The Gang of Five

The Land Before Time => General Land Before Time => Character Discussion => Topic started by: Amaranthine on November 13, 2010, 10:46:43 PM

Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Amaranthine on November 13, 2010, 10:46:43 PM
Hi, I was going to post this in the "Pterano" topic, but then I thought of the behaviors of how the characters in the series acted and what not.

Now I just wonder, do you think there are any characters in these series with a mental disorder or anything like that? And I don't mean anything too serious, but I've just been thinking about it.

I think Pterano has some mental disorder (besides the obvious narcissism :rolleyes:) he seemed to have some kind of deluded, pathological lying thing going on. Just for proof, he tells these stories to his nieces and nephews about how "great" he is and even goes on to say how the flyers are the best of the best of all dinosaur species. But, it's not like he's playing a joke on anyone, he actually BELIEVES in his own lies. And he goes to these extremes of destructive behavior to get what he wants or make a statement, (like kidnapping Ducky), I mean seriously, kidnapping a kid is pretty low, even for an egotisical liar... <_<

Not to say Pterano is all bad, of course he isn't, that's one of the reasons why he's such a well liked character in our fanbase. He has a charismatic personality that makes people automatically feel "charmed" by him and he has his moments of softness when the kids are in danger. He seems to want to do the right thing, but he's conflicted with his ego and his good intentions.
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Sonicdash on December 16, 2010, 02:14:20 AM
I guess one cannot leave out stuff like that... and you are right about Pterano...


apart from that... can we say there is something odd about Ozzie From LBT 2 only wanting to eat eggs and nothing else... even while falling off a cliff:

"Whatever you do, do NOT LOSE that egg"?  :lol
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: LBTDiclonius on January 06, 2011, 09:09:54 PM
Quote from: Sonicdash,Dec 16 2010 on  01:14 AM
can we say there is something odd about Ozzie From LBT 2 only wanting to eat eggs and nothing else... even while falling off a cliff:

"Whatever you do, do NOT LOSE that egg"?  :lol
I think Ozzy's mental. :lol   Not to mention he sang a song about one thing. Eggs! But I love him. He's so funny.

Also, Dil seemed to have an eyesight problem. So Ichy was basically her pair of glasses.
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Amaranthine on January 08, 2011, 01:02:59 AM
^Well Dil's is more of a physical disability, what I was asking is if anyone saw the psychological and mental aspects of these characters to be a bit...unsettling or something like that.
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: LBTDiclonius on January 08, 2011, 01:09:02 AM
Quote from: Rat_lady7,Jan 8 2011 on  12:02 AM
^Well Dil's is more of a physical disability, what I was asking is if anyone saw the psychological and mental aspects of these characters to be a bit...unsettling or something like that.
Ohhhhh...sorry about that. I misunderstood you there. I understand now. As for any other disabitlity's in characters ahhh...I got nothing. <_<
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: jansenov on January 10, 2011, 12:54:09 PM
Ducky seems to be afraid of heights in certain situations. For example, in the 2nd movie when the gang is running from the lava Ducky asks Spike to carry her over the log to the other side because she's scared. In the 6th movie Ducky is afraid of crossing over the log in which the gang hid from a Sharptooth, even though the log was large enough for the Sharptooth to walk over it (I don't know the actual species of the Sharptooth).
But at other times she's not afraid of heights, for example when she and Petrie throw "cocoa nuts" at the Sharptooth (T. rex?) from the top of a palm tree in the 2nd movie, or when she jumped over the tall rock columns protruding from the bottom of a wide canyon to the other side in the 6th movie.

Maybe Ducky can manage her phobia when she's not under stress? She was in a cheerful mood and laughed when throwing fruit at the Sharptooth (at least until the predator turned around), and crossing the rock columns was just a part of the journey to Saurus Rock, which went peacefully until the gang encountered the orange Sharptooth later on.

Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Allicloud on February 25, 2011, 10:03:24 AM
Being a psychology student, here I go!

Petrie- originally acrophobic, later is just Nephophobic (Fear of clouds) and possibly anemophobic (Fear of heavy winds) , though he appears to be able to get over it at times.

Ducky- Mildly Acrophobic, Type B Personality (Patient, relaxed, easy)

Cera- Astraphobic (Fear of thunder and lightning), possibly, but this seems to just be a regular fear rather than a phobia. Also may have a definite Type A Personality (Aggressive, impatient, competitive), and anger management problems.

