History YMMV / Thelandbeforetime

* AngstWhatAngst: Given all they went through in the original, it’s hard to really imagine the kids being as happy and cheerful as they’re generally shown, Littlefoot especially.

** Accept the movies up to ''The Mysterious Island''. The first four sequels are generally considered classics by fans, but next film is largely considered a step downwards, with the one after that marking the switch to digital ink and paint animation, which many feel marked a permanent step downward for the films.
** Accept the movies up to ''Journey To Big Water''. The following film ''The Great Longneck Migration'' marked the introduction of Littlefoot’s dad, which depending on who you ask was a tell-tale sign that the creators were really running out of ideas.
** On the other hand, many will accept “Longneck Migration”, but stop there; the movies after feature wmultiple gag plots, characters like Cera's dad acting wildly OutOfCharacter, and [[{{Anvilicious}} even more explicit morals]] than with the previous sequels.

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: ''VII'' and ''X'' tend to be considered this the most, for tackling complicated issues about morality and family, while also directly linking themselves to the original movie's plot in some way.
* SweetnessAversion: The sequels get this reaction sometimes, with their [[LighterAndSofter lighter tone]] compared to the first film, the colors being too bright, and the constant use of songs that often [[ThatRemindsMeOfASong come out of nowhere]].

* AngstWhatAngst: Given all they went through in the original, it’s hard to really imagine the kids being as happy and cheerful as they’re generally shown.

** Accept the original and the first sequel ''only''.
** Accept the movies up to ''Journey Through the Mists'' and ignore the rest, due to a writer switch that was perceived to have made things go downhill after that quality-wise. Also, the production team radically altered the environment to make it look like just about anywhere else in the world rather than the memorable prehistoric landscapes from before.
** Accept the movies up to ''The Secret of Saurus Rock''. ''The Mysterious Island'' and this film each have their good points and interesting guest characters, but the latter would be the last film to have non-conspicuous computer graphics.
** Accept the movies up to ''The Big Freeze'' and ignore the rest [[note]]with the only exception being ''The Great Longneck Migration''[[/note]]. We met the cool and compelling Pterano in the last movie, and here we see Ducky and Spike's relationship get some interesting attention. But after this, the movies are more sitcom-like in nature, with multiple gag plots, characters like Cera's dad acting wildly OutOfCharacter, and [[{{Anvilicious}} even more explicit morals]] than with the first seven sequels.
** Accept the movies up to ''The Great Longneck Migration''. We get a reprise of the best song from ''The Mysterious Island'' in ''Journey to Big Water'' and in this movie we finally meet Littlefoot's dad.

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: ''VII'' and ''X'' tend to be considered this, seen as far better than the other sequels. It helps that compared to most of the other sequels they have surprisingly more depth and tackle complicated issues about morality and family, while also directly linking themselves to the original movie's plot in some way. ''X'' especially garners praise and is seen as the sequel that comes the closest to capturing the magic of the original film.
* SweetnessAversion: The sequels get this reaction sometimes, with their [[LighterAndSofter lighter tone]] compared to the first film, the bright color palette, and the constant use of songs that often [[ThatRemindsMeOfASong come out of nowhere]].

* RetroactiveRecognition: Believe it or not, in the Japanese dub this was the debut role of Creator/MaayaSakamoto ([[LightNovel/FateApocrypha Ruler/Jeanne d'Arc]]) as a voice actress voicing Cera.

