
UK: Cropped?

Only the DVD release in Poland is listed as 1.78:1 on the back cover:
Pradawny Ląd 11: Inwazja MinizaurÛw
Pradawny Ląd 11: Inwazja MinizaurÛw

Does anyone own the DVD release shown above? I suspect it is more likely a misprint.

Kirben · **Reply #4 on:** April 21, 2016, 09:53:55 PM

I ended up importing the DVD release of the 'Invasion of the Tinysauruses' from Poland, only to find the movie is cropped to full screen too

The anamorphic widescreen listed on the back cover isn't accurate at all.

Unfortunately look like the 'Invasion of the Tinysauruses' was never released in widescreen on DVD anywhere worldwide. Maybe the widescreen version will eventually show up on a digital streaming service in future.