Spike- Mute, colourblind (Both could be psychological), and alot of people tend to think he may be slightly autistic too. He may also have synesthesia, which is the ability to match odd stimuli with sensations, like "Hearing colours" and "Tasting sounds", or in Spike's case "Hearing the music of the treestars"

Pterano- Megalomania, no question.

Sierra- Psychopathy. Just a straight up psychopath. And a severe case of Type A personality.
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Cancerian Tiger on February 26, 2011, 01:42:33 AM
Nice descriptions there, Allicloud :yes.  

I'd think Spike's case of synesthesia is specifically color-sound synesthesia and possibly color-taste synesthesia.  There are different kinds of synesthesia out there.  I've shown signs of being a mirror-touch synesthete for as long as I can remember :blink:.

In addition to what has been said about Cera, I also believe she's a very mild Aspie :yes.  I see some of my (and other Aspies') characteristics in her.  They are:

*Does not take well to change.
*Likes to be alone often, or so it seems.
*Does not like strangers very much.  This could be either change and/or being forced to socialize with an unfamiliar person.
*Mood changes unpredictably.  It's said an Aspie's Limbic System is impaired, causing them to not be able to tell when their mood shifts until it's already happened.
*Doesn't care too much for physical contact, but if it's from somebody she already knows, she doesn't seem to mind too much.
*Lastly, she seems to at times have difficulty understanding others' emotions and takes things the wrong way.  For example, in the TV series episode about the shiny canyon stones, Tria nicely asks what happened to one of her shiny stones and Cera automatically takes it as an accusation against her and gets snarky with Tria.

That's what I've noticed about her, and if she in fact is an Aspie, her case would be very mild, perhaps as mild on the spectrum as possible.
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Malte279 on February 26, 2011, 06:57:27 AM
I'm not so sure if Cera is really to be considered even a mild form of Aspergers. For once it is important to differentiate her attitutes in the first movie (based heavily on her racist upbringing) from a psychological disability.
Does she really like to be alone? I think there are not too many scenes in LBT in which she is alone on her own accord. It more often seems to be the result either of her making a decision but everyone else choosing (literally) another way (e.g. LBT 4) in which case she usually quickly gives in after some time of stubbornness for the sake of face keeping or else she might end up lonely as a result from danger or from being shunned rather than avoiding others deliberately (e.g. TV episode "The brave little longneck girl). I think there are relatively few scenes in which she is on her own simply because she wants to without a concrete reason for it.
I'm also not certain to what degree her mood changes can be assigned to the autistic spectrum. After many of those seem to be part of her snappy attitude (I don't know if snappiness in general is a likely feauture for aspies?).
She may not care much about physical contact from someone she doesn't know, but quite honestly how many people are there who are eager for physical contact from a total stranger? Other than a handshake at the introduction or the like (for which we don't have an equivalent among the dinosaurs) I do not think there are many examples of physical contact with anyone we don't know at all that most of us would be particularly eager about. That does not really qualify as a distinct mark for Aspergers though.
As for understanding the emotions of others (and even the ability to interpret and question the own emotions) we have some significant examples in which she does acts in a way to show that emotions are not a totally mysterious field for her. Her care about Ducky in LBT 8 (while her advise not to let go of her anger was stupid of course but it does not change the fact that she unlike everyone else noticed that something was bothering Ducky), in LBT 6 she pointed out that she didn't mean to make Littlefoot mad, in LBT 9 we have her self-reflection about her attitude towards Mo.
A rough shell soft core kind of attitude seems to be one of the most continuous features of her character, but is this a likely trait for an Aspie?

With Ducky's acrophobia it is really kind of odd. She didn't hesitate to jumb the canyon in LBT 2 (nearly falling in the process) which might be good enough a reason for her to express fear when later on she has to cross a log over another canyon (where Spike comes in to carry her). In LBT 6 it is really strange though she is the one to go ahead and jumb across the very thin rocky pillars while later on she is pretty much panicked about having to cross the log over the same canyon (when crossing the log would seem a lot less dangerious than hopping over the pillars). When in LBT 7 she is abducted by the flyers she is screaming of course, but there is no indication whatsoever of her suffering from acrophobia on that occassion in which she got up higher than ever before. Just seconds after landing she is pointing out Sierra that he was not a good flyer (and he mentions being annoyed by her continuous talking during the flight) none of this suggests that she was overly afraid during the flight (she surely wasn't on the flight home on Pterano's back and didn't seem to be bothered about the height when carried by a flyer in LBT 5 either). It is too long since I have seen some of the later episodes (is there anything remarkeable about her attitude when there was a log to be crossed in LBT XII?). In the earlier movies it almost seemed more like a fear of high "bridges" than a fear of heights.
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: EggStealerGirl on April 26, 2011, 11:05:45 PM
So far, I think that both Spike and Sierra have mental disorders.

