Changes you would have made to the film

[F-14 Ace]

What's the scene with the snake that people are talking about?

[Sneak]

What's the scene with the snake that people are talking about?

Me personally referenced to this scene:
https://landbeforetime.fandom.com/wiki/The_Land_Before_Time
check Deleted Scenes section. You missed a looooot, if you never saw this and other found material.

[LittleDas75]

I think we should have seen more of the fight between Cera and Littlefoot rather than having it be mostly off screen.

[credence007]

Would definitely have kept in the part where Littlefoot finds the Great Valley, kept in certain parts of the Sharptooth scene (Littlefoot’s Mother shown graphically getting bitten would have been cool) rearrange the scenes in the correct order. They also should have kept in the Oasis part with the 2 dinosaur herds who won’t share because they are prejudiced against one another, which definitely would have been nice to further enhance the message of anti-racism.

I’ve also heard rumors (although they are unconfirmed) about what happens when Spike first joins the herd. Supposedly Cera gets so upset that she wanders off (that’s why you see her in the background in that particular scene of the movie) but she supposedly ends up in a dark and creepy forest, where she sees Sharptooth, but is fortunate enough to escape his glance, as he is busy eating and finishing off a dying dinosaur. Cera hides inside the bones of a dead triceratops so she isn’t seen, but slips away while he’s not looking. That’s when she returns back before they see the large grove of trees that get devoured by the herd of diplodocus. Like I said, this particular scene is just a rumor and not completely confirmed.

[Mouse-a-saur]

Cera hides inside the bones of a dead triceratops so she isn’t seen, but slips away while he’s not looking.

Oof, that's really grisly.  Would have definitely been unsettling.

[StardustSoldier]

Cera hides inside the bones of a dead triceratops so she isn’t seen, but slips away while he’s not looking.

Oof, that's really grisly.  Would have definitely been unsettling.

Definitely unsettling indeed. I feel like the scene in question probably wasn't an actual part of the movie, as it sounds a bit too gruesome even considering our knowledge of everything else in the uncut version. Cera wandering around by herself in a dark and creepy forest sounds like a cool idea for a scene though.

[Dr. Rex]

That Littlefoot’s Treestar that he was given by his mom wasn’t trampled.

Yeah, that part was pretty sad.

Then again, it was likely going to shrivel up and disintegrate in the end because no one would eat it. How would you have made Littlefoot let it go?

It would have been nice if he laid it in river in the Great Valley and watch it float away, and the rest of the Gang comes to Littlefoot and asks to play and he transitions to his new life in the Valley. 

That's...actually a pretty good idea.

[Gentle Sharptooth]

That Littlefoot’s Treestar that he was given by his mom wasn’t trampled.

Yeah, that part was pretty sad.

Then again, it was likely going to shrivel up and disintegrate in the end because no one would eat it. How would you have made Littlefoot let it go?

It would have been nice if he laid it in river in the Great Valley and watch it float away, and the rest of the Gang comes to Littlefoot and asks to play and he transitions to his new life in the Valley. 

That's...actually a pretty good idea.

Thanks. I think it would have been a nicer send off to Momma Longneck’s Treestar. Sharptooth trampling it kinda feels like an excessive insult, I mean he killed Littlefoot’s mom and then destroys his only memento from her.

[Sneak]

It would have been nice if he laid it in river in the Great Valley and watch it float away, and the rest of the Gang comes to Littlefoot and asks to play and he transitions to his new life in the Valley. 

Whoa! :O
I like this...

[LittlefootOnASkateboard]

This is a cool idea for a thread! I agree with just about everything OP suggested.

I could probably think of more changes I'd make but here's three that comes to mind:

Rooter

I could probably think of some more later but the one that really comes to mind is Rooter, the friendly Scolosaurus Littlefoot bumps into (literally) after losing his mother. He seems to be a kind and caring dinosaur, yet it doesn't seem to occur to him to help this recently orphaned, starving child?

I know dinosaurs at the time mostly just cared about themselves but even so, it doesn't make much sense to me. It sorta lessens the impact of that scene a little bit.

