I'm sorry, I just found that quote to be hilarious.
It was meant to be. Nothing to be sorry about
I actually believe he had carried thoughts of revenge in his mind. I mean, how would you feel if you saw someone kill a member of your family right in front of you? Makes you think twice, huh?
Death penalty supporters' favorite argument -_-
If I did
think twice I would NOT commit murder out of revenge. Of course I cannot say for sure how I would react if a friend or relative was murdered before my eyes (I doubt anyone can), but for sure not too much thinking would be involved in the moments after such a murder. Killing the murderer would be an act of the impulse (however just it may feel at that moment) rather than a sensible act based on thinking twice about anything.
In Littlefoot's case however a considerable time had passed since the killing of his mother. He was no longer acting on such an impulse. I said it before that I don't question Littlefoot probably did feel some relieve or even satisfaction about the death of Sharptooth. What I do question is the theory of thirst for revenge as a central motive in Littlefoot's decision to take on the sharptooth thereby risking not only his own but also the life of the others.
Sharptooth was a lethal thread to Littlefoot and the others and as it was "the law of nature" there was absolutely no chance for Littlefoot and the others to ever be save from Sharptooth save by his death. Moreover the original cut of the movie included the point that Sharptooth was about to find and enter the Great Valley, thereby threatening the paradise Littlefoot and the others had been searching all the time. In military terms one might consider the killing of the Sharptooth a "preemptive-strike". Nature didn't leave any doubt about Sharptooth's being a permanent thread and there was no alternative possibility but killing Sharptooth to be save from him. Neither of these last two points is true in case of human murderers.
This caught my attention! Is there indeed more than one cut of the original movie? What are the differences, and when were they made? Going from theater to original VHS, or from the original VHS (which I still have, from the 80's, so I want to check!) to the 20th Anniversary DVD which was released recently?
The original version of the land before time which Don Bluth produced was about 8 minutes longer than the version we finally got (there are even claims that Bluth would have had the movie 35 minutes longer, but 35 additional minutes were definitely never produced). Steven Spielberg and George Lucas did some extensive cutting. Most of the scenes cut from the land before time were scenes with the Sharptooth considered too scary for kids. However, those scenes also involved some elements significantly different from the movie as we know it.
In Don Bluth's version Littlefoot found the Great Valley shortly after his quarrel with Cera and his parting with her and the others, but rather than entering the Great Valley he returned to lead the others there, as he knew they would be lost forever otherwise. Upon returning with Ducky, Petrie, and Spike Littlefoot found sharptooth about to find the entrance to the Great Valley.
While this version was never published as movie footage several books published in 1988 along with the movie are telling this version. Moreover two screenshots which confirm that this version of the story was actually produced were published in one book ("The Search for the Great Valley") respectively in a file issued to the press in 1988. The Screenshots show Littlefoot standing above a waterfall gazing over the Great Valley and his turning back to get the others.
The 1988 land before time book by Jim Razzi (which does not include any screenshots, but tells the Don Bluth version of the story) gives the following account on the moments before the fight with the Sharptooth:
The next morning Littlefoot, Ducky, Spike, and Petrie headed down the path toward the Great Valley.
"We're almost there," said Littlefoot. "Just a little farther."
"Too bad Cera not with us," said Petrie.
As the group rounded a pool near the cliffs by the entrace to the valley, Petrie leapt of Littlefoot's head and climbed to a high, rocky ledge. Suddenly he began to quiver with fear.
"Petrie, what is it?" Littlefoot asked as he reached the ledge. The he looked beyond it. There, on the plain that overlooked the Great Valley, was Sharptooth. He was searching for the entrance to the valley!
9 The Great Valley
Littlefoot realized that they had led Sharptooth to the valley. He knew that the herds would be helpless against the monster. He and his friends had to stop Sharptooth.
Littlefoot noticed a large boulder balanced at the edge of a rock ledge high above a pool of water. "We've got to get Sharptooth away from the high rocks before he fins the entrance," he said to the others. "And then we'll have to work together to kill him."
