Journey of the Brave (LBT 14)

[Tikikata]

Wow, wow, wow, what a difference from Wisdom of Friends. It's like they took everything that was wrong and fixed it for this movie. The animation is really clean, too. <3

[rhombus]

I must admit that my views on this film are decidedly mixed, but overall I would rate it as an average LBT sequel.  On the good side, the animation was well done, the new characters were suitably fleshed-out and not terribly annoying, two of the three songs that I remember were relatively good, Chomper and Ruby make an appearance, and we had some throwbacks to the original film.  On the down side, what the hell happened to Shorty?  Did Chomper eat him or something?  The song about the stinky plants was awful... and the falling out between Cera and Littlefoot (where even after the sandstorm she refused to look for him) almost made it seem like the 13 films of character development never happened.  And, as others have mentioned, the film ended quite abruptly.

So overall I would rate the film as average by LBT standards, though I would consider it a major improvement from the likes of LBT 11-13.

[pokeplayer984]

Oh, and one thing I can respect this movie for over 13.  The fact the gang keep in mind that Sharpteeth have a strong sense of smell.  I always hated 13 for the way the Yellowbellies would "hide" themselves.  The Sharpteeth can still smell them.  JOTB kept that strong sense of smell aspect intact and had the gang think outside the box to try and avoid Sharpteeth.  Making yourself smell terrible is an excellent way to make yourself unpleasing to predators.

I'll always like Journey of the Brave more just because of what I CAN'T forgive Wisdom of Friends for.  Sorry, but Sharpteeth are meant to be predators with a strong sense of smell.  Disrespect that and it's instant hatred you get from me.

[MC CJ'S REVENGE]

Good film. Well worth the wait.

[vonboy]

I know these movies usually don't respect science that much, and it's fine, but I'd just like to point out there's no way Bron could have survived being stuck on a rock and surrounded by lava for a couple days.

The lava would have kept the air just around it very hot, at least hundreds of degrees. There's a reason scientists have to wear those heat shielding suits whenever they get close to the stuff. It's like stepping into an oven. So, yeah, Bron would have cooked alive staying there for that long.

Too bad Chomper didn't tag along with the gang. He could have enjoyed some roasted longneck at least!

[Littlefoot1616]

Although there is still to be a release date for it over here yet, I managed to watch Journey of the Brave thanks to some helpful connections (thanks be to ye ) and honestly, for the most part I did really enjoy it. Is it perfect? Not by a long shot, but the minor niggles I had with bits and bobs here and there didn't overly distract me from the film. Anyway, here's my views on the movie.

Heads up for potential SPOILERS!! from here onwards. Thou hast been forewarned! We good? Cool...






The Good:

- Overall - It was par for the course. Animation was bright and slick. CGI effects were shoehorned in there and stood out like a drunken dad dancer at a ballroom competition because that's the industry's expectation now. Granted, background's didn't look as impressive as I've come to recognise but they worked for the most part. VO was great and thought the new voices for Mr Threehorn and Grandpa Longneck were OK. Let's face it, they're never going to be John Ingle and Kenneth Mars respectively but they made a good fit. Felix (grr brr...mumble something something- what's his name...) was pretty good as Littlefoot as was the new voice for Chomper and the songs were your usual mix of thematic "try to tie in to the current situation" Disney sing-a-long trope we've come to expect. Etta's "Look for the Light" ranks the top of the four songs (seeing as the woman is a professional singer...duh right?) and yes. Hot and Stinky was skin-crawling but I didn't find it nearly as unbearable as say "oops eeps".

- Links to previous movies - This might have been said already but I found myself thinking of quite a bit of theming linking back to the original LBT some ways. Some of the links might seem a bit tenuous, but I could help but get a few odd flashbacks to LBT #1. Little things like, Littlefoot hunting for a lost parent, Littlefoot spending a substantial portion of the movie on his own, heading towards a volcano as part of the route, Littlefoot and Cera arguing to the point of separating the group with exactly the same split; Littlefoot flying solo and the rest following Cera who ends up getting them lost, Littlefoot meeting a "life guide" when he seems to be at his lowest point. Even the scene when they fall asleep due to exhaustion, it made me think back to the first LBT movie (that beautiful piece where they sleep in the sharptooth footprint) where Littlefoot sleeps on his own (initially in #1) and the others gather around each other. I just seemed to find a lot of throwbacks to the first movie. Can't say if they were intentional but just something I noticed.

