AnhartLinkin
This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
Nayan Gough
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
Tobias Burrows
It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
Kinley
This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
allyball-63124
This is a re-review. In my original review, I was a bit to negative. The only real problems with this movie are that some scenes are a little padded out, the bullies are obnoxious and the first song is awful. The only scene I thought was really padded out was the scene where they were out at night sniffing for water. The entire movie could've also been resolved in 10 minutes rather than 70 but I see why it wasn't. As for the bullies, they nearly destroy the movie and every scene they're in. Their song in particular was really painful. However, there are upsides to this movie than I pointed out in my original review. For example, I like the last two songs. The second song is just funny and the third song is really pretty. The animation is surprisingly really good for a direct to DVD movie with a low budget. The conflict is much bigger than The Great Valley Adventure, the kids are better characters in this movie, and the adults' behavior is somewhat justified. People get cranky and aggressive from stress or hunger which all of the adults are experiencing at the same time. I didn't realize this on my first few viewings but now I get it. I wish I could say the same for the bullies. Yes, the leader does have a bit of a backstory and I do give them credit for trying to make Hyp more of a character but it comes in a little too late for me. They should've hinted at it more and maybe cut out some of their scenes, especially the song. As for the other bullies, they're following Hyp because I'm guessing they're afraid of being hurt by him. I also give major credits to the action scenes and tension in general in this movie. The fire scene and the velociraptor fight are amazing. They are intense and interesting to watch. Overall, this movie has good intentions, good morals, and just good qualities in general but it's a little too clumsy for me. I appreciate it more than I watch it.
Alex Popp
Winning Best Home Video Presentation of the 1995 Annies, "The Time of the Great Giving" is the third installment of the Land Before Time series. For some reason, it was originally supposed to be #4, but was pushed forward one year. Maybe Roy Allen Smith just wanted to save best for last. One way or another, this is still a great addition to the franchise.The film begins in a similar way to the opening of the first movie, with the same sweeping score and the same calm note, underwater. The animation's cool wavy effects and the silent ancient creatures give a great feel for the setting to those who are starting the series with this installment.In the Great Valley, Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie, Ducky, and Spike have constantly been getting bullied by a trio of adolescent dinosaurs: a hypsilophodon named Hyp, a nodosaurus named Nod, and a muttaburrasaurus named Mutt.So on this evening, a meteor shower impacts near the Great Valley and causes an explosion in the Mysterious Beyond. Fortunately, no one is injured severely. But the next day, the Great Valley dinosaurs wake up to find the Thundering Falls, their main supply of water, drying up. The increasing lack of water causes conflicts between the adults. Considering his species the wisest (even singing a whole song about it), Cera's dad is insistent that he make the drinking arrangements. He becomes so conceited that he gets unreasonable. In fact, he accuses Littlefoot of wasting water when he gets sprayed by a splash caused by the bullies, who hightail it out of there to not be noticed. Despite the fact that the gang had no knowledge of the water problem, Cera's dad cites Littlefoot as a bad influence and forbids Cera to be around him. To bring an end to all the bickering, Cera sneaks out with the others to set out on a water hunt of their own.One of the most graphically stunning sequences in the movie, the animation of this wildfire fire that spreads through the Great Valley is dazzling and the score is appropriately alarming for the situation, sounding much like that of the Firebird stage from Fantasia 2000."Kids Like Us", is the best song in the movie. While the other two have great instrumentals, their lyrics aren't very top notch. This one is very meaningful, if somewhat preachy, and hopefully will show children how to deal with bullying.The only real issue with this movie is that it kind of makes it seem like children are always the ones with the solution to a problem while the adults are just helpless and argumentative. This movie could have benefited more by encouraging children to always seek adults' help. Even so, it's better than "The Great Valley Adventure", as it deals with the grown ups as much as the kids, and it offers great messages for both children and parents of cooperation and preventing bullying.The storyline, though formulaic, is pretty well-developed, and though the kids' dialogue is juvenile, that isn't so much a bad thing when working with characters who are still very young. Kids will be kids. The action scenes are sufficiently entertaining, the animation is outstanding, and Michael Tavera's score is most beautiful here, making for a fine addition to the Land Before Time canon.8/10 for "The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving".
TheLittleSongbird
First of all, I do think it is an improvement on Land Before Time 2, which was passable, but lacked heart, which was what made the original so poignant. The Time of the Great Giving is probably the best of the countless sequels that border from good to unwatchable, but suffers from being too preachy at times. The animation is surprisingly good, but isn't quite true to the style of animation in the original. In most scenes it had some lovely colours, but had some flat backgrounds in others. The incidental music by Michael Tavera was excellent, especially the Firebird-like music in the fire scene. It was nice to hear the heart-rending main theme from the original, but whereas in the original it made me weep buckets, it didn't have an effect on me here. The songs are okay, Kids Like Us being the best one, and Littlefoot's singing voice is for once pretty decent, but the other two songs When You're Big and When You're Standing Tough came across as rather unmelodious. The story is a very nice idea, about the values of friendship, survival and sticking together. There is also some nice dialogue, but the film further suffers from being too short and being devoid of any real emotion. I will say that the voice talents were very impressive. Ducky is still funny, with similar dialogue we associate her with from the original, though it doesn't quite feel the same without the sweetness and vulnerability of the original voice actress, the late Judith Barsi. Scott McAfee is decent as Littlefoot, and I liked Linda Gary and Kenneth Mars as the grandparents. However, in correlation to the original, John Ingle's narration, as nice as it was, was somewhat unnecessary, but I was more impressed with his gruff characterisation of Cera's father. All in all, a surprisingly good sequel, though it doesn't surpass the first and the finest. 6/10 Bethany Cox.
Mightyzebra
Genre: Animated film about dinosaurs and a major water catastrophe.What happens: In the Great valley for the gang, there are TWO annoying problems (unfortunately, not one or none). There are three bully dinosaurs who are CONSTANTLY picking on the poor good dinosaurs and to top all the depression, the waterfall in the Great Valley has stopped flowing. Though the lovely gang (Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky Petrie and Spike) are sad and annoyed, they have a positive view as well over this mess and decide to work together to find water…My thoughts: I like most of the L.B.T films. Unfortunately, this one is not at the top of my list for me. It is just too depressing! All the songs focus on some bad thing or other, unlike in all the films, where at least one focuses on just happiness! It also concentrates on the crisis of the film WAY too much for my liking. The music sticks to the depressing tune for 75% of the film, everyone is EXTRA grumpy because of the crisis and it's just too annoying! When there IS happiness, it feels deflated, like rather floppy balloon, it just isn't STRONG enough. Luckily, I prefer this film to "Land Before Time 11", which is my least favourite L.B.T, but this one is still not NEARLY as good as most of the others for me. I know lots of other people like it, but for me, it's just too depressing, too annoying, too deflated and too pessimistic. So there. I like the main characters of course. The new characters are not all that good, because they're bullies.Recommended to: People who like the eleventh L.B.T, people who find all the other L.B.T's too happy and jolly and people who do not mind becoming a little too depressed by an animated film.