[[quoteright:216:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TheLittles_1018.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:216:From left to right: [[TheDitz Dinky Little]], [[SecretKeeper Henry Bigg]] (top), [[BadassGrandpa Grandpa Little]] (bottom), [[BigBrotherInstinct Tom Little]], [[TheChick Lucy Little]].]]

The Littles were the title characters of a series of children's novels by American author John Peterson, the first of which was published in 1967. Peterson's books were adapted into ''The Littles'' animated series by [[Creator/DiCEntertainment D.i.C Audio-Visuel]][[note]]At the time, the name was originally written as an acronym.[[/note]] and TokyoMovieShinsha (until season 3, when StudioGallop, known mostly for ''Franchise/YuGiOh'', took over. Mainly due to [=DiC=] lowering budgets and TMS going with {{Disney}} for their shows because of bigger budgets). In 1985, an animated feature film called ''Here Come the Littles'' was released, and the television show ran on Creator/{{ABC}} Saturday mornings from September 10, 1983, to November 2, 1985. It ran for three seasons, comprising 29 episodes.

Similar to Mary Norton's earlier novel ''Literature/TheBorrowers'', ''The Littles'' features a family of tiny but intelligent humanoid creatures with mouse-like features (the Littles) who live in a house owned by the Bigg family. The mouse-like features include a long, furry tail, long teeth and mouse-like ears. Their height is 4–6 inches.

NeedsWikiMagicLove.
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This series provides examples of:
* AllJustADream: ''[[spoiler:Dinky's Doomsday Pizza]]''.
* AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle: Until the 3rd season, each episode featured a how-to segment called "Little Ideas for Big People", which showed how to make small arts and crafts projects. It was later replaced by "A Little Known Fact" which featured various historical facts, sometimes related to the places they were visiting in the episode. The latter segment had a teaser before the commercial break that would ask a question about the "little known fact", the answer to which would be revealed at the end of the episode (before the credits).
** Played straight in the episode ''A Little Drunk'', where it does not have a teaser before the commercial break, and at the end before the credits roll is a segment where the Littles make a contract that kids could make for their parents to sign promising not to drink and drive, and for kids to not ride with drunk drivers (though it still featured the "A Little Known Fact" title card and music).
* AnimatedAdaptation
* AnimationBump: In some episodes and ''Here Come the Littles''.
* AuthorAvatar: Peterson (Dr. Hunter's assistant) may or may not be based on John Peterson, the original creator and author of the books.
* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: Seen in ''Twins'' and ''The Little Babysitters''.
* BearsAreBadNews: The bear in ''For the Birds''.
** BearyFriendly: The bear cub in ''The Little Scouts''.
* CatsAreMean: The Littles have avoided many cat attacks, even in the opening sequence to the show's second season!
** Subverted in ''Here Come the Littles'' when [[spoiler:the cat befriends Tom after getting a splinter out of its paw]].
* TheCutie: Lucy Little
* TheDitz: Dinky Little, much to Grandpa's annoyance
* TheEighties: Some 1980s cultures appear in this show (as it was produced during this time), such as the rock band in ''A Little Rock and Roll''.
* EverybodyLaughsEnding
* EvolvingCredits / [[EvolvingMusic Music]]: Each of the three seasons had a different opening sequence and theme song. In fact, while the melody remained the same, there were lyric changes with every version, to the point where the season 3 version had nothing in common lyrically with season 1 other than the [[TitleDrop Title Drops]] occurring in the same spots. Averted with the closing credits, which retained the original theme music and the same animation throughout the run.
* ExpositoryThemeTune: The theme music to the show's second season (1984), though it doesn't fit with the continuity of the movie tie-in.
* GulliverTieDown: Used to restrain a runaway girl who'd fallen asleep in a barn. She's able to break loose, but it delays her departure while the Littles prepare a ruse to convince her to return home.
* HalloweenEpisode: ''The Littles' Halloween''.
* ItWasADarkAndStormyNight: Throughout the episode ''The Rats are Coming!''
* MissingMom[=/=]DisappearedDad: They are lost on a trip to Africa during ''Here Come the Littles''.
* MouseWorld
* TheMovie: ''Here Come the Littles'', although the 2011 box set has the multi-part episode ''Liberty and the Littles'' featured as a second movie.
* NeverSayDie: Played straight most of the time, but averted at least once each in ''Here Come the Littles'' and ''Liberty and the Littles''.
* RecycledSoundtrack: The episode ''The Wrong Stuff'' features some "space" background music from ''WesternAnimation/HeathcliffAndTheCatillacCats''.
* RodentsOfUnusualSize: Rats are the size of horses to The Littles, as seen in ''The Rats are Coming!'' and ''The Littles Halloween''.
* SecretKeeper: Henry Bigg, but only in the TV series.
* StockFootage: A shot of Dinky's plane flying away uses this in ''Liberty and the Littles''.
* VanityPlate: All episodes ended with a customized "D.i.C." logo where Dinky dots the "i" with a button[[note]]This is similar to the logo initially used for WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget, which premiered the same year, in which Gadget clumsily dots the i with his Gadget-mallet.[[/note]]. The movies used the 1984 "Vortex" logo, and syndicated reruns from 2004-2007 replaced them with the Incredible World of DiC logo (however, the original "button i" logo is preserved on the [=DVDs=]).
* VerySpecialEpisode: There were a few of them, most notably ''Prescription For Disaster'' (dealing about drug abuse), ''A Little Drunk'' (alcoholism) and ''The Little Girl Who Could'' (handicapped people).
* YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious: Grandpa usually calls Dinky "airhead" or "birdbrain". In "Looking for Grandma Little", he calls Dinky by his name, which naturally surprises Dinky.
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