Perhaps Spike has some sort of autism that I have?

I also think that Sierra has psychopathy. His actions and verbal responses are proof of that.

Now that I'm on the subject, two of my LBT OCs have mental disorders;

Byron, my LBT villain, has psychopathy as well.

And Zeek, an OC that I have yet to introduce, has kleptomania.

Kleptomania is a disorder in which a person constantly steals things in order to get some sort of pleasure out of it.

Not to worry, though; he usually steals things such as rocks, and practical stuff like that. Stuff that really isn't worth too much value.
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Saft on May 10, 2011, 06:45:18 PM
I strongly disagree with labelling fictional characters with mental disorders.   The example of Cera to have Asperger's and her apparent traits is strongly contested.   Anyone in real life can have those traits but does not mean that they have asperger's.  There are other formats of aspergers that Cera does not have.
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Petrie. on May 10, 2011, 07:19:09 PM
A long long time ago on the GOF before we even moved to this board, I remember someone distinctly asking if Spike was mentally retarded / mentally chanllenged?  Spike clearly isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, so I tended to agree with his assessment.
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Pangaea on May 12, 2011, 10:28:09 PM
It's implied (especially in the TV episode “Through The Eyes of a Spiketail”) that Spike is no less intelligent than the rest of the gang; he just chooses not to talk. I wonder if it's also possible that he's verbally impaired in some way, and he actually can't communicate verbally most of the time, or he can, but it's very difficult for him. On the only two occasions in the series when Spike did speak, he was under rather heavy emotional duress (his sister about to be eaten, and him drowning, respectively), and that “motivated” him to form words. No idea if there's an actual disability that works that way, or if that reasoning even makes sense (It's been a long time since I've done any reading on autism and other disabilities, so I'm pretty rusty in that area).
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: DarkHououmon on May 12, 2011, 10:44:12 PM
Quote from: Pangaea,May 12 2011 on  09:28 PM
It's implied (especially in the TV episode “Through The Eyes of a Spiketail”) that Spike is no less intelligent than the rest of the gang; he just chooses not to talk. I wonder if it's also possible that he's verbally impaired in some way, and he actually can't communicate verbally most of the time, or he can, but it's very difficult for him. On the only two occasions in the series when Spike did speak, he was under rather heavy emotional duress (his sister about to be eaten, and him drowning, respectively), and that “motivated” him to form words. No idea if there's an actual disability that works that way, or if that reasoning even makes sense (It's been a long time since I've done any reading on autism and other disabilities, so I'm pretty rusty in that area).
That does sound at least somewhat like one communication disability called aphasia, though it's caused by brain damage. If Spike has it, then the brain damage would have to have resulted from either an unseen injury or his staying inside the shell too long may have caused some kind of brain damage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphasia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphasia)
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Salvatore Blackheart on May 13, 2011, 12:42:48 AM
Shorty is  antisocial and agresive.

Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Daddytops2009 on May 13, 2011, 04:08:03 PM
Thanks Allicloud!

I have autism too by the way.
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Cancerian Tiger on May 14, 2011, 01:31:29 AM
I thought this was merely meant as an opinion/discussion thread, not a diagnosis thread.  I don't see this as labeling, but instead discussing possible mental "differences" that only add to our pals' personalities an uniqueness and nothing more, but that's just my opinion ;).

As for Cera having AS, I still stand by my opinion on it.  No two Aspies are exactly alike, and not all of them share the same level of severity of symptoms.  I see Cera as having an even milder case than mine, and mine's mild enough that I easily blend in with the neurotypical population.  I am capable of and perform the everyday things NTs do, only I'm not really an NT :p.
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Rocky on May 15, 2011, 12:47:58 PM
I have aspbergur's syndrom myself.
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: guidolover on October 22, 2011, 09:39:31 AM
ummm,I dont think that any of the dinos are mentally disabled but my parents think that Spike is disabled......he could be but its not likely.I just think that hes rather slow and perhaps dosnt care much for learning how to talk plus I think Pterano is just a bit confused.He may be like he is because hes lonely or hasnt got much experience with others.Well I dont know much about dissabilities so...bye everyone ;)  :bang
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Bruton the Iguanodon on November 01, 2011, 09:54:22 PM
I haven't seen 2 in w while...but didn't the sharptooth throw Ducky and Petrie out of the tree when they threw nits at it and they fell to the ground and a tear fell out of Ducky's eye...? That's how I remember it, but then it quickly cut away

I'm like Cera in that I don't take well to changes.
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: EggStealerGirl on June 25, 2014, 12:00:35 AM
Quote from: EggStealerGirl,Apr 26 2011 on  10:05 PM
So far, I think that both Spike and Sierra have mental disorders.