** Spike's role in the original film is incredibly underutilized. He's set up to be TheBigGuy who's Ducky's adoptive brother, but in the actual story, the most he manages to contribute is acting as a footstool for Littlefoot and Petrie to reach tree star leaves, and in terms of his dynamic with Ducky, not only does he get no lines, but Ducky has a much more pronounced dynamic with Petrie that still takes center stage after Spike gets added to the team. It doesn't help that Ducky only hatches his egg within the last 39 minutes of the film, limiting Spike to being just an EleventhHourRanger.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Littlefoot's grandparents are sadly {{Living Prop}}s in the final film. They appear in a couple of early scenes alongside his mother, but display no noticeable characterization. As a result, it can be hard to properly get into Littlefoot being reunited with them in the Great Valley - especially since if you miss the lines of dialogue that clarify his grandparents are still alive, it can feel like Littlefoot is the last of his family. The sequels, maligned as they are, would at least address this by fleshing their characters out.

* AccidentalInnuendo: Cera's father, Mr. Threehorn, is credited as "Daddy Topps" in the original film - another dinosaur pun that no one batted an eye at in 1988, [[HilariousInHindsight but subsequent decades would prove to be a different story]].

* DesignatedVillain: While certainly a {{Jerkass}}, Cera can come off as something of a Designated Villain thanks to the film's editing in two specific cases. In the first encounter with Sharptooth, she splits from Littlefoot at one point and runs ahead, ignoring his warning that she's going the wrong way. This is foreshadowing for the more extreme situation later, where Cera ignores Littlefoot's directions to the Great Valley and almost gets her and her friends killed in the Mountains That Burn, with Rooter's narration even saying that she "had gone the wrong way". However, in the first instance nothing befalls Cera from going her way and it's Littlefoot that Sharptooth catches up to, and in the second instance there isn't anything in the film suggesting that the gang didn't reach the entry to the Great Valley from the Mountains That Burn, meaning that while dangerous, Cera's way ''was'' the right one. As said before, this is a result of the [[ExecutiveMeddling extensive editing the film underwent.]] [[note]]In the original cut, Sharptooth had a JumpScare entrance right in front of Cera as she ran without listening to Littlefoot which shows that his warning was justified, and the entrance to the Great Valley is clearly shown to lie at the end of the uphill path Littlefoot was advocating for, with the gang having backtracked from the Mountains That Burn to get there.[[/note]]

* FanNickname: To avoid confusion between this character and sharpteeth as a whole, fans often refer to the film's antagonist as 'The Original Sharptooth' or simply '''The'' Sharptooth'.

* HarsherInHindsight: Littlefoot’s mother’s death was heartbreaking enough, but at least she successfully saved the life of her son from Sharptooth. (Also, Littlefoot was the only one of the eggs she said to successfully hatch.) Eleven years later, “Death Of a Dynasty”, the final episode of ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs'', showed a mother ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (the exact same species as '''Sharptooth''') right before the KP-g Mass Extinction. Not only did her last brood fail to hatch, but only three out of the twelve eggs hatch, with the youngest implicitly killed by its siblings, but the mother herself, in an eerie mirror of Littlefoot’s mother, fights an ''Ankylosaurus'' to protect her final two chicks, and her reward is to get fatally injured and suffer a slow and painful death. Finally, ''the very next day'', as her two surviving baby ''T.rexes'' try in vain [[PleaseWakeUp to wake their dead mother]], like Littlefoot did - the asteroid that would cause the KP-g Mass Extinction crashes into Earth, and the asteroid’s blast wave [[ShootTheShaggyDog sweeps the babies away to their deaths, marking the end of the age of the dinosaurs]].
* HesJustHiding: Some fans believe that Sharptooth actually survived his last encounter with the heroes and is still out there. Usually, they back this claim with the fact that, for the entire movie, Sharptooth was shown to be extremely durable, and survived other situations that should have killed him.

** The film's signature tune "If We Hold on Together" should feel like an utterly saccharine and syrupy song. But given it's placement after the rest of the film's dark and almost disturbing tone one can't help but find it to be utterly heartwarming.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Littlefoot's grandparents are sadly {{Living Prop}}s in the final film. They appear in a couple of early scenes alongside his mother, but display no noticeable characterization. As a result, it can be hard to properly get into Littlefoot being reunited with them in the Great Valley - especially since if you miss the lines of dialogue that clarify his grandparents are still alive, it can feel like Littlefoot is the last of his kind. The sequels, maligned as they are, would at least address this by fleshing their characters out.

