In 1988, Don Bluth released a film that showed us a world from the perspective of dinosaurs
struggling to survive in a changing world.
The film inspired more sequels to follow, but the original stood alone as a classic.
But in this time of little food, harsh conditions and the chance of being eaten at any moment,
who is more selfish and who showed themselves as a hero?
I’m Brad with WickedBinge and this is The Land Before Time: Good to Evil.
Before we get into it, we want to make it clear that we’ll be covering only the first
movie.
This is for a number of reasons: 1- The original story stands apart as far as the stakes for
survival and the original idea of what the Great Valley represents.
2- The darker content, with everything from the story to the colour palette.
And 3- The later films follow a more kid-friendly formula, being musical and more comedic with
their story.
While the first film does have some comedic moments, it isn’t meant to be light-hearted
like the sequels.
It’s actually pretty grim.
All that being said, let’s get into it.
As we normally do, we’ll begin with the most pure-hearted and work our way down.
These characters are The Good.
Starting out with our Gold Medal of Good, we’re going to place Littlefoot’s Mother.
Part of the reason for this is much like our reasoning for placing Po’s mother so high
on our list for Kung Fu Panda.
Her death after saving not only her son but Cera has been dubbed one of the most tragic
in all of animation history.
But that isn’t the only reason we’re ranking her as the most pure.
During her time alive, she spent every moment interacting with Littlefoot...
Teaching him and taking care of him.
She tried hard to make sure her child was able to eat in the rapidly changing environment,
taught him about the Great Valley and explained to him why different dinosaurs didn’t play
with one another.
Even her last words were meant to guide her son to a better life, telling him how to get
to the Great Valley and comforting him with the words that she would always be there for
him in spirit.
Truly one of the best mothers in animation.
We’re giving the Silver Medal of Good to Ducky.
She’s a loving and energetic child.
She encountered Littlefoot after his mother’s passing and was the one to help coax him out
from his depression.
Without her friendship, Littlefoot likely would have allowed himself to waste away,
continuing not to eat or seek out the Great Valley.
She sought out the bright side of the otherwise grim situation, finding a way to make a game
even out of the cracks in the ground.
She was the one to get Petrie out of hiding and was the one to find Spike and convince
them both to join their group.
Her reaction when she thought Petrie was dead was touching and her relief to see her friend
again even more heartwarming.
She faced her fear, being the bait to lure the Sharptooth into the water and they would
have likely never been able to be rid of the beast without her.
It was also sweet of her to bring Spike to her family, introducing him to the mother
and other siblings.
Ducky clearly got her loving nature from her mother with the parent easily accepting Spike
as one of her own.
Another expert of facing fear, Petrie is next.
He started off as the comedic relief of the film, though his methods for lifting the mood
were typically unsuccessful.
But we give him a higher rank for his acts in the end conflict with the Sharptooth.
Through the movie, there are two specific things established about his character: his
inability to fly and his nervous nature.
Both of these were tackled towards the end, with Petrie deciding to swoop in and help
Ducky, using the Sharptooth’s breath as the lift he needed to learn to fly.
He risked being hurt or killed to try and blind the larger creature, literally pulling
at the eyelids of the beast and nearly drowning in the process of being rid of the threat.
Fans can be conflicted on whether to appreciate this character, torn with how he treated Littlefoot’s
beloved treestar and how he interacted with the others in the group, but his actions before
they find the Great Valley helps redeem him a great deal.
Next we have the main character Littlefoot.
This poor kid had a very hard time throughout the film.
He endured losing his mother, initially being rejected by Cera after the earthshake, and
had to step in and save his new friends against the Domeheads and Sharptooth more than once.
He risked being trapped in tar to get the others to safety and his strategy helped them
be rid of the Sharptooth, noting that the larger creature wouldn’t be able to swim
out with his “scrawny arms.”
He made sure Cera was able to eat after her pride prevented her from getting leaves with
the rest of the group, even letting her believe she did it on her own and took the time to
try and get Petrie to fly as they made their journey to the Great Valley.
His temper with Cera did get in the way a couple of times and his carelessness playing
with the other youth attracted the Sharptooth to them in the first place.
But he was very young and clueless to the ways of the world and always adapted to the
new dangers and situations.
Once he regained the determination, there was little he couldn’t do without the aid
of his friends.
Spike earns the next spot.
He has no dialogue and is very simple with his desires.
Being newly hatched, he’s more concerned with his next meal and having an authority
of some sort to look after him and take care of him.
He quickly learns how to interact with his new friends, treating them more as family.
He’s loyal to Ducky once they bond and follows Littlefoot’s lead in escaping from the tar
pits and dropping the large boulder on the Sharptooth.
He easily took to being a member of Ducky’s family, seeing the young girl’s mother as
his own without hesitation.
When the group was briefly torn between Cera’s method and Littlefoot’s, Spike followed
Ducky to accept Cera’s method, seeing her as a maternal figure in his life.
