In einem Land vor unserer Zeit XI - Das Geheimnis der kleinen Saurier

Over many direct-to-video sequels, the earnest substance of Don Bluth's original 'The land before time' quickly gave way to simple and unsophisticated entertainment. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, even though it means catering (condescendingly) to the very youngest of viewers rather than appealing to broad audiences, but the quality of the films has, with exceptions, largely been so-so and mild. Then again, one of those exceptions was 2003's tenth installment, 'The great longneck migration, which was smart, imaginative, and fun, and easily the best since the progenitor. With Universal Cartoon Studios inevitably producing another sequel, it remains the case that expectations would be reasonably mixed; at the same time, as filmmaker Charles Grosvenor and writer John Loy return alongside much the same cast from the success of the immediate predecessor, one might well get their hopes up for 2005's eleventh installment. At length, there's no mistaking that 'Invasion of the tinysauruses' falls short of the franchise's high points, but the worst that can be said is that it's pretty much on par with most of its forebears.

Curiously, the primary trouble to catch my attention here is one of tonal disparity. By and large this flick fits right in with its brethren, certainly - maintaining a light and playful tone; blending notes of adventure and drama with humor; and ultimately serving up some life lessons before all is said and done, including telling the truth and taking responsibility, and disagreements between friends and family. Yet long before those life lessons specifically come into focus, there is a withering darkness visible just under the surface that Grosvenor and Loy try to cloak in the lighthearted tenor. Just listen to the first song "Creepy crawlies," and note the thoughts brought out in the surrounding scenes and dialogue: a core narrative thrust is the intent of the herds of the Great Valley to carry out a pogrom against the tinysauruses, using words like "hunt" and "exterminate." The goose-stepping hyenas in 'The lion king' were on the nose, but the accompanying tone was appropriately harrowing; how is it that, more than ten years later, Grosvenor and Loy thought that sugarcoating the material with jovial merriment was the right course of action? For that matter, is that central thrust not unwisely going far darker than has been the norm for TLBT in the first place?

Granted, it's not as if the whole picture is tightly zeroed in on villagers raising torches and pitchforks in a mob. There is meaningful humor, and more than that, there ARE important themes on hand regarding unjust persecution of a marginalized community, scapegoating, oppressive authorities rewarding ordinary people for betraying the most vulnerable among them, and lies being used to prop up dangerous policies. Not least in 2024, these ideas are entirely too real and relevant, and so is the vitality, innocence, and value of the community in question. I further question the strong secondary story thread of Cera having daddy issues, but it is suitably woven into the proceedings - and anyway, it's possible I'm too being too cynical and jaded. More than not the feature is kith and kin with its antecedents, for better and for worse: uncomplicated writing, but also sincere themes and concepts; somewhat ham-handed songs, but songs that are a little catchy and well done in and of themselves, and a splendid score; and admirable voice acting from a reliable cast, including regulars, industry icons, and guest stars Camryn Manheim and Michael Clarke Duncan. I won't even nitpick the animation this time, and the visual experience is great, including beautiful and detailed backgrounds, character designs, action sequences, and other active elements.

And we do get a suitably compelling story. We get firm scene writing, and characterizations, and a capable blend of that trifecta of adventure, drama, and humor. Loy's writing is swell overall, and so is Grosvenor's direction. I do in fact like 'Invasion of the tinysauruses'; it's solid, with significant notions at play. It's just that it doesn't fully stand out in any way as some of the previous entries managed to do - and when we take into account the severe gulf between the seriousness of the underlying ideas, and the familiar, light-footed vibe the movie otherwise adopts, something critical feels very off. I don't necessarily think that it would have taken much to rework the screenplay into a more cohesive form, either, as the dialogue, characterizations, and scene writing could have been softened without diminishing the weight of the tale and its core themes. Such refinement is a small ask for a readily discernible fault.

One way or another, like most of the 'Land before time' sequels, there's no need to go out of your way for this, and here especially it behooves one to be aware of how it struggles. Despite it all, however, if you do have the chance to watch, there are far worse ways to spend your time, and maybe after all 'Invasion of the tinysauruses' is all that it needed to be.

Alright. To be honest, I think all the sequels are let down by the idea of musical numbers; it turns what was originally an animated film for slightly older children into a Disneyfied trip of cavity-inducing irritation. This one has the worst musical numbers in the whole series (some of the others admittedly weren't bad).

My biggest problem with this film was lack of plausibility. Granted that's quite a strange thing to accuse this kind of film of this late in the series, as any paleontologist would tell you, along with everyone jumping down various throats and saying, "Yes, but it's a kids film so accuracy doesn't really matter." Fair enough. I'm not disputing that.

However, the original film and its sequels up to this point were...well, at least believable within the Land Before Time universe. The idea of Littlefoot and pals raising a baby sharptooth or journeying to find a magic flower or having to deal with bullies are fine.

