save yourself the trouble...
This is by far my least favorite in the Land Before Time series. It's too dark in my opinion for a children's movie with a very heavy story line. Save yourself the pain and watch the much more upbeat sequels with your kids.

Classic worth having
Great movie. In the Bambi mold--Little Foot's momma's demise just isn't necessary and makes most kids scared and cry. Except for this Disney cliche, the movie is very nice. This Anniversary Edition is in FULL SCREEN! Can't understand why and can't find WIDESCREEN. Even purchased the complete 1-9 movie package and those too are FULL SCREEN not WIDESCREEN. So, for the mass of us who have a TV build since 2002, black lines cut off the sides. It looks like viewing an old fashion TV, not a movie. Also, the movie quality is grainy. Disney princess classics look terrific on DVD. This movie looks like a 1930s cartoon in many scenes because it does not appear to be digitally mastered. The bonus features are also poor. Missing good games for child enthusiasts. Problems aside, if you have kids, you need this movie...and probably the entire series.

The Land Before All The Sequels
This is one of the better films made for kids. I watched it a ton when I was younger, and can now admit that I was positively terrified of Sharptooth.

Unfortunately, they couldn't stop making sequels. Now, our prehistoric heroes have been reduced to a bunch of computer generated dinos, prancing around singing annoyingly about diversity.

See the original. It's much better.

Pleasantly Surprised
My wife and I recently purchased this movie for my four-year old son and I have to admit I was very surprised at the quality of the movie from a productiona and storytelling standpoint.

I was very sceptical at first. I have never cared for Don Bluth's style (I thought he was generally too dark for a children's animator), although I never considered him lacking talent. I just figured I was in for another cheap kid's movie with nothing to find of interest to an adult and (hopefully) nothing very offensive.

Well, I was first struck by the brilliant orchestral score. I consider myself a mild aficionado of classical music and I will tell you, my firends, the score in this film is both musically complex and emotionally affecting. Listen closely neat the movie's opening, as Littlefoot pops out of his egg. The music's tenderness and joy is wonderful!

Next, having viewed the movie all the way through, I was really shocked to realize the thing was utterly devoid of ANY social or environmental message, the kind of drool-inducing pap they shove down kids' throats at every turn nowadays (anyone seen "Ferngully"?). Of course, one could make the case the movie comments about prejudice, but it also extolls virtues like perservereance, conviction and teamwork! It's just a great story, simply told, about dinosaurs! And what kid doesn't like dinosaurs?

And for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, don't worry about violence or any adult themes (like death). The adult themes are all handled with grace and tact, in the absolute best taste. And the violence is bloodless and done in a way that is exciting, but not scary. I'd recommend to any parents to get a good, well-illustrated book on dinosaurs before showing this movie to their kids - if they like the movie, you will have a great opportunity to spark their imaginations and share some great educational moments with them afterwards. My son and I went through a HUGE encyclopedia of dinosaurs after this movie and we had a great time!

Anyway, I can't speak for any of the sequels, but the original Land Before Time is a great family movie.

Timeless Classic!
I have always enjoyed amimated movies. The Land Before Time is a great classic and children will love it.