But once Littlefoot returned for them, he had no issue trusting the longneck, jumping
across lava and escaping from danger with the more intelligent member of the group.
He put faith into the longneck’s quick thinking, knowing it would make all the difference helping
their friends.
Next we have Cera.
The first youth that Littlefoot encounters, they go through the first incident with the
Sharptooth together as well as the earthshake.
Now Cera isn’t a bad kid, but she does have her faults.
She’s incredibly proud, a clear imitation of her father, and from the moment she was
hatched she was determined to prove herself as a strong force.
While her father made it clear that longnecks and threehorns don't play together, she still
didn’t have an issue with playing with Littlefoot or joining the others later on in the movie.
She was stubborn, but she also had the good sense to know that she had little chance surviving
on her own with a Sharptooth on her trail.
To her credit, she did try warning the others about the Sharptooth and even woke them when
the beast showed up again rather than running away on her own.
She was the added force they needed to drop the Sharptooth in the water and showed concern
over thinking her friends had been killed by the Domeheads.
The narrator even makes a note that Cera was too proud to admit that she led her friends
astray but she showed clear regret over the fact.
Her arrogance could be annoying, with parts like her claiming she found the Great Valley
and sing-boasting in Littlefoot’s face being a notable moment, but grew attached to the
group.
It was tough after the earth split to see her shouting for her parents, having to face
likely not seeing her family again on her own.
Her determination speaks for itself, as not everyone would be willing to walk into the
depths of a crack in the earth to try and find a way onto the other side.
But headbutting a Sharptooth, even if you do think it’s dead, was not the best idea
to have.
We’ll mention Littlefoot’s Grandparents next.
Separated from their grandson after the earthshake, they’re reunited later in the Great Valley
and take him in as their own.
They treat him kindly during their brief presence in the beginning of the film.
They’re like his mother, in that they’re caring and nurturing, taking the time to be
sure Littlefoot was fed and looked after.
They don’t have much impact directly, but they instilled their teachings in their daughter
who was nothing but a loving parent.
With that said, we’ve completed The Good section.
Now, we enter the more neutral territory.
This is The Grey Area.
Daddy Tops was the title given in the credits to Cera’s father.
While he wasn’t on screen for long, he makes his character clear.
He’s incredibly protective of his children and steps in right away when he sees his daughter
with Littlefoot.
It is discrimination to deny his child playing with another dinosaur just for being different,
but that wasn’t just his own line of thinking.
Even the narrator points out that before Littlefoot and his friends, different dinosaurs were
never allowed to play with one another.
Even Littlefoot’s mother states that it was just how it was, so it’s hard to knock
him for that comment alone.
He expresses panic during the earthshake, seeking out Cera and shouting for her when
the ground splits.
He was clearly relieved to see her again in the Great Valley, and it was nice to see this
rough exterior dad showing love for his children.
Rooter was a character added much later on.
After the initial screenings for the film, it was recommended Littlefoot be given a show
of comfort and encouragement from someone.
He’s voiced by the narrator and while not seen again, he shows sympathy for Littlefoot’s
plight.
We knock him some points because after seeing Littlefoot struggling alone, he left the child
alone again.
He gave some words of comfort, but they had little effect on our protagonist.
Littlefoot continues to be depressed and waste away.
That isn’t Rooter’s fault, and it makes sense that he would have a survival mentality
that a child would slow him down, but he would have made a better impact as a stand in guardian
to get Littlefoot to the Great Valley.
With The Grey Area complete, we now enter the darkside.
These characters were only looking out for their own survival but the fact is they terrorized
our protagonists.
These are The Bad and The Evil.
The Domeheads earn The Silver Medal of Evil.
They attacked the children and led to the small group of friends being trapped in the
tar.
They look out for themselves and their need to eat is understandable, but we knock them
low due to being a revival to our main cast of characters.
They’re displayed as vicious and mindless and only have the urge to hunt.
It should be no shock that the Sharptooth has been deemed the most evil of this film.
He’s seen as the ultimate threat, being in various conflicts with the main focus of
the story.
He finds Cera and Littlefoot and attacks them without hesitation.
The most notable conflict was when he fought Littlefoot’s mother.
It was a very well done fight and led to one of the most heartbreaking moments in animation.
He showed again later after being awoken by Cera’s headbutting, hunting the kids after
finding them asleep.
He was the focus of the last fight, being lured to the water hole and having a large
rock dropped on him to keep him from being an issue again.
But he didn’t go down without a fight.
He was determined to take the children down with him, even managing to leap up to where
the kids were before he fell to his death.
A very notable antagonist in Don Bluth’s work.
But what do you think?
Were you a fan of The Land Before Time classic?
Who do you think was the most moral character?
Let us know in the comment section below.
Don’t forget to hit that notification bell and binge our Good-to-Evil playlist…
Where we break down the morality of the characters from your favorite cartoons, shows and movies.
But most importantly, stay wicked!