Littlefoot Littlefoot, voiced by
Gabriel Damon (I),
Scott McAfee (II-IV), Brandon LaCroix (V),
Thomas Dekker (singing voice, V; singing and speaking, VI-IX),
Alec Medlock (X), Aaron Spann (XI), Nick Price (XII),
Cody Arens (XIII, TV series),
Logan Arens (XIII), Anthony Skillman (singing voice, XIII, TV series) and Felix Avitia (XIV), is a brown male
Apatosaurus, or "Long Neck". He was born in the beginning of the very first film. When his mother dies protecting him from a sharptooth, he is forced to travel through the harsh wilderness alone to find his surviving grandparents. After meeting several young dinosaurs along the way who would become his best friends, they arrive in the verdant Great Valley where the series primarily takes place. In
Journey Through the Mists, Littlefoot is introduced to his female cousin Ali, a member of another Longneck herd. He eventually meets his father, Bron, in the film
The Great Longneck Migration. Bron adopts an orphan named Shorty, who becomes his foster brother. Littlefoot has been called a
Brontosaurus, a
Brachiosaurus, and also an
Apatosaurus. The original name was kept very late into production, up until just before the film's release. Littlefoot has been compared to characters such as
Disney's
Bambi, and
Dorothy from
The Wizard of Oz, on how he goes on a strange journey and meets many new friends along the way. Like Littlefoot, she hatches in the first film, and is later separated from her parents and sisters during an earthquake. She accompanies Littlefoot to the Great Valley where she is eventually reunited with her father. She is stubborn, boastful, sometimes reckless, and occasionally belligerent, but is often made to look foolish when she is proven wrong. The initial film, and a few sequels, attributed an ego to her species, especially to herself and her father, but this is diminished in later appearances. In the
Invasion of the Tinysauruses, her dad begins a new relationship with a Threehorn named Tria, who Cera initially dislikes, but eventually comes to accept. By the
following film, Tria and Cera's father have become mates, and have a child named Tricia, Cera's half-sister. The character was originally conceived as a male
Triceratops named "Bambo", Hal Hinson of
The Washington Post called Cera "a fiercely cute and rambunctious little dynamo" in his review of the 1988 original, with critic Mark R. Leeper likewise calling her "cute and pugnacious". She was the main character of the 2001 children's book ''The Land Before Time: Cera's Big Day Out
by Molly Goode, Judy Freudeberg, and Tony Geiss, as well as the 2007 book Cera's Shiny Stone'' based on the
TV series episode "The Canyon of Shiny Stones".
Ducky Ducky, voiced by
Judith Barsi (I), Heather Hogan (II-IV) and
Aria Noelle Curzon (V-XIV, TV series), is a green female
Saurolophus, known colloquially as a "Big Mouth", "Duck Bill" or "Swimmer". She was one of the young dinosaurs who accompanied Littlefoot to the Great Valley when she was separated from her family. After arriving in her new home, her mother adopted the orphaned Spike, who became her foster younger brother. She has numerous biological siblings, with many being born in the original film and
Journey of the Brave. Characterized as having an energetic, cheerful and child-like personality, she speaks enthusiastically, often replying to things in triplicate ("Yep, yep, yep!" or "Nope, nope, nope!") and usually avoiding the use of contractions. The series' official website referred to her as a
Parasaurolophus, or "Flyer". He is characterized as panicky and anxious, and traveled with Littlefoot to find his mother and siblings in the Great Valley while learning the basics of flight along the way. He is talkative, but speaks in broken English, usually omitting such linking verbs as "is", "are", and "am", using "me" in place of "I", and referring to himself in
third person. He was originally meant to have a larger role in his debut, but much of his screen time was given to Ducky due to how impressed the producers were with Judith Barsi's performance. The producers of the original film had difficulty deciding on a voice for the character until it was suggested by Steven Spielberg's son, Max, that he sound similar to Digit from the previous Don Bluth film,
An American Tail. Digit's voice actor Will Ryan was then asked to fill the role. The series' official website referred to him as a
Pterodactyl.
Spike Spike, possibly effects by
Frank Welker (I), then voiced by
Rob Paulsen (II-V, VII-XIV, TV series) and
Jeff Bennett (VI), is a green male
Stegosaurus or "Spiketail". Despite being the largest, he is actually the youngest of the original main characters; his hatching being witnessed by Ducky whose parents later adopted him. He is characterized as gluttonous, laid-back and rarely speaks, communicating mostly in grunts or
scat singing. During the fourth film,
Journey Through the Mists, he speaks for the first time, calling Ducky's name, and again in the eighth film
The Big Freeze, where he calls out to his mother. In the same film, it is mentioned that his birth parents were probably lost in the earthquake of the first film, and becomes close friends with another
Stegosaurus named Tippy. The
TV series episode "Through the Eyes of a Spiketail", is told largely from Spike's point of view, where he speaks, internally, with a low voice, and can "hear" the song of plants that guide him to them. Spike's design was based on Bluth's pet
Chow Chow, Cubby, with the director commenting that he had a personal fondness for the character, calling him "a pure soul, simple, accommodating, and eager to please". "quiet and shy",
Chomper Chomper, voiced by
Rob Paulsen (II), Cannon Young (V),
Max Burkholder (TV series), and
Issac Ryan Brown (XIV) is a purple male
Tyrannosaurus or "Sharptooth". He first appeared in the second film,
The Great Valley Adventure, as a newborn hatchling whom Littlefoot and the others attempt to raise before returning him to his parents. He re-appeared as a supporting character in the fifth film
The Mysterious Island, in which he is now able to speak the language of both Sharpteeth and leaf-eaters, but must convince his parents and Cera that both groups can get along. He became a main character in the
TV series, having migrated to the Great Valley under the care of Ruby, and attempts to discover how its residents can live in harmony so he can pass this knowledge to his own kind. He is also known for having an amazing sense of smell, which comes in handy on occasion. Chomper also appears in the fourteenth film
Journey of the Brave, when he attempts to greet Wild Arms, who passes out. In his debut in
The Great Valley Adventure, Steve Rhodes of Rotten Tomatoes UK commended the character's design, calling him "a real scene stealer".
Ruby Ruby, voiced by
Meghan Strange, is a pink female
Oviraptor and often makes repetitive or redundant statements ("Hello my friends, my friends hello" or "I think I need to go do some thinking at my thinking place"). ==Secondary characters==