Are the Land Before Time sequels really that bad?

LBT is notorious for having a truckload of sequels (and none of them being as good as the original), but are they honestly that bad?

Maybe its the nostalgia talking but I recall liking these movies a great deal when I was a kid, and when I look at come of the clips today, they are largely inoffensive (until movies 11,12, and 13 however).

I found most of the songs they sung pretty catchy at times and again, inoffensive.

So my question is, are they really that bad of sequels?

Yes.

Yes. Yes. God yes.

Does the term 'whoring out a franchise' ring any bells?

Yes, but believe it or not, I actually try to judge the films on their own merits

edited 11th Oct '11 8:11:06 PM by Soniman032

Some of them ain't too bad.

And on their own merits, they are also terrible.

It'd be nice if you can give actual reasons

I remember Marz Gurl did a review series on ALL The Land Before Time media, and I think she gave pretty good reasons for what she considered good or bad about them.

Terrible animation, terrible dialogue, terrible attempts at humor, ham-fisted morals, and lousy musical numbers.

W Hat matter is wheter you like them or not. We could hate them unanomoosuly. But If you like them it won't matter.

It's been awhile but I remember the first couple being not that bad, but as they went on they got worse.

I'd have to see them again to be more concrete than that tho.

The first three sequels were hand-drawn and had a different director. The voices were uncannily like the original cast (not a good thing in the case of Ducky though),they borrowed more of James Horner 's score,and the characters actually developed a bit.

Some of the themes explored more of what the original had but Don Bluth could not do (such as the 4th and Fantastic Racism,the 2nd and friendship,the 3rd and not giving up)

The only thing seperating the original from these 3 is the fact someone dies,no songs,and decent direction.

This makes them in my eyes Guilty Pleasure s/So Okay, It's Average

But then they started employing Fantasy Kitchen Sink with those aliens and meteors,the voices got worse and worse (except for Jeff Bennett who never switched out,and the girl who voiced Cornchip Girl as Ducky),and then cheap digital-ink animation took over giving everything a plastic-ish look.Oh and the direction was even worse.

Even the songs,which originally still made sense in-universe started getting out of context,and they stopped using Horner's score to.

So on average,...yeah they are.

Yes. And the first wasn't that great to begin with.

Yes.

/thread

Yes, if you want a comprehensive yet down-to-the-point opinion on all the sequels, watch Marzgurl's reviews. She even tells you which ones are better in comparison to the others!

I think the Fantasy Kitchen Sink elements make the sixth one kind of fun, though. I like it, at any rate.

Most everything falls into a general mediocrity. They may not be bad but compared to the heart present in the original film they are just obvious cash ins.

After 2 or 3 sequels, it became obvious that the series was becoming nothing more than a money grab.

I'm similar to Moe Dantes, I haven't seen the films in a while, but I remember the second one being rather enjoyable aside from those friggin' showtunes. Plus it added a neat Sympathy for the Devil concept for Sharptooth with Chomper. Things slowly got tedious after that.

edited 12th Oct '11 4:45:32 PM by Psi001

THE ORIGINAL,....NOT,...GREAT! THE GREATEST Don Bluth film,...NOT,....GREAT,No this can't be,It absolutely can't be,It,..just...can't be.

No it can't be,it has more heart than just about any other cartoon in existence,it has no narm,no Big-Lipped Alligator Moment s,just a lot of cute humor,Character Development,and a well rewarded ending.

The 2nd wasn't all that much lighter,if someone died,the villains were Evilly Affable,and the songs were axed,it'd be just as good.

The 4th was pretty much the first movie,with the racism explored from a different angle,show tunes,comic villains,and Tickles that stupid mouse. It just needed a darker tone and more moral trials

Still agree they're just cash-ins though And besides the narration is much better,I mean Pat Hingle has a better voice yes,but the narrator talks a lot less and only sets up the beginning without saying obvious stuff.

edited 12th Oct '11 5:46:11 PM by terlwyth

The only one I ever remember seeing had an older dinosaur say "impossible." Which one was this, because I was only 5 at the time?

I think the movies were okay for a while but there were getting sad by saurus rock

Some were OK or even good when I first saw them, at least until the tenth. There are 13 movies now with a 14th in development. Development Hell if we're lucky.

Holy cow, thirteen?. The last one I saw was the 4th when it came out on VHS!

Since I don't remember any of them, but I'm pretty sure I watched some of them... I'm going to stick with yes.