The fix would be simple. Just make him some semi-aquatic species, and show him swimming off before giving Littlefoot some important advice. That would have indicated to the audience that Rooter couldn't have followed Littlefoot on his journey.

Greedy longnecks

In the scene where the gang discovers a lone cluster of trees, only to see it abruptly depleted by a herd of apatosaurus, I would have changed them to some non-longneck herbivore. Iguanas maybe. I'd also have them crush trees and fight over the remaining treestars. It would make the scene more intense, give the kids a reason to just stay behind as they do and really shows the desperate, dire state of the world.

Plus, if they were longnecks, it introduces the question of why Littlefoot just couldn't go with them. Surely, they'd accept one of their own? Besides, I think the story works better if Littlefoots mother and grandparents are the only longnecks he sees before reaching the valley.

Domeheads => Raptors

I would have also swapped out the domehead Pachycephalosauruses to some raptor species. A. because raptors are cool, and B: it just makes more sense. It'd also have an establishing shot of the raptors hiding behind some rocks or something as the gang reach the tarpits.

The original scriptb]
Just about every deleted scene I've read and heard of from the original script seems like they would have improved the story. Especially Littlefoot finding the valley before going back to tell his friends. It just works better that way.

[Gentle Sharptooth]

I always saw Rooter as perhaps an angelosaur, like the Rainbowfaces who shows up to comfort Little Foot with some words.

However, say Rooter is just a regular dino, he probably felt he actually would be a burden on Littlefoot. Being old and not as strong, he’d slow Littlefoot down and Sharptooth would likely have found Littlefoot even more easily with Rooter.

The Greedy Longnecks worked for me because it showed all the dinos are in survival gear, thinking of themselves or  their immediate herd. It is the Gang and then the Great Valley herds who break with survival gear and think of those outside the pale of survival needs.

I actually liked the domehead antagonists. Sharptooth being the only Carnivour antagonist gives him more prominence, and we have to rember that T-Rex was the ultimate beloved carnivour at that time, raptors didn’t become famous till Jurassic Park (1993), which came out five years after The Land Before Time (1988).

[Dr. Rex]

This is a cool idea for a thread! I agree with just about everything OP suggested.

I could probably think of more changes I'd make but here's three that comes to mind:

Rooter

I could probably think of some more later but the one that really comes to mind is Rooter, the friendly Scolosaurus Littlefoot bumps into (literally) after losing his mother. He seems to be a kind and caring dinosaur, yet it doesn't seem to occur to him to help this recently orphaned, starving child?

I know dinosaurs at the time mostly just cared about themselves but even so, it doesn't make much sense to me. It sorta lessens the impact of that scene a little bit.

The fix would be simple. Just make him some semi-aquatic species, and show him swimming off before giving Littlefoot some important advice. That would have indicated to the audience that Rooter couldn't have followed Littlefoot on his journey.

Greedy longnecks

In the scene where the gang discovers a lone cluster of trees, only to see it abruptly depleted by a herd of apatosaurus, I would have changed them to some non-longneck herbivore. Iguanas maybe. I'd also have them crush trees and fight over the remaining treestars. It would make the scene more intense, give the kids a reason to just stay behind as they do and really shows the desperate, dire state of the world.

Plus, if they were longnecks, it introduces the question of why Littlefoot just couldn't go with them. Surely, they'd accept one of their own? Besides, I think the story works better if Littlefoots mother and grandparents are the only longnecks he sees before reaching the valley.

Domeheads => Raptors

I would have also swapped out the domehead Pachycephalosauruses to some raptor species. A. because raptors are cool, and B: it just makes more sense. It'd also have an establishing shot of the raptors hiding behind some rocks or something as the gang reach the tarpits.

The original scriptb]
Just about every deleted scene I've read and heard of from the original script seems like they would have improved the story. Especially Littlefoot finding the valley before going back to tell his friends. It just works better that way.

I actually like the Rooter idea. Not only would it have probably resulted in a fascinating water scene, but it would've made Rooter's role in the film more sense.

[LittlefootOnASkateboard]

This is a cool idea for a thread! I agree with just about everything OP suggested.

