The Gang of Five
The Land Before Time => General Land Before Time => Topic started by: pokeplayer984 on August 30, 2009, 06:55:50 PM
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It has become painfully obvious by now that LBT is dead and Universal doesn't want anything to do with it. (At least for now.) Proof of this is simple. The office is closed. Save for looking on the internet, LBT movies are hard to find. You can't find LBT toys unless you look on eBay. There's ZERO LBT merchandise items at Universal Studios. Not to mention Cartoon Network has pretty much dropped LBT with their game not being on their website anymore and the fact they chose to do a different movie rather than give LBT a chance to come back. I could go on with the proof here.
With it being THIS obvious, you'd think LBT just won't come back.
However, let's just say that YOU one day get the chance to resurrect LBT. How would you do it? How would you bring back LBT.
I've got quite the explanation to what would bring it back. It'll take a while to think through. I've got a lot of ideas and I want to get them down, but I don't have the time right now.
So, until then, what do you guys think? How would YOU bring back LBT?
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I think I may wait for a bit, then try a reboot and keep the movies similar in quality, tone, ect to the earlier movies. Have writers and directors who know how to write/direct a movie that all ages can enjoy, not something written at young kids only. For starters.
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I would start by making a prequel to the TV series that gave Ruby a formal introduction and explained how she and Chomper became full-time members of the gang.
Oh, and what Kor said; I couldn't have worded it better myself. :yes
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That is exactly what I wrote The Rise of Storm Tide for.
I wanted to capture the original feel of Land Before Time beyond the preschool stuff they are doing now, and for me that did it.
Other then that I would agree with Kor, there certainly is a market for LBT out there still but it has to be recognized that the real fans are older now.
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One, officially claim that LBT 13 never happened.
Two, I would make LBT 13. It would not include chomper or ruby as characters, unless the plot invovled seeing chomper again, which would be a possibility. The point being, they definitely wouldn't be permanent members of the gang.
When making LBT 13, I would go back to the feel of the first 4, with a fresh story.
And, I would hire Kiefer Sutherland full time as Littlefoots dad, just because Kiefer Sutherland is awesome.
Lastly, I wouldn't put it on Cartoon Network. I would purchase my own TV channel. And air LBT 24/7. :[
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you've got A LOT of points there, it seems you pt up my info about the LBT game coming off CN.com
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If I were to continue the LBT series, I would begin by brainstorming how to bring the feel of the first few sequels back to any future LBT projects, especially the levels of suspense. Then, work from there...
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If I were to resurrect LBT (which I will) I'd get all you guys' opinions! :lol :p Who needs to hire writers when all you people are here willing to work for free? :nyah
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Wow, it seems many are saying the same basic things. Not surprising really since that is when lbt was at its best in my opinion. The early sequels & the first movie. I feel those were well written for all ages, not just at kids. Some of the points I mentioned before.
It seems like many agree on the same sorts of things. :yes
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If I brought back LBT I would write the movies like they were in the first five movies. I would also bring back ali like she was in the fourth movie not the tv series.
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I'd take it into a different form of storytelling. Maybe a series of children's novels? That only requires one person to tell the entire story, not hundreds of animators and colorists. They might be more respective due to the low production costs.
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I'd bring back the feel of the first four films and drop the singing,as well as bring LBT4 Ali back as well as her herd (the TV series screwed that up,since when was the Old One a psycho :lol), I would get actors that fit the characters perfectly(unlike 13) and maybe give the original Shaptooth a cameo or two maybe bring Keifier Sutherland back(who dosen't like the show "24") same goes with Tress Mcnellie and Kenneth Mars,give the movie a narrator that was as good as Pat Hingle and drop Ruby and Chomper.
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If I were to resurrect LBT (which I will)
Glad you have that much confidence in yourself....:p
I think I wouldn't make any other sequels, but the tv series. Though to be honest, I think it would have been smart for the producers to make an LBT series once the second sequel came out. It would just have been a good business thing. :p
Firstly, I would want to hear what the viewers wanted, like go on this forum and hear everyone else's ideas and then I would write those down, add some new ideas I made and try to get LBT to be kid friendly yet enjoyable for everyone. :)
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LBTlover if you are sure on restoring it, I'm in.
