Line #20 WesternAnimation/DenverTheLastDinosaur


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/denver_the_last_dinosaur.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[[TheEighties Note the dino-mohawk.]]]]
3
4	->''Denver the Last Dinosaur,''\
5	''He's my friend and a whole lot more!''\
6	''Denver the Last Dinosaur''\
7	''Shows me a world I never saw before!''
8
9	A French-American co-production, ''Denver the Last Dinosaur'' is an {{animated series}} from [[TheEighties the 1980's]] (as if you needed to be told) about a group of UsefulNotes/LosAngeles teens that find the last dinosaur egg in existence and teach the hatchling, Denver, all about skateboarding, rocking out on guitar, and generally being {{totally radical}}. It lasted for 52 episodes and then was promptly forgotten, along with [[WesternAnimation/DinkTheLittleDinosaur some of the other remnants]] of the late-80's / early 90's dinosaur mania. The little nostalgia for the series is mostly because of that kick-ass theme song. Fun fact: most of the cast consisted of ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' voice actors (Creator/CamClarke, Creator/RobPaulsen, Creator/TownsendColeman, even Adam Carl who voiced Donatello in the second live action film) which just adds to the late 1980s period piece feel as these actors arguably did the {{totally radical}} angle better than anyone else.
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11	Creator/{{Zagtoon}} produced a reboot of the show as ''WesternAnimation/DenverAndCliff''.
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13	In 2023, World Events appointed Curiosity Ink as the property's licensor while in April of that same year WEP and Curiosity Ink announced that it would develop an animated feature film based on the IP.
14	----
15	!!Tropes found in this show:
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17	* TheEighties: Very steeped in it due to the decade, with rock music, skateboards and other TotallyRadical clichés.
18	* AbhorrentAdmirer: Casey has a crush on Mario, who is often uncomfortable with her flirting.
19	* AmbiguouslyBrown: Both Shades and Mario have brown skin, but it's not clear whether they are intended to be black, Latino or some other ethnicity. However, in the episode "Aunt Shadie's Ghost Town", Shades is revealed to be Latino.
20	* AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle: In the pilot episode, the story occasionally stops in its tracks so the narrator can impart dinosaur facts to the viewer.
21	* BaitAndSwitchCredits: Despite the line "Everywhere we go, we don't even care, if people stop and stare at our pal dino", the characters spend nearly the whole of the first few episodes fretting about whether they've been spotted with the eponymous reptile, and continue to try and keep him a secret throughout the series.
22	* BandEpisode: In one episode, the gang forms a band called Stone Age Rock for a talent contest, with Wally and Denver on guitars, Jeremy on keyboards, Mario on bass, the girls performing background vocals, and Shades as the drummer. Their nerdy friend Freddy builds his own robotic band for the contest called the Roborockers.
23	* BigBadDuumvirate: There are two main villains in the series: the greedy and shady businessman Morton Fizzback who usually wants to capture Denver to capitalize on him, and Dr. Funt, the GloryHound scientist who wants to improve his scientific reputation by showing Denver to the world.
24	* CartoonCreature: Denver does not resemble any specific species of dinosaur. It's commonly thought he was supposed to be a ''Corythosaurus'', though his "mohawk" head crest resembles an ''Olorotitan''.
25	* ComedicUnderwearExposure: In one episode Morton Fizzback rips his way too tight superhero costume at the backside, exposing white underpants with dollar motives, much to his embarrassment and amusement of the protagonists.
26	* CoolShades: One of the teenagers is literally called "Shades" after his sunglasses. Denver also gets a pair of pink shades, matching his guitar.
27	* DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: In the pilot episode, Morton Fizzback kidnaps Denver and presents him to the audience at a rock concert. The song the rock band plays? "Denver the Last Dinosaur", the show's theme song.
28	* FatBastard: Morton Fizzback is an overweight man who is greedy and corrupt.
29	* FishOutOfTemporalWater: Denver himself, with his egg surviving since the Cretaceous period and hatching in the '80s.
30	* FourManBand: The boys:
31	** OnlySaneMan: Wally, the most "normal" guy to balance out the antics of his friends.
32	** TheSmartGuy: Jeremy, the smartest and most eloquent guy who focuses on his schoolwork.
33	** CasanovaWannabe: Shades, who tries to act like a cool kid all the time.
34	** ButtMonkey: Mario, a cocky goofball who's often the butt of jokes.
35	* FriendToAllLivingThings: Wally is an animal-loving guy and Denver's primary caretaker.
36	* GangOfBullies: The guys in the group typically get into with four bullies in the neighborhood. Nick is the leader, with Curt, Scott, and Rod as the flunkies.
37	* GilliganCut: In the pilot, after Mario protests that he won't beg his admirer for a favour.
38	* GratuitousSpanish: Shades sometimes throws Spanish words into his speech.
39	* HaveAGayOldTime: The lyrics "he's my friend and a whole lot more" would nowadays imply that the subject is a romantic partner. This being the 80's and both the singer and the subject of the song being male (not to mention the latter being a ''dinosaur'' as well)...
