IMDb > The Land Before Time (1988)
The Land Before Time
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The Land Before Time (1988) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
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Down 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Don Bluth
Writers:
Stu Krieger (screenplay)
Judy Freudberg (story) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Land Before Time on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
18 November 1988 (USA) See more »
Genre:
Animation | Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy See more »
Tagline:
The adventure that started it all! See more »
Plot:
Five orphan dinosaurs travel the ruins of their world, while grieving the loss of their families and banding together to face the odds of survival. Full summary » | Add synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
See more »
Awards:
2 nominations See more »
NewsDesk:
(62 articles)
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User Reviews:
One of the best animated films. See more (118 total) »

Cast

  (in credits order) (complete, awaiting verification)

Judith Barsi ... Ducky (voice)

Pat Hingle ... Narrator / Rooter (voice)

Gabriel Damon ... Littlefoot (voice)

Helen Shaver ... Littlefoot's Mother (voice)

Bill Erwin ... Grandfather (voice)

Burke Byrnes ... Daddy Topps (voice)
Candace Hutson ... Cera (voice)

Will Ryan ... Petrie (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:

Diana Ross ... The Balladeer (voice) (uncredited)
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Directed by
Don Bluth 
 
Writing credits
Stu Krieger (screenplay)

Judy Freudberg (story) &
Tony Geiss (story)

Produced by
Don Bluth .... producer
Gary Goldman .... producer
Kathleen Kennedy .... co-executive producer
George Lucas .... executive producer
Frank Marshall .... co-executive producer
Deborah Jelin Newmyer .... associate producer
John Pomeroy .... producer
Steven Spielberg .... executive producer
 
Original Music by
James Horner 
 
Film Editing by
John K. Carr 
Dan Molina 
 
Casting by
Nancy Nayor 
 
Production Design by
Don Bluth 
 
Production Management
Cathy Goldman .... production supervisor (as Cathy J. Carr)
Roy Simpson .... post-production executive
Thad Weinlein .... production manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Russell Boland .... assistant director
Moya Mackle .... apprentice assistant director
Nuala O'Toole .... apprentice assistant director
Sue Shakespeare .... assistant director (as G. Sue Shakespeare)
David J. Steinberg .... assistant director (as David Steinberg)
 
Art Department
Don Bluth .... storyboard artist
Dan Kuenster .... storyboard artist
Larry Leker .... storyboard artist
 
Sound Department
James Ashwill .... foley mixer (as Jim Ashwill)
Kevin Brazier .... sound editor
Vince Colavitti .... dialogue recordist
John Falcini .... assistant re-recording mixer
Ian Fuller .... sound editor
Joe Gallagher .... assistant sound editor
Mary Jo Lang .... foley recordist
Ray Merrin .... sound re-recording mixer
Dan Molina .... supervising sound editor
Dan O'Connell .... foley artist
Thomas J. O'Connell .... adr recordist (as Tom O'Connell)
Charleen Richards .... adr dialogue engineer (as Charlene Richards)
Bill Rowe .... supervising re-recording mixer
Andy Stears .... assistant sound editor
Alicia Stevenson .... foley artist
Michael C. Casper .... sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Steve Kohler .... sound (uncredited)
 
Visual Effects by
Dave Bossert .... special effects animator (as David Bossert)
Majella Burns .... apprentice special effects painter
James DeValera Mansfield .... special effects inbetweener (as James Mansfield Jr.)
Gillian Higgins .... apprentice special effects painter
Tom Hush .... special effects animator
Diann Landau .... special effects animator
Dorse A. Lanpher .... special effects directing animator
Orla Madden .... special effects inbetweener
Jim Mann .... optical effects supervisor
Shirley Mapes .... special effects painter (as Shirley 'Sam' Mapes)
Peter Matheson .... special effects inbetweener
David 'Joey' Mildenberger .... special effects animator (as Joey Mildenberger)
Stephen B. Moore .... special effects animator (as Steve Moore)
John O'Neill .... special effects inbetweener
Janette Owens .... special effects inbetweener
Don Paul .... special effects animator
Kathleen Quaife-Hodge .... special effects animator
Bob Simmons .... special effects animator
Conor Thunder .... special effects inbetweener
Dave Tidgwell .... special effects animator (as David Tidgwell)
Elaine Woods .... apprentice special effects painter
Garrett Wren .... special effects inbetweener
Bruce Heller .... special effects animator (uncredited)
Jeff Topping .... additional special effects animator (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
David R. Ankney .... animation camera
Aidan Farrell .... animation camera
John Fitzgerald .... animation camera
Gary Hall .... animation camera
Gary Jones .... animation camera
Eimear Joyce .... animation camera (as Éimear Joyce)
Fiona Mackle .... animation camera
Jim Mann .... production camera supervisor
Scott McCartor .... animation camera
Emma Miller .... animation camera
Ciaran Morris .... animation camera (as Ciarán Morris)
John O'Flaherty .... animation camera
Eithne Quinn .... animation camera
Eric Ryan .... animation camera
Rocky Solotoff .... animation camera
Graham Tiernan .... animation camera
 