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To ensure fullest possible quality, I would try to gather as much of the original team as possible. And I would make sure to include a director's cut edition this time.
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To ensure fullest possible quality, I would try to gather as much of the original team as possible. And I would make sure to include a director's cut edition this time.
Well said but would the cast still be the same?
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Okay, bear with me everyone, this one is going to be LONG!
So, I want to try and bring back Land Before Time. How would I do that exactly? Heck, where do I start? If anyone out there took a good hard look at Land Before Time, it's a freaking mess right now.
As I have discussed before, the TV Series was bad enough. That alone may as well have been the executioner on the franchise. However, Wisdom of Friends was the one that killed it. It's pointless trying to prove it never existed. There's just WAY too much evidence on the net to support it. (My site having the songs from said movie are proof enough of it's existence.) So we have to just move on from these two tragedies and do all we can to bring it back. This is going to be sweet! :)
Regardless of what kind of idea anyone can make, they have to do everything they can to make it appealing to kids. They have to grab onto that G Rating and hold on to it at all costs. Today though, getting that rating, while still taking as many risks as possible is far more difficult than it was when the first movie came out.
The sequels have shown that this is no easy task. Journey to Big Water was the last sequel that tried to go as far as possible without grabbing that PG rating. The dark material is indeed not up to par with that of the original Land Before Time, but nothing we make today ever will be. At least, not without going beyond the G rating.
Still, that doesn't mean you can't come up with a plot that shows your freaking serious here!
The one's going for it can start by trying to figure out a plot that will be worthy enough to get kids interested and get on the good side with parents. However, they may also want to go with a topic that let's them be as flexible as possible with the G rating. I think I know the one plot in mind that can work and it's pretty much gone from the franchise.
How about bringing back the plot of racism?
I understand that it was mainly focused as a threehorn/longneck thing, but perhaps it's time to bring it further. A new character is introduced. One that is racist beyond belief. This character is so racist that they hate the idea of the different dinosaurs in The Great Valley living together. This one new character makes a plot to drive them apart.
The character at hand becomes the antagonist of the film. They then try to drive the gang we know and love apart. They tell believable lies about the other members of the gang and succeed in their plan.
Enter, the storyline. Here, the different members of the gang start by trying to find new friends of their own species to play with. We get introduced to new kids and are given the reason they were never with those kids in the first place. (Maybe introduce some harsh teasing or something like that.) We also find out that it just doesn't work being with other members of their species. The gang we know have been best friends so long that getting upset at one another for what they did was just silly.
On the way back to meet with one another, and let bygones be bygones, we are given reasons they are such great friends. Stuff happens that ends up showing why they enjoy being with one another. Maybe even reverse the role of Ducky and Petrie where instead Ducky is the one to save Petrie's life. (Seriously, if anyone takes the time to study it, you'll realize that Petrie is the one who usually saves Ducky. Let's reverse the roles for a change.) They then meet again and make up for what happened.
The antagonist then re-enters the scene and tries a more physical approach at separating them. They try putting the gang's lives in danger in various ways and finds that they depend on each other to get out of problems. In the end though, the plan backfires and they get in danger.
The gang then finds the poor character trapped and the gang saves their life. However, even after being saved, the antagonist is not grateful for being saved by 5 kids who are different from one another. The character leaves without another word, still holding on to their beliefs.
Cera wonders what is wrong with the character, but Littlefoot tells her to let it go. They then head off to play with one another, their friendship stronger then it ever was.
That is basically the idea I would use to try and bring it back.
Also, I would try to shoot for 1:45 to 2 hours in length. Let's face it. The movies just aren't long enough.
So, what do you guys think? :)
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I only have 2 words for that: FRIGGIN' EPIC. O_O
Nuff said. :DD
Btw, you better have Aria Curzon reprise her role as Ducky, or I'm gonna go and kill myself. Lol, just kidding. But seriously, it would be ashame if someone else voices her instead - I think Curzon is the last perfect voice actor for Ducky, second to Judith Barsi. :p
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That would work but we will need a cast. I suggest if we cannot find a suitable cast we could always at least ask for permission for using the voice overs from past LBT sequels. We can remix the sounds to form words of the exact same voice
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We can remix the sounds to form words of the exact same voice
That won't work in the case of Littlefoot's and Ducky's voices though. Littlefoot's voice actor constantly change from sequel to sequel, so combining those voices would result in a crappy voice mix, considering their accents too. Curzon (Ducky) on the other hand, if you haven't noticed, her voice deepens from sequel to sequel, due to puberty.
