The Gang of Five
The Land Before Time => General Land Before Time => Character Discussion => Topic started by: Ozymandias on September 14, 2008, 01:17:31 PM
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I know they're basically minor characters, but it just warms my heart every time I see these two onscreen together. Knowing they've been together for so long, and showing such devotion. You've gotta admire that, especially in a world full of divorces today, hehe. :lol
Anyone else here have any thoughts on these two? I'd love to hear them.
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I agree. It is great to see those 2 together and that they still have strong feelings for each other after all this time.
I'm glad they kept those to together, instead of having one of them being regulated to the occasional long and medium shot cameos, like Ducky's father has been regulated to.
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I love this couple, and they're grandparent-figures to Littlefoot's friends too :wub:.
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Perhaps... they seem to be a very good couple.
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One thing I have often been wondering about is just how steep the learning curve for Littlefoot's grandparents must have been in the Great Valley (and on the way to it). Judging from their attitude towards Bron in LBT 10 I consider it certain that they must have been Littlefoot's maternal grandparents. His mother however did comply with the rules of species segregation and she in turn in all likelihood learned those rules from her own parents. Littlefoot's grandparents however are as "unspecyist" characters as there can possibly be. I really wonder about their learning process.
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It may not have taken them long, though it may have been a process they had to quickly had to adapt to once the separate herds heading towards the Great Valley started to combine, maybe to help fight off dangers like sharpteeth at first. Then some like Ducky's parents, and others, may have decided it is safer to remain in a large group, and things may have developed from there.
His mother's reaction seems less full speciest like Threehorn has and more like, it's always been this way. That may have been their feelings, though some like Ducky's parents & Petrie's mother didn't have these feelings at all. Petrie's mother I'm guessing based on how Petrie acts when he first meets Littlefoot & Ducky. He doesn't act like a speciest or that he should not be talking to non flyers, much like Ducky was. Unlike Littlefoot who had started to do the same sort of thing that his mother may have done, but since he was so young it was easy for him to unlearn it and put it aside. So maybe not as deeply ingrained as Threehorn and Cera's are. Though she's partially lost it, she still has some of it even seen in some of the tv series episodes.
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They are two of my favorite characters, and it gets annoying that quite a few LBT fan-fictions involve their deaths. Although I guess it makes sense for the writers.
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They may feel the need to do that for this or that reason, not sure why but I'm sure they have their reasons.
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I think it would be interesting to see a story about how these two first came together, and put an interesting spin on it. You wouldn't know it now, but I've always imagined Grandma as being a wild spirit in her younger days, kinda like Cera. She could have been the counter-balance to Grandpa's apparent level-headed and cautious disposition throughout his own life, before she eventually settled down.
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For some reason, I've always imagined that Littlefoot's grandmother was never like that; that she was always calm and reserved... but for some reason, I've always imagined Littlefoot's mother as the "wild one", or at least, the playful one.
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I respect where you're coming from with that. I'm just speculating, because I like the idea of characters who have mellowed with age for some reason. I remember seeing an episode of this Japanese show where they reveal that this calm, calculating woman in her 30's was once the leader of a street gang as a teenager. :D
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Some folks do indeed change over time. Others less so.
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well, the grandpa and ma haven't change over years i think,
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Changing the subject slightly, I thought it was nice that they set aside an episode in the series to look back at Grandpa's past, as a story speaker, and the introduction of his old friend Saro. I had hoped they would do the same kind of episode relating to Grandma's past, since we know little to nothing about her background, but it looks like this is not to be, with the series being shuttered.
I've also mentioned before how my heart gets just a little goopy whenever I see these two nuzzle up together. I just think it's sweet, hehe. Plus, I thought one of the nice touches they made to The Big Freeze, was when you saw them in the hot spring, keeping her warm with his neck over her own. That is devotion, my friends.
:)
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It is and they are sweet indeed. I doubt they'll show much of her past even if there were more seasons since they may see her more as a background character then one of the main adult characters. It would be nice to learn more of each of the main character's parents, and some background characters also.
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Kor Posted on Sep 15 2008, 11:48 PM
It would be nice to learn more of each of the main character's parents, and some background characters also.