Perhaps Spike has some sort of autism that I have?

I also think that Sierra has psychopathy. His actions and verbal responses are proof of that.

Now that I'm on the subject, two of my LBT OCs have mental disorders;

Byron, my LBT villain, has psychopathy as well.

And Zeek, an OC that I have yet to introduce, has kleptomania.

Kleptomania is a disorder in which a person constantly steals things in order to get some sort of pleasure out of it.

Not to worry, though; he usually steals things such as rocks, and practical stuff like that. Stuff that really isn't worth too much value.
Wow, looking back at this, I posted something very stupid... :blink:

I'm not trying to ruin anyone's fun here, (as I occasionally speculate whether or not some of my favorite fictional characters have mental disorders), but I kind of stopped doing it with the LBT characters, (even though I think Pterano might be narcissistic). But, whatever.

Also, coming from someone who has actual Asperger's, I don't think Cera has it, much like some of the other posters have pointed out.
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: EggStealerGirl on June 25, 2014, 12:02:00 AM
Quote from: Rocky,May 15 2011 on  11:47 AM
I have aspbergur's syndrom myself.
I have it, too.

As well as a few other things.
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: LittlefootAndAliTogether on December 30, 2014, 12:43:46 PM
I think that Ozzy and Sierra are psychopaths.  Nothing else explains their bizarre and murderous behavior.

Sharptooth might be a bit out there too, as you can see him snapping at thin air, even though he's got to know he can't get at the Gang of Five.   Also, he seems so willing to get the kids that he goes into a thorn patch (even the hyenas from Lion King knew a thorn patch was a bad idea and got out quickly.)

Pterano I don't think is nuts, just thinks too highly of himself.  

Spike, I used to think had some kind of mental disorder, and that was why he almost never talked.   However, after seeing "Through the Eyes of a Spiketail", I can't conclude that anymore, though I can conclude that he's color blind.

Topps's behavior is more of a mystery, though perhaps, like the Gang of Five, he was bullied by some Hyp types as a kid, and eventually was taught to stand up for himself by Grandpa Threehorn (Topps's father), and is now taking the standing up thing too far.  As Topps actually says that his father made him what he is today, we can surmise that Grandpa Threehorn is just as bad, if not worse, than his son, including possibly in species bigotry.


Cera might be narcissistic, on a lower level, as she seems stuck up, and, even at the end of the first film, never admits she was wrong for leading the others the wrong way (heck, Pterano got banished for such an offense!  The only difference between his herd and Ducky, Petrie, and Spike is that the latter 3 lived, though she had kept going and they could easily have died in the first film.)  and Ruby says in the TV Series that talking about Cera is one of Cera's favorite things to talk about.  

Petrie might be somewhat panicky or insecure as, of the Gang of Five, and, indeed, Chomper and Ruby, he is the only one that seems to lack a father figure in his life.  

Ducky's Father might be really shy as he never seems to talk ever despite having made it to the Great Valley (though perhaps this might have something to do with what happened to Judith)  

Ducky actually seems quite stable, and, in fact, rarely gets mad.  On the other hand, she was really odd in the Sky Colored Stones episode where she was ignoring Spike when he was stuck and hoarding those stones kinda like Gollum and it doesn't take much to see her going "My precious!  Don't worry my precious!  Ruby and Cera won't get you!"  In fact, she seems to have trouble with that last stone, wanting to hold onto it even though her life was in danger (Chomper behaved similarly with his tooth that fell out, but, to his credit, he thought he had to get it back in or he'd fall apart into bones.  That wasn't the case with Ducky.  Yeah, Littlefoot was like that with the Tree Star his mother gave him, but that's more understandable and, also, he leaves it to save himself and the others when they run from Sharptooth.)  

As for Bron, i personally believe that he ran from Sharptooth or something and got away, but hit his head in the process and got Amnesia and forgot his family for years.  Also, this chased by a Sharptooth scenario makes it plausible why Littlefoot's mother or Littlefoot's grandparents never mentioned him to Littlefoot in the films.   They would all think he had died, which explains why they never went looking for him.  

I know, Grandma and Grandpa Longneck don't appear too shocked to see Bron still alive, but the Bron scenario seems it's gonna have problems somewhere no matter what they add to it later on.   :slap  Perhaps they thought Bron might have died but weren't sure, and assumed his long absence meant he had either left or died.  They never told Littlefoot as they didn't truly know what had happened to him.  

