"The Land Before Time" is a masterfully constructed story whose greatest quality is its heart. It is a children's cartoon, and not by the modern definition, which tends to denote a more ambiguous conglomeration of all-ages humor with hidden adult suggestions. Rather, "The Land Before Time" is in every way, shape, and form a kind of super-bedtime story, a fantastical adventure aimed directly at the level of imagination that only a child's mind can fathom. It will embrace your child in a magical world of prehistoric wonder, and will leave you wishing you could see it through their eyes...or for those of us lucky enough to have seen it in our own childhood, it tends to invoke a pleasant nostalgia.

The movie is actually rather short, which is another testament to the quality of its construction, because when I saw it as a child, it seemed to last three times as long (in a good way). The characters are adorable, individual, and memorable, and the themes are serious but lighthearted. The main character, Littlefoot, loses his mother before the movie is halfway done, but the movie is not so much about death as it is about life in spite of death. That is to say, it is about Littlefoot's struggle--and success--in dealing with his mother's death, and about having the courage to stay the course on the path to your dreams, even if it means walking alone (which is not the case here, thanks to Littlefoot's friends). It is also about building friendships, learning to trust your friends, working together...you get the idea.

A great film. I wouldn't bother with the sequels, though I don't know much about them.