I found LBT 8 to be one of the more emotional movies, but like Malte said, it could have been executed much better.
It was a rather interesting movie. However, I found it rather hard to stay awake when Mr. Thicknose started talking at the beginning. Yeah, so boring you fall asleep in the first minute.
I actually didn't mind the opening, as it helped explain Ducky's frustration with Spike. The sleeping feeling the audience experience is likely intentional, to allow us to relate to Ducky. Of course, it won't be a nice feeling, but it does get the point across.
For example we had green skies, and changing color paterns of the main characters, which, though they may have served the purpose of showing that they were cold, seemed exaggerated. Ducky is very dark grey, almost black at one point. To indicate that water is warm they make it red at some points making it look almost like lava.
I don't quite approve of this either, but it seems that this is how Grosvenor likes to do things. Then again, in my perfect world, Roy Allen Smith would have kept making the sequels
Why didn't the sharptooth even try to dodge the snowball like Mr. Thicknose did? Mr. Thicknose was even closer to that snowball. In fact they even have to thank the sharptooth for giving Mr. Thicknose the fright that chases him up that mountain.
Sharpteeth aren't particularily known for their quick reflexes or their mobility. I was more surprised to see how cleanly Mr. Thicknose got out of the way, actually. I found the snowball scene relatively believeable, and certainly creative use of the "winter" theme of the film. To me, this supports an idea that sharpteeth have a one-tracked mind. My guess is he simply didn't consciously notice the snowball. He was focused on hunting against all other instincts, and the snowball was an unexpected turn of events to him; by the time it occured to the sharptooth that the snowball was a threat, the snowball was practically on top of him.
I do certainly see your point about the sharpteeth becoming less threatening though, and I wholeheartedly agree that they shouldn't have been dumbed down to the almost pathetic level that they seem to have reached. It is sad, but to me, the plot of the film was able to save it from its flaws.
"The lesson" was quite frankly not my cup of tea. I really don't like the lyrics too much and there is not too much of a melody in the background either. Repeatedly the voice actors seemed to have a problem to get their voices as high as required for the song and sometimes it sounded almost like they were just talking with some instruments playing elsewhere.
"The Lesson" was interesting in its own way, but musically, it wasn't memorable. It served its purpose, by diving into Mr. Thicknose's background, and the "song" aspect helped provide a feeling of time, structure, and resolution, to his story. I think the song was better than simply having the story told, unless it was executed very well. I have no issues with this song; I don't think it would have worked with the typical "Sing-along song" style.
However, after that, it got better. Ducky being mad was mildly entertaining. I found it rather interesting that it was, at least according to Ducky, that it was her first time ever really being mad. Though I'm sure there were other times before that she was mad. However, I bet this one time exceeded them all. Anyways, Ducky being mad was a very unique thing. Quite a good thing to explore with her charcter.
The first time I saw it, I was disappointed to see Ducky so angry. One of the reasons I like Ducky is because she is a Nice character! As a result, it took watching this film a few times before I learned to accept this element, but it is true; it was an unexpected element to add to an LBT story. "Unique" isn't a word that can accurately describe many of the later LBT films, so in that aspect, this was an interesting idea.
Also I doubt the whole population of the Great Valley and the spikedtail herd could live on the very, very sparce green food they found there. It would have been appropriate had they found just a little more green food there to make it plausible.
I was thinking the same thing, myself. I honestly don't know Why they simply didn't add a bit more vegetation to the scene. This was one of the weakest aspects of the film, in my mind.
As for the music of the land before time 8, I was very fond of "Family".
"Family" was a very nice song. I loved Ducky's voice in this song, and the tone of the song demonstrated that even though someone may be gone, the Circle of Life will take its course for the better. Nice lyrics, beautiful music, definately a keeper
I can see that Spike definately sees Ducky as family. The thing that was so interesting was that Spike only left because Ducky told him to. ("If it is so hard to choose, I will! Just go!" So OoC.) I can see that, though he is alot bigger, Spike has alot of loyalty for Ducky.
I'm not sure it shows Spike's Loyalty for Ducky, per se. Spike was torn between staying with those who took care of him, and living with his own kind, who accept him now. Spike apparently looked beyond the recent events, where Ducky had been frustrated with him, and picked on him a little bit (ex. she stuck her tongue out at him earlier in the film). He has So many things on his mind that the decision was dreadfully difficult. The straw that broke this, was when Ducky urged him to go. I'm not sure exactly, but perhaps Spike almost felt unwanted by Ducky, at at least, I'm sure her frustration with him was one key factor of why he chose to leave.
If Ducky hadn't been mad at him, she wouldn't have pressured him into leaving, which would have make Spike's decision much more difficult. Also, Spike wouldn't have had the recent conflicts with Ducky, which means he may not have wanted to spend so much time away from his family to be with the spiketails. It is hard to say for sure, but I think that Ducky's frustration with Spike was one reason that Spike spent so much time away from her; He longed to be accepted, and he got that from the spiketails.
Of course, I'm sure the highpoint of entertainment, that we can all agree on, was the scene where everyone, even the grownups, played in the snow. You can get quite a laugh from others getting hit by a snowball. Always a classic. I'm even surprised Mr. Threehorn played as well. Though I'm sure he was waiting to do something like that for a long time to Grandpa Longneck.
Ahh yes, great time! I found this scene amusing as well
one of the few truly happy moments in the movie, but I must say I'm glad the happiness didn't last very long. The introduction into what a Real blizzard was like, showed the harsh reality of winter, but the joyous prelude to the harshness was a bit of a refreshment after all the conflict with Spike and Ducky. The games almost seemed to relieve tension in many of the characters, as well. This scene was a brief escape from reality, before the real trouble hit.
