The Land Before Time (1988)
Critic Reviews
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88
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Boston Globe Jay Carr
From its opening evolution sequence of squiggly things in the water through its references to the great circle of life, The Land Before Time embraces a larger perspective than merely that of the adventure story. It's an affecting work, and a work of quality. [18 Nov 1988, p.29]
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88
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Chicago Tribune Dave Kehr
It is, in the best Disney tradition, a story of childhood's end, of leaving the family and accepting adult responsibilities. Bluth relates it through a smooth counterpoint of humor, sadness and horror.
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75
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Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
I guess I sort of liked the film. although I wonder why it couldn't have spent more time on natural history and the sense of discovery.
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75
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TV Guide Magazine
Bluth, a former Disney animator, understands that the greatest Disney films take us on an emotional journey in which all our hopes and fears are played out in a vivid fantasy world where anything can happen. The Land Before Time continues that great tradition.
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75
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Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
It's a beautiful movie to watch, and the cartoony characters are as endearing as they come.
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75
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Miami Herald
It's the kind of movie that parents and children ought to see together, then talk about afterward, though the lessons are ones that grown-ups need to master, as well. [18 Nov 1988, p.D1]
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70
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The New York Times Janet Maslin
The Land Before Time isn't heavily plotted; it doesn't do much more than concentrate on the amusingly lifelike dynamics among the dinosaur children as they make their journey. Luckily, it isn't very long either. At a just-right length of 73 minutes, it ought to win audiences' hearts without wearing out their patience.
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70
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Washington Post Hal Hinson
Though it's not a great film, it is an entertaining and, at times, emotionally rich one.
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60
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Empire
Sharp animation and powerful visualisation of scale will enthrall a young audience but the clumsy cub-scout moralising feels, well, extinct.
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60
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Los Angeles Times Sheila Benson
Don Bluth (An American Tail) has gone to the trouble of differentiating between the species, of being careful of the scale of one in relation to another and of giving very little children a sort of primer of dinosaur lore.
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