Asking LBT production crew members for information

[Mumbling]

This is a great answer, thanks for reaching out to her and sharing with us Sovereign! This is really cool

[Sovereign]

Thank you for your kind words everyone! Indeed, Hunter broke the ice on many issues about the sequels that have puzzled us for a long time. I thought that we could ask her more closely about the deleted scene and of other ones that were close to being animated.

Thank you very much for your insightful and thorough answer, Ms. Hunter! The bits of knowledge you shared have sparked a lot of interest on our site and indeed, we appreciate the time and effort you put into answering as many of my questions as possible. It really means a lot to me and to our other members as it is more than helpful to help us understand more about JOTB’s development.

Of special interest to me was the point where you spoke of the deleted ribcage scene as it is these deleted scenes are the exact kind of stuff we have wanted to know about LBT films. You mentioned that there were many different versions of that scene so I’d like to ask, would you have some storyboards about that particular scene that you could kindly share with us? And also, it is to be expected that many plans are cut while producing an animated film but still, we’d perhaps like to hear of some, more developed plans aside from this one that didn’t make it to JOTB. And finally, it is more than a bit unfortunate that the studios change their animation crew for every film but still, thank you for your encouraging and interesting words concerning the future of the Land Before Time.

Best Regards
---

[Hypno]

Looks great to me. You are definitely improving with these messages
I suppose the message can be sent already as I don't see any problems with it

[Sovereign]

I was quite busy today but now the message is sent. Let's hope for another answer. 

[OwlsCantRead]

Ah, storyboarding to film is as annoying a task as always. That's my first thought upon reading her response.

Missed the initial reply due to wisdom tooth surgery getting the better of me, but I'll echo everyone else and say that I'm happy with the response received. Still on the fence on whether Universal would ever make a 15th LBT film, but the reply received is quite the tidbit already!

[Hypno]

Since Hunter did not reply, perhaps we could move on to the next Journey of the Brave storyboard artist. I have the website links for Larry Houston, Fred Gonzales, and Robert Sledge in reply #298. Starting with Houston, I suppose we could ask him similar questions as we asked Hunter - were there any deleted scenes and if so do you still have any storyboards of them?

Also, I kinda want to know if Hunter was just mistaken when she identified the Featherhead Sharpteeth as "Allosauruses" because they certainly look like a lot more like either Monolophosaurus or Yutyrannus to me... so maybe we could ask Houston what kind of dinosaur the featherheads are supposed to be

[Sovereign]

I guess we could do that as it's nearly certain that other people remember different cut scenes than Hunter did. As for the latter question, I'm not personally too interested in that one but I can put it in the message as well.

[Sneak]

I want to ask someone of LBTXIV production team about why Shorty was missing in movie much more than any possible deleted scenes and storyboards. 

[Hypno]

As for the latter question, I'm not personally too interested in that one but I van put it in the message as well.

Actually forget what I said - I'll just ask one of them myself at some point since it's not that important.

[Sovereign]

Well, here's my message proposal.

Greetings, Mr. Houston!

I am extremely impressed for the beautiful work you and the other artists did on the storyboards of the Journey of the Brave. I, for one, enjoyed that film greatly and it was a real relief to see the series finally get over JOTB’s immediate predecessor. It’s clear that storyboard answers like you were instrumental in bringing the Land Before Time to life again and for that, I’m very grateful.

However, I’d still be interested in asking what kinds of scenes you worked on, especially ones that might have been cut before the film’s release. One of the other storyboard artists told me about the ribcage scene so are there other cut scenes you might know of? Even better would be if you could share some storyboards of such scenes (or any scenes overall) you still might have. And finally, I’d be happy to know if you have any knowledge or guesses about the continuation of the LBT franchise.

We understand that you may not want to share everything with us but even answering a few of these questions would mean a lot to me and many other members of an LBT fansite called the Gang of Five. You may also add some funny memories of your own if you want to and thank you already in advance for a possible answer!

Best Regards
....

[Hypno]

Solid message, I would probably replace "the ribcage scene" with "a ribcage scene" if I was writing it but you don't have to. 

[Sovereign]

I already mentioned it on Discord but yeah, the message is sent.

[Hypno]

Last week, I sent an email to the original film’s screenwriter, Stu Krieger (who Sovereign had contacted a couple of years ago). I asked him some questions about the oasis scene. We know it was going to be in the film, but we do not know when it was cut. So, I asked him if he knew about it, and if so, when it was cut. I wanted to know if it ended up being animated.