Animation Department
Jane Anderson .... rough animation inbetweener
Peter Anderson .... rough animation inbetweener
Tamara Anderson .... rough inbetween assistant supervisor
Sunny Apinchapong .... background artist
Tracy Arundel .... paint lab mix and match
Barry Atkinson .... background artist
Leslie Aust .... rough animation inbetweener
Anne Marie Bardwell .... animator
Adrienne Bell .... cel painter
Mannix Bennett .... background artist
Richard Bentham .... layout artist (as Rick Bentham)
Russell Boland .... scene planner
Paul Bolger .... rough animation inbetweener
Charles Bonifacio .... additional character animator (as Charlie Bonifacio)
Brian Boylan .... cel painter
Mary Boylan .... xerography processor
Mary Boyle .... apprentice final checker
Ann Brennan .... cel painter
John Brennan .... cel painter
Victoria Brewster .... animator
Maureen Buggy .... cel painter
Ben Burgess .... character key assistant
Melanie Burke .... cel painter
Elizabeth Byrne .... assistant layout artist
Mark Byrne .... cel painter
Robert Byrne .... key xerography processor
Annette Byrne-Morel .... character clean-up artist (as Annette Byrne)
Michael Carey .... character clean-up artist
Michael Carroll .... cel painter
Daryl Carstensen .... xerox checking supervisor
Yvonne Carthy .... cel painter
Gerard Carty .... xerography processor
Michael Casey .... paint checker
Mick Cassidy .... character clean-up artist (as Michael Cassidy)
Vincent Clarke .... cel painter
Gerard Coleman .... paint checker
Nicholas Connolly .... cel painter
Mary Connors .... cel painter (as Mary Conners)
Eileen Conway .... character clean-up artist
Lorna Cook .... directing animator (as Lorna Pomeroy)
Lisa Corcoran .... cel painter
Jesse Cosio .... additional character animator
Conor Coughlan .... cel painter
Orla Coughlan .... cel painter
David Cribbin .... rough animation inbetweener
Nollaig Crombie .... character key assistant
Stephen Cullen .... rough animation inbetweener
Pearse Cullinane .... xerography processor
Laurie Curran .... color stylist
Anne Marie Daly .... cel service
Donnachada Daly .... rough breakdown assistant
Paul Daly .... character clean-up artist
Thomas Daly .... assistant layout artist
Gene Dauer .... key xerography processor
Denis Deegan .... character clean-up artist
Mary Delaney .... character clean-up artist
Sean Dempsey .... apprentice scene planner
Hope Devlin Kristiansen .... rough breakdown assistant (as Hope Devlin)
Peter Donnelly .... character clean-up artist
Madeleine Downes .... apprentice ink artist
Brian Doyle .... cel painter
Emmet Doyle .... xerography processor
Fran Doyle .... rough animation inbetweener
Patrick Duffy .... xerography processor
Colm Duggan .... animator
Ken Duncan .... animator
Gloria Dunne .... cel painter
Noirin Dunne .... paint lab mix and match
Karen Dwyer .... apprentice ink artist
John Eddings .... rough breakdown assistant
Terri Eddings .... xerography supervisor
Franka Elston .... cel painter
Tom English .... cel painter
Jeff Etter .... animator
Wayne Farrar .... xerography processor
Maria Farrell .... mark-up
Richard Fawdry .... layout artist
John Finnegan .... xerography checker
Martine Finucane .... apprentice ink artist
Mark Fisher .... animator
Linda Fitzpatrick .... cel painter
Sylvia Fitzpatrick .... character clean-up artist
Alan Fleming .... character clean-up artist
