@joeylever: Dark kids’ movies raised a whole generation of film fans and maybe that’s a good thing. In our recent interview with John Pomeroy he explains how Bambi, Pinocchio and the classic Disney era proved that children’s stories could confront real trauma and still leave you with hope. From The Land Before Time to today’s indie animation, the most powerful films don’t protect us from the dark they guide us through it. You can’t feel the true height of the emotional “highs” unless you’ve walked through the “lows,” and that philosophy is all over this conversation about grief, loss and catharsis in storytelling. If you’re making your own short film, don’t water it down. Lean into the raw emotions, let the audience cry, and then give them a way through it. That’s how stories stay with people decades later. Pinch us. Last month the LIttlefoot team and myself got to sit down with animation legend John Pomeroy @pomeroyartacademy) producer and directing animator of The Land Before Time and the guy who helped bring Cera to life on screen. He co-produced and animated classics like The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, All Dogs Go to Heaven and Thumbelina, before returning to Disney to supervise iconic characters like John Smith in Pocahontas and lead animation on films such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Treasure Planet. His credits stretch from Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too all the way to Curious George and The Simpsons Movie, and he’s been part of the Academy’s Shorts & Animation branch since the late 1970s – so having him believe in and talk about our 15-minute Littlefoot project genuinely means the world to us. #disney #landbeforetime #donbluth

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Monday 11 May 2026 17:21:33 GMT