The Gang of Five
The Land Before Time => General Land Before Time => Topic started by: WeirdRaptor on January 18, 2017, 03:22:49 PM
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"...we all keep to our own kinds. The three-horns, the spike-tails, the swimmers, the flyers... we never do anything together... because we're different. It's always been that way. ...When we reach the Great Valley, there'll be many, many long necks for you to play with." -Mama Longneck
The Land before Time 4, or "The One Where the Mentality Attributed to this Quote Makes a Comeback as the Main Theme because a New Herd Rolls into the Neighborhood". I have to give kudos to all the people responsible for the sequels. Even when the series was at its very worst, they NEVER forgot this core component of the original film.
In the other half of the conversation I cut from the quotes above to join together Mama Longneck's lines, Littlefoot expresses confusion at the alleged "need" for the herds to isolate themselves from each other. The message Bluth was conveying is clear: racism is not only hurtful and destructive, it is also dumb. Imagine if the herds were already together like in the Valley. Mama Longneck probably wouldn't have died, because the adults would have been able to just gang up on the Sharptooth like they do with Chomper's parents in LBT2.
I am, of course, talking about the first film and its themes so much because LBT 4 feels the most like an proper extensive of it out of the three Roy Allen Smith sequels. It also covers a lot of the same tropes featured in it.
1. An isolationists herd rolls into town fully intending not to interact with anyone.
They also want move on soon. "Why?" I ask to that latter part, considering the lands outside are basically different shades of Purgatory and Hell.
2. A dinosaur child needs to overcome her own learned specism to work together with the Gang.
3. Littlefoot is faced with the loss of a family member (again).
4. The Gang is constantly stalked by a carnivore with a damaged eye/poor eyesight.
5. Someone in the Gang learns how to do something they couldn't before (Petrie flies/Spike speaks).
6. They traverse another God Forsaken hellish landscape and manage to barely make it alive back to the Great Valley.
Thankfully, they play around with them enough as to avoid being totally unoriginal. I honestly don't have many problems with this one. It's a straightforward tale that has smooth A-to-B points and the moral works, even if its the same one Bluth and company already pushed with the original. But then again, you can't really push the "racism is bad" card too much, even in today's world... Actually, more like especially in today's world.
So a new herd of longneck migrators arrive in the Valley, lead by "The Old One", or as I like to call her, "Granny Killjoy." Her opening line for greeting the Great Valley Denizens is to tell them a horror story about how climate change turned their own once peaceful valley into croc-infected marshlands and they should totally expect the same thing to happen there. Uh... thanks for that? But seriously lady, you should have been here last week when the whole Valley almost dried up and everyone was nearly killed by raptors trying to unclog the river. Or the week before when Littlefoot and friends punched a hole in the protective wall surrounding... wait, how'd you guys get in? So, a herd of longnecks can just walk in but Sharpteeth can't, somehow? How does this work? Does the Great Valley have guards who keep watch and fend off any intruders carnivores or have their constructed a crude moat and drawbridge?
Okay, yeah, this whole "we're completely protected from the lands outside" catch all plot device that's pervasive through all the sequels doesn't really work when dinosaurs considerably bigger, slower, and clumsier than your typical T-Rex are seen coming and going from the Valley willy-nilly. The filmmakers are taking quite a bit for granted here. They seem to be under the impression the Great Valley was ever intended to be anything other than a glorified Oasis. At no point in the original is it ever promised the leaf-eaters would be completely safe from carnivores. The Great Valley was only supposed to be a guarantee food source.
Another frustrating thing about this "we're totally protected" thing is how unnecessary it is. The first sequel shows us how the adults would handle any carnivore who does show their face in the Valley: they'd gang up on them and beat them to a bloody pulp. They could have actually negated this plot hole with opening the second film by demonstrating the adults driving off an offending Sharptooth.
This is not a flaw specific to this film, but one shared by all of them. I'm bringing it up now because I forgot to before.
