The Land Before Time (franchise)

The Land Before Time, is an American franchise of animated adventure films by Universal Studios centered on dinosaurs. The series began in 1988 with the eponymous The Land Before Time, directed and produced by Don Bluth and executive produced by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. It was followed by a total of thirteen direct-to-video musical sequels, TV series, video games, soundtracks and related merchandising. Neither the sequels nor the series involve the participation of Bluth, Lucas, or Spielberg. All 14 films were released in a Complete Collection DVD set on June 14, 2016.

Plot
The films follow a friendship of a group of young dinosaurs by the names of Littlefoot (Apatosaurus), Cera (Triceratops), Petrie (Pteranodon), Ducky (Saurolophus), and Spike (Stegosaurus). After finding The Great Valley, they raise a Tyrannosaurus baby who they name Chomper, survive a drought and a cold snap, and witness a solar eclipse. Throughout all films, they embark upon adventures, learning lessons about life and friendship along the way.

Films
The following is a list of the films in The Land Before Time series.

Albums

 * The Land Before Time (1990) Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
 * The Land Before Time: Sing-Along Songs (1997) Songs from The Land Before Time, II, III & IV
 * The Land Before Time: More Sing-Along Songs (1999) Songs from The Land Before Time V & VI and An American Tail III & IV

Television series
A 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. 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.

Games
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.