History WesternAnimation / DinkTheLittleDinosaur

One of the [[TheEighties 1980s]] [[AnimatedSeries cartoon series]] that no one seems to remember, ''Dink the Little Dinosaur'' is the story of a young ''Apatosaurus'' named Dink and his friends Amber (a ''Corythosaurus''), Scat (a ''Compsognathus''... [[CartoonCreature maybe]]), Shyler (an ''Edaphosaurus''), and Flapper (a ''Pteranodon''), who live in the peaceful Mesozoic paradise of Green Meadow and learn [[AnAesop important life lessons]] from an old turtle -- [[NonMammalianHair with hair]] -- named Crusty. The series depicts the characters' childhood shenanigans and their scuffles with the [[PredatorsAreMean evil carnivore]] Tyrannor. The show ran from September 1989 to November 1990.

** Crusty is ''very'' old, yet is more than happy to impart knowledge and share [[AnAesop his life stories]] with the children.

* SavageSpinosaurs: A pack of ''Spinosaurus'' are the main antagonists of "Mystery of the Broken Claw". The show aired in the 80s, so they are still depicted with allosaur-like heads instead of crocodile-like ones the real animals had.

** Flapper, a ''Pteranodon'', has batlike wings, lives in a decidedly birdlike nest, is bipedal, has grasping talons and even folds his wings like a bird when he walks (something that would be impossible for a real life pterosaur of any species). At least he's toothless and has a short tail.

** A pair of elderly diplodocus named Tubble & Hubble, although they are a bit clumsy and forgetful they are still capable of fending off a watertooth.

** Shyler is an ''Edaphosaurus'', [[AnachronismStew a synapsid from the Permian]], who hangs out with mesozoic dinosaurs.

One of the [[TheEighties 1980s]] [[AnimatedSeries cartoon series]] that no one seems to remember, ''Dink the Little Dinosaur'' is the story of a young ''Apatosaurus'' named Dink and his friends Amber (a ''Corythosaurus''), Scat (a ''Compsognathus''... [[CartoonCreature maybe]]), Shyler (an ''Edaphosaurus''), and Flapper (a ''Pteranodon''), who live in the peaceful Mesozoic paradise of Green Meadow and learn [[AnAesop important life lessons]] from an old turtle -- [[NonMammalianHair with hair]] -- named Crusty. The series depicts the characters' childhood shenanigans and their scuffles with the [[CarnivoreConfusion evil carnivore]] Tyrannor. The show ran from September 1989 to November 1990.

[[WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime Hey, wait a minute...!!]]

* CarnivoreConfusion:
** Interestingly, the main group features two carnivores: Flapper and Scat. Then again, ''Pteranodon'' are more piscivorous, and Scat is at the very least omnivorous as he is shown chasing some "honey fruit" in the first episode.
** There's also an episode entitled "The Gentle Hunter", which could be renamed "Carnivore Confusion: the Dramatization" which seems to suggest that most carnivores are capable of talking but choose not to.
** "Raiders of the Lost Nest" featured a trio of "egg-hunters" which are portrayed as resembling ''Acanthopholis'', a ''herbivorous'' dinosaur, or ''Desmatosuchus'', a relative of crocodiles that was also herbivorous.

[[quoteright:235:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/_Friends_3112.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:235:Clockwise from the left: Amber, Dink, Scat, Crusty, Shyler and Flapper.]]

* ActorAllusion: Creator/AnndiMcAfee who plays Amber would end up playing another animated child dinosaur character as Cera in WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime sequels. Ironically the character of Cera is complete contrast because she is a more tomboyish and grumpy ceratopsian compared to Amber who is a more feminine and fun-loving hadrosaurid.

** In “Dry River” Dink and his friends pull a thorn out of the foot of an Earthshaker (Supersaurus) in return he helps them clear rocks that are blocking the river that are so big only a creature of his size could move them.

* CoolUncle: Flapper's Uncle Longbeak.

* SaveTheVillain: The kids push down a tree to save a drowning Tyrannor, after having lured him into a swamp to escape him in the first place - and book it the second he's safe.

* ShrinkingViolet: Shyler.
* SnakesAreSinister: The main threat of "Day of the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Snake]]''.