* {{Fanon}}: As a justification for the Sharpteeth becoming less of a threat in the LighterAndSofter sequels, a popular theory is that the Sharptooth of the original movie was, even by Sharpteeth standards, exceptionally dangerous and violent, to the point that even other Sharpteeth feared him. It doesn't help that the novelization brought up how the original Sharptooth was akin to a serial killer.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
** Is the Sharptooth a [[NonMaliciousMonster morality-lacking creature who's only killing out of predatory instinct]], or a sadistic {{serial killer}} who enjoys killing other dinosaurs out of vengeance and [[ForTheEvulz pleasure]]? Even the users on this wiki can't seem to decide. The discussion became a little more complicated when the sequels revealed that Sharpteeth are just as intelligent and sentient as the herbivorous dinosaurs, even having a language of their own.
** Notably, [[WordOfGod Don Bluth himself stated]] that he couldn't really view Sharptooth as a villain if he, indeed, was just a predator looking for food.
** Conversely, the novelization expands Sharptooth's role, and makes it very clear that he is anything but a predator desperate for food, instead writing him as a vengeful and prideful killer who is only chasing the protagonists due to a grudge, and who would slaughter the entire Great Valley if given the chance, [[ForTheEvulz just because he could]].

** The film's signature tune "If We Hold on Together" should feel like an utterly saccharine and syrupy song. But given it's placement in the ending after the rest of the film's dark and almost disturbing tone one can't help but find it to be utterly heartwarming.

* CompleteMonster: In ''The Illustrated Story'' {{novelization}} by Jim Razzi, [[BigBad Sharptooth]] is [[AdaptationalVillainy given the personality]] of a SerialKiller in a [[KingOfTheDinosaurs Tyrannosaurus rex]]'s skin. Preying on the herds that try to make it to the Great Valley, Sharptooth is known for killing [[{{Sadist}} more for pleasure]] than for food and [[YouKilledMyFather mortally wounds the young Longneck Littlefoot's mother]] when she tries to save her son from him. After Littlefoot accidentally [[EyeScream damages Sharptooth's eye]] and the young Threehorn Cera headbutts him when he is unconscious, Sharptooth's [[{{Narcissist}} ego is so bruised]] that he ends up [[SuperPersistentPredator relentlessly stalking them and their friends]] despite their lack of value as food to him just to [[WouldHurtAChild murder the children]] out of spite. When he realizes he has found the entry to the Great Valley, Sharptooth plans on going on a killing spree to satisfy his bloodlust as soon as he has finished with the children.

* HarsherInHindsight:
** In both the first movie and its sequels, Ducky and the other young dinosaurs are constantly shown in danger. Ducky’s first voice actress (posthumously) was child actress Creator/JudithBarsi, who, along with her mother, tragically died [[OffingTheOffspring at the hands of her father]].
** Littlefoot’s mother’s death was heartbreaking enough, but at least she successfully saved the life of her son from Sharptooth. (Also, Littlefoot was the only one of the eggs she said to successfully hatch.) Eleven years later, “Death Of a Dynasty”, the final episode of ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs'', showed a mother ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (the exact same species as '''Sharptooth''') right before the KP-g Mass Extinction. Not only did her last brood fail to hatch, but only three out of the twelve eggs hatch, with the youngest implicitly killed by its siblings, but the mother herself, in an eerie mirror of Littlefoot’s mother, fights an ''Ankylosaurus'' to protect her final two chicks, and her reward is to get fatally injured and suffer a slow and painful death. Finally, ''the very next day'', as her two surviving baby ''T.rexes'' try in vain [[PleaseWakeUp to wake their dead mother]], like Littlefoot did - the asteroid that would cause the KP-g Mass Extinction crashes into Earth, and the asteroid’s blast wave [[ShootTheShaggyDog sweeps the babies away to their deaths, marking the end of the age of the dinosaurs]].

