The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure

Why doesn't the movie industry learn to leave a good thing alone? Why must they force out sequel after sequel (and each one is progressively worse)? It completely ruined the effect of the first movie when this and the sequels came out. The kids I baysit want to know why Littlefoot and the others don't sing in the first one, and keep pointing out where they think songs should go. I've had one kid insist they should redo the movie, since there are no songs. Really...singing dinosaurs? Why is this necessary?

My Take: Decent straight-to-video effort.

Granted, sparks won't fly freely in the direct-to-video sequel THE LAND BEFORE TIME II: THE GREAT VALLEY ADVENTURE, but it's good enough to satisfy your kids hunger for fun. It's a film where you could just leave the kids and allow yourself to do something else. It's harmless, family movie, which, surprisingly, I found decent.

Like all direct-to-video efforts, expect it to have a low-quality plot, weak characterizations and childish situations. But with all it's low shots, you can just look in your child's eyes and see how you rate the film. I remember watching this non-stop sequels over and over again when I was a kid, in other words, I was a big fan of all this stuff. But know, THE LAND BEFORE TIME II has dated badly. Now, I remember how inferior the new plot is to the original's plot. But, rating as a kid flick, it's something to keep the kids busy. It's a bit better than the other sequels that followed.

By the end, upon seeing the eyes of the kids, you decide what rating you'll give to the film, but I give it, at least ***, a high rating for a film that isn't that good on quality. Nevertheless, it provides as much fine fun to kids and as decent enough as I remember.

Video movie rating: *** out of 5.

Genre: Animation, dinosaurs, sequel.

Main characters: Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike. I like these characters and I'm glad you see them so often on all these L.B.T films.

Actors: The ones who do the main characters are Scott McAfee (Littlefoot), Candace Huston (Cera), Heather Hogan (Ducky), Jeff Bennet (Petrie) and Rob Paulsen (Spike).

What happens: Some of our favourite cartoon dinosaurs are back in this really good sequel, this time happy to be in the great valley. They see two "egg-stealers" stealing an egg and go after them (which means braving the MYSTERIOUS BEYOND). Will they retrieve the stolen egg?

My thoughts: I think this L.B.T is underrated. It is a good, clean, fun family film, with characters who are easy to relate to and a good and exciting storyline - perfect for children and some older people! :-) Yes, it is more happy than the original "Land Before Time" but children don't want to see another loved character dying - do they (although I love that film anyway)?

For the wee ones, this is a good film for them to sit down to and probably for parents as well. After that you may wish to watch the others, go ahead if you wish! :-) This is a good series from beginning to end. Of course, this and the others have lots of flaws, but you are likely not to be disappointed by at least one aspect in each film!

What you may like about the film: You may like the lovely and fun songs. You may like the animation. You may like the plot and storyline. You may like the characters. You may like the feeling of the story. These features pleased me and I hope they please you.

Recommended to: Families who like cartoon films, people who thought the first L.B.T was a tad bit too sad and particularly for cartoon-loving children. Enjoy! :-)

1994 was a huge year for children's entertainment. Disney's Return of Jafar may have got the ball rolling with it's "VHS premier" even though it was a thinly disguised pilot movie for the syndicated Aladdin tv series that would premier a few months later, but it was Land Before Time II that showed you could make something DTV and have it be as much or more of a cash cow than theatrical releases. And with Universal's Amblimation movies An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, We're Back: A Dinosaur Story, and Balto all posting disappointing box office numbers while the 6 Land Before Time movies raked in nearly $1,000,000,000 in VHS sales, Universal left the theatrical animated space and relegated themselves to churning out Land Before Time sequels every one to two years. These DTV titles have done massive damage to the reputation of the animation industry which is only now being able to escape this stigma, but even when taking all that into account the movie still isn't very good. At best it feels like the type of cartoon one would expect to see in syndication at 7:30 am on weekdays back when there WAS a syndication market for cartoons and it has low stakes, forgettable songs, and is a complete tonal 180 from the first movie. It'll entertain children while it's one, but it doesn't leave much of a lasting impact. It's on of those movies that has more of a reputation for what it caused than what it is.

Along with "The Time of the Great Giving", "The Great Valley Adventure" is one of the better sequels. As a sequel it is decent, but the original which is a timeless, haunting and poignant masterpiece will always be the best. The film does have its problems; it is too short, I did find the songs forgettable (with the exception of "Eggs"-that was catchy), the dialogue uninspired and the plot meandering in places. Consequently it lacks the heart of its predecessor. However, there is some nice colourful animation and above average editing, and it was a delight hearing the heart-rending main theme from the original again. This is definitely the Land Before Time sequel with the best peril, with the sharp teeth quite sinister sometimes. The main villains, called Ozzy and Strut are quite likable and very funny. When I first saw this when I was little I actually thought Tim Curry voiced Ozzy, there are parts when he sounds like him. Actually it was Jeff Benett and he did a great job with the voice, I barely recognised him. The voice acting was very good, with Heather Hogan delightful as Ducky(if somewhat lacking the innocence and vulnerability of Judith Barsi) and Kenneth Mars dignified as Grandpa. The best asset of this sequel though was Chomper, he is absolutely adorable and by far the best character of the movie and possibly the cutest supporting character in any of the sequels put together. The part when he and Littlefoot say goodbye at the end was the closest I came to crying, and I did genuinely have tears welling up at that bit. Overall, while lacking the heart and charm of its predecessor, it is a decent sequel and easily one of the better sequels of the Land Before Time franchise. 6/10 Bethany Cox