** The series often featured predatory, villainous pterosaurs referred to simply as "Scavengers" ([[InformedAttribute despite the fact that they're always seen hunting the protagonists rather than actually scavenging]]) that look vaguely like ''Cearadactylus'' with stumpy crests like a female ''Pteranodon''.
** The episode "The Secret" featured "Big Wings", which are 80s-styled ''Quetzalcoatlus'' that hunt like eagles.
** "Mystery of the Broken Claw" had a flock of ''Rhamphorhynchus'' which served as a bizarre Mesozoic stand-in for bats, namely living in a cave. A previous episode "Surprise" had a ''Sordes'' which was portrayed the same.

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: Flapper, a ''Pteranodon'', has batlike wings, lives in a decidedly birdlike nest, is bipedal, has grasping talons and even folds his wings like a bird when he walks (something that would be impossible for a real life pterosaur of any species). At least he's toothless and has a short tail.

* PteroSoarer:
** Flapper in spades; he has batlike wings, lives in a decidedly birdlike nest, is bipedal, has grasping talons and even folds his wings like a bird when he walks (something that would be impossible for a real life pterosaur of any species). At least he's toothless and has a short tail.
** Additionally, the series often featured predatory, villainous pterosaurs referred to simply as "Scavengers" ([[InformedAttribute despite the fact that they're always seen hunting the protagonists rather than actually scavenging]]) that look vaguely like ''Cearadactylus'' with stumpy crests like a female ''Pteranodon''.
** The episode "The Secret" featured "Big Wings", which are 80s-styled ''Quetzalcoatlus'' that hunt like eagles.
** "Mystery of the Broken Claw" had a flock of ''Rhamphorhynchus'' which served as a bizarre Mesozoic stand-in for bats, namely living in a cave. A previous episode "Surprise" had a ''Sordes'' which was portrayed the same.

One of the [[TheEighties 1980s]] [[AnimatedSeries cartoon series]] that no one seems to remember, ''Dink the Little Dinosaur'' is the story of a young ''Apatosaurus'' named Dink and his friends Amber (a ''Corythosaurus''), Scat (a ''Compsognathus''... [[CartoonCreature maybe]]), Shyler (an ''Edaphosaurus''), and Flapper (a ''Pteranodon''), who live in the peaceful Mesozoic paradise of Green Meadow and learn [[AnAesop important life lessons]] from an old turtle -- [[NonMammalianHair with hair]] -- named Crusty. The series depicts the characters' childhood shenanigans and their scuffles with the [[CarnivoreConfusion evil carnivore]] Tyrannor.

* InterspeciesRomance: Implied between Dink and Amber, from time to time.

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: The whole premise of the show is SliceOfLife with dinosaurs for a reason.

* StockDinosaurs: Zig-zagged. All the well-known dinosaurs are present, but the show often averts this by adding lesser-known ones.

* SeldomSeenSpecies: The show features these surprisingly often. For starters, Shyler appears to be an ''Edaphosaurus''.

** "Raiders of the Lost Nest" featured a trio of "egg-hunters" which are portrayed as resembling ''Acanthopholis'', a ''herbivorous'' dinosaur.

* CoolOldGuy: Crusty is ''very'' old, yet is more than happy to impart knowledge and share [[AnAesop his life stories]] with the children.

%%* StockDinosaurs: They are all present.%%ZCE

* EatsBabies: "Raiders of the Lost Nest" involves the kids trying to help protect an expectant mother sauropod whose nest is being stalked by a pack of egg-eating theropods.

** In “Dry River” Dink and his friends pull a thorn out of the foot of an Earthshaker (Supersaurus) in return he helps them clear rocks that are blocking the river that are so big only a creature of his size could move.

** In “Dry River” Dink and his friends pull a thorn out of the foot of an Earthshaker (Supersaurus) in return he helps them clear rocks that are blocking the river that are so big only creature of his size could move.

* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: An ambiguous example, with the exception of visiting Flapper's uncle Longbeak in one episode none of the main characters seem to have any family or herds to protect them from carnivores or stop them from going on adventures (although they are friends with some of the adult dinosaurs in Green Meadow) and appear to have formed their own FamilyOfChoice, with Crusty being a parental figure who provides advise, knowledge and guidance that would otherwise come from their parents.