Denver, the Last Dinosaur
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Denver, the Last Dinosaur is a US-French cartoon for children's originally released in 1988 by World Events Productions (the same company responsible for Voltron). It was syndicated nationally throughout the US in 1988 and 1989.
With lessons on conservation, ecology and friendship, Denver, the Last Dinosaur was a big hit with parents and educators. The kids at home liked it, too, making the show a hit during its initial run. Its theme song has attained a cult following ("Denver, the last Dinosaur, he's my friend and a whole lot more").
However, Denver didn't last for long. The dinosaur boom that had followed The Land Before Time soon fizzled out, and Denver, the Last Dinosaur went into reruns after only one season.
The series itself educated the young audience to protect the environment and it also showed the value of friendship. It got a recommendation from the United States National Education Union.
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[edit] Synopsis
The show revolved around the adventures of Denver, a dinosaur who was released from his dino egg by a group of multiracial modern California teens—Jeremy, Mario, Shades, Wally and Casey, along with tagalong older sister Heather. The kids taught Denver the finer points of skateboarding and other pastimes while protecting him from concert promoter Morton Fizzback. The unscrupulous concert promoter was looking to cash in on Denver’s status to make a quick buck, but the kids were always one step ahead. Denver and the gang of teens go on adventures together and thwart the schemes of Morton Fizzback.
The series begins when Jeremy, while preparing for a knowledge school test about nature, and his friends go to the farm of "Labrea Tar Pit" - A place in Los Angeles (which is spread on a big territory and contains a big collection of Animal and Plant fossils which were extinct) there they go to the Museum. In the farm they encounter a gang of bullies and while escaping them they manage to hide behind a fence situated on the premises of the farm. Behind the fence they find a pit in the land, And in it they find a pre-historic egg. After they play with the egg and as it suddenly cleaves, out of it emerges a purple friendly dinosaur which surprisingly even understands English. The kids name him Denver, after they spot an advertisement for the city of Denver on a passing bus.
The children decide to keep Denver and to keep his existence a secret. First, Denver is hidden in a pool house at Wally's home but after his sister discovers him they move him to the old school gym. After a while Denver gets kidnapped by the manager Morton Fizback, who gets him on a stage in front of an audience in order to become rich. At the end Denver is almost sold to scientists who want to do examinations and experiments on him. Eventually everything turns out fine and he gets to return to the gang and even to rescue them from Nick and his thugs.
In addition to his natural skills and abilities Denver can also, with the help of a piece from the shell of his egg, take the gang with him back in time to the dinosaurs' time and visit the place and time where he came from.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Main characters
- Denver the Last Dinosaur - The title character. Voiced by Pat Fraley.
- Wally - Boy who takes Denver in, Denver's closest friend. voiced by Adam Carl.
- Jeremy - the intelligent guy amongst the gang who is able to provide information about dinosaurs. Voiced by Adam Carl.
- Mario - A kid with an enormous ego. Voiced by Cam Clarke.
- Shades - A cool cade which always wears sunglasses (where his name derives from). Voiced by Cam Clarke.
- Casey - Girl with a crush on Mario. She is also the machinist of the gang. voice by Kath Soucie. Youngest of the gang.
- Heather - Wally's older sister, voiced by Kath Soucie.
[edit] Minor characters
- Rocky - Wally's pup.
- Chet - Heather's boyfriend, voiced by Rob Paulsen.
- Freddy - A teenage genius who is also a fan of comic books, and has a strong, though somewhat comical sense of justice. He was originally hired by Morton Fizzback to conduct an experiment on Denver's Tar Egg shell, but later helps out Denver and the gang, and provides technical support.
[edit] Villains
- Morton Fizzback - Evil concert promoter, voiced by Brian Cummings.
- Professor Funt - Evil scientist, sometimes works with Morton, voiced by Brian Cummings.
- Nick - Leader of two other bullies, Scott and Rod, who cause trouble for the boys, voiced by Rob Paulsen.
[edit] Merchandise
Knott's Berry Farm offered a Denver promotional tie-in with its new Kingdom of the Dinosaurs attraction, as did Ralston-Purina with its new cereal brand Dinersaurs.
World Events Productions (WEP) and TVShowsonDVD.com have announced that DVD series of the first 10 episodes of "Denver: The Last Dinosaur" would be released. The DVD would only be available online and a limited 1,000 copies would be up for purchase beginning October 8, 2007. The first DVD would include the hour-long pilot episode, and the following eight.[citation needed]
[edit] Episode list
[edit] Season 1
- Denver, The Last Dinosaur (Hour Long Pilot Episode)
- In The Chips
- Videohhhh!
- The Monster of Lost Lake
- Denver Makes The Grade
- Big Top Denver
- The Misunderstanding
- Lions, Tigers, and Dinos!
- Change of Heart
- Bronco-saurus
- Denver, Dino-Star
- Dinoland
- Winning
[edit] Season 2
- Enter the Dino
- Radio Denver
- The Phantom of the Movie Theater
- Missing Links
- Dog Gone Denver
- Party Time
- Aunt Shadies Ghost Town
- Movie-Starus
- Denver at Sea
- Ski Denver
- Beach Blanket Dino
- History Repeats Itself
- Battle of the Bands
- The Comic Book Caper
- Carnival
- Pen Pal
- China Town
- Denver, the Lost Dinosaur
- Denver and the Cornstalk
- Tea Time for Dinosaur
- Camp-Out
- Birthday Party From Outer Space
- Art Show
- Food Wars
- Dino-cise
- Denver, the Last Dragon
- High Flying Denver
- Denver at the Digs
- Chef Denver
- Fizzback's Follies
- Dinos are My Life
- Bayou Blues
- Canatta
- Pulto Needs People
- Arabian Adventure
- Venice Beast Blast
- Big News Denver
- Viva Denver!
- There's No Business, Like Snow Business
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- The cartoon series was formerly shown on Island's TV 13 (now IBC 13) in the Philippines as well as Nickelodeon in the UK.
- The series was seen in Gibraltar via GBC TV.
- The series was shown in Romania on TVR1.