Anyway, their visit has Littlefoot very excited, because he and Spike the only ones of the Gang who haven't really had the opportunity to hang out with someone of their own age AND species. Enter Ali, the girl longneck raised with an isolationist mindset. She and Littlefoot quickly bond, but to the unintended neglect of his other friends, which of course has Cera in a huff and rightly so, actually. Thankfully, this time they don't treat Cera like the bad guy for taking issue with something. Littlefoot really IS kind of casting them to the wayside to hang with Ali, and yet it's understandable. He just got caught up in the moment, because Ali's only going to be there temporarily because her elders are gluttons for punishment. Seriously, you morons, stay in the Valley for the time being and then just move on if things go South! You'd only have to wait for LBT 5. Or 6. Or 8. Or 9.
Meanwhile, Grandpa Longneck seems to be coming down with something and by the end of the migrator's first day visiting the Valley, he's too weak to even walk. Granny Killjoy identifies the disease and knows how to cure it, but its "far too dangerous" (said the lunatic leading a herd that's decided traversing endless deserts is a good idea) because the flowers which can cure Grandpa Longneck are back in their original home, which is now a swampy hellhole full of deinosuchus.
Littlefoot immediately wants to make the trip, but he's forbidden from doing so, because the outside lands are Mordor. Another missed opportunity, they could easily have played up Littlefoot's desperation to save his Grandpa, but of course that would require them having the balls to acknowledge that pesky little tragedy from the original.
Universal... seriously, we all saw the first one. That's why we bothered with the sequels. Plus it was 1996. Everyone and their dog already bore witness to Mufasa being murdered by his own brother and Hunchback of Notre Dame, also released in '96, already pre-traumatized us. Just being reminded Mama Longneck is dead wasn't going to break our fragile little brains.
While Grandma Longneck seems resigned to her fate of losing her husband, Littlefoot is filled with DETERMINATION and sneaks out in the middle of the night to convince Ali to lead him to the Valley of Mists, as her old home is now called. However, she only agrees to do it if its just the two of them. Not feeling like he has time to argue the point, Littlefoot reluctantly agrees and off their go. So she leads him through the poorly named Mysterious Beyond into the tunnel her herd passed through to leave, but they're separated by a cave-in which traps Littlefoot inside the cave and Ali outside. So the latter is forced to return to the Valley to get help.
Littlefoot, a bit later, meets up with a turtle named Archie, voiced by the always delightful late Charles Durning. Archie is a grumpy, but ultimately well-meaning character, and he agrees to help find his way out of the cave. Meanwhile, we meet our new villains, Itchy and Dil. The former is a Ichthyornis, a scavenger bird and the latter is a crocodile-like beast known as a deinosuchus. They hate each other even they're each other's meal tickets. Itchy can only eat what's already killed for him, because scavenger, and Dil is near blind and needs her avian companion to guide her to their next meal. I get that Universal wanted to push the "friendship and work together for a better future" moral by contrasting these two with the Gang, but honestly, I'd have preferred if they just cut Itchy and let Dil be a silent, menacing force of nature like the Sharptooth from the original film.
Moving on, Ali returns with the Gang, sans Cera, except not really, and they manage to break through the cave-in and reunite with Littlefoot. Then Archie guides them through to the other side into the Valley of Mists. Archie tells them to be careful and they're on their way to find the flower. Along the way, they meet Tickles, who ranks among the most disposable of Guest Characters. He is a rat and he has no dialogue. He has no point and serves no purpose. However, I won't give the film much flack for it because he avoids being annoying unlike certain other Guest Characters in the later sequels. I honestly forgot he was even there half the time. I'd have preferred if the film just kept Archie around.
After a few more encounters with Itchy and Dil, culminating in the moment when Spike calls Ducky's name to wake her up and save her from falling into Dil's open mouth, they find the flower, which only blooms at night and take it back to the Great Valley. Itchy and Dil part ways and both almost immediately get their just desserts.
Grandpa Longneck eats the flowers and soon recovers to full health, but alas, the Masochistic Herd of Migrators "must" ( :rolleyes: ) move on to die horribly out in endless desert, but Ali promises to return to the Valley someday and the film ends on a hollow promise that would never get fulfilled until a terrible episode of the lackluster animated series.