That would be cool, maibe it will happen, when we least expect :p
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That would be nice to see indeed. Attention to background characters can really help to flesh out an entire fictional world. That's what helped the Simpsons for so many years. (Though they've kinda turned from that nowadays)
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I agree with background characters helping out the fictional world and its growth as an environment. It makes the stories more believable.
Now...Littlefoot's grandparents...
8DDDDDDDDD
I LOVE them. They are some of my favorites, definitely. Grandpa is my favorite character of all time. He strongly reminds me of my own grandfather, right down from the voice to his personality. I love my grandfather so this is why I love Grandpa Longneck.
Grandma is great too! I love her sweet and fair personality. And it is always so nice to see them together, so devoted, and a lot more understanding than the other adults.
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I really like Grandma and Grandpa, and I was really glad that Grandma for once got the role of the lead parental figure to Littlefoot; I think it's unfair that she spends most of her time in Grandpa's shadow but yeah, that was one of the few good things about13.
Whyis it we see Grandma crying in 2 of the early sequels and also at 73:33 and 74:06 in 10 go look; why not Grandpa?
For some reason, I've always imagined that Littlefoot's grandmother was never like that; that she was always calm and reserved... but for some reason, I've always imagined Littlefoot's mother as the "wild one", or at least, the playful one.
I see Momma Longneck as being quiet and reserved; it's Bron whose shown as being the playful one, lol :lol: !
Which brings up the question: If Grandpa is "Papa Longneck" to Bron...who the hell are Bron's parents...? :blink: Somethings amiss :huh:
I loved in 6, when Grandma come up when Grandpa is telling the story and is like, "Grandpa Longneck, are you filling thosee children's heads with nonsense?" and he's like, "Uh..no Grandma" or something, it's funny cause it reminds me a time of when me, and my sister and our cousins were sittign around a campfire one night and my dad was telling us these horror stories and then mom came out and started scolding him. It was really fun, the stories he told us! :smile
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just wondering but what are the grandparents doing when they put their necks over each others
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just wondering but what are the grandparents doing when they put their necks over each others
This is probably a bit of a late reply, but if you're talking about the Big Freeze, then I believe that Grandpa is keeping Grandma warm and cosy by putting his neck over hers. It's so sweet.
These two are by far my favourite characters, probably just because they are so sweet and such great grandparents. They also remind me of my own grandparents, well the grandmas more so now than the grandpas. My grandpa's getting on a bit and getting more problems with his age, unfortunately, but he was lot like Grandpa Longneck when I was a little kid.
I think it would be interesting to see a story about how these two first came together, and put an interesting spin on it.
Funny you should mention that. I have my own take on their past and how they first met and became so committed to each other, and I would really love to make it into a fancomic someday, since I enjoy drawing more than writing, but of course I need to get my drawing skills up first before that can happen. :D
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Yeah I agree I also love those two characters. They love there grandchild more then anything. And the love they have for each other is amazing and very wonderful.
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I love Littlefoots Grandparents their a nice couple :D
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And I also think the voice actor and actress did a good job with the roles. Kenneth Mars was a very good voice actor for Little Foots Grandparents.
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Ah, yes. Kenneth Mars did an excellent job with Grandpa Longneck, and his voice really fitted the character. It's a shame that he passed away. :cry
Linda Gary and Miriam Flynn both did a great job with Grandma too, though I felt like she was a bit overshadowed since Miriam took over. It's a shame really; Grandma was a lot more involved in the first sequels, and then over time she was just... forgotten. Well, until 13 of course. I only enjoyed the first, er... 7 minutes of that film as it shows a bit more of Grandma being the lead parental figure to Littlefoot as Bruton said, but the rest was just... :bang
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I always wondered what their real names are :huh:
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They're Littlefoot's mother's parents, right? I remember Bron calling grandpa 'poppa longneck', and they didn't act very much like father and son.
