Dino Boy - Nickname of a human boy named Todd who lives in a prehistoric world on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon (6 minute segments) DINO BOY IN THE LOST VALLEY/NBC/1966-1967.

Originally, Todd was flying in a plane over the strange uncharted South American valley when the aircraft's engines failed. To save Todd's life, his father parachuted him to safety. Within minutes of landing, a saber-toothed tiger threatened Todd's life, but luckily, a local Neanderthal (Ugh) saved the boy from danger.

Learning to communicate with simple grunts and basic English, Todd (Dino Boy) and Ugh became fast friends and together with Ugh's pet dinosaur, Bronty, the three experienced many adventures in their mysterious prehistoric landscape.

To defend themselves against danger, Ugh used his great strength and a large wooden club, while Dino Boy used a bow and arrow and sling-shot.

Just where is the Valley of Dinosaurs? Well, one can speculate that the Valley of Dinosaurs is a real and very remote place in South America - untouched by the passing of time, or that somehow, when drifting to earth on his parachute, Todd slipped into the past after his father's time travel experiment failed. Either way, Todd never saw his parents again.

Other beings in the Valley of Dinosaurs included gigantic insects, a 50-foot cave man (who captured Bronty), a killer pterodactyl (that held Dino Boy captive in his nest), a ferocious Snow Creature (who kidnapped a local girl) and a variety of weird tribes like the winged Vampire Men, the Moss Men (of Mist Island), the Tree Men, the Rock Pygmies, the Bird Men, the Wolf People, the Saber-tooth People, the Snake People, the Worm People (of Horror Swamp), the Spear Warriors, the Ant Warriors, as well as a group of crazed Sun Worshippers (who captured Ugh for sacrifice).

The idea for the DINO BOY IN THE LOST VALLEY cartoon was created by comic book artist Alex Toth. The 'Dino Boy' tales were sandwiched in between two segments of 'Space Ghost' cartoons on the SPACE GHOST AND DINO BOY cartoon show that premiered on September 10, 1966. 'Dino Boy' reruns were aired on NBC's "Hanna-Barbera's World of Adventure" (1980); and the Cartoon Network's "Super Adventures" (1992) and "Boomerang" (1998).

TRIVIA NOTE: Artist Alex Roth also created the character of Space Ghost, a black-hooded interplanetary policeman who piloted a spacecraft called the Phantom Cruiser. Drawing power from his magic belt, Space Ghost battles crime with the help of his teenage companions, Jan and Jayce, and, of course, Blip the Monkey.

External Links

• Dino Boy & the Lost Valley (IMDb)

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