So in the end, a good old-fashioned voice acting is the best way to go. :p
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I noticed but we can take a rough voice from the latest sequel or use sound editors to fit their voice.(South Park)
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They can do that, use some sound editor stuff to make voices sound more like a kid's voice, if the voice actor can't do that themselves.
Also would you want to continue the series from the last movie, or do a reboot as some past franchises have been rebooted. And if a reboot use the same characters or different characters in the same or a different place?
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They can do that, use some sound editor stuff to make voices sound more like a kid's voice, if the voice actor can't do that themselves.
Also would you want to continue the series from the last movie, or do a reboot as some past franchises have been rebooted. And if a reboot use the same characters or different characters in the same or a different place?
Definitely reboot, it has gotten totally out of hands with the characters by the 13th movie.
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^ If what you mean is that the characters have gotten too outlandish (e.g., the yellow bellies), I don't think that should be much of an issue. Just don't make any more characters like that, and don't bring back the ones that have already appeared. LBT has had a (somewhat unfortunate) history of introducing new characters for a single movie who are never so much as mentioned again; while continuity is definitely preferable, if you're going to just disregard previous characters like that, you might as well do it with ones lots of people would sooner forget. :p
Personally, I don’t think the LBT series needs a reboot. To see characters and histories established over thirteen movies and a TV series just thrown away like that would be immensely disappointing to me. I think it would be better if we could just get someone to take over LBT who knew how to please a wider audience and could (perhaps gradually) bring the series back to its former glory (or, at least, something close to it).
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The first and simple thing to do would be just to write a good story.
If that is achieved the next thing is to realize the good story in a good way (I think there are good basic stories in some LBT movies which suffered from poor realization). This sounds very very general, but these most basic things are almost all it takes, but are also trickier than they may seem.
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Still think the children's novels are a good idea. It'd take exactly one person, two if you have pictures, and we'd still get full length stories and probably at a much faster rate.
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If I wanted to resurrect LBT, I would like to remove these sing-along parts (but maybe I would implement one song which makes sense).
And... maybe I would produce two sequels at one time, one for children (like LBT XIII with humor), and one more serious one with a great storyline. I would enlarge the duration of a LBT movie to... 100 or 120 minutes. And all the characters should play a huge role at the movies.
Then LBT ends at "LBT MCMXCIX". xD
[I hope my English was not too confused]
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Increasing the length would be a good idea. Also no need to have 1 movie for kids and 1 for adults. A good enough writer can write a movie that kids and adults can both like together. Also keeping every character with an important role, without having the adults end up looking useless, like jerks, incompetent, ect, is possible also for a good writer.
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Yes we do not want to pose adults as whiners or schemimg villians
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While a long movie is of course well... longer I think the makers would have to make sure there really IS enough happening in the movie to fill the time. In case of some of the later sequels I had the impression that they were drawing out too little action over too long a time. Some of the stories from the TV series could have been stretched out over the length of a sequel as well, but I suppose the stories would have suffered from it.
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We may need to do surveys on ideas that would sell.
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You know, one thing I'm trying to figure out with my idea though is what species the antagonist would be. I mean, in order for them to enter the valley, they would have to be a Leafeater. On top of this, since they have to be the antagonist, they just have to be downright scary to a kid. What kind of species matches that description? Leafeater and scary? Is there such a combination?
Seriously, I'm having a hard time figuring this one out. -_-
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Leafeater and scary? Is there such a combination?
Oh, definitely. :yes There were TONS of herbivorous dinosaurs that were pretty terrifying. Heck, as far as I'm concerned, threehorns were some of the scariest non-predatory dinosaurs out there. (Yes, you're welcome, Cera. :p) Here's just a few that spring to mind:
ï Therizinosaurus (http://www.luisrey.ndtilda.co.uk/jpegs/256col/adino256.jpg). In the same family of dinosaurs as the yellow bellies, but about the same size as T. rex, with three-fingered hands bearing claws up to three feet long. :blink: In fact, it was so bizarre-looking that if one showed up in the Great Valley (an idea I had for a fanfiction of my own), I'm not sure the residents would even recognize it as a leafeater, so it might not be ideal for the role.