- Story - I actually quite liked the story. Yeah it's basic in plot and there are no major "I see dead people who don't know their dead" plot twists but that doesn't inherently make the movie bad (in my opinion). It's the typical "damsel in distress" tale we've seen and hear so many times, albeit the other way around kinda (take that gender inequality! ) but the emotional attachment to it did strike a chord with me. Littlefoot's emotional turmoil to find Bron and see his friends safe at the same time resonated with me and even though I could predict the end before the title card flashed up, I still wanted to stick it out and enjoy the ride. The cause and effect and responses between the characters seemed believable and the emotions that ran through it felt genuine I felt.

- Comedy - Now I know this is gonna strike a vibe, either good or bad, with folks, but I genuinely found myself laughing at some of the goofy moments of the story (...shall I leave now?). Yeah the "Hot and Stinky" song was cringe-worthy but I actually found it stuck in my head a hell of a lot more than say "Yellow Belly Beat" from #13. And I think Petrie really stood out as a more of the comic relief this time around in what he did and said. It was weird but I really liked the "Diggers" scene with Petrie accidentally being elected their leader. It reminded me of the Mini sloths scene from Ice Age 2 albeit more cut back but I actually enjoyed it. And the end of that part with the next elected leader being chosen... I proper belly laughed at that dino's "WTF!" face.   Please, rewatch that scene and just imagine those three words running through that dino's mind with that gormless expression.

- New Characters - I genuinely liked Etta and Wild Arms. Both had unique traits and... well... characters... about them and I quickly latched onto them. I felt they seemed to compliment each other. Wild Arms was brilliant in his Wayans, over-the-top, screech like a hyper 5-year old way and Etta was calm and soothing but goofy enough to prevent her from being preachy or dead-pan. Compared to those...erm umm... other characters voiced by people we should know about *cough*, they were much more dynamic and their comedy was a little more natural. A good choice of VOs to give a new flavour to the already over-swelling cast of additional characters to the franchise. I liked 'em

The Bad

- Sound Design - Now I know this is a cartoon and cartoons have their own "physics" to their world depending on the series, but I just found the Looney Tunes, cannon, stock-source sound effects to be a bit jarring. Like the dizzy head shaking "ee-ei-ei-ei-ei-eh!" sound a character makes to clear their heads just broke the immersion for me a bit. In moments of extreme expression, e.g. Petrie dashing up into the trees to escape the Diggers, that bullet shot "pee-neeoww!" sound wasn't too bad, it fit the context of what was going on but that light and hollow "bonk" sound Cera makes when headbutting a rock just didn't go. LBT has always used a rich range of impressive and impacting sounds and imagery but the sound wasn't all there I found. Even the crashing footsteps of the giant and elder dinosaur, their steps sounded muted and less imposing than what was used before. It's a nit-pick but I do hear it and notice it every time. (Gawd...writing those onomatopoeias was a challenge )

- Chomper and Ruby - People might hate me for this, but Chomper and Ruby did not need to be in this movie... at all! Other than that one moment when Chomper confirmed that the elders were on Littlefoot and Co's trail, they had absolutely no other contributing factor to the film. They could have very easily written around that point seeing as they had Wild Arms to take them there. It's no more far-fetched than the lot of them finding Littlefoot and his friends where Bron was anyway. Chomper and Ruby felt like, and I hate myself for comparing two very likable characters in this way, *gulp* product placement (don't worry... I'll go iron my hands later... ). They were there for a throw away, "hi and bye" appearance but outstayed their welcome. There was no real reason for them to be there. Sorry guys, love ya in the TV series...but you didn't rank here for me. And I'm kinda hurt that we didn't get something along the lines of a "how Chomper and Ruby met the gang" origin story. Yeah it's kinda canon but it would of given them a better feature than exploiting one feature of one character.

