"The Land Before Time" (1988).

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg were among the Executive Producers on this fairly low-key animation feature. Animation, of course, goes way, way back in film history and was not invented by those two guys, but, as it turned out, they created a turning point in the field. Director Don Bluth took over this Stu Krieger script (story by Judy Freudberg) about cute baby dinosaurs, "The Land Before Time" (1988) created quite possibly the cutest bunch of mammal-eating carnivores in film history.

Littlefoot and mama

It is the time of the dinosaurs, and there is a fierce drought. The dinosaur herd has one baby, named Littlefoot (Gabriel Damon). Littlefoot grows up and becomes friends with Cera (Candace Hutson). Unfortunately, Cera is a different kind of dinosaur, and Littlefoot's mother (Helen Shaver) tells her that she shouldn't hang out with her. Littlefoot's mother dies saving her baby and Cera, and an earthquake separates them from the herd. They then must learn to work together and get to the "Great Valley" that has water if they are to survive.

Looking into the future not a good idea for dinosaurs....

It is a simple tale, and the animation is not all that impressive by current standards (but it was considered fine then, and is good enough). This was Amblin Entertainment's big gamble on creating a franchise in a medium that had not seen consistent success in decades, and it worked. At last count, there were a dozen sequels (though all the others were direct-to-home products). There also was a television series.

Isn't that cute?

The story is very direct, and you can see "the lesson to be learned" a mile away. It does not have the look or depth of color of a modern animated film like "Shrek" or "Cars," but the drawing is superb. The great saving grace of this series is that, if you get hooked on it, there are so many different follow-up adventures to watch that you will be entertained for a long, long time. One note of caution about that: Bluth, Spielberg and Lucas were not involved in the numerous sequels or the series in any way. They are quite different (they are aimed at very young children, with sing-along numbers and so forth), so this film really, in a sense, does stand on its own, at least for adults.

This could have been a very scary film!

The voice acting is all done very professionally, and it is nice to see a top animated film that is not populated by tv stars who are looking for trade on their fame for some extra cash. Judith Barsi (Ducky) deserves special mention. She was a child star who had a bright future, and she does a great job in this film. Her life ended tragically before this film's release. That is another reason why this film stands apart from the rest of the series.

Kids will love the cute dinosaurs in "The Land Before Time."

As a comparison of what a different era it was when this film was made, it has no major stars at all. Just as an example, and not to pick on anyone, "Kung Fu Panda" (2008) was loaded with big names like Dustin Hoffman. "The Land Before Time" made do with the likes of Helen Saver and Pat Hingle. The quality of the material sold this film, not some celebrity voice actor, and that is the highest recommendation any animation film can receive.

You mean... we die out?

The movie is intense in spots, but Lucas and Spielberg know their craft. They went to great pains to remove the most frightening scenes and make everything warm and cuddly for the kids. The animators were very precise with their facts about dinosaurs, consulting several major museums. All of this was new at the time, they were setting precedents for the future, many of which stuck. The creators of 2002's Ice Age did similar research for their characters (though, ironically, that also turned into a dinosaur tale at one point). This as a pioneer for all the different animal tales that came later. Of course, if they made this now, all those preconceptions about animation being just for little kids would be thrown out the window, and there would be a more adult perspective.

Don't look back, they might be gaining on you....

The film was a huge success, and perhaps its greatest achievement was beating the Disney film of the time, "Oliver & Company." Disney took notice and changed its focus, shifting to characters and situations which people could relate to better. That led to "The Little Mermaid,""Beauty and the Beast," and the whole Disney Renaissance of the 1990s. Who says an old dog can't learn new tricks?

I think I drove across that bridge once....

If you don't mind your animation films being geared for the youngest viewers, this is a great choice.

"Xanadu" (1980).

It was a cold, grim winter. It was a time before cable TV and video games, and we were going to school in frigid upstate New York. For fun each weekend, we would head down to the one and only theater in our tiny campus town and watch whatever happened to be playing.

No, Olivia, take me! Take me! To Xanadu!

Director Robert Greenwald's "Xanadu" (1980), a Universal picture, lit it up! To this day, the contrast between the grim Arctic weather we trudged through to get there and to get home in and the warm, inviting tones of this film is a fond memory. I was not a big Olivia Newton-John or Gene Kelly fan in those days, they were just popular stars like any others. But they dazzled this lost young man's eyes that night in Nowheresville, New York.

Back cover, soundtrack album

Inside sleeve of "Xanadu" soundtrack album.

This is high disco, with quite possibly the best soundtrack of all time. I'm not kidding, the songs in this film are simply unbelievably good (songwriter/producer John Farrar deserves a mention here). In fact, they are so good that they may have been part of the reason why the film had such trouble on its release - nothing could possibly fill the interludes between classic songs/videos like "Magic," "Xanadu," "Suddenly" and so on and hope to maintain the film's momentum. Show-stoppers, one after another.

Original soundtrack album to "Xanadu."

