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The Land Before Time

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The Land Before Time
Official franchise logo, as originally released by Universal Pictures in 1988.
Created by
Original workThe Land Before Time (1988)
OwnerUniversal Pictures
Years1988–present
Films and television
Film(s)See details
Animated seriesSee details
Games
Video game(s)See details
Audio
Soundtrack(s)See details
Miscellaneous
Toy(s)Merchandise
Official website
landbeforetime.com

The Land Before Time is a franchise consisting of American animated adventure family films centered around dinosaurs, including a theatrical movie, various straight-to-home video sequels, and a spin-off TV series. Based on an original story by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss and distributed by Universal Pictures, the franchise began in 1988 with the eponymous film, directed and produced by Don Bluth and executive produced by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Its success spawned an additional thirteen direct-to-video musical sequels before expanding into other media including video games, soundtracks, and related merchandising. Notably, the additional movies and TV show did not include the collaborative participation of Bluth, Lucas, nor Spielberg.

The 14 films were released as a Complete Collection DVD set later on June 14, 2016.[1]

Plot

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The films follow the friendship of a group of young ornithodirans (four dinosaurs and a pterosaur) named Littlefoot (a male Apatosaurus), Cera (a female Triceratops), Ducky (a female Saurolophus), Petrie (a male Pteranodon), and Spike (a male Stegosaurus). After finding the Great Valley, they raise a carnivorous baby (a male Tyrannosaurus whom they name Chomper), survive a drought, a cold snap, and witness a solar eclipse. Throughout the films they embark on adventures, learning lessons about life, teamwork, and friendship along the way.

Films

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Film U.S.
release date
Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Story by Producer(s)
The Land Before Time November 18, 1988 (1988-11-18) Don Bluth Stu Krieger Judy Freudberg & Tony Geiss Don Bluth, Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy
The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure December 13, 1994 (1994-12-13) Roy Allen Smith John Loy, John Ludin
& Dev Ross
Roy Allen Smith
The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving December 12, 1995 (1995-12-12) Dev Ross Roy Allen Smith and Zahra Dowlatabadi
The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists December 10, 1996 (1996-12-10) Roy Allen Smith
The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island December 9, 1997 (1997-12-09) Charles Grosvenor John Loy Charles Grosvenor
The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock December 1, 1998 (1998-12-01) Libby Hinson & John Loy
The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire December 5, 2000 (2000-12-05) Len Uhley
The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze December 4, 2001 (2001-12-04) John Loy
The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water December 10, 2002 (2002-12-10) Dev Ross
The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration December 2, 2003 (2003-12-02) John Loy
The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses January 11, 2005 (2005-01-11)
The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers February 27, 2006 (2006-02-27)
The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends November 27, 2007 (2007-11-27) Jamie Mitchell
The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave February 27, 2016 (2016-02-27) Davis Doi Cliff Ruby & Elana Lesser Lisa Melbye and Deidre Brenner

Television

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Series Season(s) Episodes Originally released Showrunner Executive producers Status
First released Last released Network
The Land Before Time 1 26 March 5, 2007 (2007-03-05) January 21, 2008 (2008-01-21) Cartoon Network Charles Grosvenor Charles Grosvenor, and Diane A. Crea Ended

A spin-off television series based on the films began airing on YTV in Canada on January 5, 2007. It consisted of one season of 26 episodes, and officially premiered on Cartoon Network in the United States on March 5, 2007, after the DVD release of The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers.[2] The TV series takes place after the events of The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends. It has since been collected and released on 6 DVDs, each containing 4 episodes, in the United States and the UK. The complete series was released on DVD in 2022.

Cast and characters

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List indicator

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.