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Judging by Bron's limited interaction with Littlefoot's grandparents, we can assume he isn't their son. That and he looks nothing like them, whereas Littlefoot's mother has the same eye colour and some similarities to Grandpa's markings, and she's a little closer in colour, though that may depend on which movie we look at. I think another thing that goes against them being Bron's parents is that he doesn't invite them to join his herd with Littlefoot, and because he calls Grandpa "Papa Longneck" as you said, Loyfe. :yes
I always wondered what their real names are :huh:
Same here, but I suppose that's just something we'll never know officially. I think there are only a few adults with their real names revealed (Topps, Tria and Bron to name a few), but I imagine that like most other dinosaurs in the LBT series, if their real names were ever revealed, it would probably be something that derived from their species name. :)
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They are y fav adult characters in the whole series,they are so devoted to Littlefoot.
I also like they accept Littlefoot's mixed kinds gang of friend. Where Mr Threehorn/Topsy/Cera's Dad still hasn't really accepted that fact.
They are indeed Littlefoot's mothers parents,it was confirmed in a german storybook of the 1st movie when she called Grandpa 'Father'.
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They are y fav adult characters in the whole series,they are so devoted to Littlefoot.
I also like they accept Littlefoot's mixed kinds gang of friend. Where Mr Threehorn/Topsy/Cera's Dad still hasn't really accepted that fact.
They are indeed Littlefoot's mothers parents,it was confirmed in a german storybook of the 1st movie when she called Grandpa 'Father'.
Yep, I liked their behavior towards the Gang very much. Also how they(especially Grandpa) always try to stop arguments :)
A german storybook,eh? How is it called? I'm surprised you read german storybooks :D lol it's my native language and I don't know the book :slap :bang
Anyway your right. They're the parents of LF's mum.
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A german storybook,eh? How is it called? I'm surprised you read german storybooks :D lol it's my native language and I don't know the book :slap :bang
It's called The Land Before Time
Not sure what they call in in German I read it online but they had it translated with english words above the german.
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ah ok, I thought you may speak a bit german, I might be wrong :DD
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There are several German books with the title. What does the cover look like?
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I believe it had the gang with Sharptooth behind them,with Littlefoot's mother's spirit above them kinda 'lighting the way'.
Coming to it not sure if it even official storybook. I stumbled across it while looking up Lion King: Six New Adventues
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Grandparents!!! *is flailing through the forum at the thought*
God, I love these two, they're just sooooo... I can't find the words... so PERFECT together! :D
And good lord, are they awesome too, what with surviving/doing things no RL Sauropod would DREAM about surviving! Though I have yet to find someone who thinks so too before I point it out to them :/ Oh well, that's what happens when you are so madly focused on a character that you skip from appearance to appearance in movies :lol
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One thing I have often been wondering about is just how steep the learning curve for Littlefoot's grandparents must have been in the Great Valley (and on the way to it). Judging from their attitude towards Bron in LBT 10 I consider it certain that they must have been Littlefoot's maternal grandparents. His mother however did comply with the rules of species segregation and she in turn in all likelihood learned those rules from her own parents. Littlefoot's grandparents however are as "unspecyist" characters as there can possibly be. I really wonder about their learning process.
I don't think Mama Longneck truly believed the segregationist rhetoric. For one thing, her son is the antithesis of segregationist. Littlefoot, other than parroting a line to Ducky that he thought that she and him shouldn't be together because of their species difference, something he never acts much upon and Cera seems to be the more segregationist in that movie even, we never really see Littlefoot show bigotry against any species. (He does seem to think the Longneck Wisdoms are the only type and are good for everyone and tries to push them on Loofah and Doofah, even though he actually learned that Petrie, Cera, and Ducky also had their own wisdoms, and it takes him till the end to realize that Yellow Bellies might have their own too. However, he still did learn which is still good for him.) Heck, Litlefoot is even tolerant of Hyp, Nod, and Mutt and wants to help them even after how they treated him and the others. He and the others seem to be able to see the good in Pterano when nobody (not even Pterano perhaps) could see it. (True, Littlefoot didn't trust him at first, but that shows Littlefoot is wise in that area.) And, let's not forget Littlefoot's most bizarre friendship: Chomper. And, Ruby is an omnviore and that might also be taboo in the Great Valley. (Though she seems to be experiencing no hate so far from what we've seen.)
