Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure Review

I just received this movie as part of a stack of hand-me-down VHS movies from a mom whose boys outgrew them. I think Universal really misthought this release. It is too scary for younger children, and too cutesy for older children.

I know it's an old movie (1994), but that's part of the reason I was so shocked by how violent it is. I'd rather let my boy watch some of my prime-time TV than to watch this movie. And it's not that I'm fanatically anti-violence, either. I'm a huge action movie fan. Explosions and fires and crashes, oh my! But I try to protect my 2 yr old son from seeing a lot of slapping, punching, and shoving for obvious reasons.

And that's my beef with this movie. I know they had to make the T-Rexes sharp-toothed and scary, but there was really no need for the annoying little egg-snatching villains to be slapping, punching, and shoving each other every single time they interacted. Don't the writers know that that behavior isn't something moms want their children to see MORE of?

As for the T-Rexes, yes they were supposed to be scary. But I was a little shocked by HOW scary they made the situations sometimes. I mean, it's one thing for the little ones to scream and be chased through the trees by the slavering teeth and booming footsteps... that's scary in a fun way. But when the same T-Rex takes down Grandpa -- a character with a name and a history of touching scenes so far in the movie -- and brings those slavering teeth thiiis close to Grandpa's belly before Petrie swoops in and saves the day... I thought that could really upset a sensitive child, you know? I guess a 2 yr old already knows that the dinosaurs ate each other, but actually seeing Grandpa about to get gutted and chewed... that's extreme, to me.

Anyway, sorry to rant, but if it saves another mom the ugly surprise, it's worth it.