The cast for Littlefoot, an unofficial remake of The Land Before Time, has been revealed.
Filmmaker Joey Lever recently confirmed the lineup in a new video, announcing that Summer-Joules Saunders will voice Littlefoot, with Larissa Loeffler as Mama Long Neck.
The new voice cast also includes Cristina Vee as Cera, Mark Meer as Cera’s father Toppy, A.J. LoCascio as Petrie, Sarah Natochenny as Ducky, and Lever himself voicing Spike.
The upcoming short film is not a studio-backed project and has no rights to the 1988 animated feature, but it has gained plenty of attention online over the past year for its reverence toward Don Bluth’s iconic film.
In the new video, Lever describes the team behind the project as “artists who refuse to let this franchise fade away”.
The Land Before Time, directed by Bluth and executive produced by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, launched a long-running franchise that included 13 direct-to-video sequels and an animated television series.
But despite its longevity, it never reached the cultural saturation of Disney’s The Lion King, which received a photorealistic remake in 2019 that grossed over $1.65 billion worldwide, followed by a prequel, Mufasa, in 2024 that earned $723 million.
Related: The Circle of Life: How The Land Before Time Inspired The Lion King
While there are no plans for a studio remake of The Land Before Time, Littlefoot positions itself as an emotional reinterpretation rather than a technical overhaul.
In a previously released announcement video, Lever explained the decision to avoid photorealism. “We knew straight away that we weren’t going to do hyper-realistic animals,” he said. “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.”
Production on Littlefoot is now well underway, with Lever frequently sharing character design teasers across social media. The short film will run approximately 15 minutes, however, no release date has been announced.
Would you like to see an official remake of The Land Before Time? Let us know in the comments!