** While it is obvious, the presence of Sharpteeth and Fast-Biters are almost always appreciated by the fandom as they're, well, predatory dinosaurs and provide most of the series's more intense moments. Special mention goes to the Plated Sharptooth in ''The Mysterious Island'' for being a ''Gigantosaurus'' and fighting against a ''Tyrannosaurus'' pair, Swimming Sharpteeth in ''Journey to Big Water'' for providing some of the series's scariest moments, and the Sharpteeth trio in ''The Great Longneck Migration for providing a suitable climax for said film.

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel:
** ''XIV'' simply for being an improvement over ''XIII'', the latter of which tends to be the least popular of the series.
** ''VII'' and ''X'' also tend to be considered this, seen as far better than the other sequels. It helps that compared to most of the other sequels they have surprisingly more depth and tackle complicated issues about morality and family, while also directly linking themselves to the original movie's plot in some way. ''X'' especially garners praise and is seen as the sequel that comes the closest to capturing the magic of the original film.

* AngstWhatAngst: While there is an episode dedicated to showing how much Ruby misses her family since she and Chomper were forced to move to the Great Valley to escape Red Claw, the subject of Chomper's parents is never brought up. He never shows signs of missing them.

* TheScrappy: The Yellow Bellies, particularly Loofah and Doofah, from ''The Wisdom of Friends'' are, bar none, the most hated characters in the franchise and a major reason why that particular film is seen as the worst by the fandom. It's bad enough that they're annoying, what with their shrill voice and a tendency to goof around at the expense of the gang, but they're the focal characters of the thirteenth film and the only reason much of the film's events happen is that they're too stupid for their own good and end up causing far more trouble than it's worth. That, and they do little to justify the [[{{Anvilicious}} moral message of the movie]], which is to put trust and faith in your friends.
%%** The Tinysaurus from ''Invasion of the Tinysauruses,'' Tippy from ''The Big Freeze,'' and Dinah and Dana from ''Secret of Saurus Rock'' are also very disliked due to being perceived as annoying.

* UnintentionallySympathetic:
** Ducky, Spike and Petrie when they're angry at Littlefoot in XI. While Ducky and Petrie (Spike obviously didn't say anything) could have chosen their words better to explain how they felt, they still had a right to be angry at Littlefoot.
** The Sharpteeth in XIII for their ButtMonkey status and humiliating defeat.

** Guido from movie 12, mainly for his [[{{Adorkable}} awkwardness]] and being a surprisingly mature character.

* GeniusBonus: Guido from ''The Great Day of the Flyers'' is a ''Microraptor''. One of the three known species of ''Microraptor'' is ''Microraptor gui''. As in GUI - do.

* AccidentalInnuendo: The 14th film ''Journey of the Brave'' gives us the song "Hot and Stinky" where the gang covers themselves in stinkweed to get past the sharp teeth.

* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Opinions on Bron are divided. Some think he's a tragic character, while others find [[{{DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou}} his backstory]] to be unconvincing and UnintentionallyUnsympathetic.
** Wild Arms from ''Journey of the Brave.'' Either he's a funny character with an interesting design, or he's obnoxious, reminiscent of the [[{{TheScrappy}} Yellow Bellies,]] and the worst part of the movie.
* BrokenBase:
** The confirmation that [[{{Uncancelled}} there would be a fourteenth movie]] after being "retired" for 8 years. Either you're happy to see the dinos mounting a comeback, or you believe that the series has run its course, and is attempting to milk the FranchiseZombie of anything left. Or, you're in the third camp that is happy to see ''Land Before Time'' returning, but would prefer to see a complete reboot of the franchise.
** There's also a camp of people who were upset to see the series continue without Kenneth Mars, voice of Grandpa Longneck, who passed away in 2011 from pancreatic cancer, as well as John Ingle (the narrator and Topsy) who passed away a year later.