ï Shunosaurus. A rather small longneck (~30' long) with a spiked club at the end of its tail.
ï Spinophorosaurus (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC0xe56GvUo/SuVXfK5EqMI/AAAAAAAADR0/p215eTuH5Ck/s1600-h/Spinophorosaurus4.jpg). A recently discovered longneck (also small, around 40') with stegosaur-like spikes at the end of its tail. Though perhaps a Spinophorosaurus or Shunosaurus character would be less inclined toward racism, as they might see themselves as composite dinosaurs of a sort: a "clubtail longneck" and "spiketail longneck", respectively.
ï Styracosaurus. Has appeared as a background character in LBT before, but for some reason the filmmakers chose the less spectacular species S. ovatus, as opposed to the more familiar S. albertensis, which had considerably longer frill spikes, and more of them. It might be an issue, though, that Styracosaurus has already been employed in villainous roles in some fanfics, so if you're looking for something more original, you might want to pass this one up.
ï Polacanthus or Gastonia. Armored dinosaurs, related to Nod's species (Nodosaurus) but much spikier.
ï Stygimoloch (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Stygimoloch_spinifer.jpg). This dinosaur has recently been suggested to be simply an immature Pachycephalosaurus, which it resembled quite closely apart from having a smaller skull dome, lesser overall size, and, most notably, six-inch spikes on the back of its head.
I could probably come up with more, but I need to get to bed now. :p
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Pangaea, I took one look at the first one and OMG, that is PERFECT! The basic design of Therizinosaurus works on so many levels for a villain. I mean, it just looks so intimidating. It would also look downright scary to a kid. Also, those claws would indeed make one think it's a sharptooth. It's the perfect Leafeater Villain.
Thanks, Pangaea. :)
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You’re welcome, though I’ve personally always liked the idea of a Therizinosaurus character who was more or less benevolent, despite having a threatening appearance. (I like the contrast and paradoxicality of it. :p) So if my own fanfiction ideas ever come to fruition, expect to see a very different representation of Therizinosaurus. :p
By the way, in case you’re interested, an artist on DeviantArt made a really good picture of a Land Before Time-style Therizinosaurus (http://IsisMasshiro.deviantart.com/art/LBT-Therizinosaurus-20428343).
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Interesting looking character.
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Well I'm evil, but I would run some deinonychus or something through there (I know, different eon, like that's ever stopped them), like go Alien on their hindquarters. Love that series of movies.
Seriously, I'd invade the valley with sharpteeth that found out how to get in so that paradise was lost. Some real hardship. Both sides lose a few, some new heroes are made and it moves on to some different scenery. Oh yeah, and I'd age the characters! Make them teens, give them some personal turmoil. If I ever did get hold of it, I'd ruin life for little kiddies everywhere :> :lol :DD
>Oh yeah, and I have IsisMasshiro's DA page on favourites on my comp ^^! Next to Luis V Rey (Somewhat reluctantly, sometimes) She's my fav dinosaur artist :smile
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If I had the chance to ressurect it, I would at least make a game based upon the TV series for the PSN store and XBLA, you know, one that has trophies/achievements to go along with it.
That, and maybe give the series a new reboot, as in, a new movie that involved all seven of them, Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, Chomper and Ruby.
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First order of business: WISDOM OF FRIENDS NEVER HAPPENED. No. Never. It was just a nightmare suffered at the hands of a particularly bad batch of Taco Bell that somehow didn't really start messing with me until I was asleep. Such potent foulness that it took my sweet dream, where there was another LBT movie wherein Cuba Gooding Jr. played one of the characters, and somehow managed to mash that into a twisted, grotesque mutant of a nightmare. A nightmare that I woke up from and that never really happened.
So I'd get to work on a TV miniseries, 5 parts long, chronicling the details of how and when Ruby and Chomper got to the Valley, how Chomper got off the island and what became of his parents, how Redclaw got his scar and came to stalk about the parts of the Mysterious Beyond surrounding the Valley, how and why Screech and Thud came to be so buddy-buddy with Redclaw, and the troubles the inhabitants of the Valley had accepting Chomper into their society.
