What could have made the 1st movie better?

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

As good as it is, I think the first LBT could have been better. There are a lot of things I would have liked---for it to be much longer, for one. I feel like we didn't get enough of the whole journey to the great valley---the whole gang doesn't even come together until the last 25 minutes of this hour-long film. Also, there are some scenes I would like to have changed a bit. Firstly, that shot of Mama longneck looking down at her son needs red-done...it's creepy. I'd also like the line "All that remained of his herd was his mother, grandfather, and grandmother." He's not the leader of the herd! I would have much prefered a line like, "All that remained of one herd was a mother, and her own parents." That way they actually tell us what side of the family Littlefoot's grandparents are on, rather then just have us imply it based on how Bron adresses Gradnpa Longneck in 10. Thirdly, I'd like the death of Littlefoot's mom to be much longer, not overly long but I feel it was way to short in the version we got. And show the death as it happened, don't end the scene with it being from far away (OK, maybe the final pan out they can do that, but not the death itself.) I'd also like them to find Spike already born and the same freakin age as the gang, rather be a baby one minute and then same age as the rest of the gang when he comes out of the brown patch of grass. I'd like more scenes with the Sharptooth---I feel he did not get enough screentime. I'd like them to have Littlefoot find the great valley on his own and then rush back to save the others. I don't like how suddenly at the end of the version we know he's alone for no reason and suddenly all hopeless...it probably won't bother younger viewers but it makes no sense unless you know about the original ending. I'd like an explanation of how Ducky and Spike fell onto the ledge in the lave, and how they, Littlefoot and Petrie escaped the tar. Also, I'd probably cut out that random stampeed of longnecks appearing out of the middle of nowhere. I'd make Topps the right color at the end, and show Cera's mom and sisters if they made it to the valey. And I'd deifintely cut out that overdone series of flashbacks of Littlefoot's life. Much of the film is beautiful. That, I thought, was overkill, though (no offense to people wh thought it wasn't!) Oh, and put in Littlefoot's last line of always being together. Oh, and one last thing---have Ducky say, "He was our friend" when Petrie apparently dies, not "He was my friend", and show all of them running to him when he comes back, not just Ducky.

[LBTLover1]

1. the shot was supposed to be creepy...it's littlefoot's first look at his mom.

2. He doesn't own the herd, it simply saying that it is his possession such as my family.  I'm not the leader of my family but it is still my family.

3. It's a kid's movie...they can't show death for too long or the G-rating will increase to PG

4. True

5. Agreed

6. He went to sulk over his loss in finding the Great Valley.  That's why he was alone.

7. Agreed

8. The valley was brighter so his color was brighter

9. Understandable

10. NOO!!  That's the most important part of the movie...his flashbacks.  Without them, he can't recall to his past and figure all he has gone through to get to the single his mother told him about.  Removing that just ruins the effects of a goal.

11. The movie is 38% beautiful.  I don't know what you're talking about.
Sharptooth kills Mother
Littlefoot starves himself
Meaness from Cera
Battle between Littlefoot and Cera
Loss of courage from almost everyone
Cera's shock of excerption from the anonymous domehead
etc.

12. Petrie was Ducky's biggest friend of all the families.  It would've made sense if she said that.

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

3. It's a kid's movie...they can't show death for too long or the G-rating will increase to PG

Still, the scene could have been at least little longer!

6. He went to sulk over his loss in finding the Great Valley. That's why he was alone.

Are you talking about after the fight with Cera in the original cut? Cause yeah, I can understand why he'd be alone there---all his friends had just left him, he felt like his search had been in vain, and so on. In the current version it makes no sense. They had defeated Sharptooth, which should give them motivation, and there wasn't any reason why Littlefoot should have been alone. All in all it's pretty clear the scene belonged in its original form.

8. The valley was brighter so his color was brighter

We see him in the valley in what 11 of the 12 sequels and he's always the right color

11. The movie is 38% beautiful. I don't know what you're talking about.

I don't know what you're talking about...where'd you get the calculation of 38%?!!  :blink:

[Dilopho]

...I'd also like them to find Spike already born and the same freakin age as the gang, rather be a baby one minute and then same age as the rest of the gang...

He is as old as the others but he is only to lazy to get out of the egg. In my opinion there are two different sizes, because the egg would be too large when Ducky cracks the shell.
The same is when Cera and Tops meet at the end. You have to see both to know what is going on. With Cera much smaller you would only see Tops tip of the snout or Cera as a small dot on the screen.

[DarkHououmon]

Still, the scene could have been at least little longer!

I disagree. I feel the scene was long enough. It delivered its purpose and was powerful as it is. Making it longer won't really add anything to it at all. It would only make it longer; it won't make it stronger.

