Nostalgia is powerful and can hit you at any time. Yesterday, I was scrolling through Netflix more eagle-eyed than usual, as the streamer reliably adds lots of fresh movies at the beginning of each month. From crowdpleasers like Baby Driver to Happy Gilmore, I wasn’t disappointed, but I stopped in my tracks when a recent addition to the platform unlocked core memories from my childhood of watching The Land Before Time.
Jump to…
The Land Before Time streaming on Netflix
If you were a kid in the nineties, The Land Before Time was basically like Citizen Kane. It wasn’t just a movie, it was kind of the movie.
Released in 1988, the American animated film was executive produced by George Lucas (Star Wars) and Steven Spielberg (Indiana Jones), two titans of cinema, both of whom are synonymous with some of the most beloved family movies ever made, whether that’s A New Hope from George or E.T. The Extra-Tetterestrial from Steven.
The main character of the iconic adventure is Littlefoot, a young dinosaur who is tasked with the perilous journey of traveling to the Great Valley in the wake of a personal tragedy. Setting off, he encounters a string of orphaned dinosaurs who become his new family along the way.
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It’s well remembered for a heartbreaking early scene that made the movie a new generation’s Bambi, of sorts.
Looking back, it’s easily my favorite animation of the 1980s, beating out some pretty tough competition from Disney. I can vividly remember rewinding the VHS tape so many times, only to put it straight back in the VCR for yet another watch. Now, with the miracles of Netflix, no such effort is required. I can just sit back and let the memories come flooding back
The Land Before Time movies in order
Although none that I saw were quite as good as the original, I remember enjoying some of The Land Before Time sequels nonetheless.
There are now 14 movies in total. If you’re feeling up to working through the franchise, the order of the sequels is as follows:
- The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure (1994)
- The Land Before Time III: The Time Of The Great Giving (1995)
- The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through The Mists (1996)
- The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island (1997)
- The Land Before Time VI: The Secret Of Saurus Rock (1998)
- The Land Before Time VII: The Stone Of Cold Fire (2000)
- The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze (2001)
- The Land Before Time IX: Journey To Big Water (2002)
- The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (2003)
- The Land Before Time XI: Invasion Of The Tinysauruses (2005)
- The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day Of The Flyers (2006)
- The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom Of Friends (2007)
- The Land Before Time XIV: Journey Of The Brave (2016)
The Land Before Time is now streaming on Netflix.
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