Overal, I give this a 7/10. It's probably my favorite of all the sequels, because I feel its the closest to the original. There are still some definite flaws, but they are not that big a deal. Ali was a fun new character and her progression through the story is well-done. It was also refreshing that she's not hateful or vicious, just uncomfortable, around other species initially. I also liked how the threat of losing Grandpa Longneck added a lot of weight to the story, though it could have been even more impactful if they had gone the full distance and acknowledged this is not the first time Littlefoot has lost someone. WE WATCHED HIM WATCH THE LIFE LEAVE HIS MOTHER'S BODY, UNIVERSAL!
All the working parts of the story mesh well, but sadly, this is the last entry in the series Roy Allen Smith would direct, and he would be succeeded by... The Horned One, Charles Grosvenor.
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Ah yes the one Ali is in this is her only appearance sadly. And I thought it was a good movie for what it was. Ali's family was alright even tho they had little screen time. The plot was good grandpa got sick so he needed the night flower to recover. Ali at first is a racist since she didn't like any of LittleFoot's pals. But she got better as time went on. I liked how LittleFoot was the only one who wanted to go and help his grandfather and everyone else wimped out. The songs where alright I thought. My favorite being "It Takes All Sorts" my least favorite is "Who Needs You" by the villains. And they okay they where not the best I thought. I kinda didn't like them much. There personality was lacking. But I got used to them as time went on during the movie. So all and all I'd give it a 6.5/10 it was way better than movie three.
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Just watched it again :smile
Ali is easily my second favourite character of the whole series right after Ducky. Honestly, I always kinda thought of her as a character who would one day meet Littlefoot again and, well, they like each other a lot and you know... :lol It's so sad how her "return" was treated so I gave her a chance in my story about LBT 10.
Anyway, other than that, there is not much WR hasn't already said up there. It's indeed the closest to LBT 1, the only other movie being somewhat close being 14... and maybe 5. But neither of those were nearly as great and entertaining. LBT 4 definitely ranks very high for me :yes
Oh, one more thing, the songs were really awesome and the soundtrack was definitely above sequel average
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Not to me the villain song was poor in my view but it's passable. But that's good that you liked it tho. I also liked the mouse voice by Frank Welker. He was a very character I thought.
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Yeah, Tickles, while not making a big impact on the overall story, was still a cute addition to the story, not to mention that he was the first mammal to appear in the series (until the tv-series, in fact!) I'm certainly glad they didn't deny the fact that mammals had already developed albeit remaining primitive during the time of the dinosaurs
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Yeah, like I said, Tickles didn't do much for the story overall, but he avoided being annoying. I would still rather they just kept Archie around. You can never have too much Durning doing what he does what: being a lovable grouch.
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This indeed is one of the stronger LBT films. I really like how it provides new locations and tries to expand the universe outside the Great Valley. The animation oftentimes is really good and shots like the double rainbow before the cave, the view of the Land of Mists and the night flower scene are some memorable parts that LBT 2 and 3 lacked, for example.
Ali, of course, is a nice character. She's not one of my favorites overall but the way her story was done in this film was really good. It was believable and as a character, she was one of the most memorable in the sequels. I must point out that I really appreciate the memory scene at the end of the movie to sum up the Gang's friendship with Ali. I really like that kind of scenes as they often sum up the story well while focusing on the nostalgia left by the story. The original film did this very well.
Truth be told, I found the songs to be this film's weak points. Grandma's Lullaby had a nice idea but the tune was a bit underwhelming. Who needs you was pointless. It takes all sorts was easily the best song in the film but even then, many songs from other films are more memorable to me. Another part I didn't like was Spike's "first words". They sounded goofy and the scene could have been completed in another way.
Even then, this is one of the best films in the series. The animation, story, ost and new characters brought the film decent kind of depth and meaning. Also, Tickles was an unnecessary if amusing supporting character which was a nice touch along with the main story, I guess.
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I agree on the songs, for the most part. They are under-whelming for the most part. Not bad. Just not great. Probably the best song of the sequels is in the next film, LBT 5. "Always There", because it actually acknowledges Littlefoot's mother and he expresses his longing to see her again, even though he knows its not possible.
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True he didn't have a huge role in the movie but without his help they wouldn't have found the flower they needed.