- Weak 3rd Act - The final act of the movie was weak. Very weak. I wasn't expecting a Michael Bay explosion-fest but the lead up to Bron's rescue (c'mon! That's hardly a spoiler. It's a sodding U rated LBT movie. We all knew what was going to happen! : ) just was not enough of a climax for what the gang went through. I get that the movie is aimed at younger audiences and there are restrictions to work within (timing, kids' attention span, displays of peril and danger) but so much more could have been done with it. Not saying it had to be another sharptooth attack but more action and danger could have been implemented here to make a more fulfilling conclusion. The island breaks apart leaving Littlefoot on it, the mountain erupts again and they have to escape a pyroclastic (sp?) cloud, Wild Arms steps up and saves Bron/Littlefoot and almost gets roasted (returning the favour sorta thing), the canon "lost one to the adventure but OH NO WAIT, he's OK!" trope. Anything to add more to this closing act. It was just a bit limp leaf for me and I was expecting a bit more. For God Sake in #10 we had an all-out brawl of leaf-eaters Vs Sharpteeth! Even Grandma and Grandpa got their Shaq-fu, smash down on! Whilst it was that softly-softly, just about acceptable level of violence for kiddies, it was still more exciting that the end of this one. Shame...

- Pacing and Focus - Not that I don't love seeing the gang getting up to their adventuring hi-jinks as always, the supporting cast really did take a backseat in this one. Considering Mr Threehorn, Wild Arms and Grandpa Longneck were on a rescue mission, we only cut back to them a handful of times and when we do, it broke apart the flow in odd places for me. The pace yo-yo'd quite a but going from bursts of excitement to down right crawls that dragged out for far too long. Whilst the characters held my attention, scene shifts literally made me blink and reminded me of my reality I was to return to once the movie was done (usually that only comes from poorly timed phone calls or needing loo breaks ). Dunno... just found the pace choppy and disjointed at times. Again, another minor nit-pick.

On the whole, I really did enjoy this one. I've rewatched it at least 5 times almost in daily succession and it was good to see a new LBT movie reach us after so long. One of my more preferred sequels I'd say. It won't knock Don Bluth's masterpiece from my personal pedestal, but I'll happily be revisiting this one.

[The Lone Dragon]

Well I thought the movie was very good, the new characters were better then I had hoped. I wish Ruby and Chomper had some more screen time and the rescue mission that the adults went on was a bit pointless in the movie though it would not have been for them.

I liked the animation style and found the VA to just as good as ever. Felix really does a good Job at being Littlefoot and it was nice to see Anndi and Aria come to play their respective dinos. In terms of the sound effects I found them easily bearable, I have a high tolerance for silly videos thanks to my sister but I do with they would cut down on it in future, I am glad they did not do any of that in the songs though.

In terms of the songs I thought they were all quite good even the hot and stinky song, which I found surprisingly catchy though my personal fav was Better Off Alone.

The plot was very good, it went a little slow at first before quickly moving into the adventure. In terms of the breakup of the gang it does seem that character development over the films had been thrown away, however rows do happen between people who have known each other and with Cera and Littlefoot, there's no surprise there.

I found the climax to be well done though it did end a little to quickly, I sure it was heart warming to see everyone working together but I wish that rescue mission itself was actually more action packed and tense but we didn't get that so the ending was okay.

There was one scene that I could not stand however and that was the scene with those pygmy dinos making Petrie there leader that was a bit to ridiculous for me but apart from that I find everything went swimmingly.

So overall I would rate this as one of the better LBT sequels.

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

So back in 2011-12 I rewatched all of LBT, and watched 10-12 in full for the first time. I basically knew what would happen in 10, since I'd seen some of it before, and watched MArzgurl's reviews of the other two before seeing them. So this is the first really new LBT thing I've really felt I'm seeing in about 13 years!

So here, I'll take notes about things I find interesting about the new movie. Not a big review, since that's too time consuming, but just a place to jot down notes as I watch.  