Are you talking about after the fight with Cera in the original cut? Cause yeah, I can understand why he'd be alone there---all his friends had just left him, he felt like his search had been in vain, and so on. In the current version it makes no sense. They had defeated Sharptooth, which should give them motivation, and there wasn't any reason why Littlefoot should have been alone. All in all it's pretty clear the scene belonged in its original form.

I think LBTLover1 was referring to the end of the movie, where Littlefoot is calling out to his mother up in the sky and tells her that he would never find The Great Valley. LBTLover1 did say that he was "sulking over the loss of finding the Great Valley" and he doesn't do this when he fights with Cera and leaves; he does this at the end after Petrie is found to be alive.

We see him in the valley in what 11 of the 12 sequels and he's always the right color

You shouldn't go by the sequels regarding this. The first movie was created and directed by different people than the sequels, and things were done differently. Just because he's the right color all the time in the sequels doesn't mean that the same thing is true in the first movie.

I don't know what you're talking about...where'd you get the calculation of 38%?!! blink.gif

I think that was just a guess on his part.

[Malte279]

They had defeated Sharptooth, which should give them motivation, and there wasn't any reason why Littlefoot should have been alone. All in all it's pretty clear the scene belonged in its original form.

There was an explanation in one land before time book which I like. If I translate it to English (the scene is right after Petrie's survival) it reads:

Littlefoot, who had already walked ahead heard the shouts of joy of his friends behind him. He understood immediately what had happened. But he didn't stop. His heart was aching with yearning for his mother who would never return. He had to be alone, now, with her and with his thoughts.

I think it is quite plausible that the joyous return of Petrie could work as a trigger for such emotion in Littlefoot who had so long in vain hoped for his Mum to return.
I too would prefer the original version in which Littlefoot found the Valley but returned to get the others, but I don't see his lack of spirit even after the defeat of Sharptooth implausible.

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

There was an explanation in one land before time book which I like. If I translate it to English (the scene is right after Petrie's survival) it reads:
QUOTE
Littlefoot, who had already walked ahead heard the shouts of joy of his friends behind him. He understood immediately what had happened. But he didn't stop. His heart was aching with yearning for his mother who would never return. He had to be alone, now, with her and with his thoughts.

I thought the book had Littlefoot finding the valley on his own...is there another one?

I think it is quite plausible that the joyous return of Petrie could work as a trigger for such emotion in Littlefoot who had so long in vain hoped for his Mum to return.
I too would prefer the original version in which Littlefoot found the Valley but returned to get the others, but I don't see his lack of spirit even after the defeat of Sharptooth implausible.

I still don't like it. The way it is I just can't feel sorry for Littlefoot as I would if it was in the appropriate place. The scene belongs in the original intended context.

By the way, can someone write down a list of scenes from either book that aren't in the movie? Mainly the ones people have noted are the ones that there are pictures for evidence of, but I also know there's one right after Littlefoot hatching where Grandpa actually has a spoken line (possibly Bill Erwin's lost role) about how small the newly born Littlefoot's feet are and from there his mom names him Littlefoot (not a very wise choice, Momma longneck...he's not going to be a baby forever, even if you want him to.) This proves there are scenes in the book we haven't even mentioned. I tried looking for the full text of the book online, but alas, it's not there. I can only rely now on fans who happen to have it who are generous enough to donate their time to write down what scenes are exclusive to the novel. They may not even be part of the original cut, but it'd be cool to know just in case.  

[LBTLover1]

I think LBTLover1 was referring to the end of the movie, where Littlefoot is calling out to his mother up in the sky and tells her that he would never find The Great Valley. LBTLover1 did say that he was "sulking over the loss of finding the Great Valley" and he doesn't do this when he fights with Cera and leaves; he does this at the end after Petrie is found to be alive.

I did mean that at the end.  However, I'm not sure why he went alone until Malte read the quote from the book.

I think that was just a guess on his part.

It was a guess.  However, is was an accurate approximate guess.

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

With Cera much smaller you would only see Tops tip of the snout or Cera as a small dot on the screen.

Oh yeah, and a really small child next to a really large parental has prevented us from seeing both before...



Yeah, so it's from a later sequel, so what?

I suppose it's cause the grandparents don't have really long snouts or anything.

[Malte279]

The scenes are all in the outcut scenes thread. There is a high chance however, that some of them were never part of the movie (e.g. the scene in which Littlefoot is named after his grandpa demonstrates how one of his toes is larger than Littlefoot's entire food) since the come from book adaptations of the movie (rather than the movie being an adaptation of the books) that were written years later. There is actually quite a number of land before time books. The last scene I quoted (as well as the one about Littlefoot's naming) however are both from land before time books that appeared in Germany. I only translated the respective scenes that you will not find in any English land before time book.