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I agree that "Who Needs You" is a bit weak. The lyrics are honestly really funny but the song itself is annoying. One of the few songs that I would credit as such. Grandma's Lullaby is a really beautiful song in my opinion. Grandma's singing is really emotional there and the lyrics were deep. It Takes All Sorts is still probably my fave of this movie. It's got all a good song needs in my opinion though of course it's not in the same league as songs like "Always There" or "Best Friends"
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I like Who Needs You better than the other two songs. It Takes All Sorts is a hit and miss for me; Grandma's Lullaby is just okay.
The film was pretty good; not one of my most re-watched sequels and it's definitely not as kid-friendly as the 13th film in my opinion.
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Grandmas Lullaby was awesome it had actual effort in it. It and had emotional lyrics as well. It Takes All Sorts is Alis anti racism song where she's sorry for not accepting the others sooner. I liked the melody in it and the lyrics where nice. And so what if this movie wasn't kid friendly I liked the more serious tone they added to it. It was nice to see them take a darker edge in this movie.
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Loved it, though the villains could've used a little more to work on. Not sure which ranking I gave it in my sequel ranking list, but I'm sure it was one of the more decent ones. I'm not really into critical examination, so I'll just leave my thoughts at that.
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The LBT IV is by far one of my favorites. The plot device that is used in most LBT films is a need to go into the perilous Mysterious Beyond to save a loved one, in this case Grandpa Longneck, or even the entire Great Valley herd is simple but effective for the ensuing adventure. Journey Through Mists does this device best, it has the heartfelt element, Little Foot's Grandpa who is his father figure until LBT X (do I need to worry about spoilers?), and a new friend as the guide Ali. Of course there is obvious lesson about racial acceptance, and learning to trust those different then what we are familiar with. The weakest element I felt was sharpteeth, while a breath of fresh air in the sense of not being mindless eating machine or as Dr. Alan Grant put it in JPIII, "Genetically Engineered Theme Park Monsters", I didn't find Ichy and Dil particularly charming or enjoyable to watch.
The "Night flowers" acting as holy grail was a nice touch.
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Yeah, having Grandpa Longneck getting sick adds that additional bit of weight to the story.
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Yes Yes it does it teaches kids that tragedy happens in family members and life isn't all rainbows and butterflies. And I need you was a pointless 2.5 minute song because afterwards they go right back to liking each other. It didn't need the extra padding at all in my opinion.
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Yeah, having Grandpa Longneck getting sick adds that additional bit of weight to the story.
It draws slightly on impact in the Original LBT, that Little Foot's Mother perishes. This motivates Little Foot to save his Grand Pa, because he doesn't want to lose another family member. Amazingly, this idea of saving one of Little Foot's relatives doesn't happen again until XIV (Journey of the Brave).
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I thought this was a solid sequel, for the reasons that were already discussed. Probably my favourite sequel so far.
I might be the only person here who really enjoyed Ichy and Dil. They made for funny, entertaining villains. This seems like a contradiction considering how I didn't care all that much for Ozzy and Strut, but Ichy and Dil were just done better, I guess. The "bickering married couple" vibe they gave off really worked. It helps that I've known people like that. :DD It also helped that Ichy and Dil were actually the main antagonists, unlike Ozzy and Strut who felt inconsequential compared to Chomper's parents.
But the real standout for me was Ali. She and Littlefoot were incredibly cute together, and she was a good addition to the cast in general. The issue of dinosaur prejudice comes up again, this time from her, but the writers still put a different spin on it, and she has a good character arc in learning to overcome it and be more accepting of Littlefoot's friends. It was also fitting somehow that she was the one who ended up saving Cera.
I can't be alone in wishing that Ali had returned in later films and became a regular part of the Gang. :cry
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Those sound like rather regular thoughts about the film. :p Pretty much everyone agrees Journey Through the Mists to be the best one of the first three sequels and yeah, most of the people love Ali as well. I'm okay with her but I really don't understand why most here count her as one of their fav chars. :thinking But yeah, the fourth film has a decent plot and it's drawn really well and it certainly is one of the stronger sequels. :DD
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I'm the complete opposite when it comes to Ichy and Dil. I can't stand them, where as I enjoy Ozzy and Strut a lot more. Hard to explain why. They're both a pair of incompetent villains. I think the fact that Ozzys huge fascination with eggs as well as the voice acting makes it feel a lot less serious and more intenionally comical, which allows for a greater amount of suspension of disbelief.