1. The beginning is a lot like LBT 12's with the Universal Logo...except it zooms into...northern Canada??
2. The new narrator is just...not John Ingle.  
3. The transition to Littlefoot was sort of abrupt, but ok.
4. So nice seeing Cera, Ducky, Spike and Petrie reintroduced.
5. Wow, they mentioned Mama Longneck for the first time since LBT 10. Glad to see she hasn't been forgotten.
6. The flashbacks with Bron aren't exactly accurate, but it at least gives the idea.
7. Chomper and Ruby are back...and Chomper can only growl in english, not sharptooth.  Huh.
8. BTW, Littlefoot knows Ruby, so is this after the series? Guess I'll find out.
9. Oh god...Topsy's voice...you'll forever be missed, John Ingle.  
10. Oh god...cheesy music starting!  
11. Littlefoot as Bieber?  
12. "You will teach them to stay away from your rear end"
Seriously???  
13. Handclaps in an LBT song?  
14. Cera, did you learn anything from smashing your horn in LBT 10?
15. The noise when she shakes her head after hitting it...can anyone say "Klasky Csupo"? Lololol!!!
16. Aw, the song was pretty sweet.  
17. Lol, the baby swimmer biting Petrie, lol
18. Holy crap, was Petrie almost about to say he was their adopteded...oh wait, no, he was talking about Spike, not Ducky. Why was he so shy to say he was Spike's friend?  :! It would have been funnier if he has said "and me your sister's...uh, um...me just Petrie."
19. Oh god...Grandpa Longneck, who did they get to voice you?  R.I.P., Kenneth Mars. You'll always be Grandpa Longneck, no matter how many replacements he gets.  
20. BTW, Grandma Longneck sounds different, too. I'll have to check the credits.
21. CGI Waterfall.
22. Oh...the herd all makes it there safely, just not Bron. I see.
23. Um...does Grandpa Longneck have longer eyelashes suddenly?  
24. WILD ARMS!!!!        
25. Oh man, this guy is too hilarious!   But owch, that pinching looked painful!
26. Feather headed sharptooth? Huh.
27. Their stare at Wild Arms...gonna be a really good caption.  
28. Huh, where are Chomper and Ruby? They sort of disapeared.
29. It's nice that Littlefoot isn't asking his friends to risk their lives to help him. Back in LBT 4, it was sort of implied that he was gonna make them do that if Ali hadn't said they should go alone.
30. Um...is he actually in the Mysterious Beyond? Not much transition.
31. *sigh*...the gang this site is named after, back on another adventure after all these years!   (Although it barely qualifies as the Mysterious Beyond.)
32. OK, now it sort of qualifies.
33. The first clip we've already seen so far. Also, what's the "long valley"?  
34. Horrible CGI tree.
35. Once again, Cera wasn't at the back of the line as they crossed the log.
36. "Everything looks scary to you"  lol
37. They called stinkweed by it's actual name, ironically enough.  
38. Clip #2 that we've seen...the "hot and stinky" song...and boy, does it stink.
39. Those are some uncanny-looking sharpteeth.
40. The sharpteeth actually heard Petrie?
41. Holy crap, a mammal.
42. Oh god, saying the song title...please tell me there isn't going to be a reprise...  
43. Spike's eating really causing a problem for once. And causing Littlefoot to fall in.
44. Geez, the gang is gonna risk getting eaten just for a swim?
45. They're  JUST noticing the stinkweed is washing off?? The writers are really putting the willing suspension of disbelief on me here.
46. I'm pleased to hear the music from the shark scene in movie 5 reused!  
47. Horrible CGI falling rocks.
48. Yikes...that looks tough to climb up. Thankfully Ducky and Petrie didn't have to. (BTW, it looks like the cliff Littlefoot was climbing after the fight with Cera in the original!)
49. Horrible CGI cliff.
50. Tripping Sharpteeth, again.
51. More horrible CGI rocks, but made up for by Cera pushing them onto the Sharptooth!  
52. And he just gives up and walks away. A day in the life of a sequel sharptooth. Oh well.
53. Clip #3. I gotta say, so far, this movie has been pretty good..it's stuck to a good story without wasting much time on stuff. I wonder if Etta will show up soon. Given her significance, I'm sure she will, considering we're over a half-hour in.
54. Lovely shot of the valley. Looks almost mirrored from the original film.
55. Chomper and Ruby still exist in this film, thankfully.
56. Ugh, the grandparents' voices.
57. The Mysterious Beyond is well-drawn here, too.
58. Wait, sickness among the gang? That's new.
59. Aw, the classic Great Valley Theme...nope, gotta save up the waterworks in case something happens that really makes me cry.
60. Clip #4. Great to see Mama Swimmer and Mama Flyer again, but where's Tria? Anyways, nice to see this clip again.

