Spike (The Land Before Time)

Spike is a Stegosaurus from the Land Before Time. He first couldn't talk, with Vocal Effects by Frank Welker, but Gained a Voice in the Second Movie, voiced by Rob Paulson. He is most well known for his laconic behavior; only having uttered a couple of words throughout the series' run, and for his large appetite. Spike is raised by main-character Ducky's family, since his family was lost at the time of his birth. Best friends with his foster sister, Spike is usually listed in fifth place of the main characters, after Littlefoot, Cera, Ducky and Petrie and before Chomper, Ruby, Ali, Guido, Hyp, Mutt, Nod, Shorty, Wild Arms, Big Daddy, Lizzie, Skitter, Rhett, Tippy, Rocky and Dusty. but is sometimes listed in third place, after Cera and before Ducky. Despite being well received by critics of the films, and being a favorite of director Don Bluth during the production of the original The Land Before Time, the character's cultural impact has been considerably small.

Appearances

 * The Land Before Time (1988)
 * The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure (1994)
 * The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving (1995)
 * The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists (1996)
 * The Land Before Time: Sing-Along Songs (1997)
 * The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island (1997)
 * The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock (1998)
 * The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire (2000)
 * The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze (2001)
 * The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water (2002)
 * The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (2003)
 * The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses (2005)
 * The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers (2006)
 * The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends (2007)
 * The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave (2016)
 * The Land Before Time XV: Journey to Sharptooth Mountain (TBA)
 * The Land Before Time XVI: Return to Big Water (TBA)
 * The Land Before Time XVII: The Return of the Yellow Bellies (TBA)
 * The Land Before Time XVIII: The Time of the Blooming Flowers (TBA)
 * The Land Before Time XIX: The Quest to Sparkling Forest (TBA)
 * TBA

Character development
The character of Spike was inspired by Don Bluth's pet Chowhound, Cubby. Although Bluth mentioned in an interview in 1990 that he did not really care for the film, which he thought had been too slow-paced, he has said that he likes the character Spike; describing him as "a pure soul, simple, accommodating, and eager to please."

Modifications
In The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure, Spike's design was modified; he no longer had any small spikes on his tail and has less developed ridges along his back. This is presumably to make him easier for the animators to draw.

In the TV series he was modified again to not have horizontal lines across his belly in many scenes. This is again presumably to make him easier for the animators to draw, as TV series are usually lower budget than movies. A part from a slight color change, Spike's like the most of characters in the series drawn less detailed and takes a drastic change in his face, with his snout be slimmer and yet longer (though there are scenes where he is drawn with his designs from the movies).

Voice acting
In the original Land Before Time, Spike laughs on one occasion and makes other sounds on some occasions; his voice actor is unknown (although rumored to be the uncredited Frank Welker). Although with little dialogue, Spike has been voiced by Rob Paulsen from The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure to present, with the exception of The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock in which the character's voice is credited as being provided by Jeff Bennett. In the Land Before Time episode "Through the Eyes of a Spiketail", Paulsen uses a deep voice when speaking the character's thoughts. When he does make a voice, his voice is the least childlike of all the children in the franchise.

Trivia

 * For whatever odd reason, Spike is shown proper sized in the brief moment he hatches from his egg, but, after that, is shown appearing much larger, a size he keeps for many more movies.
 * Spike has so far appeared in all of the films, and all but one of the episodes of the television series. He does not appear in "The Great Egg Adventure", because he is at the mud pools, together with Cera and Ruby. The mud pools play no part in the story.
 * Spike was incorrectly referred to as an Ankylosaurus in the 1989 book Geolog, by the Geological Association of Canada. This is most likely due to the main characters being made up of a majority of Cretaceous dinosaurs from North America, however this principal might not be the case since Littlefoot had been referred to as a Brachiosaurus over the more time-accurate Alamosaurus.
 * Spike is the most gluttonous character in the franchise, eating almost any plant and drinking seawater. His impulsiveness gets him into trouble.

Voices

 * Frank Welker (1988, Original Film)
 * Rob Paulsen (1994–present)
 * Jeff Bennett (The Land Before Time IV: The Secret of Saurus Rock)