The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration

The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration is a 2003 direct-to-video animated adventure musical drama film and the tenth film in the Land Before Time series.

The Land Before Time X:
The Great Longneck Migration
DVD cover
Directed byCharles Grosvenor
Produced byCharles Grosvenor
Written byJohn Loy
Based onCharacters by
Judy Freudberg
Tony Geiss
StarringAlec Medlock
Kenneth Mars
Miriam Flynn
Anndi McAfee
Aria Noelle Curzon
Rob Paulsen
John Ingle
Brandon Michael DePaul
James Garner
Jeff Bennett
Bernadette Peters
Kiefer Sutherland
Narrated byJohn Ingle
Music byMichael Tavera
Edited byJay Bixsen
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Studios Home Video
Release date
  • December 2, 2003 (2003-12-02)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Littlefoot has an ominous "sleep story" (dream) where he sees the "Great Circle" (the sun) falling out of the sky, and when he mentions it to his grandparents, they reveal they are sharing the same experience, with Grandpa lamenting that they need to go somewhere. Led only by their instinct, they leave the next day. Out of curiosity, Cera, Spike, Ducky, and Petrie follow them. During their trek, Littlefoot is nearly eaten by a Sarcosuchus while playing in a swamp, but a Supersaurus named Sue saves his life by stepping on the Sarcosuchus and joins him and his grandparents, as she is driven on by the same sense as them. The group is soon joined by dozens of other Longnecks feeling the same instincts. Meanwhile, Littlefoot's friends are attacked by the Sarcosuchus in the same swamp as before, but they manage to escape. Afterwards, they sleep next to a large boulder, which the next morning, turns out to be a sleeping Sharptooth (a gray Daspletosaurus), which wakes up and chases them. They escape into a small cave and meet Pat, an elderly Apatosaurus.

Littlefoot's herd reaches a large crater where hundreds of Longnecks have gathered. There, he meets his father, Bron, for the first time. After been separated from his mate in an earthshake, he has become guardian to a young Brachiosaurus, Shorty, who becomes jealous of Littlefoot taking all of his father's attention. Meanwhile, Pat shares to Littlefoot's friends that the Longnecks are being driven by a tradition involving a solar eclipse, which was taken as a sign that the sun will be sent crashing down into the Earth by the "Night Circle" (the moon). Every solar eclipse, Longnecks from all around the world gather in one location to stretch their necks up and "catch" the sun, so they can propel it back up into the sky. Soon after, Pat steps into a pool of lava, which scalds his foot, but he is still able to move as they escape the lava field.

On the day of the eclipse, Littlefoot wakes up to see Shorty traveling over the crater walls and running away, out of spite for being ignored by Bron. He catches up to Shorty and convinces him to stay; the two reconcile and agree to see themselves as brothers. Moments later, as Littlefoot reunites with his friends, another Sharptooth (a brown Daspletosaurus) appears and attacks the group. Pat defends the children but is slowed down by his burnt foot. Bron rushes to their aid and defends them from the Sharptooth and is nearly killed, but Pat returns and saves him. Soon, they both manage to overpower and temporarily knock out the Sharptooth, only for it to be joined by a third Sharptooth (a green Daspletosaurus), along with the gray Sharptooth from the swamp earlier just as it regains consciousness. Littlefoot's grandparents assist in the fight as well and defeat the green Sharptooth. Bron fights the brown Sharptooth again while Pat fights the gray one. As soon as all three Sharpteeth are defeated, the eclipse begins, and the sudden darkness scares away the Sharpteeth towards the end.

Littlefoot, his grandparents, Bron, Shorty, Sue, and Pat take their place among the other Longnecks, who have all gathered on top of the crater walls. They succeed in "catching" the sun, and everyone rejoices as the eclipse ends. With their mission completed, the different Longneck herds depart on their separate ways. Sue departs with an Ultrasaurus. Littlefoot's friends ask Pat to come live with them in the Great Valley, which he accepts. Littlefoot is initially hesitant in leaving Bron, as he is the leader of a migratory herd, but he eventually realizes that he belongs in the Great Valley. Accepting this, Bron leaves with Shorty and his herd, promising to keep in touch with Littlefoot and visit him. Littlefoot returns to the Valley with his friends, grandparents, and Pat.

Voice cast
Main article: List of The Land Before Time characters

Music

The music was scored by Michael Tavera with additional music composed by Stephen Coleman. This was the first film in the series that did not use James Horner's original score.

Songs

The songs are written by Michele Brourman and Amanda McBroom. The end credit song, "Best of Friends", is performed by Olivia Newton-John. A shorter version of the song "Adventuring" was heard in four episodes of The Land Before Time TV series. This was the fifth time Spike sings; he is heard humming at the end of "Adventuring", even though Rob Paulsen was not credited for performing the song.

The song, Bestest Friends is also a song sung in the End Credits.

Home video release history
  • December 2, 2003 (VHS and DVD)
  • September 19, 2006 (DVD - 2 Tales of Discovery and Friendship)
  • August 5, 2008 (Carrying Case DVD with Fun Activity Book - 2 Tales of Discovery and Friendship - Universal Watch on the Go)[1]

Production

The film is known internationally as "The Great Migration", rather than "The Great Longneck Migration". It was the first film in the series to use fully computer-generated dinosaurs.

Aspect ratio

Even though this film was presented in full screen on DVD worldwide (since that is what aspect ratio the film was created in), the film is matted to anamorphic widescreen (cropping the top and bottom of the image) on a Hebrew DVD in Israel.

Reception

The Great Longneck Migration received nominations for "Best Animated DVD Premiere Movie" and "Best Original Song" at the 2003 DVD Exclusive Awards, losing to 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure and Run Ronnie Run!, respectively.[2]

AwardDateNominationNomineeResult
DVD Exclusive Awards2003Best Animated DVD Premiere MovieCharles Grosvenor (producer)Nominated
Best Original Song in a DVD Premiere Movie"Best of Friends" performed by Olivia Newton-JohnNominated

See also

References
  1. Grosvenor, Charles (2008-08-05), The Land Before Time: 2 Tales of Discovery and Friendship Carrying Case, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, ASIN B001AK3S7Q
  2. "DVD PREMIERE AWARDS 2003 NOMINATIONS & WINNERS". DVD Exclusive Awards. Archived from the original on February 15, 2005. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
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