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

I'm only double posting because I had to move this and couldn't put everything in just one post.

61. lol, how Grandpa Longneck and Topsy can just walk over it.
62."Of all the stunts these wild young ones have pulled, this is the worst." Would be a nice time to bring in some continuity nods, but oh well.
63. Wow...the scene with them sleeping really reminded me of the original film...
64. Just the look Grandpa Longneck and Topsy give Wild Arms! Too hilarious.
65. Wild Arms trying to hi-five Topsy!! Again, comedy gold.
66. Wild Arms fainting and Mr. Threehorn carrying him!! God, the writers are on fire humor-wise when this guy is involved!
67. Spike's stomach growls...for the first time in the entire series, ironically enough. I actually made a topic noting that not too far back.
68. "But how come we can't find it?" Pretty stupid question.
69. Cera tells Littlefoot she doesn't think he knows where he's going and they should have gone her way...nice nod to the original.
70. Horrible CGI rock-surfing.
71. Holy shit...are Littlefoot and Cera gonna fight? Even scenery-wise, this is SERIOUSLY a homage to the original!!
72. Littlefoot lashes out at the others...um, wow.
73. Oh my god...it's uncanny how much this scene resembles the original, Like...there's no way this couldn't have been intentional.
74. "Better Off Alone" (or "I feel Fine", if that's what it's called) is great. Pure Michelle and Amanda LBT music. The split-screen was kinda cheesy...espicially towards the end when it looks like Littlefoot and Cera share both ends of a body, a la "Catdog" (a Nickelodeon show from a long time ago you might have seen) but it helps this solo duet. I gotta say, this will probably be my favorite song of the film.
75. Sand clouds...that's new!
76. "Don't tell me you're thinking about going back out there!" Reba has arrived!   (It took 45 minutes, but no biggie.)
77. I gotta say...Littlefoot being seperated from the others actually makes this pretty emotionally well-done. He only was for a short time in the original (we never really saw him on his own). I could sort of see from the clips that something like this might happen, although I didn't give a ton of thought to it.
78. ...and now Petrie goes missing.
79. Those eyes...those things! So creepy!! (I typed this after watching a bit further in, but at the moment I was like, "WTF??")
80. OMG...all of them respecting him!! "More! More"    I wonder if they'll talk like him...
81. Oh, so it's pronounced "Eh-tuh". I thought it was "Ee-tuh".
82. And now an earthquake traps them. I gotta say, this movie is doing a better job putting challenges on it's characters than any other LBT sequel. That shows how much the writing has improved!
83. Those diggers are too hilarious!  
84. Lol, Petrie as the leader!   BTW, notice the sound effects as Cera opens her eyes to see him. What's with all the sound effects?
85. The music that plays anytime the diggers eat the fruit...so funny! Great job, Tavera!
86. Petrie calls the tune for once! Cool.
87. Aw...Petrie saying goodbye to the diggers was so sad. But at least they found a new leader.
88. And here's the last clip we'd already been shown.
89. Wait...did Shorty make it out OK? Littlefoot doesn't mention him to Etta.
90. So that's why the middle of Etta's arms are colored differently.
91. I thoroughly enjoyed "Look For The Light". Great visuals, great melody, great lyrics, great performance. Great job, Michelle, Amanda, and of course, Reba!  
92. SHARPTOOTH WITH FREAKIN' HORNS!!!
93. A lucky coincidence, the others end up near enough for Littlefoot to hear at exactly the right time. This movie does a great job challenging the characters but doesn't make it too hard on them, like the original. That's really good writing.
94. Etta's singed wing prevents her from being able to fly. Interesting.
95. So Etta's a "bigbeak"? Huh.
96. "I'm so happy we're altogether!" Me, too, Littlefoot. Me, too.  
97. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Alright! Gotta make sure I enjoy the last 15 minutes of the movie, in case they're the last of the entire franchise.
98. The ride down the crystal tunnel was just awesome. This is what LBT should be. THIS is what we've been missing!
99. And then they come out into such a pretty place! I love how Ducky's like "I want to do it again!", since I actually immediately rewatched it, it was so good!
100. As the grand 100 commentary note, the freaking epic shot of them looking up at the fire mountain from the trailer!
101. No...they wouldn't kill off Bron...would they...? (BTW, some of the ridges here look a lot like in the original!)
102. Oh...my...god. Bron on the lava. I had to show my dad, who was in the room and he was like, "Is that where they got the idea for Star Wars?" (Refering to Anakin and Obi-Wan's fight in Revenge Of The Sith)
103. I had to take a screenshot of it and when I looked at it more...holy sh**, is Bron missing a leg? Did it get...burned off??!!
104. Oh god...Bron's accepting that he's gonna be burned alive?? Also, is he just weakened or is that a terrible voice actor?
105. Finally, back to the others.
106. Does anyone but me hate how they make the music all funny whenever Wild Arms is onscreen? It's not Tavera-ish at all.
107. I hope those creatures that distracted the sharptooth are ok.
108. Oh god, the blurring around Wild Arms when the others glare at him is creepy.
109. The sound effect as Cera shakes her head...again.
110. Water hardening lava...pure awesomeness. This whole plan to rescue Bron makes for a fantastic climax.
111. Horrible CGI tree.
112. Leaping across lava. Wow.
113. Bron's design is a little different, I'm noticing. The top of his head isn't dark brown.
114. Wild Arms: "Finally! Someone who's sensible!"
115. The Gang of Seven, finally together in film.
116. The ending...just...awesome way to cap it off.
117. "Look For The Light" playing over the credits. Great to hear it again. Even better in this longer version. (BTW, my dad turned out the lights just as the song was finishing!)
118. And then we have to hear "Hot and Stinky" again.  