While I did enjoy Ali as a character in 4 I've never been a huge shipping fan (or fan shipping in general) so I guess I've never been too upset about her lack of not showing up, though I agree that her return in the TV series is less then adequate :p
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I'm typically not a big shipper myself, yet I just love the idea of Littlefoot meeting a female longneck around his age. It was an interesting dynamic because all of Littlefoot's friends so far are different species, yet here he finally has a playmate who's a longneck just like him. And I liked her personality too; she had a shy yet more openly playful side to her. She also contrasted nicely from Cera. I really wanted to see more of her.
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One of my favorites, for certain. As a child though I was not really fond of it, but after watching it again as an adult I can honestly say that I was pretty dumb-dumb in my youth. How could I've ever disliked this film? :DD For Ali, though, while I like to make fun with her (sometimes), she's really not one of my favorites.
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Perhaps the reason I didn't care for Ozzy and Strut was because I found them too jarring a contrast, coming on the heels of the menacing Sharptooth from the first movie. Whereas by the time I made it to the fourth movie, I was more used to the idea of comedic villains. Although I still think Ichy and Dil were more well-done in that regard anyway.
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I've read what some of the other reviews said here, and I actually agree that this film is the best sequel I've watched (so far at least). I thoroughly enjoyed the fourth installment of LBT in its entirety. I liked how this sequel has the concept of death like the first movie, as with the very ill Grandpa Longneck. Littlefoot is horrified by the prospect of this obviously, but this leads us into a very beautiful lullaby by Grandma Longneck about The Circle of Life, an excellent lesson for children. It reminds me of The Lion King, another movie I like. The introduction of Ali as a new "girlfriend" to Littlefoot is quite fun and adorable in my opinion, although I did groan at the fact that she was also a bit racist just like the dinosaurs in the first movie. It didn't affect my opinion of her too much, because I knew her perspective would change later on, and it did. This leads us into our next lesson for the movie, and that's the embracing of other races, or in this case other species. It talks about diversity being a good thing that makes the planet not boring and dull. The song, It Takes All Sorts illustrates it perfectly.
If there's one thing I don't particularly like about the movie, it's how Grandma Longneck keeps telling Littlefoot that he should let nature run its course, that getting the night flower is too dangerous. I cringed at that. Sure, I understand the journey may be dangerous, and sure, Grandpa Longneck is already pretty old, but wouldn't you want to save a loved one that you know still has a fighting chance? Why give up on him so easily? If Littlefoot and his friends obeyed his grandmother, Grandpa wouldn't be alive today, and Littlefoot would have to mourn over another dead body. Since Grandma Longneck knew that he wouldn't survive without the night flower, and that she and the other adults wouldn't dare go to the Land of Mists themselves, why try and keep him alive? Why not go for a merciful kill? So many questions, I know, I know. Even though Littlefoot and his friends go off into danger too often and defy authority like always, which may give off a bad lesson for children, I honestly don't blame them.
Anyways, lets move on from that morbid subject. Now, this movie introduces more characters that I liked upon their first appearance. One of those characters is a sea turtle named Archie. His voice hooked me in, and his character reminds me of an old wise guy who has experienced a lot in his lifetime, all of which actually applies to him. He had a good role of saving Littlefoot from a belly dragger and sharp beak, also new characters which I will go more in depth of later on. I like his heroism in the scene where he shields Littlefoot from those predators, obviously having nothing to lose in his ripe age. Luckily though Littlefoot's friends saved both of them and escaped unharmed. Before departing, he tells the gang of the shortcut to The Land of Mists, crucial for the survival of Grandpa Longneck, as time is of the essence.
Ichy and Dil, the sharp beak and belly dragger in this movie. I didn't really know what to expect of them at first until I saw their character interaction. It was very fun and adorable to be honest, like a playful banter between friends, or a "bickering married couple" like Stardust mentioned already. Even though it seems like they have strong hate for each other, deep inside they actually care for each other. Of course, I enjoyed their little tune known as Who Needs You? But yeah, one action that Dil did during the chase with the GOF proves he cares for Dil. When he accidentally catches Ichy in his jaws, thinking it was Ducky, an expression of regret and sympathy was on the belly dragger upon hearing Ichy begging to not swallow him. Sadly though, they split up at the end because of their arguing. Sigh, they couldn't make a good team together.