Jim Fleming .... cel painter
Christine Fluskey .... paint lab mix and match
Connor Flynn .... character clean-up artist
Robert Fox .... rough animation inbetweener
Donal Freeney .... color stylist
Michel Gagné .... animator
Claire Gallagher .... cel painter
Raul Garcia .... animator
Michael Garry .... character clean-up artist
Philip Garry .... cel painter
Fiona Gavin .... cel painter
Fiona Ginnell .... cel painter
Patrick Gleeson .... animator
David Goetz .... layout supervisor
Gerard Gogan .... key xerography processor
Kip Goldman .... apprentice scene planner
Edward Goral .... character key assistant
Patricia Gordan .... cel painter
Eddie Gribbin .... rough breakdown assistant (as Edward Gribbin)
David Groome .... rough animation inbetweener
Catherine Gurry .... cel painter
Kent Hammerstrom .... animator
Martin Hanley .... rough animation inbetweener
Liam Hannan .... cel painter
Brendan Harris .... xerography checker
Karl Hayes .... cel painter
Anne Hazard .... ink artist (as Ann Hazard)
Anne Heeney .... character key assistant
Tom Higgins .... rough breakdown assistant
John Hill .... additional character animator
Liam Hoban .... cel painter
Silvia Hoefnagels .... additional character animator
Silvia Hoefnagels .... character key assistant
T. Daniel Hofstedt .... animator: "Sharptooth"
Jacqueline Hooks .... inking supervisor
Jon L. Hooper .... animator (as Jon Hooper)
Gillian Hunt .... xerography checker
Róisín Hunt .... rough animation inbetweener
Stuart Johnstone .... xerography checker
Lisa Joko .... animation checker
Carl Jones .... background artist
Cathy Jones .... rough assistant animation supervisor
Skip Jones .... animator
Gary Keleghan .... cel painter
Paul J. Kelly .... character clean-up artist (as Paul Kelly)
Paul M. Kelly .... character clean-up artist
Sheila Kelly .... cel painter
Michael Kiely .... character clean-up artist
Noel P. Kiernan .... rough breakdown assistant
Sarah-Jane King .... mark-up
Pam Kleyman .... animation checker
Dan Kuenster .... character animator: "Littlefoot's Mother"
Dan Kuenster .... directing animator
Siobhan Larkin .... cel painter
Helen Lawlor .... character key assistant
Nancy Levey-Bossert .... color mark-up supervisor
Pearse Love .... cel painter
Caroline Lynch .... xerography checker
Maria Malone .... cel painter
Joseph Manifold Jr. .... cel painter
Giorgio Mardegan .... character clean-up artist
Petula Masterson .... cel painter
Marion Mathieu .... character key assistant
Ann May .... cel painter
David McCamley .... background artist
Martina McCarron .... cel service
Niamh McClean .... cel paint assistant supervisor
Ann McCormick .... character clean-up artist
Ashley McGovern .... character key assistant
Colin McGrath .... cel painter
Geraldine McGuinness .... cel painter
Brenda McGuirk .... paint lab assistant supervisor
Margaret McKenna .... character clean-up artist
Michele McKenna .... animation checker
Violet McKenna .... color stylist
Ian McLoughlin .... cel painter
Brian McSweeney .... character clean-up artist
Yvonne McSweeney .... xerography processor
Lucy Melia .... apprentice final checker
Kate Meredith .... cel painter
Linda Miller .... directing animator
Anne Marie Mockler .... character clean-up artist
David Molina .... animator
Julie Molina .... character clean-up artist
Andrew Molloy .... paint lab mix and match