Final thoughts:

This was a really good movie. Like, better than LBT has had in quite a while. Not only was it a huge comeback after Wisdom of Friends (which I never saw and never plan on seeing, it was that bad) but a huge comeback for the franchise in general. It gives me serious hope that this franchise has a good future ahead. But if that's the last of it, well, it's a pretty darn good way to go out---espicially better than Wisdom of Friends, which for so many years, we were sure was the end of it all.

What else is there to say? There was a lot about this movie I loved. The new characters were fantastic, and it was truly great to see our main five (plus Chomper and Ruby) again. There were plenty of funny moments. The Petrie and the diggers storyline, Wild Arms, Etta, and so forth. I loved how the climax was done. It didn't rely on some fight against a sharptooth as so many other LBT sequels have in the past (I think 7 was the only one that truly didn't.) The new songs were mostly good, and Tavera's score, while not quite as memorable or beautiful as it was in the early sequels, was still good. The writing was good, the pacing was good, the animation, for a DTV and a world that now lives in 95% computer animation, was good.

So what was bad? Well, like I said, I didn't like the replacements for Grandpa Longneck and Topsy. Bron's replacement wasn't great either, and why were Mama Swimmer and Mama Flyer replaced? Was Tress unavailable? I dunno.

"Hot and Stinky" obviously wasn't the best song, but I don't think it was the absolute worst. There were a few filler moments, like Spike and Ducky's siblings hatching (they must have like, 30 by now) and the Sharptooth going after the search party only to be distracted. Chomper and Ruby being there wouldn't make sense if you hadn't seen the TV series, which itself brought them in rather suddenly. Oh, and where was Shorty? He must have made it back with the herd, but did he care at all what happened to Bron? It was quite odd that the writers seemed to have forgotten about him.