Then there'd be the 13th movie, a second season of the show, and a 14th movie, which might bring the series to a final, definitive end. I'm sleepy and haven't really thought about this, so I'm not really sure what I'd do with those three things, other than I'd really like to give Pterano, Bron, and Shorty prominent roles in at least one of the movies, as well as hand out some screen time to Pat, Rinkus, and Sierra (I just naturally assume they wouldn't have let Pterano off the hook that easily for leading them to some big, dumb exploding rock on top of a damn volcano)
I do know that, although they would try to lean more toward the early sequels in terms of artistic style applied to the surroundings (there's something of a... I dunno... rougher look that the series lost with the move away from traditional animation, and I liked it) the feel of the characters and the story would definitely take cues from the later ones. I quite like what a proficient deadpan snarker (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeadpanSnarker) Cera developed into, and the story of the 10th movie really was great. Still can't believe they had the guts to actually bring Littlefoot's father into the narrative, after 9 movies with no such character. I'm glad they did, though, I like how it turned out. They really punched the status quo in the face with that one, and I got thrown for one helluva loop. Awesome. I also love what a legitimate menace the Liopleurodon got to be in the 9th movie, with the attack in the big pond. The rain, the lightning, the whole thing taking place at night... man, I loved that scene, even if Moe was the most irritating character this side of my nightmares.
The songs would stay, and I would take great pains to ensure that they never got as ear-bleedingly awful as Who Needs You or as brain-meltingly stupid as Legend of the Lone Dinosaur ever again. (LotLD may have been just a mindless bucket-'o-fun, so cheesy I could spread it on my pizza, and it was enjoyable in that specific, special way, but I really couldn't stomach another song like that) I would cut down on the number of songs in the show, however. Save them for certain special moments, y'know? Not every episode needs two songs, (or even any, in some cases) Movies 10 and 12 had better song lineups than the other sequels, so I'd take cues mostly from there, especially with regards to Adventuring and Flip, Flap, and Fly.
Maybe I could get other ideas after some sleep. I'll go try that. *collapses into desk*
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I think I'd do a reboot. Either a total reboot or one like they did with Godzilla in 1985 where only the first movie happened, none of the others. Not sure which I would idea I would go with.
wisdom of friends never happened? Reminds me of a silly marvel comic I read decades ago. Where aunt may becomes a herald of Galactus called Golden Oldie, finds a baker who can make Galactus a planet size twinkie so he never eat another planet. Then revealed on the last page it was a dream Stan Lee had. It was during the month when editors had to go to some sort of conference or convention or something and the assistant editors were in charge. Some decided to go the silly route.
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Total reboot, starting from the beginning. Chances, the studio would probably want me to cover for the existance of Bron and other such characters.
I would remake the first one more in line with what Bluth intended. Then witht he second I would introduce the bullies are support characters in a few scenes and give Ozie and Scrut more credibility as villains. I'd also play with the whole Chomper being friends witht he leafeaters more.
I would also introduce Mr. Thicknose (I think was his name earlier) and have him organize resealing the wall
Then in the third one would be where Hyp and the other play their role and the whole ordeal with Mr. Threehorn happens.
More later.
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However, Wisdom of Friends was the one that killed it. It's pointless trying to prove it never existed. There's just WAY too much evidence on the net to support it
I wouldn't just claim 13 never existed. I would claim 10, 11, 12 and the TV series never existed either. Everything past 9 stunk like heck. :anger
They're gonna need 1 heck of a film (and 1 heck of a team) if they want to rebuild the series. I'm sorry, but with the existence of 10-13 and the tv series, and the abysmal post 6 animation, and the god-awful cheesiness of the later stuff, there's simply nothing that could be produced that would ressurect LBT.
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Still can't believe they had the guts to actually bring Littlefoot's father into the narrative, after 9 movies with no such character.
But you're saying you're glad they brought him in?
There's several different perspectives that can be taken on the introduction of Bron. One is creative writing, (which I don't think has anything to do with guts), another is writers crop out, and the third (and the only one that would involve having the guts to do it) would be to piss off fans of the original movie.