I did create a villain named Gallim, who is quite manipulative, and also chameleon like, being an omnivore, he can pose as both a Sharptooth and a Flattooth and secretly hates both kinds, though he often works more with Sharpteeth as they are more brutal and more to his liking.  However, brutality isn't his greatest weapon, but his mind is.  He especially likes to keep herd segregation around forever as he knows that if they were to ever work together, they could pose too great a threat to his new world order plots.  

He can gloat over horrible tragedies and has no pity on anyone.  Near the end of the two part finale film, like Claude Frollo, is starting to lose it and is cackling madly and, like Frollo, is saying that he wishes he'd take out Littlefoot 20 years ago and how Littlefoot's mother died trying to save Littlefoot from him (Sharptooth turns out to be Gallim's past accomplice, with Red Claw, who turns out to be Sharptooth's brother, being his current Sharptooth accomplice.)  and now Littlefoot is trying to save Ali.  He vows to slowly kill Ali in front of Littlefoot just to torture Littlefoot and is seen getting more maniacal as the final fight progresses.  

Gallim even has other creeps (Sharptooth, Sierra, Red Claw, and Ozzy) working for him at various points.


As for asperger's, I have that too.  

Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Ducky123 on December 30, 2014, 01:27:41 PM
Quote
I think that Ozzy and Sierra are psychopaths. Nothing else explains their bizarre and murderous behavior.
Sierra is definitely a sadistic psychopath. As for Ozzy, he isn't as badass as Sierra is so maybe one could say he's showing some psychopathic and violent behavior but he isn't an outright psychopath?

Quote
Sharptooth might be a bit out there too, as you can see him snapping at thin air, even though he's got to know he can't get at the Gang of Five. Also, he seems so willing to get the kids that he goes into a thorn patch (even the hyenas from Lion King knew a thorn patch was a bad idea and got out quickly.)
Well, Sharptooth is tricky. I suppose he must've been really hungry if he took the risk of going into the thorns (which costed him one of his eyes). That is possibly why he so desperately chases Littlefoot and his friends.

Quote
Pterano I don't think is nuts, just thinks too highly of himself.
Yep, I agree with you :)

Quote
Spike, I used to think had some kind of mental disorder, and that was why he almost never talked. However, after seeing "Through the Eyes of a Spiketail", I can't conclude that anymore, though I can conclude that he's color blind.
Yeah, Spike's behavior would be considered odd by our society at least. He's special in his own way and I'm not sure if I can call it an actual disorder. "Through the Eyes of a Spiketail" is not really something I base my overall picture of Spike on to be honest since for thirdteen movies and twenty-four episodes he was just Spike and then everything changes in the last episode. (OT: I'd have liked if they had never made that episode in the first place. It's rather confusing than contributing to Spike as a character which is just my very personal opinion of course ;))

Quote
Topps's behavior is more of a mystery, though perhaps, like the Gang of Five, he was bullied by some Hyp types as a kid, and eventually was taught to stand up for himself by Grandpa Threehorn (Topps's father), and is now taking the standing up thing too far. As Topps actually says that his father made him what he is today, we can surmise that Grandpa Threehorn is just as bad, if not worse, than his son, including possibly in species bigotry.
Yeah, his behavior is a product of his upbringing, seemingly. That sometimes makes him quite a jerk to say the least :smile

I think that Guido might have a sort of disorder which deletes the memory every now and then. Otherwise I couldn't explain just why he is so... clueless. I mean he can barely remember his own name  :rolleyes
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: LittlefootAndAliTogether on December 30, 2014, 02:00:45 PM
Quote from: Ducky123,Dec 30 2014 on  12:27 PM
Quote
I think that Ozzy and Sierra are psychopaths. Nothing else explains their bizarre and murderous behavior.
Sierra is definitely a sadistic psychopath. As for Ozzy, he isn't as badass as Sierra is so maybe one could say he's showing some psychopathic and violent behavior but he isn't an outright psychopath?

Quote
Sharptooth might be a bit out there too, as you can see him snapping at thin air, even though he's got to know he can't get at the Gang of Five. Also, he seems so willing to get the kids that he goes into a thorn patch (even the hyenas from Lion King knew a thorn patch was a bad idea and got out quickly.)
Well, Sharptooth is tricky. I suppose he must've been really hungry if he took the risk of going into the thorns (which costed him one of his eyes). That is possibly why he so desperately chases Littlefoot and his friends.