I could probably think of more changes I'd make but here's three that comes to mind:

Rooter

I could probably think of some more later but the one that really comes to mind is Rooter, the friendly Scolosaurus Littlefoot bumps into (literally) after losing his mother. He seems to be a kind and caring dinosaur, yet it doesn't seem to occur to him to help this recently orphaned, starving child?

I know dinosaurs at the time mostly just cared about themselves but even so, it doesn't make much sense to me. It sorta lessens the impact of that scene a little bit.

The fix would be simple. Just make him some semi-aquatic species, and show him swimming off before giving Littlefoot some important advice. That would have indicated to the audience that Rooter couldn't have followed Littlefoot on his journey.

Greedy longnecks

In the scene where the gang discovers a lone cluster of trees, only to see it abruptly depleted by a herd of apatosaurus, I would have changed them to some non-longneck herbivore. Iguanas maybe. I'd also have them crush trees and fight over the remaining treestars. It would make the scene more intense, give the kids a reason to just stay behind as they do and really shows the desperate, dire state of the world.

Plus, if they were longnecks, it introduces the question of why Littlefoot just couldn't go with them. Surely, they'd accept one of their own? Besides, I think the story works better if Littlefoots mother and grandparents are the only longnecks he sees before reaching the valley.

Domeheads => Raptors

I would have also swapped out the domehead Pachycephalosauruses to some raptor species. A. because raptors are cool, and B: it just makes more sense. It'd also have an establishing shot of the raptors hiding behind some rocks or something as the gang reach the tarpits.

The original scriptb]
Just about every deleted scene I've read and heard of from the original script seems like they would have improved the story. Especially Littlefoot finding the valley before going back to tell his friends. It just works better that way.

I actually like the Rooter idea. Not only would it have probably resulted in a fascinating water scene, but it would've made Rooter's role in the film more sense.

Yeah, I think so too! As it is, he just kinda shows up, gives his little pep-talk and in the next scene, he's gone and Littlefoot is teleported to another location. He's the one friendly adult we encounter after his mother's death in a dying wasteland without trees or water. Rooter is clearly a friendly dinosaur so why would he leave this recently orphaned cub to survive on his own?

I always saw Rooter as perhaps an angelosaur, like the Rainbowfaces who shows up to comfort Little Foot with some words.

However, say Rooter is just a regular dino, he probably felt he actually would be a burden on Littlefoot. Being old and not as strong, he’d slow Littlefoot down and Sharptooth would likely have found Littlefoot even more easily with Rooter.

The Greedy Longnecks worked for me because it showed all the dinos are in survival gear, thinking of themselves or  their immediate herd. It is the Gang and then the Great Valley herds who break with survival gear and think of those outside the pale of survival needs.

I actually liked the domehead antagonists. Sharptooth being the only Carnivour antagonist gives him more prominence, and we have to rember that T-Rex was the ultimate beloved carnivour at that time, raptors didn’t become famous till Jurassic Park (1993), which came out five years after The Land Before Time (1988).

Good points!

Yeah, the idea of Rooter is one of those metaphysical angel-dinos is super-interesting and would explain a lot! Where he comes from. Why he's alone. Why he just disappears. And as you said, it's also possible he's simply too old to travel with Littlefoot. That too would make sense, but isn't suggested by the movie itself. So I still find it a bit jarring.

I still feel the The Greedy Longnecks scene would have worked better if they weren't longnecks. There are so many other herbivores you could have picked! Iguanodons maybe. I also would have made the adults represented more of a threat. Fighting, trashing trees in a desperate feeding frenzy. That would have given the kids a reason to stay back and would have made it more clear that following this herd simply wasn't an option. And it would have driven home the sheer desperation of the situation.

As for the raptors - yeah you're right. I just like raptors, lol. And the fact that this was before JP would mean that this movie would have been uniquely posed to introduce moviegoers everywhere to these swift fast-biters. An the other claw, the domeheads were really scary. It just didn't feel right that a bunch of herbivores would attack like that! But they were defending their swamp lol.

[GreyLizard226]

That Littlefoot’s Treestar that he was given by his mom wasn’t trampled.

