The Land Before Time
Director: Don Bluth
Year Released: 1988
Rating: 2.0
Tiny brontosaurus Littlefoot (voiced by Gabriel Damon), after the passing away of his mother, buddies up with other small misfits in the search for a place called the "Great Valley," which is where they can meet their grandparents and procreate (the circle of life!). The animation is functional if hardly notable - Akira came out the same year (... just sayin') - and the dragged-out 'storyline' makes the slim sixty-nine minute running time feel twice as long (it also strains super hard to be an emotional experience). There's a decent final battle with a beast they call the "Sharptooth," but I'm not even sure 80's kids would have found that thrilling in any way (I didn't have the chance to see this as a pre-teen, I was too busy re-watching VHS copies of horror movies like Halloween III: The Season of the Witch, Critters and Basket Case).