Lastly, we have Tickles, the first mammal character that the GOF befriends. He's adorable and I've taken a liking to him upon first appearance as well. He's also very brave and intelligent too, as shown when he brings Dil's tail towards Ichy's mouth. Nothing else to say about him, although I'll miss the little guy very much.
It's a long review, but I like to tackle each and every important aspect of the movie while explaining my thoughts in full detail. Although, I hope I wasn't too redundant with any statements I've made. :)
My final assessment?
9/10
As a side note, I'll have to rewatch LBT 2 and LBT 5 sometime in the future...Let's see how they fare with a more critical analysis. Watching a movie/show for fun is different from watching something with a focused intent. As for LBT 1, I think I've expressed my thoughts enough on that already. :)
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@ImpracticalDino: Nice review. I was looking forward to this and I enjoyed seeing your thoughts. And don't worry, I didn't think you were being redundant at any point.
Nice to see someone else who enjoyed Ichy and Dil. I do, however, agree with what you said in that the adults seemed to give up too easily and seemed too resigned to the fact that Grandpa Longneck couldn't be saved because it was just "too dangerous." Although I do think there may have been some merit behind that sentiment. Perhaps the migrating longnecks actually had some casualties in the Land of Mists? If so, then it would've made sense why they wouldn't want to go back there, and it could've led to an interesting "needs of the many vs. the needs of the few" dilemma about whether or not to risk trying to save Grandpa Longneck.
But unfortunately, that aspect wasn't fleshed out well in the film proper and instead it made the adults seem a bit uncaring. Thus, it seemed to be there to engineer a scenario where the kids go off on their own adventure to save the day. Whereas the first film had a really good reason for why they were on their own, in the sequels it becomes a recurring theme where they just run off behind the adults' backs. The seventh film has a particularly silly instance of this. :p
Overall, having watched up to the 11th film now, I still regard this as one of the best sequels. :!
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@StardustSoldier
I agree, perhaps if the writers were more transparent about that dilemma, I wouldn't have been so harsh on that particular scene in the movie. And yeah, I had a feeling that the kids going on their own adventure would be a recurring theme. :p
I'm wondering, what do you think of Archie and Tickles as characters? Did you like them at first sight or not? Did your views of them change at all during or after the movie?
Thanks for reading my review by the way! I appreciate it. :D
LBT 6 is next on my list, so stay tuned for that! :)
Edit: Have you read my review on LBT 3 yet? If not, you can find it here (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=15359.0).
I'm also curious how my review of the 13th movie would actually turn out once I get to that point.
Will I infuriate everyone with my high praise, or will I think the movie lives up to its infamous reputation? Stay tuned to find out!
By the way, I'm using that italic sentence again when I'm one review away from the 13th one. ;)
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There's more one thing I'd like to add regarding this sequel which nobody else has mentioned here for some reason. I thought it was very heartwarming to see Spike have his first ever dialogue spoken, even if it's just one word.
"Ducky!"
It was during the scene where Ichy & Dil were chasing the GOF near a river, and Ducky was in danger of being eaten by Dil. It really shows the strong sibling bond that they both possess and how much they care for each other. In order to have a character speak a word when he isn't supposed to, just speaks volumes about how dire the situation is. That's another reason why I praise this film highly. :)
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@ImpracticalDino: Tickles was cute, but to me he felt kinda unnecessary. I don't think he hurt the film per say, but I don't think he added anything either and could've been removed easily. I did like Archie though. He reminded me somewhat of Rooter from the first film.
Yes, I did see your LBT 3 review. I enjoyed reading that as well. It's interesting that you and I have had fairly similar views on the films so far.
I too am curious to see how you'll feel about the 13th film. For that matter, I'm curious to see what I'll think of it as well. I still haven't seen it yet, but I'm getting close. I only have #12 left, and then #13 and #14, as well as the TV series. On that note, did you ever see any episodes of the TV series? Or was it just the first, second, and fifth films you saw?
