Petrie Showcase - June 2019

[StardustSoldier]

1) Has your perspective on Petrie changed over the course of the films and, if so, how so?; and

2) What are your thoughts overall on Petrie as a character?

Another great showcase topic. Again I enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts.

Perhaps part of the reason that is so is because the pacing of the first LBT after its script was cut all over the place does not lend itself well to Petrie. Significantly, he lacks a hatch scene when everyone else has one, which means he first appears almost halfway in the film's runtime as a result, and he tends to share scenes with Ducky, who usually steals his thunder as a result. He does get a spectacular end scene with Sharptooth where he learns how to fly at last, but that is probably his singular standout magnum opus scene in the whole film. He's not bad per se, he just doesn't stick out as much.

Petrie in general gets a whole lot more development and the chance to shine in the numerous sequel films, especially in Stone of Cold Fire and Great Day of the Flyers where they delve into his history and relationship with his family.

I didn't think of that before, but that's probably why I'm not as attached to Petrie as I am to Littlefoot and Cera and Ducky. In the first film at least, as you said, he just stands out less than the others. Although that said, I don't think it was due to the film being edited down. If you look at the film's script, which otherwise contains a lot of deleted scenes, it doesn't change Petrie's role much if at all (aside from his whistling, which I'm glad they got rid of). And even in the script, Petrie is still introduced quite a ways in. He appears several pages after the one-third mark.

Great work again, Flathead! As for Petrie, he’s a very interesting part of the Gang as his personality and ability to fly give him many characteristics closed to his friends. His shyness and nervousness are often quite relatable and offer many new dynamics inside the Gang. One of my favorite things about his character was his change from a purely comic character in the original into a more “normal” one in the sequels and I overall prefer the latter portrayal of him.

Agreed. Whereas my favourite Littlefoot/Cera/Ducky moments all come from the first film, I do like how the sequels developed Petrie much further and gave him a more distinct role and some memorable scenes to go with it. Unlike with L/C/D, I haven't yet picked out a single favourite Petrie moment. I'll have to give that some more thought. It'd probably be from one of the sequels, but I'm not quite decided yet.

[Sovereign]

Agreed. Whereas my favourite Littlefoot/Cera/Ducky moments all come from the first film, I do like how the sequels developed Petrie much further and gave him a more distinct role and some memorable scenes to go with it. Unlike with L/C/D, I haven't yet picked out a single favourite Petrie moment. I'll have to give that some more thought. It'd probably be from one of the sequels, but I'm not quite decided yet.

In many ways, I find Petrie even annoying in the first film as he goes too close to the ordinary comic relief-character in it. Without the sequels, my opinion of him would be much worse. Luckily, that isn't the case though.

And yep, Diddy, Petrie has been explored quite thoroughly in fanfiction and rightly so. However, at some points it feels like he’s been utilized in only certain kinds of stories, especially romantic ones, that sometimes may seem to produce similar results. There’s nothing wrong with that but I see Petrie having even more possibilities and rhombus, for example, has made pretty good job with him in Pursuit and forged a new path forward for our favorite flyer.

As for myself, I like stories where characters are forced to correct their worst faults while also losing other characteristics that may be dear to them. I see Petrie as being a rather brave and smart flyer deep inside, qualities which rise to the surface when needed. Separate Ways may have treated him badly but I try to stay true to Petrie’s deepest qualities while twisting his personality to a new direction. Petrie certainly has a lot of potential as a character and I’d certainly like to see more different takes on his personality. You certainly have done a good job on that and your Petrie stories are close to the best ones I’ve seen about him.

[StardustSoldier]

In many ways, I find Petrie even annoying in the first film as he goes too close to the ordinary comic relief-character in it. Without the sequels, my opinion of him would be much worse. Luckily, that isn't the case though.

I was fine with him in the first film. He didn't annoy me. I just felt that the others were better realized. I do agree that Petrie wasn't overly funny, per say, but that was almost a good thing. I've seen movies in recent years that I felt had too much comic relief. Thus, I appreciated that Land Before Time wasn't a film that tried too hard to be funny.