Quote
Pterano I don't think is nuts, just thinks too highly of himself.
Yep, I agree with you :)

Quote
Spike, I used to think had some kind of mental disorder, and that was why he almost never talked. However, after seeing "Through the Eyes of a Spiketail", I can't conclude that anymore, though I can conclude that he's color blind.
Yeah, Spike's behavior would be considered odd by our society at least. He's special in his own way and I'm not sure if I can call it an actual disorder. "Through the Eyes of a Spiketail" is not really something I base my overall picture of Spike on to be honest since for thirdteen movies and twenty-four episodes he was just Spike and then everything changes in the last episode. (OT: I'd have liked if they had never made that episode in the first place. It's rather confusing than contributing to Spike as a character which is just my very personal opinion of course ;))

Quote
Topps's behavior is more of a mystery, though perhaps, like the Gang of Five, he was bullied by some Hyp types as a kid, and eventually was taught to stand up for himself by Grandpa Threehorn (Topps's father), and is now taking the standing up thing too far. As Topps actually says that his father made him what he is today, we can surmise that Grandpa Threehorn is just as bad, if not worse, than his son, including possibly in species bigotry.
Yeah, his behavior is a product of his upbringing, seemingly. That sometimes makes him quite a jerk to say the least :smile

I think that Guido might have a sort of disorder which deletes the memory every now and then. Otherwise I couldn't explain just why he is so... clueless. I mean he can barely remember his own name  :rolleyes
Sierra wants to rule the dino world and is pretty evil.   Ironic considering that he's probably a leaf eater and Sharpteeth are supposed to be the wicked ones.   :lol

Ozzy is very nuts, as even Strut thinks he's going too far over a lousy egg.   Also, his "I'm first, I'm first, I'm always first!" comment exposes his to be as self-centered as Sierra.  

Also, though Strut, who I had always thought was just bad cause his brother was pushing him around, suggested throwing Littlefoot off the Great Wall, oddly enough, it is Ozzy holding Littlefoot and about to murder him.  

I'd like to see Strut get redemption and turn on his brother at some future point.   As for Ozzy, I'd like him to have a bad encounter with an older Chomper and, preferably get killed in some fight, perhaps trying to kill Chonper, and then Chomper would decide that since he's dead, it's ok to eat him and do so and find that he likes the taste of Egg Stealer and now end up eating Egg Stealers, which would fill him, and also make the Great Valley very happy.

As for Sierra, I think Pterano should be the one to kill him.  Sierra would try and murder Petrie and Pterano would fight Sierra.  

Also, it is possible that Red Claw might be a psychopath, as why he'd go after Chomper otherwise doesn't make much sense.  We'll have to wait and see to find out about Red Claw.


I think that Chomper might be not disabled, but, er, gifted.  He seems to know Leaf Eater despite having only been around the language for a few hours.  Also, he still remembers the Gang of Five, despite only having met them before on the day that they hatched.  He is even seen replying to the Gang of Five, particularly Littlefoot, in the second film, though he can't fully talk yet, despite having just hatched.   He definitely is smarter than any of the other Sharpteeth we've ever seen.  (Which could mean BIG trouble if someday he were to turn on the Gang of Five.)  

On the other hand, he seems to be pretty naive and pretty gullible, though not as bad as Petrie or Ducky.  

Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: DaveTheAnalyzer on March 13, 2017, 01:13:30 PM
As an autistic person, I can see and support headcanons about Spike being nonverbal and autistic. Some have noted he buries or covers his head when scared or stressed at times. There are moments where he doesn’t grasp the social mood and is sheepish when called out on it. He’s social but there’re autistic people who are social. He does often hover at the edge of the gang and go on his own sometimes to do his own thing.

He could be nonverbal because he has no interest in talking and/or that talking is a stressful endeavor. Thankfully, the gang doesn’t press Spike much about not speaking, so he’s mostly a laidback sort. That one time they did press him near the 4th film’s end, Spike did have a momentary nervous “Oh crud” expression before he smoothly covered himself by chomping on grass. As he grows up, I do wonder if he would feel social pressure to become verbal, or become interested in being verbal on his own. Googling around does indicate nonverbal individuals becoming verbal is possible, and has been explored with Spike in a few fan stories. But though Spike might be able to speak a few words, it’s also possible he’ll never become fully verbal. Sometimes with a disability, there’s no “getting better.” Spike might struggle in his older years but come to self-acceptance again and believe there’s nothing for him to “get better” from. And that’s okay. As I’m going to stay Autistic for life, I find that encouraging.

