The Land Before Time (1988)

Pat Hingle: Narrator, Rooter

Photos 

Quotes 

• Rooter : Hey. What's going on here?

  [Littlefoot cries] 

  Rooter : What's your problem? You're not hurt.

  Littlefoot : It's not fair. She should have known better. That was a Sharptooth. It's all her fault.

  Rooter : All whose fault?

  Littlefoot : Mother's.

  Rooter : Oh... I see. I see.

  Littlefoot : I've never wandered so far from home!

  Rooter : Oh, it's not your fault. It's not your mother's fault. Now, you pay attention to old Rooter. It is nobody's fault. The great circle of life has begun. But see, not all of us arrive together at the end.

  Littlefoot : What'll I do? I miss her so much.

  Rooter : And you'll always miss her. But she'll always be with you, as long as you remember the things she taught you. In a way, you'll never be apart, for you are still part of each other.

  Littlefoot : My tummy hurts.

  Rooter : Well - that, too, will go away with time, little fella. Only in time.

• [first lines] 

  Narrator : Once upon this same earth, beneath this same sun, long before you, before the ape and the elephant, as well; before the wolf, the bison, the whale, before the mammoth and the mastodon, in the time of the dinosaurs. Now the dinosaurs were of two kinds. Some had flat teeth, and ate the leaves of trees, and some had sharp teeth for eating meat, and they preyed upon the leaf-eaters. Then it happened that the trees began to die. The mighty beasts who appeared to rule the earth, were, in truth, ruled by the leaf. Desperate for food, some of the dinosaur herds struck out to the west, in search of the Great Valley, a land still lush and green. It was a journey toward life.

• Narrator : Then Littlefoot knew for certain he was alone, and although the Great Valley was far away, the journey there was perilous. He would have to find his way, or the chain of life would be broken.

• Narrator : All that remained of his herd was his mother, grandmother and his grandfather. He knew them by sight, by scent, and by their love. He knew they would be together, always.

• Narrator : At first, Littlefoot could *only* think about his mother. He hardly noticed his hunger and forgot about the Great Valley and that he must somehow reach it.

• Narrator : So the five hungry dinosaurs set off for the Great Valley. There had never been such a herd before. A long neck, a three-horn, a big mouth, a flyer, and a spike-tail all together, all knowing that if they lost their way, they would starve or find themselves in Sharptooth's shadow.

• Narrator : Littlefoot had been wrong about the Sharptooth, but the others followed him. Their only hope was to reach the Great Valley, and Littlefoot alone knew the way.

• Narrator : The Great Valley was all they'd dreamed it would be: a land of green, and leaves, and life.

• Narrator : In this time of the clash of continents, a great earthquake split the land. Herds were divided, families were cut in two, and Littlefoot was separated from his grandparents.

  Daddy Topps : Cera!

  Cera : Mama! Daddy!

  Narrator : Cera was on one side of the divide. Her parents were on the other.

• [last lines] 

  Narrator : And they all grew up together in the valley, generation upon generation, each passing on to the next. The tale of their ancestors' journey to the valley long ago.

• Narrator : And Littlefoot found his grandmother and grandfather at last. The same loving faces he looked into on the day of his birth.

• Narrator : Though they were sourced out and tired, Littlefoot urged them on. He'd never seen the Great Valley, but his heart told him that they were close. Surely, at the top, they'd behold it, *finally*.

• Narrator : Cera was still too proud to admit that - she'd gone the wrong way.

• Narrator : One herd had only a single baby, their last hope for the future. And they called him Littlefoot.

• Narrator : It was a mark of many dangers. Sharp Teeth stalked the herds waiting to feed on the weak ones. The leaf-eaters stopped only to hatch their young. Some of the young seemed born without fear, yet even hatching could be dangerous.