Don Moore .... background stylist
Pauline Morahan .... cel painter
Jean Morel .... animator
Fernando Moro .... additional character animator
Josephine Mulraney .... cel painter
Mary B. Mulvihill .... cel painter
Damian Murphy .... paint lab mix and match
Moira Murphy .... cel painter
Dympna Murray .... xerography processor
John Murray .... cel painter
Michael Murray .... assistant xerography supervisor
Sinead Murray .... paint checker
Paul Newberry .... animator
David Nolan .... cel painter
Sorcha Ní Chuimín .... apprentice ink artist
Collette O'Brien .... xerography processor
Siobhan O'Brien .... xerography processor
Jerr O'Carroll .... rough animation inbetweener
Philip O'Connor .... cel painter
Brid O'Donnell .... cel painter
Helen O'Flynn .... paint checker
Dympna O'Halloran .... character clean-up artist
Aran O'Reilly .... scene planner
Peadar O'Reilly .... xerography processor
Suzanne O'Reilly .... color stylist
Tara O'Reilly .... character clean-up artist
Paul O'Rourke .... cel painter
Carmen Oliver .... key color stylist
Vera Pacheco .... character key supervisor (as Vera Lanpher)
Ralf Palmer .... animator
Wendy Perdue .... additional character animator
Gary Perkovac .... animator
John Phelan .... cel painter
Julie Phelan .... cel painter
Gerard Phillips .... cel painter (as Gerard J.D. Phillips)
Nina Phipps .... cel service
Terry Pike .... character clean-up artist
Robin Police .... final checker
John Pomeroy .... character animator: "Cera", "Rooter", and "Spike"
John Pomeroy .... directing animator: "Littlefoot"
John Power .... animator
John A. Power .... character clean-up artist
Mark Pudleiner .... additional character animator
Mark Pudleiner .... character key assistant
Saskia Raevouri .... final checker
Miriam Reid .... character clean-up artist
Fred Reilly .... assistant layout artist
Eileen Ridgway .... cel painter
Paul Roy .... xerography checker
Carrie Rumgay .... cel painter
Julie Ryan .... character clean-up artist (as Julia Ryan)
Sandra Ryan-Moran .... rough breakdown assistant (as Sandra Ryan)
Deborah Rykoff-Bennett .... paint lab supervisor (as Deborah Rykoff)
Terry Shakespeare .... character key assistant
Paul Shanahan .... character clean-up artist
David Simmons .... additional character animator
Colum Slevin .... cel painter
Karen Sommerville .... cel painter
David J. Steinberg .... scene planner (as David Steinberg)
Jan Stokes .... cel painter
Rusty Stoll .... character key assistant
Karin Stover .... ink artist
Melanie Strickland .... paint lab mix and match
Mark Swan .... layout artist
Kerri Swanson .... ink artist
Mark Swanson .... layout artist
Olga Tarin-Craig .... cel painting supervisor
Hugh Tattan .... character clean-up artist
Greg Tiernan .... rough breakdown assistant
Jeff Topping .... character key assistant
Iseult Travers .... cel painter
Wendo Van Essen .... character key assistant
Susan Vanderhorst .... key color stylist
Sally Voorheis .... character key assistant
Mary Walsh .... animation checker
Pauline Walsh .... xerography checker
Carla Washburn .... animation checker
Kieron White .... xerography processor
Konrad Winterlich .... additional character animator
Aoife Woodlock .... cel service
Kevin Wurzer .... additional character animator
Dick Zondag .... directing animator
Ralph Zondag .... directing animator
Darlie Brewster .... animator (uncredited)
 