I think Bron might be more a segregationist as he always stayed with longnecks too it seems. Even into the later films, he never seems to want to go to the Great Valley to be with son and in-laws, at least not settling down there, despite saying maybe he'd take his herd there, and perhaps the reason is that he's a bit of a segregationist, preferring to be with longnecks over others. (It never says that about Bron, but we never really see him long, other than with Chomper (I wonder if he considers Chomper a coward too (see his comment about Sharpteeth in film X.) ) Ruby, and the Gang of Five, and only briefly.
(Bron wouldn't be the only one as Ali was the same way. It seems to be normal among longnecks.)
Anyway, I think Mama Longneck may have taught Littlefoot tolerance in secret. If she was such a "longnecks are best" dino, then why didn't Littlefoot ever know there were different types even? Perhaps she is anti-segregationist but isn't too vocal about it.
Anyway, actions speak louder than words. Her last act was to save both Littlefoot and Cera.
As for Grandma and Grandpa Longneck, I love them too. I admit, they are as much a problem for my finale idea of a grownup Littlefoot as a nice grownup Chomper living in the Great Valley would be. Not that they'd be evil, of course, but that so many think they'll pass away before that time. (I don't and think both scenarios are possible (i.e. a nice older Chomper and Grandma and Grandpa Longneck still around when Littlefoot is fully grown.)
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I do love Grandpa and Grandma Longneck. They are very sweet, and seem to take delight in Littlefoot and the kids’ youthful energy and sincerity. They are the type to take some value in whatever life throws at them, and that keeps them going from day to day. They have an even-keel temperament they passed on to their daughter and grandson. That allows them to adapt to and get used to the hurdles the world throws at them, for good and ill.
I think that like Mama Longneck, they merely passed on the belief that herds stick among their own kind more because that’s the way the world then worked than any genuine belief of certain kinds’ superiority or inferiority. Once integrated herds started becoming the norm, they quickly and gladly adapted to it. Their temperament mean that they are very tolerant and patient to the variety of personalities around them. Just because someone might be frustrating doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be disrespected or allowed to die. Though even they have their limits. There were a few times such as in movie 3, 11, and 12 where one or both express frustration with Mr. Threehorn. Still, their temperament mean that they could help work the valley calmly through a crises and deal with the tempers that flare up.
Though sometimes I think that same temperament could work against them. Whether they just learned to accept events or they’re at the age where they can’t be active all the time, they can in certain scenarios be a bit passive. When Grandpa fell ill, he and Grandma accepted he’d likely not survive and didn’t go to find the Night Flower. After the swarming leaf gobblers drove them out of the valley, they couldn’t put up much resistance at the threat of the herd being broken up. When the Tinysauruses were the targets of a witch hunt, the pair objected but didn’t appear to do much else to dissuading. No one checked to make sure the Tinysauruses were okay when the rocks collapsed on the opening. When Bron got stranded at Fire Mountain, the pair hesitated at immediately going to rescue him until the eruptions died down.
Admittedly, some of these were understandable exercises in caution and they aren’t at the level of Willy Wonka deadpanning, “Stop. Don’t. Come back.” However, the grandparents seem to believe there’s only so much one can do about some problems or dangers. I wonder if that could come to be a point of conflict between them and Littlefoot, whose more of a person of action. They get along so well, so it would be interesting to see what might drive a wedge between them.
Of course, the grandparents can also be quite proactive, as seen in the times they save the gang from sharpteeth. Nothing could get in the way of them protecting their grandson and their friends, and they fight quite well for dinosaurs of their age. They must have the patience of saints to put up with Littlefoot’s frequent adventures. Nevertheless, I do think they might value some of those adventures. They are learning as much as Littlefoot about how the world works and that there might be different ways of doing things.
I like the moments where they are light and entertaining the children. Grandpa playing in the snow in movie 8 along with many of the other characters is adorable and those scenes of him telling stories to the gang is pretty sweet. Learning he was a storyspeaker could explain why he can be so patient and forward among crowds, since he had to deal with an speaking to audiences on a regular basis. I do have the amusing mental image of how storyspeaking somehow made its clumsy way into the courtship rituals for the grandparents. I can see Grandma struggling to reciprocate in that, with predictable hilarious results.