But minuscule longnecks...no! That really does push the boundaries to breaking point! If it had been little creatures, then this could have kept up the passable trend with the other sequels, but just what was the point in these creatures? A fair idea that was let down by a lousy concept. The reason I'm giving it three stars instead of one was that this film does deal well with a fairly sensitive issue; namely that of a single parent finding someone else and how it can affect both children and adults.

Though I could quite happily have lived the rest of my life without finding out that Cera's dad was named Topsy...

The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses, the eleventh installment in The Land Before Time series. After seeing the last Land Before Time movie, The Great Longneck Adventure, it was a terrific movie so I was really looking forward to this sequel. Now still this was a fun movie, had a decent story and the animation was good, just it wasn't as good as I was expecting, but it's a good movie still. This story is one that I'm too familiar with from every sit com in the world, the problem with size, how many kids are either too small or too big and are so concerned with their mega or lack their of ability of growing. But it's always a moral tale that needs a good repeat for the new generation and The Land Before Time now takes it on. But still I loved the animation, the colors are getting brighter and the movement of the characters are more clean. How could you not enjoy these sequels? Littlefoot and his friends are a joy to watch on screen together and the writers added another story of the difficulty of accepting another adult into a child's life, Invasion of the Tinyauruses is a good movie.

Every year, as the warm season approaches, a certain tree in the Great Valley blooms with pink flowers. Since they are so delicious, every dinosaur in the valley wants his/her fair share of it. Littlefoot and his friends Ducky, Petrie and Spike are eagerly waiting to nibble the first treesweets. Ducky tries to take one, but Littlefoot quickly tells her to stop and reminds them all that none may take any treesweets until "Nibbling Day". Meanwhile, Cera's father is visited by an old friend , a female treehorn named Tria, it seems he used to have a crush on her. Cera doesn't take as kindly to her as her father does as she is jealous of her relationship with her father being put on hold because of Tria. Littlefoot, meanwhile, goes off by himself, feeling very down about how "little" he is. As he returns to the treesweet tree, he climbs up the cliff right next to it and tries to reach the treesweets by himself. As he does, he accidentally falls right through the tree and knocks down every single treesweet. He finds himself surrounded by several miniature longnecks. They have eaten all the treesweets and quickly run away once the shocked Littlefoot starts screaming out of fear. Upon noticing that every treesweet is gone, all the dinosaurs in the valley are standing in front of the tree; they all suspect Littlefoot to be the guilty party. Littlefoot, afraid to admit it was his fault that the treesweets fell off the tree, blames everything on the tiny longnecks. Littlefoot falls down a pothole in the ground where, it turns out, the tiny longnecks are hiding in. First being afraid of them, Littlefoot flees deeper into the cave; but soon enough, he finds out that the tiny longnecks are not as bad as he thought and befriends them. Upon hearing how difficult it is for the tinysauruses to find food, he promises to help bring them as many treestars as he can every night. But he's still not sure how to explain their existence to the valley without getting blamed for the treesweets accident.

The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses was a good sequel, not the best but still worth the watch. Littlefoot is getting a little more mature with each story, I loved how he stood up to the valley and defended the little longnecks. The little longnecks were so cute and a great addition to the story. One story I did appreciate was the one between Cera, her father and Tria, a lot of kids have a difficult time when their parents split and start dating again so I think this was a good story to show. So over all The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses is worth the watch, it's a good sequel. So far it seems like the only reason people are complaining about these sequels are just because there are so many of them, my advice is to get over it, I'm glad I got into them. They are fun movies to watch for yourself, the family or your kids. I do recommend Invasion of the Tinysauruses, trust me, I'm always honest with the reviews.

5/10

I have loyally collected each instalment of this cute animated adventure & this is one of the best. Littlefoot discovers that even a little lie can have dire consequences & the importance of owning up. While heavy on the moral issues at times, this is an exciting story with romance on the side. Friendship is tested to the limits, but there is laughter to balance the tension. The "Tinysauruses" are a colourful bunch who just want to have fun and feed, but are misunderstood by the Great Valley inhabitants. Three of them play essential roles in the drama that unfolds. Plus a tender hearted Threehorn called Tria. Three songs too. This series continues to impress & no doubt there'll be more. I hope so. 9/10

Unlike lots of people on planet earth, I am not bothered about them making so many LBTs. I actually like that they make new ones all the time because I am always anxious to find out what happens next. Unfortunately, this one was very disappointing. Why did Littlefoot have to lie? Why did his friends want a special treat so innocent creatures could be killed? Why did Littlefoot's grandparents say he was small? Irriatating questions only the writer can answer.

The film starts when the yearly supply of tree-sweets appears on a tree-sweet tree. Cera and his grandparents ( :( ) say Littlefoot is small. Littlefoot knocks all the tree-sweets off the tree and little longnecks eat them. He lies to all the other dinosaurs when he says that he saw the little longnecks eat the tree-sweets and he didn't have anything to do with it ( :( ).

I think the plot ruins the film. I like the little longnecks and I also like Tria, a friend of Cera's dad who appears in the film as well.

So, if you were expecting something like the original LBTs, then I don't recommend this. I liked it, but I didn't love it.