Olivia as Kira, a muse, is stunning, and the top singer of her time (if you ever meet a girl named Kira - and there are some - thank "Xanadu"). Olivia Newton-John had an endearing quality of innocence that perfectly matches her character, a muse who comes down from Heaven to help a struggling artist. It's the little things that she does so well, bumping into musical album cover designer Sonny Malone (Michael Beck) "accidentally" and then kissing him, rollerskating (no rollerblades yet, buddy!) down a street or alone around an abandoned warehouse, gamely dancing with wannabe-impresario Gene Kelly. Very nice, completely under-appreciated performance. She carries this film and does a terrific job.

The "Xanadu" disco.

Gene Kelly dances for the last time, and performs his part with dignity. It's a nice book-end to his career, which took off with the fabulous 1944 "Cover Girl," and he plays the same character as in that film (at his request). As a swan song for Gene Kelly, this is a terrific one. Just getting the chance to be in one last mega-musical was magical and almost a miracle, but he did it. The detractors can say whatever they want, but Gene Kelly somehow pulled it off.

A cute couple in "Xanadu," Michael Beck and Olivia Newton-John.

Michael Beck was wildly miscast, though one can see what they were thinking. He portrays his character well enough, as a hunky "everyman" with unfulfilled dreams. He just did not have the chops to go toe-to-toe with either Olivia or Gene in the singing or dancing departments - and this is a musical! You just don't do that to someone, his weaknesses are just put on public display and completely undermine the presentation. He didn't have the skills and it shows throughout. By the end, he is reduced to adoring gazes as Olivia struts her stuff, and, while he does those as well as anyone possibly could, that isn't enough to save his character - and his character is really the whole point of the film! I will join the countless people who think Cliff Richard would have been perfect in the role, or even someone like (I'm dreaming here) John Travolta (who turned the role down), Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger or Elton John. Any plain (great but one-dimensional) actor couldn't help but get lost in the shuffle. The Sonny Malone character needed someone Special, a triple-threat to beat all triple-threats, a distinctive singing voice that could compete with Olivia. Unfortunately, such stars are very hard to find, then or now.

Gene on the clarinet to open "Xanadu."

I actually feel sorry for Beck. I know he had bitter feelings about this role, and probably still does. The debacle wasn't his fault; it would be like drafting Mickey Mantle to swim the 200-meter butterfly at the Olympics. Great guy, terrific at what he could do - but wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. He stands forlornly off to the side during the big production numbers, somewhat pathetically smiling at Olivia as she sings her heart out.

Gene can still dance, and Olivia keeps up nicely in "Xanadu."

Another problem with "Xanadu" was lack of preparation. That is deadly in almost every endeavor, and film-making is no exception. The production team had an idea, a concept, when filming began, and little more. During production, "Xanadu" turned from a small-budget disco rollerskate musical into something much more ambitious. That is NOT the way to make a film, ever, for any reason. The studio also wanted to rush this out, and it shows in weak special effects and some editing gone awry (the final version of "Xanadu" is endless). When you are writing the script each night before filming, you are taking an awful chance. Sometimes, fantastically, it works in "Xanadu," but sometimes it doesn't.

"Xanadu" was turned into a successful Broadway musical in 2007-2009, running for over 500 performances and snagging several awards (this was a bus shelter poster circa February 2009).

Overall, the results were mediocre. Gene Kelly's only comment after this came out was that "something is wrong with the way they make films these days." Classy gentleman, he just got caught up in a dead zone of the industry that passed quickly, but swallowed his last great effort whole. Despite that, Gene Kelly makes "Xanadu" his last, great triumph - because it is a triumph.

Olivia in her Ming-the Merciless outfit in "Xanadu."

There are other little touches that stand out more now than they did in 1980. One is a classic animation scene by legendary Don Bluth (which he later borrowed for "Thumbelina"), a classic "battle of the bands" scene, and the legendary "Xanadu" closing sequence where Olivia gets to show her full range and beauty. Every advantage, though, has a drawback. While making a disco musical was clever, the worst thing about this film was its timing. "Xanadu" came out just when Disco was dying. It represents the last and greatest of all the disco movies (Donna Summers' "Thank God it's Friday" being probably the next best one, which isn't saying much). But "Xanadu" isn't just a jerry-built film built around a night at a disco like "TGIF," it is a real story, with real character and real resolution. This film came out just a little too late and quite didn't synch with its time. Thus, it gets dragged down by association with the dying Disco era, and that's a shame, because it is one of the brightest, most colorful, and sonically pleasing films you might ever see. "Xanadu" is a genuine throwback that somehow marries classic musicals and the coming anti-musical 1980s and does so in a glorious, unapologetic fashion. That, incidentally, was largely Gene Kelly's influence, as he came up with the famous dance sequence with Olivia.

Kira returning to Danny, still dressed in her WWII uniform, in "Xanadu."

You have to be in the mood. This is upbeat, lighthearted, completely family friendly (yes, unbelievably), and over-the-top in its excesses. Are you up for that? Then, watch it!

The three leads - Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, and Michael Beck - happy here in "Xanadu."

Yes, I recommend "Xanadu" very highly, but only if you like something off-beat, something lively, something colorful. Call it cheesy, call it what you will, but try and give "Xanadu" a chance, just once. "Xanadu" ranks No. 1 on my list of guilty pleasures.






2017