  • An empty grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
  •  D indicates an appearance as a character's disguised voice.
  •  S indicates an appearance as a character's singing voice.
Characters Films Television
The Land Before Time The Great Valley Adventure The Time of the Great Giving Journey Through the Mists The Mysterious Island The Secret of Saurus Rock The Stone of Cold Fire The Big Freeze Journey to Big Water The Great Longneck Migration Invasion of the Tinysauruses The Great Day of the Flyers The Wisdom of Friends Journey of the Brave The Land Before Time
(The Series)
1988 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2016 2007–2008
Littlefoot Gabriel Damon Scott McAfee Brandon LaCroix
Thomas DekkerS
Thomas Dekker Alec Medlock Aaron Spann Nick Price Cody Arens
Logan ArensD
Anthony SkillmanS
Felix Avitia Cody Arens
Anthony SkillmanS
Cera Candace Hutson Anndi McAfee
Ducky Judith Barsi Heather Hogan Aria Noelle Curzon
Petrie Will Ryan Jeff Bennett
Spike N/A Rob Paulsen Jeff Bennett Rob Paulsen
Chomper Rob Paulsen Cannon Young Issac Brown Max Burkholder
Ruby Meghan Strange
Grandpa Longneck Bill Erwin (deleted role) Kenneth Mars Does not speak Barry Bostwick Kenneth Mars
Grandma Longneck Does not speak Linda Gary Miriam Flynn Does not speak Miriam Flynn
Daddy Topps Burke Byrnes John Ingle George Ball John Ingle
Ducky's Mother Does not speak Tress MacNeille Tress MacNeille Tress MacNeille Tress MacNeille Does not speak Meghan Strange Tress MacNeille
Petrie's Mother Does not speak Tress MacNeille Tress MacNeille Tress MacNeille Tress MacNeille Does not speak Anndi McAfee Tress MacNeille
Kosh Rob Paulsen Jeff Bennett Rob Paulsen Pete Sepenuk
Jeff Bennett
Littlefoot's Mother Helen Shaver Flashback Flashback
Chomper's parents N/A N/A
Hyp Whit Hertford Mikey Kelley
Nod Scott Menville Scott Menville
Mutt Jeff Bennett Jeff Bennett
Ali Juliana Hansen Nika Futterman
Old One Carol Bruce Jessica Walter
Doc Kris Kristofferson Jeff Bennett
Mr. Thicknose Robert Guillaume Dorian Harewood
Tippy Jeremy Suarez Cree Summer
Tippy's Mother Susan Krebs Susan Krebs
Stegosaurus Leader Rob Paulsen Rob Paulsen
Mo Rob Paulsen Does not speak Rob Paulsen Rob Paulsen
Shorty Brandon Michael DePaul Elizabeth Daily
Bron Kiefer Sutherland Scott Whyte Cam Clarke
Tria Camryn Manheim Jessica Gee Jessica Gee
Guido Rob Paulsen Rob Paulsen
Tricia Nika Futterman Meghan Strange

Additional crew and production details

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Film Crew
Composer(s) Editor(s) Production companies Distributing company Running time
The Land Before Time James Horner John K. Carr & Dan Molina Amblin Entertainment,
Sullivan Bluth Studios
Universal Pictures 69 minutes
The Land Before Time II:
The Great Valley Adventure
Michael Tavera Jay Bixsen Universal Cartoon Studios MCA/Universal Home Video 75 minutes
The Land Before Time III:
The Time of the Great Giving
70 minutes
The Land Before Time IV:
The Journey Through the Mists
Warren Taylor 74 minutes
The Land Before Time V:
The Mysterious Island
Jay Bixsen Universal Studios Home Video
The Land Before Time VI:
The Secret of Saurus Rock
76 minutes
The Land Before Time VII:
The Stone of Cold Fire
Jay Bixsen & Danik Thomas 75 minutes
The Land Before Time VIII:
The Big Freeze
76 minutes
The Land Before Time IX:
Journey to Big Water
Jay Bixsen 75 minutes
The Land Before Time X:
The Great Longneck Migration
85 minutes
The Land Before Time XI:
The Invasion of the Tinysauruses
81 minutes
The Land Before Time XII:
The Great Day of the Flyers
Universal Animation Studios
The Land Before Time XIII:
The Wisdom of Friends
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment 76 minutes
The Land Before Time: The Series Cory Lerios Universal Animation Studios,
Amblin Entertainment,
Universal Studios Home Entertainment Family Productions
Cartoon Network
NBCUniversal Syndication Studios (TV airings)
23 minutes
The Land Before Time XIV:
The Journey of the Brave
Michael Tavera Luke Guidici Universal Animation Studios,
Universal 1440 Entertainment
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment 82 minutes

In other media

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Albums

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  • The Land Before Time (1988) Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
  • The Land Before Time: Sing-Along Songs (1997): Songs from the first four movies (movies I, II, III, and IV). The album was later released in a VHS format which included facts about the dinosaurs featured in the franchise.
  • The Songs from The Land Before Time (1997): Songs from the first four movies (movies I-IV)
  • The Land Before Time: More Sing-Along Songs (1999) Songs from movies V and VI (the last two of the first 6 movies) and An American Tail film series (movies III and IV).
  • The Best Songs from The Land Before Time (2016) Songs from movies I, VI, VIII, IX, X, XI, and XIV.

Video games

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The series has spawned 14 spin-off games, eight for PC, one for the Game Boy Color, two for the Game Boy Advance and three for the original PlayStation. The PC games are usually educational games aimed for preschool and kindergarten. Games for the Game Boy Color and Advance include The Land Before Time and The Land Before Time: Into the Mysterious Beyond, in which the original six characters must search for Chomper. Games for the PlayStation include The Land Before Time: Big Water Adventure, a spin-off of Journey to Big Water, The Land Before Time: Great Valley Racing Adventure and The Land Before Time: Return to the Great Valley. All characters in these games are voiced by Lani Minella.

References

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  1. ^ Grosvenor, Charles; Bluth, Don; Smith, Roy Allen; Mitchell, Jamie; Doi, Davis (June 14, 2016), The Land Before Time: The Complete Collection, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, retrieved October 4, 2016
  2. ^ The Land Before Time, March 5, 2007, retrieved July 26, 2016
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