The “Through The Eyes of a Spiketail” episode doesn’t seem that strange to me. I’m not nonverbal but his thought process were similar to mine. I’ve checked a few articles where nonverbal autistic adolescents communicate through computers and it’s not that different either. From what I research, nonverbal people do have rich thoughts and opinions they have difficulty communicating with others.  

I can see Mutt from Hyp’s gang being disabled as well. I know he’s the “Dim” Archetype often found in kids’ show Bully Gangs, but he still interest me. I don’t know of a specific disability but he can be a bit slow on the uptake and doesn’t appear to act his age. He seems pretty agreeable until prodded by Hyp and Nod. As for why he fell with that kind of crowd, well…disabled people have a huge variety of interests like everyone else. And some of them like being punks (Even if not successful ones). I surmise Mutt could have found how Hyp and Nod’s antics amusing and exciting, and wanted to be part of that action. He seems pretty used to the occasional insult or slap directed at him but I wonder if there’s a point where that would affect him.

I do see the yellow bellies, or the herd Foobie leads, as disabled. They can only concentrate on one subject at a time and can have a hard time grasping the magnitude of certain situations. Foobie is different but he’s nonverbal and tends to go with the flow of his herd (I do like the small, cute friendship he shares with fellow green nonverbal Spike). I’ve seen one or two interpret them having more severe autism that leaves them with little choice but to depend upon Foobie and others for survival. I do like that though Littlefoot and the gang do find them in turns weird, annoying, and/or frustrating, they don’t value their lives any less because of whatever disability they might have causes them to have difficulty taking care of themselves (Though Littlefoot was a bit patronizing about it).

I would caution against diagnosing antagonists and villains. Not that they can’t be disabled but it can lead to trying to explain their badness through their disability, which has a bad history. Though unintentional, it can paint disabled people as violent even though we’re far more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violence. Neurotypical people have been logiced and logiced themselves into doing all sorts of terrible things just fine on their own throughout history. I’m probably being a bit paranoid but it’s something I’ve become aware in my disability readings.  

That was fun. One of the things I’ve liked about The Land Before Time are the characters that can be interpreted as having disabilities and I hope I explored them well.
Title: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: DiddyKF1 on April 04, 2018, 09:54:53 PM
I can actually relate.  I happen to have Asperger's.  Also, my youngest brother has Asperger's, and another one of my younger brothers can't talk due to mental retardation, so I would most certainly agree with the theory that Spike being nonverbal is because of some form of autism.

However, one character whom I think has autism is Petrie.  I can think of a possible reason for his timidity and nervousness, and maybe even his broken English.  He probably has Asperger's as well.  My Asperger's basically just causes me to be a more quiet and not very social person, and autism obviously delays mental development.  My guess is that Petrie has Asperger's Syndrome, and that's why he speaks in broken English (he might have suffered from delays in speech development), why he used to be afraid of flying, and why he's not as brave as his friends are.  From my perspective, I can easily relate.

I'm not sure if maybe the "disappearance" of his father might also have played a part in it.  Ironically, my parents divorced when I was about three or four, and I've since remained living with my mother, so for Petrie to have his father suddenly out of his life at about the same age (my theory being that he tried to do what Bron tried to do, and got eaten by a Sharptooth) could also have effected his personality in the slightest.  As mentioned in "E.T: The Extra Terrestrial," family problems can effect a child badly.

And, of course, his uncle Pterano's mental issues.  I'm with you all that Pterano has got some sort of mental disorder that influenced his behavior in the seventh movie.  Now, I doubt that Petrie inherited any of his uncle's mental problems, but this once again proves my point on family problems greatly affecting children.  Although nearly all of the Gang's families have had rough histories, Petrie's has definitely been the roughest.  Littlefoot lost his mother so tragically, Cera lost her mother and siblings, Spike has no known biological family, and Chomper and Ruby were separated from their families by Red Claw, but Petrie?  His is the worst: his father is gone and he hardly ever knew him at all (since we've never heard him being mentioned by anyone throughout the series), he is the occasional laughing stock of his siblings (Asperger's may also have been why he initially did poorly and kept screwing up while practicing for the Day of the Flyers, because some individuals with Asperger's prefer to do certain things alone rather than with others), and his possibly-mental uncle has committed multiple crimes and was subsequently exiled.  Again, Petrie's family issues probably affected him badly and even left some side effects to his possible Asperger's Syndrome that seems to have influenced his timid behavior (and, if I may say so, his sensitivity throughout the seventh movie).

