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A remake of the 1988 classic The Land Before Time is in development.
Littlefoot is a short film from filmmaker and director Joey Lever. Though not an official project, it’s quickly shaping up to be the remake the original deserves, and perhaps far better than any studio-overseen project we might have gotten.
The Legacy of The Land Before Time
Directed by Don Bluth (An American Tail) and executive-produced by George Lucas (Star Wars) and Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park), The Land Before Time spawned 13 direct-to-video sequels and an animated series. However, it never quite reached the same commercial success and franchise recognition as Disney’s The Lion King (1994).
That film got a “photorealistic” remake in 2019, which grossed over $1.65 billion worldwide. Then, in 2024, the remake got a prequel (Mufasa), another huge box-office hit with $723M.
Related: Universal Studios Great Britain Could Drop ‘Jurassic World’ for ‘The Land Before Time’
Is The Land Before Time Getting a Remake?
While there are currently no plans for The Land Before Time to undergo the same treatment as The Lion King, understandably, there are many fans out there who would love to see the 1988 film get a big-budget makeover. However, Lever explained the reason behind opting for stylistic 3D animation over photorealism in an official announcement video last year.
“We knew straight away that we weren’t going to do hyper-realistic animals. There’s a reason why The Lion King 2019 didn’t connect emotionally. One of the big problems were their faces. They just didn’t allow for deeper connection because they were too realistic.”
The Lion King (2019) might have been a huge success, but it was heavily criticized for its characters’ lack of emotive expressions. Littlefoot, on the other hand, leans into emotion, which is the foundation of Don Bluth’s original film.
Related: ‘The Land Before Time’ Remake Shares First Look at CG Littlefoot in Action
Littlefoot is well into production. Over the past year, Lever has shared bitesize teasers of the character designs across social media. These gorgeous 3D re-creations of the 2D originals are hugely expressive. In a new video, Lever explains that the team is “blending that Don Bluth emotional honesty with expressive 3D animation.” He also announces the full cast list.
Littlefoot Voice Cast
Per Lever’s video, here’s the official voice cast for Littlefoot, which includes some well-known names from across the voice-acting industry:
- Summer-Joules Saunders is Littlefoot
- Larissa Loeffler is Mama Long Neck
- Cristina Vee (Sailor Moon) is Cera
- Mark Meer (Mass Effect) is Cera’s Dad AKA Toppy AKA Papa Threehorn
- A.J Locascio (X-Men ’97, Back to the Future: The Game, Lego Jurassic World: The Indominus Escape, The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special) is Petrie
- Sarah Natochenny (Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Ghostbusters: Afterlife) is Ducky
- Joey Lever himself is Spike
Lever explains that Littlefoot has “no studio backing” and “no rights to the original,” and that the project is made up of “artists who refuse to let this franchise fade away.”
The film might be titled Littlefoot, but it’s about to leave a big footprint on this franchise.
Now go and show the project your support on social media. You can find Joey Lever on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. For more information, visit the official website.
Littlefoot is 15 minutes in length. There’s no release date for the film yet.
Would you like to see an official remake of The Land Before Time? Let us know in the comments!