Yeah, that part was pretty sad.

Then again, it was likely going to shrivel up and disintegrate in the end because no one would eat it. How would you have made Littlefoot let it go?

It would have been nice if he laid it in river in the Great Valley and watch it float away, and the rest of the Gang comes to Littlefoot and asks to play and he transitions to his new life in the Valley. 

That's...actually a pretty good idea.

I’d change the part about it getting destroyed, too…but having Littlefoot just get rid of it also seems a bit harsh, assuming it’s actually the treestar his mom gave him (it’s not impossible the one he found in the footprint scene is a different one). After all, it’s not like Petrie would just get rid of the snuggling stick he apparently came to the great valley with.

[GreyLizard226]

That Littlefoot’s Treestar that he was given by his mom wasn’t trampled.

Yeah, that part was pretty sad.

Then again, it was likely going to shrivel up and disintegrate in the end because no one would eat it. How would you have made Littlefoot let it go?

It would have been nice if he laid it in river in the Great Valley and watch it float away, and the rest of the Gang comes to Littlefoot and asks to play and he transitions to his new life in the Valley. 

That's...actually a pretty good idea.

Thanks. I think it would have been a nicer send off to Momma Longneck’s Treestar. Sharptooth trampling it kinda feels like an excessive insult, I mean he killed Littlefoot’s mom and then destroys his only memento from her.

Well, we don’t know for 100% sure it’s the same treestar. But if it is, Littlefoot getting rid of it just doesn’t seem right. I mean, I guess in real life it would shrivel up. But when you have an artistic license, why not make use of it? Since Petrie also has a memento he brought to the valley, I think it works.

[LittleDas75]

I would add a scene where Cera apologizes to Littlefoot for being an absolute jerk towards him.

[Gentle Sharptooth]

Another change I would have made is to the title of the film in the opening.
What bugs me about the title in the opening is that it's just plan bold white text, and look really boring.


I would have had the title in the opening look more like it dose on the poster and VHS and DVD cover.


I would also have made a little change to the scene were Littlefoot and Ducky first meet Petrie. Instead of having Littlefoot yelling like a maniac ( and gives us a lovely view down his gob) I would just have him do a quick "Argh!" and back away, before sending Petrie flying through the air and crash into the ground.
Seriously that bit freaked me out as a kid....

Speaking of Petrie, I would have made a scene showing his hatching at the start of the film.

I agree, the title in film should match the posters.

[00not_nathan00]

I would have leaned more into the 7 deadly sins. Because Cera and Spike both portray at least 1 of the traits Spike is Gluttony and Cera being Pride. Maybe if Littlefoot could have been Lust you know longing to see if mother one more time and not really understanding why she had to go. Maybe Petrie could have been Envy of all the other Flyers who can fly but wondering why he can't. What if Ducky could have been maybe Sloth in that scene where she meets Littlefoot. You know not wanting to go with him to the great valley stuck wondering where her family is that sort of thing. Because that I think could have been interesting seeing how all these other dinosaurs are portrayed or portray themselves in the movie.         

[Gentle Sharptooth]

Would definitely have kept in the part where Littlefoot finds the Great Valley, kept in certain parts of the Sharptooth scene (Littlefoot’s Mother shown graphically getting bitten would have been cool) rearrange the scenes in the correct order. They also should have kept in the Oasis part with the 2 dinosaur herds who won’t share because they are prejudiced against one another, which definitely would have been nice to further enhance the message of anti-racism.

I’ve also heard rumors (although they are unconfirmed) about what happens when Spike first joins the herd. Supposedly Cera gets so upset that she wanders off (that’s why you see her in the background in that particular scene of the movie) but she supposedly ends up in a dark and creepy forest, where she sees Sharptooth, but is fortunate enough to escape his glance, as he is busy eating and finishing off a dying dinosaur. Cera hides inside the bones of a dead triceratops so she isn’t seen, but slips away while he’s not looking. That’s when she returns back before they see the large grove of trees that get devoured by the herd of diplodocus. Like I said, this particular scene is just a rumor and not completely confirmed.

Seeing Sharptooth actually eat would have added to his terror.