Denver, the Last Dinosaur

Did You Know?

• The show's title character has been compared to The Simpsons' Poochie character.
• The series was listed by io9 in 2014 as one of twelve 1980s cartoons that did not deserve remembrance.
• World Events Productions had the complete series on YouTube until it was removed on December 31, 2010 due to synchronizing problems.

Plot

The series begins when Jeremy, preparing for a Natural History test, and his friends visit the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles and go to the museum there. At the museum, they encounter a gang of bullies led by Nick. The friends escape by hiding behind a fence near the tar pits, where they find a pit containing a large prehistoric egg. As they play with the egg, it cracks and a green friendly dinosaur emerges who understands English. The kids name him Denver after spotting an advertisement for the city of Denver on a passing bus. The teens decide to keep Denver and keep his existence a secret. He is first hidden in a pool house at Wally's home, then moved to the old school gym after Wally's sister Heather discovers him. Denver is later kidnapped by rock concert promoter Morton Fizzback, who puts him on stage to become rich. When the teens confront Morton, he becomes paranoid. Denver is sold to scientist Dr. Funt, who wants to experiment on him. With a piece of his eggshell, Denver can take the gang back to the time whence he came.

Characters

Denver is the main protagonist, a green Corythosaurus-like dinosaur of an unknown species and the last of his kind. He understands English, enjoys rock 'n roll music, plays electric guitar, rides a skateboard, and eats potato chips. He is voiced by Pat Fraley. Wally Adams is the boy who takes Denver in and is his closest friend; he cares for various animals including his pup Rocky, three cats, a rabbit named Ears, and a parrot. Wally is voiced by Adam Carl. Heather Adams is Wally's older sister with blonde hair in a ponytail, voiced by Kath Soucie. Jeremy Anderson is the most intelligent and mature member of the gang, with extensive knowledge about dinosaurs, voiced by Adam Carl. Mario is a brown-skinned teen with an enormous ego, voiced by Cam Clarke. Shades is a cool teen of Hispanic descent who always wears sunglasses, voiced by Cam Clarke. Casey is the youngest of the gang, a machinist who helps with technical problems and has a crush on Mario, voiced by Kath Soucie. Other characters include Chet, Heather's boyfriend voiced by Rob Paulsen; Freddy Facknitts, a teenage genius and comic book fan; Morton Fizzback, an arrogant rock concert promoter voiced by Brian Cummings; Dr. Bartholomew Funt, an evil scientist voiced by Brian Cummings; Nick, leader of three bullies; and Bertha Bird, a treasure hunter voiced by Tress MacNeille.

Merchandise and home media releases

Knott's Berry Farm promoted Denver with its Kingdom of the Dinosaurs ride, while Ralston Cereals linked the show to its Dinersaurs brand, a poor seller axed by late 1988. Fries Home Video put episodes on VHS. World Events Productions issued two DVD sets via Voltron.com. VCI Entertainment finally brought the full series to Region 1 DVD on September 16, 2014. MarVista Entertainment now holds the rights.

2018 reboot

A CG-animated reboot, originally under the name Denver and Cliff, premiered on M6 in France on August 27, 2018, produced by Zagtoon with Method Animation. Distributor PGS Entertainment sold the series to over 30 markets worldwide. In North America, Yoopa began airing it in Canada on June 2, 2019, with TiVi5 Monde in the United States following in April 2020. The reboot features characters including Denver, a dinosaur; Cliff Scott, a human boy and Denver's best friend; Charlotte, Cliff's friend and vlogger; and Super Dan, Cliff's imaginative friend.