Live-Action Remake of 'The Land Before Time' Explained

The Land Before Time (1988) is a beloved animated classic that has captured the hearts of many over the decades. And while it isn’t a Disney movie, it inspired the likes of The Lion King (1994) and Disney’s first CG-animated feature film, Dinosaur (2000).

Executive-produced by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas and produced and directed by Don Bluth, the film spawned an entire franchise with 13 direct-to-video musical sequels, a television series, video games, soundtracks, and countless other forms of tie-in media.

However, despite having many sequels and other follow-ups, The Land Before Time is often overshadowed by Disney animated classics, largely those that dominated the ’80s and ’90s, such as The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), and The Lion King.

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These three films, along with many other Disney animated classics, have since been re-created in live action, which have helped to popularize their respective franchises even more. But will The Land Before Time ever get a live-action remake? Is it inevitable?

While many fans of the film would oppose the idea, at the same time, it would be great to see Littlefoot, his friends, and the prehistoric world they inhabit, brought to life with the same technology used to turn The Lion King (2019) into a living, breathing photorealistic world.

When it comes to charm, there’s no contest between the 1994 classic and the 2019 remake, but that didn’t stop the live-action film from grossing over $1.6 billion worldwide. In fact, it was so successful that it recently got a prequel in the form of Mufasa: The Lion King (2024).

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With all that said, it’s unlikely The Land Before Time will ever get a live-action remake, largely because it isn’t a Disney movie. Not only that, but some view the computer-animated Disney film Dinosaur as a remake of sorts, given its very similar plot and setting.

For now, we’ll just have to make do with the original — which is in no way a bad thing. Deep down, though, we’d love to see a live-action remake of The Land Before Time, if only for an epic rendition of the film’s beautiful title track, “If We Hold On Together” by Diana Ross, or the main score by James Horner.

Would you like to see a live-action remake of The Land Before Time? Let us know in the comments down below!