Other than that, though, the film was pretty much a hands down great LBT sequel. I really can't give it any less of a praise than that. Even if Marzgurl tried to critique this one, I'm sure she wouldn't find as many flaws as she does with some of them. So is it the best? Well, that's kind of hard to say. There was so much that was good about it, yet that's asking me to put it over 3, 4, 5 and 7, all watermarks of my childhood. Writing wise, however, I'd say it ties with 4 and 7 (and I guess 10) as the best sequel of the series.

Well, that's pretty much everything to cover. I hope this isn't the end of LBT, and if it is, I'm at least happy knowing I made my contribution trying to prevent it being the last by purchasing it on itunes. It's the first Itunes movie I've ever bought, by the way.  

[Loofah]

The release date for Germany is now 21 April. I'm already looking forward to the speech, especially for Wild Arms and Etta.

[AllegroGiocoso]

We have some sales numbers now from JOTB's first week! It sold about 50,000 copies and spending on it was about $750,000. I don't really know what this means but here's the link in case anyone's interested.

http://www.the-numbers.com/weekly-dvd-sales-chart

It's DVD sales were less than The Great Day of Flyers' first week was, but of course that was back in 2007 when there were many more DVD sales and I don't think there was Netflix streaming at that point, so ... Also JOTB debuted at rank #7, while Great Day of the Flyers debuted at #11.


Link for Great Day of Flyers info: http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Land-Befo...tab=video-sales

Also for further comparison, it appears that Wisdom of Friends did not chart at all: this was the chart of Wisdom of Friends' first week.

http://www.the-numbers.com/home-market/dvd...hart/2007/12/02

EDIT: It looks as though the Great Day of the Flyers first charted after its general release, it appears not to have charted during its Walmart exclusive time.

[Ludichris1]

Yeah they only show the first week unless you contact them/sign up I guess. I'm not sure what the "total spending" is exactly. The amount of money made for the amount of units sold? I mean when I checked LBT was $15 at walmart and 15 x 50,000 is 750,000. But we have no idea about the other weeks and we have no idea what budget Universal had, both in making the movie, making the DVDs, and marketing.

[Cancerian Tiger]

I gotta admit, this is the first sequel I've watched multiple times in a while.  The quality really is better this time around☺.

Aw man, the part where Petrie sees all the eyes peer out at him, then reacts by shooting up like a bat outta hell, about made me wet my pants the first time I saw that.  Pee-yneww!!! like a crack-loaded rocket ...oh Petrie, you're such a Chicken Little sometimes .

[Hypno]

Seems like some money is being made! Remember though, if you think this isn't much, you have to remember: this was it's FIRST week in the US at Wal-Mart ONLY! As soon as it's released in other countries and regular retail, the sales will DEFINITELY boost a lot more. Seems nice, if it does well, LBT XV may become reality!  

[vonboy]

Did Universal ever say what this film's budget was? Would be useful for seeing if/when the movie turns a profit for them, which would give them a good reason to make another movie.

[Hypno]

Well, the budget of the first film was about $12.5 mil. Would it be higher now with better animation and CGI? Definitely, but how much so? We need a guess. I'll check the budgets for any of the sequels, if they exist.

[Campion1]

Would it be higher now with better animation and CGI? Definitely, but how much so?

No. Don Bluth's animation is obviously superior and CG would not be an expensive alternative these days. Let's also remember that LBT was animated traditionally back then which would be a far more expensive and time consuming production. I don't think LBT 1 would be a good comparison for the budget.

[AllegroGiocoso]

Apparently they also re-used some animation from the previous sequels, further cutting down the costs.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-trandahl-82152111

[vonboy]

Apparently they also re-used some animation from the previous sequels, further cutting down the costs.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-trandahl-82152111

Sounds more like they reused designs, and not really animation.

"Maintained digital database of all design assets created for the project as well as a stock database of assets created for previous “Land Before Time” projects, allowing for significant re-use, saving production time and money."

Seems like they would reuse a lot of the designs, as a lot of characters and locations are from previous sequels, so of course it would save time and money not having to design that many new characters or locations.

Either way, that would of course save some money.

[Dr. Rex]

Good to hear the sales are at least doing well! Now, whether or not that'll guarantee a sequel is something that remains to be seen...