Speaking of Grandma, yeah we haven’t seen as much about her. The first several minutes of movie 13 does give the impression of someone who tries to instill safety with her wisdoms – they may seem like simple common sense but as we’ve seen with the gang and even some adults, there are many who forget to follow common sense. She’s someone who appears to be aware of those mental flubs and is concerned to correct them but rather than being strict, she seems to be as easygoing and tender as her husband. Though Grandpa does speak more at meetings and goes out in times of danger, I do like those moments where she doesn’t hesitate to participate in conversations and fights. Does she sometimes not participate in things like rescuing the gang because she has another task to fulfill or if anything happens to Grandpa, Littlefoot would have her? If there are any more movies or episodes, I hope we get more focus on her.
With Mama Longneck, I wonder if during their journeys to the Great Valley they resigned themselves to the possibility that she (and Littlefoot) were dead or if they were unsure until Littlefoot came around to tell them what happened. It must have been hard to hear she was gone, that they didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye to her. The death of even a grownup child must be a pain different from the pain of loving a parent. I wonder if they talk about that difference, comparing the pains in attempting to understand the comfort each other. I do have the sense with the understanding temperaments, the grandparents would be the most understanding of the questionable decisions the gang made in their journey to the valley, chalking it up to children cracking under difficult conditions.
With their shorter lifespans, Grandpa and Grandma probably have worries. They have likely made contingency plans like arranging for him to live with the gang’s other parents but with Mama Longneck’s death, they likely fear he isn’t going to take their inevitable demise well. They would try to make sure they could teach him as much as they could not only for him but for themselves. I don’t know how Mama Longneck’s death influenced the grandparents’ relationship to Littlefoot and vice versa but I’m under the impression they have since come to value their bond with their grandson on its own terms. They value the good work he does in teaching and helping others even if it can worry them. They don’t want to sour their bond with Littlefoot by their deaths.
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I really love reading your posts. You just seem to take everything into consideration and your analysations are always very spot on. I can't argue with anything you said there :)
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Thank you. I usually try to take everything into consideration because I want to have a 3d understanding of the characters and make some internal sense of their actions. It’s especially useful for characters who aren’t very filled with depth, so I’m literary grasping at every straw I could find and holding on for dear life to expand and extrapolate on who they are as people.
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Sorry for reviving this old thing, but I suddenly had a thought...
What if Grandpa Longneck's sickness in the Fourth Movie came from having to run through the smoke in the Third Movie?
Cera and her father were much lower, where the smoke is thinner and both are a (fair) bit younger, but Grandpa is old and his breathingpoint is far higher, where there would have been more smoke. Not to mention he probably breathes in a far larger volume of air when running than the comparetively smaller Threehorns...
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Personally, I have never heard of such a thing before, but since I don’t have much expertise on the subject at hand, I cannot say for certain whether that could be possible or not. It would technically make sense, but Grandpa could have got that disease from anywhere and there’s no official confirmation of that happening in the first place. Therefore, it’s all big gamble. This is a pretty interesting sentiment you just thought about.
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While it's true that smoke ascends, I still feel like the bulk of smoke inhalation issues would happen on the ground since the smog would still be thickest there in a non-enclosed space. You do bring up good points about Grandpa's age though, and if the sequels were ever more interconnected (besides the TV series and XIV making an attempt), this would be a nifty tie-in.
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This is a pretty good theory in my opinion, but the more I think about it, it does fall a bit flat. Yes, he’s old and more susceptible to serious ailments at this point, so inhaling a lot smoke wouldn’t be good to his lungs and organs. However, I wouldn’t think it would cause a disease that would be easily curable with a simple one time remedy, such as the Night Flower. I felt like the smoke should’ve brought on a condition that was chronic, slowly getting worse overtime. Probably something to do with pulmonary or cardio issues. What I’m saying is that the smoke would cause his already fragile body to deteriorate even further, and at that point there’s little you can do to slow it down. It would be interesting to see a different scenario where, yes, he’s sick in the fourth movie, but he’ll still live on his normal life. What nobody would know however is how long he would survive for.
I do fear that his lifespan was maybe shortened, but I don’t think the LBT writers would want to show another character dying...right? Hmm...