Editorial Department
Donah Bassett .... negative cutter
Cathy Carr .... negative cutter
Nikki Moss .... assistant film editor (as Thomas V. Moss)
John Stanborough .... color timer
Fiona Trayler .... assistant film editor (as Fiona N. Trayler)
 
Music Department
Nick Curtis .... choral director
Vic Fraser .... music copyist
Andrew Glen .... assistant music editor
Jim Henrikson .... music editor
Greig McRitchie .... orchestrator
Shawn Murphy .... music recordist
Roy Simpson .... music executive
David Richard Campbell .... music arranger: "If We Hold on Together" (uncredited)
Frank Wolf .... song recording mixer (ending theme: "If We Hold on Together") (uncredited)
 
Transportation Department
Peter Morgan .... transportation
Peter O'Toole .... transportation
John Vallone .... transportation
 
Other crew
Eithne Agnew .... personnel secretary
Cynthia Ankney .... secretary: Mr. Bluth (as Cynthia L. Ankney)
Helene Blitz .... office manager
Karl Bredendieck .... supervising systems engineer
Sean Carberry .... publicist
Vincent Carrick .... purchasing manager
Veronica Carroll .... publicity assistant
Margaret Connell .... corporate accounts assistant
Annabelle Conway .... personnel officer
Ann Costello .... management secretary
Yvonne Costello .... personnel secretary
Fred Craig .... studio operations
Ken Cromar .... production coordinator
Karen Dent .... corporate accountant
Nora Farrell .... personnel manager
Andrew Fitzpatrick .... assistant: Mr. Sullivan
Caroline Gaynor .... optical technician
Liam Halpin .... optical technician
John Henry .... engineering assistant
Fiona Keating .... production d.p.
Neil Keaveney .... engineer
Susan Landers .... assistant to accountant
Rachel Leighton .... production accountant (as Rachel W. Leighton)
Brent Maddock .... story consultant
Helen Mahoney .... assistant: Mr. Sullivan (as Helen Mahony)
Olivia McClean .... production assistant
Marie McGrath .... assistant to accountant
Deborah Morgan .... production assistant
Aileesh Mulligan .... purchasing assistant
Bernadette O'Connor .... payroll master
Ciara O'Donnell .... production secretary
Edward Oliver .... personnel officer: U.S. (as Ed Oliver)
Bonne Radford .... controller: Amblin
Mary T. Radford .... assistant: Mr. Marshall (as Mary Radford)
Morris F. Sullivan .... supervising executive: Sullivan Bluth Studios Ireland Ltd.
Caralyn Warren .... production assistant
S.S. Wilson .... story consultant (as Steve Wilson)
Robert C. Campion .... assistant accountant (uncredited)
L. James Langlois .... production assistant (uncredited)
Daniel Wheatcroft .... studio executive (uncredited)
 

Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
"Littlefoot" - Japan (English title)
See more »
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
69 min
Country:
USA | Ireland
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Dolby
Certification:
Australia:G | Finland:K-6 | France:U | Sweden:7 | UK:U | USA:G (No. 29372) | West Germany:6 | Singapore:G | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Brazil:Livre | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Portugal:M/6 | Ireland:G
Company:
Universal PicturesSee more »

Did You Know?

Trivia:
It was George Lucas's idea to make Cera a girl triceratops.See more »
Goofs:
Factual errors: There is no such dinosaur as a brontosaurus. What happened was the skeleton of an Apatosaurus got mixed with the skull of an Camarasaurus and was misidentified.See more »
Quotes:
[first lines]
Narrator:Once upon this same earth, beneath this same sun, long before you, before the ape and the elephant, as well; before the wolf, the bison, the whale, before the mammoth and the mastodon, in the time of the dinosaurs. Now the dinosaurs were of two kinds...
See more »
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Troldspejlet: Dennis Jürgensen" (1995)See more »
Soundtrack:
If We Hold On TogetherSee more »

FAQ

Is it true that there was an alternate ending in which all the dino kids died and the great valley is heaven as seen in the trivia section here?
See more »

User Reviews

   (Review this title)
26 out of 30 people found the following review useful.
One of the best animated films., 1 October 1999
Author: G.Spider

A group of young dinosaurs in a world which is nearing the end of the reign of the mighty reptiles set out to find a legendary valley which is still lush and green.

This is one of the best animation films ever made, as it is moving and entertaining. Not only is it a story of friendship, courage and love, but it also demonstrates childhood friendships which are 'not allowed' due to classism or racism - "Three-horns never play with Longnecks". 'Land Before Time', with its tribe of various dinosaurs plus a pterodactyl, is a story about putting aside so-called 'differences' and striving together in 'united we stand, divided we fall' fashion in order to leave the unlovely wilderness and find a land of freedom and equality (in this case the Great Valley).

An excellent and unmissable adventure which will appeal to anybody of any age.

The sequels sadly did away with the grittyness of this first film and instead turned to TV cartoonishness and pointless songs, but most of them (the boring Part 4 aside) are still very enjoyable. But in the tradition of most series of films, the original is the best.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Land Before Time (1988)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
'Ducky' (Judith Barsi) murdered at age 10 by her father? Gem7
LBT XXX shamrok1947-1
Symbolic of slavery? hot_stove
6.9? TheLittleSongbird
Does anyone else actually hate this movie? AndromedaDelacroix
favorite dinosaur? ColossOkami91
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