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

2. He doesn't own the herd, it simply saying that it is his possession such as my family. I'm not the leader of my family but it is still my family

Still, if it had been stated the way I prefer it would establish that Littlefoot's grandparents are his maternal grandparents, instead of us just implying it from a line in 10

12. Petrie was Ducky's biggest friend of all the families. It would've made sense if she said that.

Of all the families? RU saying Ducky is closest with Petrie's family? Hmm, I still think they should have shown everyone running to Petrie when he comes back, not just Ducky (this may have been in the original cut as I know there's a pic of everyone else looking back to see he's alright...gosh, I would do anything for the original cut of the original   )

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

They had defeated Sharptooth, which should give them motivation, and there wasn't any reason why Littlefoot should have been alone. All in all it's pretty clear the scene belonged in its original form.
There was an explanation in one land before time book which I like. If I translate it to English (the scene is right after Petrie's survival) it reads:
QUOTE
Littlefoot, who had already walked ahead heard the shouts of joy of his friends behind him. He understood immediately what had happened. But he didn't stop. His heart was aching with yearning for his mother who would never return. He had to be alone, now, with her and with his thoughts.

I think it is quite plausible that the joyous return of Petrie could work as a trigger for such emotion in Littlefoot who had so long in vain hoped for his Mum to return.
I too would prefer the original version in which Littlefoot found the Valley but returned to get the others, but I don't see his lack of spirit even after the defeat of Sharptooth implausible.

But we all know in reality that that was not why Littlefoot was upset during that scene, and where it really takes place! Face it, guys, we'd all rather have that scene take place after the fight with Cera and not after Sharptooth's death! If this scene were shown in it's origuinal context, I'd feel so sad for Littlefoot, like I'm supposed to feel. Not mind-boggled as to why he's alone and weirded out that he's suddenly So! F**cking! Hopeless! I'm still hoping that someday the true version of LBT 1 will be released. Cause seriously that scene with his mother as a cloud does not belong after the victory of defeating Sharptooth! I guess the question that could be applied to Littlefoot in that scene is, "If it makes you happy, why the hell are you so sad?" to quote Sheryl Crow.

11. The movie is 38% beautiful. I don't know what you're talking about.
Sharptooth kills Mother
Littlefoot starves himself
Meaness from Cera
Battle between Littlefoot and Cera
Loss of courage from almost everyone
Cera's shock of excerption from the anonymous domehead
etc.

Gosh, sorry for thinking this movie was good in the least! Sorry if I insinuated that "beautiful" means rainbows and butterflies and laughing, and not well done moments, espicially emotion-evoking ones. Forgive me for thinking this film amazing. You know, when you put it this way I'm not even sure I like it anymore.Thank you so much.

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

The scenes are all in the outcut scenes thread.

All the scenes exclusive to the book? I don't think so. There's one after Littlefoot's hatching where Grandpa gets a speaking role that no one would have mentioned had they not asked about how Littlefoot got his name. Even the few quotes from the book that have been posted have new stuff! I tried googling it but only got results for these forums. I need the help of someone who has the book to transcribe the scenes in it that aren't in the film down! I'm sorry, but I don't know where else to look!

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

11. The movie is 38% beautiful. I don't know what you're talking about.
Sharptooth kills Mother
Littlefoot starves himself
Meaness from Cera
Battle between Littlefoot and Cera
Loss of courage from almost everyone
Cera's shock of excerption from the anonymous domehead
etc.

You know perfectly well what I'm talking about. Stop pretneding "beautiful" means sunshine and rainbows and butterflies---it doesn't.

[DarkHououmon]

Um no. No they don't know what you meant, Bruton. Otherwise, why would they ask?

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

Because it was clearly a beautiful movie.

10. NOO!! That's the most important part of the movie...his flashbacks. Without them, he can't recall to his past and figure all he has gone through to get to the single his mother told him about. Removing that just ruins the effects of a goal.

\
They were stupid and pointless

[DarkHououmon]

And yet they didn't know what you meant. There's no reason to get upset about it. You should have just answered their question calmly instead instead of stating that they should know what you meant.

And Littlefoot's flashbacks weren't "stupid" or "pointless". They helped make the ending more emotional, gave more impact. They show all he had been through, and gives a sense of accomplishment that they were all worth it. They are far from stupid and pointless.

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

Yes they are though, it was stuff we'd already seen and known, and far from all of it was shown (whoa, I'm rhyming like Dr. Seuss here)

[Mumbling]

Watch your language and the way you act towards others Bruton. Much appreciated.

[DarkHououmon]

I don't see how they are stupid, Bruton. Just because you think they are doesn't mean that everyone will agree. And it doesn't mean they have no place. It's your opinion and nothing more. Your opinion is not absolute fact and you shouldn't expect others to adhere to what you believe is good or bad for LBT.