Guest Author - Bonnie Sayers

In 1988 children were introduced to Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie and Spike through the movie The Land Before Time. There have been ten direct-to-movie sequels over the years. There are several times a year that children can view these movies on Cartoon Network.

Whenever a new movie has been set to be released into the video and DVD market, Cartoon Network would run marathon showings of the previous sequels. This is a great way to get your children interested and caught up in the series before the latest release.

Even though we have had at one time or another all the videos, my kids liked watching the shows when they aired on Cartoon Network. Other videos in the series include two variations of Sing Along Songs, which I have not seen aired on television.

Through the sequels viewers are introduced to new characters like Ali, Mo, Mr. Thicknose, Pat, Sue, Shorty, Bron, Archy, Dill, Phil and Chomper. Celebrities lending their voices to these characters include James Garner, Bernadette Peters, Kiefer Sutherland and Robert Guillaume. John Ingle is the voice of Cera's father and also does the narration. Singers performing songs in the movies include Donny Osmond and Olivia Newton-John.

The Land Before Time series will begin in 2007 with 26 episodes. This is a joint venture between Universal Home Entertainment and Cartoon Network. It has been reported that this will also be on DVD later in 2007.

My favorite movie is the original movie, The Land Before Time, where Littlefoot's mother dies in the earthshake. In The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists Littlefoot's grandfather is ill and they meet Ali. In The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration we meet Littlefoot's father.

This paves the way for many more installments in the series. It was a great surprise to learn that Littlefoot would bump into his father and see the flashback sequences from his perspective. This gives more to the initial story and was not referenced at all on the back cover.

My son, Nicholas was a bit confused during the solar eclipse segment, but that was due to the terminology they used within the context. Once I explained it to him and compared how they used sleep story instead of dreams he was okay with the story. He was pleased to know Littlefoot had a father after all. We first viewed this video over two years ago.

It was nice to see the friends make a new acquaintance while Littlefoot was getting acquainted with his long lost father. These movies always have more than one story going on so the overall theme consists of the older and younger generations of dinosaurs coming together and connecting on another level. They all got to be a part of saving the world from destruction and made new friends in the process. The animation and scenery is perfect for the movie and they have a few songs spread out through the one hour and 25 minute movie.

I am looking forward to the series coming in 2007. I doubt Nicholas would be interested in this series since he will be turning 12 around that time, but if they have aged the Dinosaur characters maybe there will be something of interest for all age groups. I hope that my son Matthew will enjoy viewing the new series.

A new generation of children can delight in the adventures of the dinosaurs and get to know these characters. They are family friendly, rated G and explore relationships, feelings and issues relevant to growing up.