Hi ——,

It's always nice to hear from an LBT fan. As with any film, there were numerous iterations in the editing stages so there were a number of scenes that made it as far as the pencil-test animated version that didn' ultimately wind up in the film that was released. Some were cut for pacing, some were cut because they weren't adding new information to the overall plot and some were cut simply because (given the target audience) we wanted to keep the film tight and as engaging as possible. Even the addition of Rooter as the narrator came fairly late in the process. Viewing early cuts, we decided it would be helpful to have a "guide" filling in some of the backstory that we didn't want the young characters to articulate.
      In terms of the oasis scene, we always strived to have the "all species should be able to coexist" message of the film remain subtext more than something that was repeatedly hammered home. In all of the story conferences we had along the way, involving Spielberg, Lucas, Bluth, the producers and me, we never spoke directly about specific scenes in terms of their sociological context but instead focused on the storytelling and structure that best supported the notion of creating an entertaining film. In all honesty, given that we worked on the film from 1984-1988 (more than 32 years ago) I remember that oasis sequence but am not sure if it made it to the animation stage or not. As I said, A LOT of things came and went as the script and cuts of the movie evolved.

Sorry I can't be more definitive but I hope this did shed some light on the process.

Best,

Stu Krieger
Professor
Department of Theatre, Film & Digital Production
University of California, Riverside
INTS 2122

As you can see, he wasn’t sure when it was cut, but it was probably a silly question by me as it was over 30 years ago. He did imply that the oasis scene was cut to tone down the racism aspect, as we know, so it wasn’t shoved in the face of viewers. It was nice to hear from him about how the story was produced. And, I myself did not know that Pat Hingle ended up voicing the narrator that late.

I have since followed up with a reply, asking him about a couple other scenes, so I will post his next response here if I get one!

[Sneak]

Thak you very much, Stu Krieger. And thank you, Hypno!

It's first time I read how somebody tells about Rooter being Narrator. Though even without knowing who voices Narrator and Rooter, you can guess that their voices are very similar, and it makes sense.

and whoa, very early production was started somewhere in nineteen eighty FOUR? :O

sad we still didn't know if any part of Oasis sequence was colored.

[Anagnos]

Thank you for writing an email for Krieger, Hypno, and especially big thanks to Stu that he had the time to answer your questions. Reading about how the production evolved throughout the years was very fascinating! Let's hope that Stu will answer any further questions. I will be looking forward to them for sure!

[OwlsCantRead]

That's definitely a plus for the documentation side! Nice job getting that tidbit!

[Hypno]

and whoa, very early production was started somewhere in nineteen eighty FOUR? :O

Yeah, that one sure had me puzzled. Most sources say the concept of “The Land Before Time Began” was created in 1985. In Sovereign’s message, Krieger himself said that they begun work on it in 1985.

[gutza1]

I partially posted this on another thread, but last August I emailed Llyn Hunter again. The specific question was asking if future LBT installments could potentially expand upon the sci-fi elements hinted at with the Rainbow Faces in VII (don't ask). I got the following response:

Oh -:

My suggestion is to come up with a package that is not the current franchise but for a new dinosaur show based on what you are suggesting, and pitch it to Marvel / Disney or Warner's/ Cartoon network. You need to do some investigation work, find out who the current lot of producers are over at those studios, and tag up with them on Linked In - that's where they hang, if at all, on the internet.

Being a writer for animation is a tricky thing. It is ALL about the "who you know", not the "what you know."  As a board artist, I'm actually on the bottom of the creative rungs of animation.  Even though I get to make a great deal of the visual story decisions in the end, the main story is decided by a group of people I rarely even get to meet.   Most of my connection to any writer is a name on a script.  That any truly good writing gets done in any area of entertainment actually amazes me, considering how many hands the script goes through before I get it, and then the story is changed and refined dozens of times after it leaves my hands.  Note that NO ONE related to the original product has any relationship to the current Land Before Time franchise.  Like Scooby-doo and Batman, baby dinosaurs will always be popular.  Executives don't make decisions because they are creative, they make them to 1. make money 2. because they think they are creative (Dunning-Kruger effect). Everyone who works in my industry has a good idea for a show.  We have connections, and most of us don't pitch because we know what a total crap shoot it is. My advice it listen to Neil Gaiman's speech then do what he or Steven Spielberg did - fake your way into the business:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OwRUyZMKwI&t=363s

Also, Universal Animation is a haphazard place currently run by https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellen-cockrill-1ba95b58/ and she doesn't seem to look at her Linked In.

Remember, the best ideas in the world are in the dust bin or on the cutting room floor,
And on that cheary note, good luck, keep writing - and you at least found me, so maybe you can find someone who can make decisions,

Llyn