[StardustSoldier]

Unlike with L/C/D, I haven't yet picked out a single favourite Petrie moment. I'll have to give that some more thought. It'd probably be from one of the sequels, but I'm not quite decided yet.

I gave it some thought, and I've singled out my two favourite Petrie moments, or at least two moments that stuck out in my mind. One of them is his general relationship with Guido in LBT 12 with Guido acting as Petrie's flying mentor, which was endearing. One of the bright spots of the last few sequels. My other favourite Petrie moment is in LBT 4 when Grandpa Longneck states that he and Littlefoot won't be leaving the Great Valley, and Ducky and Petrie are both happy. Ducky comes over and hugs Littlefoot's leg and then Petrie hugs Littlefoot's face. That was cute.

[Compsognathus]

Petrie is (comparably with Guido) my favorite character of the LBT franchise. Except maybe LBT I, where I liked him less.  He and I share similar personalities, because I am a jitterbug too, sometimes I also speak in weird way, etc. 
I like, when he thinks of many things as dangerous, and then, when it is necessary, overcomes his fear, and helps his friends in need. Jeff Bennet's voice of him is brilliant.
I also think, that Petrie could have something like Aspergers syndrome.

[GreyLizard226]

First of all, nice pic @DiddyKF1!

Alright, it's Petrie! Everyone's favorite third-person speaker and quivering flyer. Like Ducky, he has a goofy speech impediment which lends him much, much endearment.

I've mentioned this before and even chatted with Sovereign about this once on Discord, but I'll say it again: I personally prefer Jeff Bennett over Will Ryan as Petrie, so much so that the very depiction of Petrie that many of the more enthusiastic fans tend to remember is Bennett and the sequels' take on him — compare "My name Petrie!" in the first film compared to "Me Petrie!" in pretty much all the sequels. There's just something about his more broken English and more childish (and pouty at times) voice in the later sequels just makes him more endearing, and it's usually this more-broken squeaky speech that we remember fondly about him.

Perhaps part of the reason that is so is because the pacing of the first LBT after its script was cut all over the place does not lend itself well to Petrie. Significantly, he lacks a hatch scene when everyone else has one, which means he first appears almost halfway in the film's runtime as a result, and he tends to share scenes with Ducky, who usually steals his thunder as a result. He does get a spectacular end scene with Sharptooth where he learns how to fly at last, but that is probably his singular standout magnum opus scene in the whole film. He's not bad per se, he just doesn't stick out as much.

Petrie in general gets a whole lot more development and the chance to shine in the numerous sequel films, especially in Stone of Cold Fire and Great Day of the Flyers where they delve into his history and relationship with his family. In fact, in the sequels in general, they focus on the entire gang as a whole, which coupled with his newfound kinda-overpowered flight as well as his family finally gives him quite the spotlight. Him being the sole one able to fly usually grants him special scenes where the others rely on his aerial abilities. And like countless others have said before me, they also take his trait of being brave when the situation demands for it from the first film and use it in spades. For being such a lovable coward, he really faces up to his fears quite a lot! Seeing those scenes where his face and voice turns determined is always a spectacle to behold.

So yeah, my perspective of Petrie has improved significantly over the years, to the point where he's now my favorite of the whole bunch. In fact, I relate to him a lot — I'm dead terrified of ghosts, heights, and lightning too. So, uh, may the winds be with you forevermore, Petrie!

Interesting analysis. I’ve always liked Petrie better in the original film, feeling that even with more chance for development in the sequels, he’s just too annoying. Part of it is his design, which I feel got really weak over the years (the GIF at the top for example, which shows the size of his head as too disproportionate to his body), and his voice (which became too whiny and childlike; if they wanted to make his voice sound more like a kid’s, why have an adult male voice him?); but also, I feel a lot of the time he contributes the least in the sequels, besides the occasional laugh. In the original, this was okay, because it needed that kind of levity. But with the change in tone, and Petrie’s newfound ability to fly, I feel taking the character more seriously was a necessary step that the sequels often fail to do. Even the ones that focus on Petrie more tend to make him rather whiny and even a little stupid at times.

As the member of the gang I fell in love with in the original, though, he’s still technically my favorite, and I feel Journey Of The Brave was quite a bit of an improvement on him, espicially compared to the other later sequels.