Girl, 11, cast as lead in Land Before Time remake

An 11-year-old girl from Chester has been cast in the lead role of a remake of the 1980s classic The Land Before Time.

Summer-Joules will play the character Littlefoot in the reboot of Steven Spielberg's 1988 animated film series.

Summer-Joules was given the role after a successful second audition, in which she put pencils in her mouth to sound like she was "eating like a dinosaur".

The new movie, Littlefoot, will be directed by British filmmaker Joey Lever, who is best known for creating fan film Spiderman: Lost Cause in 2014.

Speaking about the audition process, Summer-Joules said: "There weren't many actors in [the studio] because the actor I was with was from America, on a little computer.

"For some parts I had to put pencils in my mouth because I'd be eating like a dinosaur and there was lots of moving around."

Summer-Joules is the daughter of talent agent Joanne Saunders, who founded the Chester-based Majestic Academy of Performing Arts.

"I grew up in this and as I grew up with my mum's talent agency so I joined that," Summer-Joules told BBC Radio Merseyside.

"When I'm older I still want to be an actress and a performer, but also a barrister.

"I'd like to use my acting to be a barrister because it's like you're on a stage and having to push your case to the judges."

Her mum added: "I'm really, really proud. I just open doors and let [Summer-Joules] decide whether she wants to keep them open.

"This kind of environment helps raise confidence and self-esteem, all issues children are going though at the moment."

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