The Land Before Time features several animals.
Brontosaurus ( [ ˌbrɒntəˈsɔːrəs ] ) , meaning `` thunder lizard '' ( from Greek βροντή , brontē = thunder + σαῦρος , sauros = lizard ) , is a genus of gigantic quadruped sauropod dinosaurs . The Land Before Time is a 1988 American-Irish animated adventure drama film directed and produced by Don Bluth and executive produced by Steven Spielberg , George Lucas , Kathleen Kennedy , and Frank Marshall . The plot concerns a young Brontosaurus named Littlefoot who is orphaned when his mother is killed by a Tyrannosaurus . Tyrannosaurus ( [ tᵻˌrænəˈsɔːrəs , _ taɪ - ] , meaning `` tyrant lizard '' , from the Ancient Greek tyrannos , `` tyrant '' , and sauros , `` lizard '' ) is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur .