Dink, the Little Dinosaur

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Dink, the Little Dinosaur (The Land Before Time) is an animated series produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. The series originally aired on the CBS Kids block on CBS from 1989 to 1991. The series was developed for television by Karen Wilson and Chris Weber.

Reruns were previously seen on the Cartoon Network, and can now be seen on Boomerang.

Contents

[edit] Production

Starting with the second season, the show introduced a weekly segment called “Factasaurus” that taught lessons and fun facts educating children about different dinosaur species.

Several episodes were later combined into the 1989 video movie Dink the Little Dinosaur while further episodes combined to form the Land of No Return in 1994. Its storylines fostered positive behaviors, such as caring about oneself and others, tolerance, ecology, problem-solving and team work.

It received a "Humanitas Prize" and was nominated for an Emmy.[citation needed]

The series was put to an end after two successful seasons on the air in 1991.[citation needed]

[edit] Plot

The series followed Dink the Apatosaurus as he roams the volcanic landscape of prehistory in a place called Green Meadow.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Allies

  • Ariel: White Parasaurolophus who once saved Amber from Tyrannor. Voiced by Jennifer Darling.
  • Uncle Longbeak: Flapper's uncle, whom he talks about a lot. Voiced by Hamilton Camp.
  • Frill: A female Edaphosaurus friend of Shyler. Voiced by Katherine Soucie.
  • Scratcher: A Velociraptor who preferred to eat plants instead of meat. Voiced by Dick Beals.
  • Red: A brachiosaurid (Thundermaker) who was really a spirit who lived in the Cave of Spirits.
  • Earthshaker: A giant brachiosaurid who shoke the ground when he walked and talked.
  • Dippo: An amphibian afraid of what other dinosaurs think of his kind. Good friends with Shyler. Voiced by Dana Hill.
  • Oppo: A longneck friend of the gang who helps Ariel the white dinosaur to escape from Tyrannor.
  • Dim: A dimwitted longneck friend of the gang.
  • Tunnel & Hubble: A pair of pathfinders for a herd of dinosaurs. Voiced by Jim Cummings and Jack Angel.
  • Squirt: A stegosaurus who once thought Crusty was his mother. Voiced by Russi Taylor.
  • Shortspike: A spiked dinosaur whose parents were in trouble by a volcano. Voiced by Nancy Cartwright.
  • Cornelius: An iguanodon who was a rival of Dink's.
  • Trail Blazer: A Sauropod dinosaur who used his tail to create Green Meadow and Tarpit Pass, which protects Green Meadow from Hunters like Tyrannor.
  • Patch & Ridetail: Trail Blazer's children.
  • Strongfoot: Trail Blazer's rival.
  • Tiny: A rodent who Dink helps get to a fruit guarded by a bullish sauropod. Voiced by Joey Camen.
  • Brighteyes: A mother who the gang help to protect her eggs against some hunters. Voiced by Jodi Carlisle.
  • Buttercup: Crusty's childhood turtle friend. Voiced by Billie Hayes.
  • Beast: A saurolophus with a deformed face. Voiced by Michael Bell.
  • Iggy: A dinosaur who Shyler helps find his way home.
  • Nobbie: A pachycephalosaur.
  • Daisy: A longneck who Scat had a crush on.
  • Brusier: Daisy's boyfriend.
  • Glowy: A firefly Shyler wanted to keep.
  • Melodi: A sea dragon who the gang helps save her mate.
  • Forest: A corythosaurus who once made Dink jealous one time. Voiced by Cam Clarke.
  • Stormfoot: A centrosaurus who fought Dink in the "Challenge of the Desert". Voiced by Dana Hill.

[edit] Villains

  • Tyrannor: The villain of the series, a Tyrannosaurus who chased Dink and the gang all over their prehistoric world. He is feared by every known dinosaur.
  • Hunters: Various Velociraptors, Allosaurus, snakes (slidetooth), and Spinosaurus.
  • Scavengers: Villainous pterosaurs. Vocal effects are done by Frank Welker.
  • Fleetfoot: A dinosaur who hunted pterosaurs. Voiced by Jim Cummings.
  • Honeyfruit Monster: An evil iguanodon.
  • Sharptooth: An Allosaurus who according to Crusty, would even scare Tyrannor.

[edit] Points of Interest

  • Cave of Spirits - The spirit of Red lives here.
  • Cloudtop Mountain - Beast lives here.
  • Crystal Cavern - A cavern filled with crystals and lava rivers.
  • Green Meadow - The main setting of the series which was created by Trail Blazer.
  • Honeyfruit Valley - A valley with a lot of Honeyfruit growing there.
  • Hunter's Grove - Tyrannor and other Hunters live here.
  • Tarpit Pass - An area that has a lot of tar pits. It was created by Trail Blazer.
  • Turtle Creek - Buttercup lives here.
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[edit] Episode Guide

[edit] Season 1

  1. Shell Game/Shyler's Friend
  2. Dink, Come Home/White Beauty
  3. Crusty's Baby/The Gentle Hunter
  4. Phantom of the Cave/Dry River
  5. Tricera-Scat/Search
  6. Amber's Crusade/Old Timers
  7. Uncle Longbeak/Surprise!
  8. The Hollow Tree/Badge of Courage
  9. Wish Mountain/Crusty's New Home
  10. Small Stuff/Lights Out
  11. Mystery of the Broken Claws/Encounter at Flatrock
  12. The Sky is Falling at Green Meadow/Sea Rescue
  13. Raiders of the Lost Nest/Land of No Return

[edit] Season 2

  1. Scavenger/Tar Troubles
  2. The Honeyfruit Hero/Tall Tale
  3. Crusty's Reunion/Tale of the Beast
  4. Scat-ter Brained/Fraidy Scat
  5. The Reluctant Head-Banger/Wrongs of Spring
  6. Overrun/The Last of Their Kind
  7. Day of the Snake/Rivals
  8. Challenge/The Secret

[edit] Additional voices

[edit] External links

Languages