* ContinuityLockout: ''Journey Of The Brave'' suffers this, as the first film developed and made after the television series. While the opening narration recaps the major events of the previous films, Chomper and Ruby are both featured in prominent roles and are treated as [[RememberTheNewGuy regular members of the usual gang]]. Chomper's return to the Great Valley [[note]]In the films, he was last shown living with his parents in the fifth instalment[[/note]] and Ruby's introduction were both shown in the television series, and their presence here goes completely unexplained to those who have only seen the films.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Believe it or not, some songs in this series aren't just stomachable, but enjoyable! The touching "No One Has To Be Alone" is a good example.

* HeartwarmingInHindsight: In ''Journey to Big Water'' where Littlefoot, upset when his friends can't play with him on that day, wishes his mother gave him a brother. The following film ''The Great Longneck Migration'', where he meets his father, Bron, for the first time, and convinces him to adopt Shorty, an orphaned longneck, whom he had an antagonistic relationship with when they first meet but then befriended, in a way he got his wish after all when he got an ''adoptive'' brother.

** Pterano is a favorite among fans thanks to his [[EvilIsHammy enjoyably hammy]] personality, [[TragicVillain tragic backstory]], and most of all, for being a surprisingly complex AntiVillain who eventually performs a HeelFaceTurn. In a series that largely functions on BlackAndWhiteMorality, having a morally complex character like Pterano is a refreshing change of pace and many fans were upset that he never reappeared.
** For similar reasons, Chomper's parents are also popular with fans, since the series doesn't sugarcoat their threatening nature and status as dangerous predators, but at the same time, doesn't present them as [[DesignatedVillain Designated Villains]] but rather beings with thoughts, feeling and the capability to love, [[CommonalityConnection much like the herbivorous protagonists]]. Papa Sharptooth's occasional DeadpanSnarker quips (done via subtitles) also help.

* JerkassWoobie: Pterano. Yeah, he's arrogant and does some pretty crappy things, but given how badly he's haunted by the fact that he [[MyGreatestFailure unintentionally led some herd members to their deaths]] during the migration to the Great Valley, it's hard not to feel at least a little sorry for him.
* MemeticMutation: The "Phonofoot" meme is an image of Littlefoot with a phonograph over his head while saying "And it flew real low", a sound clip from ''The Stone of Cold Fire''. [[note]] It began life as a SightGag parody of the StupidStatementDanceMix, courtesy of [[Creator/JitteryDragon Jittery Dragon's]] classic WebAnimation/YouTubePoop [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq3EFQDgLnM "Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies"]].[[/note]]
* MoralEventHorizon: Sierra in ''The Stone of Cold Fire'' once he [[spoiler:almost kills Ducky ForTheEvulz]].

** For similar reasons, Chomper's parents are also popular with fans, since the series doesn't sugarcoat their threatening nature and status as dangerous predators, but at the same time, doesn’t present them as [[DesignatedVillain Designated Villains]] but rather beings with thoughts, feeling and the capability to love, [[CommonalityConnection much like the herbivorous protagonists]]. Papa Sharptooth’s occasional DeadpanSnarker quips (done via subtitles) also help.

** Plenty, depending on who you ask. Some of the more common ones include Hyp, Mo, and Sue. Probably the most popular two would be the first two major guest characters: Chomper (see BreakoutCharacter on the main page) and Ali, whom, judging from the narrative at the end of the fourth movie, was apparently ''intended'' to be the first guest character to be brought back for another movie (although this never happened, and she only reappeared for the TV series).

