Cartoon
The Land Before Time (TV series)
The story
The Land Before Time is an American animated musical television series, based on The Land Before Time film series’ characters created by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss. It was developed for television by Ford Riley for Cartoon Network and was produced by Universal Animation Studios and Amblin Entertainment (Amblin Entertainment produced the first film with Sullivan Bluth Studios), and animated by Wang Film Productions in Taiwan and Toon City in the Philippines. It premiered on YTV in Canada for a test on January 5, 2007 and premiered on Cartoon Network in the United States on March 5.
It was made as traditionally animated with CGI backgrounds, which the past sequels from The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration onwards have used, with occasional cel-shaded computer-animated characters in wide shots. The main antagonists in the series are Red Claw, an evil villainous Tyrannosaurus, and Screech and Thud, a pair of henchmen Deinonychus. The TV series takes place between the events of The Wisdom of Friends and Journey of the Brave, due to Chomper and Ruby being absent in the former film.
Main
Cody Arens as Littlefoot (Anthony Skillman performs Littlefoot's singing voice; uncredited)
Anndi McAfee as Cera
Aria Curzon as Ducky
Jeff Bennett as Petrie
Rob Paulsen as Spike, Thud (before uncredited)
Max Burkholder as Chomper
Meghan Strange as Ruby
Pete Sepenuk as Red Claw, Screech (before uncredited)
Recurring
Kenneth Mars as Grandpa Longneck
Miriam Flynn as Grandma Longneck
John Ingle as Daddy Topps
Tress MacNeille as Petrie's Mother / Ducky and Spike's Mother
Dorian Harewood as Mr. Thicknose
Jessica Gee as Tria
Meghan Strange as Tricia
Guest appearances
Anndi McAfee as Lydia / Corythosaurus
Aria Curzon as Ceratogaulus Girl
Jeff Bennett as Apatosaurus #2 / Ruby's brother / Skip / Mutt / Doc / Kosh (The Amazing Threehorn Girl) / Ceratogaulus Elder
Rob Paulsen as Ruby's father / Apatosaurus #1 / Hidden Runner / Mo / Milo / Stegosaurus / Guido / Lambeosaurus
Meghan Strange as Plower / Maiasaura / Iguanodon / Corythosaurus / Ruby's sister
Pete Sepenuk as Kosh (The Star Day Celebration) / Saro / Allosaurus
Nika Futterman as Ruby's Mother / Ali
Elizabeth Daily as Rhett / Shorty
Jessica Walter as Old One
Cree Summer as Tippy
Susan Krebs as Tippy's mother
Cam Clarke as Bron
Susan Blu as Dara
Mikey Kelley as Hyp
Scott Menville as Nod / Mother Deinonychus
Kevin Michael Richardson as Scuttle
Dorian Harewood as Great Hideous Beast
Jess Harnell as Swooper
Dee Bradley Baker as Baby Acrocanthosaurus (uncredited) / Sarcosuchus pack
Production
In August 2005, it was reported that Universal Studios Home Entertainment Family Productions had begun production on a 26 episode TV series based on The Land Before Time to debut on Cartoon Network in 2007 followed by a home media release by Universal.
Broadcast
The show premiered on Cartoon Network in the United States on March 5, 2007. Reruns of the series began airing on Sprout in January 2017, and were subsequently moved to Universal Kids upon the channel's launch on September 9, 2017.
Reception
Michael D. Schaffer of the Philadelphia Inquirer said that the animation in the series, although below that of the original 1988 film, was above-average for modern television. Although he praised the theme song, saying it had a "bouncy, almost calypso beat", he was less pleased with the songs "Adventuring" and "Talking Big". He finally described the series as "bland, inoffensive stuff", and appropriate viewing for very young audiences.
Merchandise
Universal Studios Consumer Products Group and Playmates Toys announced a domestic licensing agreement, whereby Playmates served as the master toy license for the then-upcoming animated television series, The Land Before Time. The 22-minute animated series aired on Cartoon Network beginning in spring 2007. The toy line launched in fall 2007 with the introduction of a full line of figures, vehicles, playsets and plush.
Home media
24 episodes of the series were released on DVD by Universal Studios Home Entertainment between 2007–2008 in North America (region 1) and 2010 in Australia (region 4) in the form of six four-episode volumes. A six-disc box set was later released in the UK (region 2) in 2012 containing the 24 episodes from the previous volumes. Two episodes were not included in those releases: "The Hidden Canyon" and "The Big Longneck Test". Only "The Hidden Canyon" was later released as a special feature on the stand-alone DVD release of The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends. In June 2022, a complete TV series DVD was released, not only marking the first time "The Big Longneck Test" has been released on home media but also the first time any episode has been released in widescreen format on a Region 1 DVD.
Music
The songs are edited and written by Michele Brourman (music) and Ford Riley (lyrics).
The theme song is performed by the South African choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The theme is written by Rocco Gagliese, Steve D'Angelo, and Terry Tompkins of Eggplant LLC. The music score is by Cory Lerios.