40	* HilarityInZoos: The episode "Lions, Tigers and Dinosaurs" is about Wally taking a job at a zoo and becoming friends with the rapping zookeeper Dr. D.
41	* HonestJohnsDealership: When not trying to exploit Denver for his own ends, Morton Fizzback is running some kind of business venture of questionable quality (such as claiming to be a wildlife guide and charging people to get on his tour bus).
42	* TheKiddieRide: Not officially licensed, but Zamperla produced a ''Denver'' kiddie ride in their earlier years. Given that the show was popular in Italy (where Zaperla originates) and their poor copyright track records where kiddie rides are concerned, it's probably to be expected.
43	* TheLastTitle: The name of the series.
44	* LineOfSightName: Denver's name is taken from a passing bus which displays a tourism ad for Denver, Colorado.
45	* LongHairedPrettyBoy: Jeremy is a handsome teenager with long blonde hair.
46	* MadScientist: Professor Funt is a villainous paleontologist who wants to capture Denver and experiment on him.
47	* MagicEnhancement: Denver's egg shell, which Denver carries around a piece of, has magic properties that when touched, can send whoever touches it back to the dinosaur age from where Denver came.
48	* MsFanservice: Heather, Wally's older sister, is a shapely and pretty blonde girl, usually wearing form-fitting clothes. In one episode she gets a job at a theme park that requires her to wear a [[NubileSavage cavegirl]] outfit; in another one, Mario tells an ArabianNightsDays story where she appears as a genie, wearing a BedlahBabe outfit similar to [[Series/IDreamOfJeannie Jeannie]]'s.
49	* NerdGlasses: Wally, the nerdiest of the teens, wears large glasses. And Freddy Facknitts, a full-on nerd, has typical big, black framed glasses.
50	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The villain Morton Fizzback looks & sounds an awful lot like [[Creator/RodneyDangerfield Rodney Dangerfield]]
51	* NonStandardCharacterDesign: Denver looks a lot more cartoony than the more realistic dinosaurs shown in the opening and other flashbacks to the dinosaur age.
52	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Shades is just called that because of his sunglasses. His real name is never revealed.
53	* PaperThinDisguise: When Denver has to go out in public, the boys will typically just throw some accessories on him and tell other people that he's a foreign exchange student, an exotic dog breed, just a guy in a dino suit, etc., and somehow people will buy it.
54	* RealMenWearPink: Denver's guitar and accessories are pink.
55	* RhymesOnADime: Nick, a bully who likes to pick on the main group of boys, usually speaks in rhyme for some reason. Dr. D, a zookeeper who appears in some episodes, also sometimes speaks like he's rapping.
56	* ShowWithinAShow: Apparently in the universe of ''Denver'', there was a crossover show between Lion ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' and Vehicle ''Voltron''. You get to see about a second of it in one episode when a TV is changing channels quickly. (Keep in mind that ''Denver's'' production company, Creator/WorldEventsProductions, Events, is the same group that dubbed ''Voltron'' for Western audiences.)
57	* SmarterThanYouLook: Jeremy looks and dresses like a stereotypical jock, but he's the most erudite member of the cast, often speaking with SesquipedalianLoquaciousness.
58	* SpeechImpairedAnimal: Denver perfectly understands English from his birth, but initially just makes animal-like vocalizations and grumbling, with the occasional intelligible word. As the series goes on however, Denver seems to learn how to say more words to people, and in later episodes, he can even say simple phrases & sentences, similar to Scooby-Doo.
59	* StereotypicalNerd: Freddy Facknitts, a minor character who shows up in later episodes, is a ''very'' nerdy guy who sometimes helps out the boys with technology stuff.
60	* SurferDude: Mario. While the other guys in the group can certainly be TotallyRadical, Mario's the one with the radical accent and, like, the constant word choice to totally go along with it.
61	* SurroundedByIdiots: Morton Fizzback's goons are often dimwitted and slow on the draw, much to his constant frustration.
62	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: From the two major female characters, Casey is very much OneOfTheBoys, wearing overalls and a baseball cap and riding a scooter, whereas Heather dresses and acts much more feminine.
63	* TotallyRadical: Even for its day, the show had an unusually high density of California SurferDude clichés.
64	* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Denver loves to eat potato chips whenever he gets the chance.
65	* WrenchWench: Casey handles whatever machine issues come up for the group.
66	* YouHaveToBelieveMe: Morton Fizzback has sometimes fallen into this when insisting there's a real dinosaur out there. Even actually producing Denver in the flesh sometimes doesn't do him any good, due to onlookers being fed up with whatever other scam he was running.
67	* YourCostumeNeedsWork: In some episodes, Denver is dismissed as just a guy in a monster costume. He even spends "Dinoland" wandering around the park because the manager mistook him for an employee.

Context WesternAnimation / DenverTheLastDinosaur