Fan Film Rekindles ‘The Land Before Time’ as Hollywood Stays Silent

There was a time when The Land Before Time wasn’t just a one-off animated feature—it was a full-blown franchise. After its 1988 theatrical debut, the prehistoric tale exploded into thirteen sequels, a television series, and even a few video games.

You couldn’t walk into a video store in the ‘90s without seeing at least three brightly colored VHS boxes bearing the faces of Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike. And then nothing.

The last sequel, The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave, arrived in 2016 with barely a ripple. The TV show also came and went. Universal shelved the series with no word on its future. Despite its emotional storytelling and child-friendly messaging, The Land Before Time faded into some kind of obscurity—fondly remembered, but rarely mentioned.

That’s where Joey Lever comes in. A filmmaker from the U.K. with a background in fan productions, Lever is reviving the original tale through an independent project titled Littlefoot. Though unaffiliated with Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, the film recently cast 11-year-old Brit Summer-Joules as the voice of Littlefoot.

In an interview with the BBC earlier this year, Summer-Joules described a quirky but endearing audition process involving pencils in her mouth to simulate a dinosaur eating.

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For a fan-made film, it will likely be a humble effort, but it might just spark something bigger. Fan films rarely lead to studio action—but they sometimes remind the right people that there’s still life in old franchises. After all, if The Land Before Time was once strong enough to produce 14 films over nearly three decades, why not one more with the benefit of modern technology like 2019’s The Lion King remake, which grossed over $1.6 billion.

The original film was executive-produced by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas—names that don’t exactly spell “niche”—and directed by animation legend Don Bluth. It struck a chord with kids and parents alike by treating its young characters (and audience) with surprising emotional weight. It didn’t shy away from themes of grief, loss, and perseverance—all told through the eyes of baby dinosaurs just trying to find their way home.

Hollywood has brought back lesser properties for far more. If The Land Before Time can survive 13 sequels and a TV series, surely there’s still room for one more adventure—maybe even one on the big screen. Lever’s Littlefoot may not be the next installment in the official franchise, but it’s a reminder that the Great Valley might still be waiting.

And maybe Sharptooth, too.

Would you like to see a remake of The Land Before Time? Let us know!