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@StardustSoldier
Contrary to what you may believe, I actually watched the entire LBT series before watching any of the movies! I don't really have any feelings towards it honestly. I don't like it that much, but I wouldn't mind watching it on any pastime. It's still pretty enjoyable in my opinion. :)
I agree with your points on Tickles, though it did made me enjoy the film a bit more though. :)
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Interesting. I did not know that you'd seen the TV series before anything else. Since you didn't care much for it, what was it that compelled you to check out the movies?
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I knew about the movies, but I decided to watch the TV series first because it was more convenient and accessible for me at the time, especially since all the episodes are on YouTube. I would watch like two episodes a night on weekdays as a relaxing activity to do before I go to school the next morning. I looked forward to that every night, I did, I did! :D
After that, there wasn't much else to do besides check out the movies, so that's exactly what I did. :)
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I see. Was there anything in particular that attracted you to the LBT franchise in the first place? :)
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Not really. One day on YouTube I was watching videos like normal, when an episode of it happens to be on the side of the page in the list of videos. What interested me was the fact that it was a children's show with dinosaurs in it. I'm like, "Hmm...interesting!" The visuals in the thumbnail looked pretty good as well. The second thing I notice is the title, The Land Before Time. Now, that really peaked my curiosity. After clicking on that video...well the rest is history. Doing more research after that, I discovered that the franchise is much larger than I could imagine. I couldn't believe that there were 14 movies! So yeah, I was hooked with TLBT ever since. This is a show I'll never forget, guaranteed. :smile
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On a related note, as of today I have watched all fourteen films. Now I can share my thoughts in the sequels ranking thread.
:duckyhappy
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Nice! :^^spike
Since I've only watched less than half of the sequels, I'll hold off on looking at your thoughts until the deed is done.
Unfortunately, I've finally decided that this week is where I actually dedicate my time to doing my four summer assignments and stop procrastinating (to the best of my ability). So my endeavors for watching the rest of the movies will be delayed until further notice. But after that, I'll have all the free time in the world. :)
It's really fun and interesting to have these conversations with you, StardustSoldier. Thank you for that, I appreciate it. :smile
Oh, before I forget, do you still consider the 4th movie as the best sequel?
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Aww, thanks! I enjoy our conversations as well.
It's probably a tie between the 4th movie and The Great Longneck Migration (#10) as my favourite sequel. After that would probably be either The Time of the Great Giving (#3) and/or The Mysterious Island (#5).
Good luck on your summer assignments. When are they due?
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Hmm...I see. Hopefully you'll be able to figure out a definite top choice.
My summer assignments are due in September, with two of them on the day I return, and two of them on the Friday of that first week. I have a huge amount of time to do them obviously, but I'm not going to stress myself out by waiting until the last second! Oh, no, no, no! :P
Now that I've asked you what the best sequel was in your opinion, what's the worst sequel?
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I'll sort the films into a more definite list when I do up my "sequels personal ranking" post.
As for the worst sequel, not a particularly original answer, but... The Wisdom of Friends, no doubt. Although I didn't think it was full-on terrible. There were a few bright spots, and I have certainly seen worse movies in my life. But yeah, definitely a low point for the LBT franchise. Granted, I didn't go into that one with very high expectations, so it wasn't the most "disappointing" for me. That honour would go to Journey of the Brave (#14).
I still want to see the TV series, but that'll come later.
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I should've known it would be that sequel. :rolleyes
Hmm...for the most disappointing sequel, were you expecting something much better than The Wisdom of Friends, only to be greeted by a movie that is slightly better? Was it something else? This is the last question I'll probably ask as I don't want to dive into too much detail.
I'd be very intrigued to see your opinion of the TV series. Looking forward to it! :)
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I'll save my more detailed thoughts for the ranking thread. But it was essentially that, yeah, I was hoping the fourteenth and final film would be a good send-off for the series, yet I only found it to be a mild improvement over Wisdom of Friends. Which is interesting, because I have seen quite a few fans rank Journey of the Brave as one of the stronger sequels and a good return-to-form, but I guess that only added to my own disappointment when I ended up seeing it.
More generally, while film #10 is among my favourites, for the most part I preferred the earlier sequels to the later ones.