Now, I may be making it sound as if Petrie is a mess compared to the rest of the Gang, but I know that deep down he really isn't. Sure, he's nervous and has speech problems, and his family has a black mark, thanks to Pterano, but he's gradually gotten braver and more adventurous as the series has progressed, and he's gotten along very well with his friends, for the most part. The truth is, he shares many traits that I have: nervousness, often afraid to try something new, and possible signs of delays in his mental development, and because of that, I can greatly relate to him.  That's why he's always been my favorite LBT character, and I'll always have a soft spot for him, especially with his very notable character flaws.
Title: Re: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Gentle Sharptooth on December 22, 2019, 06:39:59 PM
Littlefoot exhibits signs of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). BPD is triggered by feelings of rejection or the preception there of. As long as BDP person thinks you are for them, they are kind and loving, but if you trigger their rejection feelings they become your enemy and mean. Littlefoot exhibits this in LBT I and XIV, when the Gang differs and wants to listen to Cera, Littlefoot abandons them in a rage. While you could argue in LBTI he didn’t know them as well and had his mother’s conviction of the Great Valley, in LBTXIV, it is obvious he doesn’t accept a challenge to his vision and authority. Granted, Littlefoot is trying to save a parent, but I sense Littlefoot has Borderline Personality Disorder because of the death of his mother. He now cannot handle rejection. I will watch more LBT filmx to try and support this theory and turn it into hypothesis. 
Title: Re: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Compsognathus on April 16, 2021, 08:18:36 PM
I think, that Petrie and Guido have both Asperger's syndrome. They do not fit in much, are very nervous, timid. Petrie has big problems to fly in group, but when he flies alone, he is immediately much better, and Guido would sure have the same problem.
Title: Re: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: LittleDas75 on April 25, 2021, 09:56:04 PM
The Yellow Bellies definitely have a learning disorder of some kind and perhaps short term memory loss as well.
Title: Re: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: LittleDas75 on April 25, 2021, 10:13:08 PM
I think, that Petrie and Guido have both Asperger's syndrome. They do not fit in much, are very nervous, timid. Petrie has big problems to fly in group, but when he flies alone, he is immediately much better, and Guido would sure have the same problem.
I agree especially since I have Asperger's myself and the traits you describe definitely sound like me.
Title: Re: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Dr. Rex on June 27, 2021, 02:30:52 AM
Quote
I think that Ozzy and Sierra are psychopaths. Nothing else explains their bizarre and murderous behavior.
Sierra is definitely a sadistic psychopath. As for Ozzy, he isn't as badass as Sierra is so maybe one could say he's showing some psychopathic and violent behavior but he isn't an outright psychopath?
I never got a psychopathic vibe from Ozzy. The writers gave him too much comical traits and contrasted him with a legitimately comic character in Strut for me to really see anything psychopathic in Ozzy.

Sierra, on the other hand, is most certainly a psychopath. He's constantly threatening the children and even relishes in the thought of feeding eggs to Sharpteeth. I also headcanon Rinkus as a sociopath, or more of a low-key psychopath, because he's clearly got a cunning, conniving side behind all that cowardice he shows in front of Pterano.
Title: Re: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: chomper94 on July 19, 2021, 03:51:08 PM
Not sure why, but from watching the TV series, I cannot debate whether or not Chomper has a disorder.

Like I think it’s autism, because he seems to get scared and angry very easily.

But I dunno, I could be wrong…
Title: Re: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Dr. Rex on July 24, 2021, 11:56:25 PM
Not sure why, but from watching the TV series, I cannot debate whether or not Chomper has a disorder.

Like I think it’s autism, because he seems to get scared and angry very easily.

But I dunno, I could be wrong…
Those traits sound way too general to be considered symptoms of an autism diagnosis.
Title: Re: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: chomper94 on July 31, 2021, 10:59:14 AM
Not sure why, but from watching the TV series, I cannot debate whether or not Chomper has a disorder.

Like I think it’s autism, because he seems to get scared and angry very easily.

But I dunno, I could be wrong…
Those traits sound way too general to be considered symptoms of an autism diagnosis.

Huh, I guess you may be right…
Title: Re: Mental Disorders/Disabilites in the Characters?
Post by: Gentle Sharptooth on April 03, 2022, 02:32:24 PM
Not sure why, but from watching the TV series, I cannot debate whether or not Chomper has a disorder.

Like I think it’s autism, because he seems to get scared and angry very easily.

But I dunno, I could be wrong…

Well he is the only Sharptooth in the Great Valley, and Mr. Threehorn is always threatening him. There was that whole exterminate him crusade with Rhett.