Denver, the Last Dinosaur facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Denver, the Last Dinosaur |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Animated series |
| Created by | Peter Keefe |
| Voices of |
|
| Composer(s) | Dale Schacker |
| Country of origin | United States France |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 50 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Peter Keefe Ed Ascheman |
| Producer(s) | Tom Burton Seok-ki Franklin Cofod (co-producer) Kim Mario Piluso (associate) Claudia Zeitlin Burton(associate) Dick Sebast(associate) |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | World Events Productions Calico Entertainment Groupe IDDH [fr] Centre National Cinématographie La Ville D'Angoulême |
| Distributor | World Events Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndication |
| Original release | September 12 – November 22, 1988 |
Denver, the Last Dinosaur is a fun animated show from the United States and France. It first aired in 1988. The story is about a friendly dinosaur who hatches from an old egg in modern times. A group of teenagers find him and become his friends.
The show often teaches important lessons. These lessons include caring for nature and avoiding greed. It ran for two seasons, with 50 episodes in total. The series even received a special recommendation from the National Education Association.
In 2018, a new computer-animated version of the show was made. It's called Denver and Cliff and premiered in France.
Contents
The Story of Denver
The show follows the exciting adventures of Denver. He is the last dinosaur of his kind. A group of California teens finds him. These friends are Jeremy, Mario, Shades, Wally, and Casey. Wally's older sister, Heather, also joins them.
The kids teach Denver how to skateboard and other cool activities. They also have to protect him from a greedy rock concert promoter named Morton Fizzback. He wants to use Denver to make a lot of money.
The adventure begins when Jeremy and his friends visit the La Brea Tar Pits. This is a famous place in Los Angeles with many old animal and plant fossils. At the museum, they run into some bullies. To escape, the friends hide behind a fence near the tar pits.
There, they discover a huge prehistoric egg. As they play with it, the egg cracks open! A friendly green dinosaur pops out. Amazingly, he understands English! The kids name him Denver after seeing an advertisement for the city of Denver on a bus.
The children decide to keep Denver a secret. They first hide him in a pool house at Wally's home. When Wally's sister finds out, they move Denver to an old school gym. But soon, Morton Fizzback kidnaps Denver. He puts Denver on a stage to get rich.
When the kids confront Morton, he gets worried that people will learn Denver is a real dinosaur. Later, Denver is sold to a scientist named Professor Funt. Professor Funt wants to study Denver and become famous. Luckily, Denver always finds his way back to the gang. He even helps them escape from Nick and his bully friends.
Denver has special powers too. With a piece of his eggshell, he can take his friends back in time!
Meet the Characters
Main Characters
- Denver the Last Dinosaur is the main hero. He is a green dinosaur of an unknown type. He is very loyal and a great friend. Denver loves rock 'n roll music. He enjoys playing electric guitar, skateboarding, and eating potato chips. Pat Fraley does his voice.
- Wally Adams is the boy who takes Denver in. He is Denver's closest friend. Wally also cares for many other animals, like his dog Rocky. Adam Carl voices Wally.
- Heather Adams is Wally's older sister. She can be a bit annoying sometimes. She has blonde hair in a ponytail. Kath Soucie is her voice actress.
- Jeremy Anderson is the smartest and most grown-up of the group. He knows a lot about many things, including dinosaurs. Adam Carl also voices Jeremy.
- Mario is a teen with brown skin and hair. He has a very big ego. Cam Clarke voices Mario.
- Shades is a cool teen who always wears sunglasses. That's how he got his name! Cam Clarke also voices Shades.
- Casey is the youngest in the group. She is good with machines and helps solve technical problems. She has a crush on Mario. Kath Soucie is her voice actress.
Other Characters
- Rocky is Wally's loyal dog.
- Chet is Heather's boyfriend. Rob Paulsen voices him.
- Freddy Facknitts is a super smart teenage genius. He loves comic books and has a funny sense of justice. He helps Denver and the gang with his inventions.
The Bad Guys
- Morton Fizzback is a greedy rock concert promoter. He is arrogant and tricky. He wants to use Denver to get rich. Brian Cummings voices him.
- Professor Funt is an evil scientist. He sometimes works with Morton. Brian Cummings also voices him.
- Nick is the leader of a group of bullies. His friends are Curt, Scott, and Rod. They often cause trouble for the boys. Rob Paulsen voices Nick.
Merchandise and Releases
When the show was popular, you could find Denver, the Last Dinosaur toys and other items. Knott's Berry Farm had a special promotion with their dinosaur attraction. There was also a cereal brand called Dinersaurs.
Many episodes of the show were released on VHS tapes. Later, World Events Productions released the complete series on DVD. You could also watch many episodes on YouTube and Hulu.
The 2018 Reboot
In 2015, a new computer-animated version of Denver, the Last Dinosaur was announced. It's produced by Zagtoon and Method Animation. The new show first aired in France on August 27, 2018.
This new series, sometimes called Denver and Cliff, has been sold to many countries around the world. It started airing in Canada in 2019 and in the United States in 2020.
See also
In Spanish: Denver, el último dinosaurio para niños