** For similar reasons, Chomper’s parents are also popular with fans, since unlike with their more [[SpotlightStealingSquad controversial son]], the series doesn’t sugarcoat their threatening nature and status as dangerous predators, but at the same time, doesn’t present them as [[DesignatedVillain Designated Villains]] but rather beings with thoughts, feeling and the capability to love, [[CommonalityConnection much like the herbivorous protagonists]]. Papa Sharptooth’s occasional DeadpanSnarker quips (done via subtitles) also help.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Petrie for his funny, CloudCuckooLander personality and rather appealing design that was surprisingly accurate (based on '80s knowledge, at least) for a pterosaur (for example, he's sometimes on all fours). Unfortunately the sequels dumbed-down his design, voice and character to the point that eventually he's barely recognizable as the same character.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Petrie for his funny, CloudCuckooLander personality and rather appealing design that was surprisingly accurate for a pterasaur (for example, he's sometimes on all fours). Unfortunately the sequels dumbed-down his design, voice and character to the point that eventually he's barely recognizable as the same character.

* FanonDiscontinuity: There are many different forms of this. This is especially true for these movies since they are musicals and are LighterAndSofter. Depending on who you ask, you can...

** Accept the original and the first sequel ''only''. No heart after that.
** Accept the movies up to ''Journey Through the Mists'' and ignore the rest, due to a writer switch that was perceived to have made things go downhill after that quality-wise. Also, the production team radically altered the environment to make it look like just about anywhere else in the world.

** Accept all the sequels and ignore the TV series.

** ''VII'' and ''X'' also tend to be considered this, as compared to most of the other sequels they have surprisingly more depth and tackle complicated issues about morality and family, while also directly linking themselves to the original movie's plot in some way.

* TheScrappy: The Yellow Bellies, particularly Loofah and Doofah, from ''The Wisdom of Friends'' are, bar none, the most hated characters in the franchise and a major reason why that particular film is seen as the worst by the fandom. It's bad enough that they're annoying, what with their shrill voice and a tendency to goof around at the expense of the gang, but they're the focal characters of the thirteenth film and the only reason much of the film's events happen is that they're too stupid for their own good and end up causing far more trouble than it's worth. That, and they do little to justify the [[{{Anvillicious}} moral message of the movie]], which is to put trust and faith in your friends.

** Mr. Clubtail for being one of the very few [[{{RecurringExtra}} recurring]] background characters with a name and for his good-natured if sometimes gruff personality. He often appears in fanfictions with him being mistaken for another same species character named Kosh.

* EvilIsCool: Hyp and Pterano, two of the most enjoyable characters of the series, who each get their own very catchy VillainSong, and turn out to be much more sympathetic than they first seem.

** Accept the movies up to ''The Great Day of the Flyers''. ''The Wisdom of Friends'' tends to be ignored, even by diehard fans of the sequel films, due to its [[DenserAndWackier overly silly nature]].

* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: The first film was a collaboration between Creator/DonBluth, Creator/StevenSpielberg and Creator/GeorgeLucas. Not even one of those three people returned for ''any'' of the sequels, and it shows.
* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: Most video games based on the franchise are widely disliked because they have poor gameplay, hideous graphics and generic plots.
* TheScrappy: The Yellow Bellies, particularly Loofah and Doofah, from ''The Wisdom of Friends'' are, bar none, the most hated characters in the franchise and a major reason why that particular film is seen as the worst by the fandom. It's bad enough that they're annoying, what with their shrill voice and a tendency to goof around at the expense of the gang, but they're the focal characters of the thirteenth film and the only reason much of the film's events happen is that they're too stupid for their own good and end up causing far more trouble than it's worth. That, and they do little to justify the [[{{Avillicious}} moral message of the movie]], which is to put trust and faith in your friends.

%%* TheScrappy: %%(Zero Context Examples. The Yellow Belly entry doesn't explain *why* they're disliked at all, while the below entry only provides minimal context by saying they're "annoying", but not why)%%
%%** Again, it varies from person to person. But in particular, the Yellow Bellies from ''The Wisdom of Friends'' are widely hated.