Taking You Back In Time

And when I say back in time, I mean very far back in time! You may very well have childhood memories of this film. I selected it because I hadn't seen it since I was...well, I'm not sure. I can't have been older than four.

The Land Before Time
Original release: November 18, 1988

This film, released by Universal, was directed by a man called Don Bluth, known to many animation aficionados as Disney's main competitor in the 1980's, beating out the latter's movies in the box office for several years straight. It was not until 1989 that Disney finally caught up, with its release of The Little Mermaid. Now, this was the man who directed such greats as An American Tail and Anastasia. You don't mess with Don Bluth.

It is said that Don Bluth's works are a bit grittier and a bit deeper than Disney's...or at least, used to be in that era. He left Disney's studios in 1979, complaining that the features had "lost their charm." I can definitely attest that this movie was no mere sugar-sweet movie only for kids. Would a sugar-sweet movie for kids even dare to show the mother Longneck's wound from the Sharptooth? Would a suger-sweet movie for kids so clearly address stereotypes and racial prejudices? Would it have been able to come up with such a powerful yet simple motif for the mother's spirit: the lone, dew-laden Tree Star?

Oh, that reminds me! I find it truly amazing how much thought went into the dinosaurs' speech. So many things that we think have straightforward names are completely rethought, given even more intuitive names; these beautifully simple names match perfectly with the characters, who are people with absolutely no knowledge of science and scientific terms. Thus an Apatosaurus becomes a Longneck, a Tyrannosaurus a Sharptooth, a mystical leaf a Tree Star, a volcano a Mountain That Burns, an earthquake an Earthshake, the sun the Bright Circle. This language makes the dinosaurs' world all the more simple and mystical.

If you think about it, the world in which the story occurs is more of a fantasy world than a historical one. Aside from the beautiful language, we have all the stylized scenery, mundane objects and places that seem to be characterized nonetheless, and...animals that lived millions of years apart from each other! I have yet to see a decent dinosaur movie that paid attention to the difference between 'Jurassic' and 'Cretaceous'! Get it straight, people. But that's just a minor detail, the kind of thing I get picky about. The slight inconsistencies in chronology do not obstruct the storytelling in any way. Remember: fantasy.

I was thoroughly impressed by the work that went into developing the characters and portraying the complex relationships between them. Cera usually comes off as a stuck-up twit, but there are some moments when you really feel sorry for her. Conversely, Littlefoot is the primary protagonist devoted to following his mother's dying wish—to find the Great Valley—but there are so many times when you want to yell at him, "No, you stubborn idiot! There actually IS a T. rex behind you!" And then we have the neurotic Petrie who's scared of flying, the silent giant Spike, and the happy-go-lucky Ducky. Yep yep yep!

This film, though it has a few strange bits (did they really have to reveal the Great Valley with that old sunbeam-spotlight trick?) and is less saccharine than some other works of animation, is truly a classic that still appeals to young and old. Almost makes you forget the thirteen crappy sequels that it "inspired." Today, the original movie still has all of the charm it used to. Come on, I dare you to watch the following clip and not be hypnotized by its mind-numbingly adorable cuteness.



Mahewa's rating: 3.6/5




Why not check out this film's pages at IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes?

New Continent, New Rainforest

Our next movie is, like The Jungle Book, set in a rainforest. However, this time the rainforest is in Australia. "Australia? I thought Australia was nothing but deserted outback!" Well, it's got rainforests too. But enough about that. Let's cut to the chase and introduce our next movie.

FernGully: The Last Rainforest
Original release: April 10, 1992

This is not a Disney movie. Rather, it was distributed by 20th Century Fox. This could explain its lack of popularity as opposed to, say, The Little Mermaid or the like. Still, it has attracted a following, including Mah and I.

Each person calls this movie something a little different. Some call it sweet, others preachy; some powerful, others propaganda. That is because the storyline of the movie centers around halting the destruction of a natural habitat. We'll leave it up to you to decide whether it's something more people should see, fewer people should see, or neither. But I do invite you to watch it yourself first before making your decision.

The most impressive thing about this movie is how well it captures the majesty and complexity of the Australian rainforest. Through a combination of well-researched backdrops and a haunting, reverberating score, I'd say the setting is portrayed quite well. In fact, let's talk a bit more about the score. The movie alternates between New-Agey tribal-like singing and chants (which sound pretty darn awesome) and more popular songs with a beat. My two favorites are "Life is a Magic Thing" and "A Dream Worth Keeping." For the most part, I think the songs work well and don't disrupt the flow of the movie. (The only exception is Raffi's "It's Raining Like Magic," which shows up kind of randomly and only plays for about 40 seconds.) To see what I'm talking about, feel free to watch the first four minutes or so of the movie, shown below.



Many critics have complained about the"cookie-cutter characters" that lack any interesting and original traits or mannerisms. I agree to this view to an extent. However, though the characters may not be the most outstanding, they all have very realistic progressions throughout the movie. You have a slightly ditsy teenager who, through acquiring understanding of the world, finally gets a decent grasp of her magic skills; the ignorant city kid who comes to love the wild after being exposed to it; the carefree but protective boyfriend who suddenly finds his position threatened; and more. Of course, I couldn't do a write-up of this movie without mentioning everyone's favorite character, Batty Koda. This off-the-hinges fruit bat steals the show whenever he's on screen, probably due to Robin Williams' genius voice work. Check out some of his top moments below. (Warning: plot spoilers.)



Annoyingly, the animation quality of this movie is a little bit below par—that is, the standard I have come to expect from watching too many movies from Disney and Studio Ghibli. But it's still very likeable, and as I said before, the scenery is stunning. So, though it's not the best movie, it's cute and colorful...and definitely worth a look.

Mahewa's rating: 3.2/5




Check out some reviews from The New York Times, The Austin Chronicle, and The Washington Post.