Spike

[Petrie.]

Discuss the character, Spike here.

[Lain_EX]

All I can say about Spike is...






He's silent, dumb-witted and a bottomless pit, but indeed, he helps others and he's a good friend (even if he doesn't even notices).

*everyone stares at me* What? I'm just being sincere.

[novaflare]

All I can say about Spike is...






He's silent, dumb-witted and a bottomless pit, but indeed, he helps others and he's a good friend (even if he doesn't even notices).

*everyone stares at me* What? I'm just being sincere.

less dimwitted than he seems on the surface. They showed that a couple times in the series

[Malte279]

There are scenes in which his stomach gets the better over his brain (e.g. when they are crossing the vines in LBT 7). His being not the brightest bulb in the chandelier doesn't deprive him from being an interesting and important character. People tend to think of him as unimportant because he doesn't talk our language, but I disagree with those people. Spike is a very emotional character more so perhaps than any one of the others. Least hesitant to show fear, grief, and, in VERY rare instances, anger. Moreover he apparenty DOES talk. Ducky seems to be able to give a more abstract meaning to Spike's mumbling in a scene from LBT 7, as one would expect if it was merely signaling his mood. Spike is sometimes difficult to "get to move", but once he does he is very determined.
He is the one who decides to trust Ali in LBT 4 (when Cera does not and Ducky and Petrie are undeceided), he is the one to end the debate in LBT 7 and follow Ducky and her abductors. LBT 8 (a story which I think had good basic ideas which were in many instances poorly realized), showed his emotional live going far beyond eating, sleeping, and seeing Ducky as an older sister.
Perhaps Spike is the most underestimated of all maincharacters.

[pokeplayer984]

After watching the episode, Through the Eyes of a Spiketail, I'll never look at Spike the same way again.

SPOILERS ALERT!!

Through a good portion of the episode, we get to hear everything from Spike's perspective.  The shocking truth is that Spike may hardly ever speak real words through his entire life due to the fact that he can hardly understand anyone.  The episode revealed that most of the words everyone else speaks only come out as some sort of dinosaur noise. (growls, grunts, roars, etc.) The only things he seems to understand when the others speak are either food or name related.  Due to this mental disorder, he may never even speak a simple sentence.

The most interesting thing though, despite this little disorder, we hear his thoughts in perfect english.  This little thing makes it rather difficult to understand just what is going on here.  I really can't figure out this part.

One interesting thing, food pratically calls Spike, particularly new food, no wonder he can find food so well and is such a glutton.

Despite alot of stuff being explained about Spike in that one episode, I still find him a little difficult to understand.  Now, I can only add feeling sorry for him. -_-

[landbeforetimelover]

The episode revealed that most of the words everyone else speaks only come out as some sort of dinosaur noise. (growls, grunts, roars, etc.) The only things he seems to understand when the others speak are either food or name related.

That doesn't make any sense.  He can answer yes and no to questions posed to him by the others.  If they just came out as dinosaur noises, then how could he have done that?  Dear god, did they just make some other stupid unexplainable paradox in LBT through the tv series, something that totally contradicts what we've seen in the movies?  God, I hope that thing dies and dies quickly and they just do the sequels.  That way, they can think before creating an episode and it's not all related to how fast they can get a story out. -_-

[Kor]

I always assumed Spike was like Snoopy, his thoughts were elsewhere and he didn't pay a lot of attention to what the gang were talking about most of the time.  As for talking Spike doesn't need to talk usually.  He gets his point, the few times he needs to, well enough without talking usually.

[Malte279]

I agree that from the sequels Spike seems to be able to pick up complex meaning from what the others say to him. Also there are several cases in which Ducky obviously understands what Spike is "saying". The idea of him feeling "primarily addressed by food" doesn't sound fair to me (though I cannot judge a TV episode I have never seen. In the long run I may have to, but I cant say I am in a hurry). There are occasions where his stomach seems to get the better over his brain (LBT 7 when they are walking across that vine), but I feel that he is very capable to make a distinction between the importance of food and a living friend.
In one land before time audio play which I have (it is in German, so I'm afraid you'll have to take my word for it) there is a situation in which Cera is sinking in quicksand and the others try to drag her out with a vine. Petrie (who is to carry the one end of the vine to Cera in the quicksand) tells the others they should not give the other end of the vine to Spike who might eat it due to the fact that there are still little treestars sprouting from the vine. Upon this Ducky replies audibly upset that Spike "Would never eat the vine that might save Cera!"
In the same audio play Spike also comes up with ideas to save Cera which clearly show that he is not unintelligent or focused on food only.

[pokeplayer984]

Well, the episode did show Spike going out of his way to save his friends after they had gotten caught in an avalanche. (Curtousy of Petrie yelling at Littlefoot and Cera to "be quiet".) So yeah, he does definately care quite a bit about them.

A part of me is starting to think this was a mistake the writers have made.  One that will more than likely never be resolved. -_-

[Kor]

If you like the episode you can always say its' either a dream someone had, or it's in another universe then the main LBT movies/episodes take place in.

[Mornai]

Just a quick question, when we first meet spike in the original land before time, (or when ducky finds him) Why is his egg just left in a small patch of grass? Where were his parents, had they died, or did they have to force on without him, considering he was such a big egg?

[Kor]

Maybe they were separated or didn't survive the earthshake that separated most of the cast from their parents, or grandparents in Littlefoot's case.

[The Great Valley Guardian]

That certainly is a possibility, one I don't think will ever be resolved...unfortunately.

[kjeldo]

very unfortunatly

[Kor]

Very likely not.

[Coyote_A]

...or did they have to force on without him, considering he was such a big egg?

I'm doubt that Spike's parents could do such a thing. The first version looks more realistic. By the way, his egg was lying, we can see, that he was the only one child in his family.

[Kor]

A sad fate, whatever happened to his parents.  But at least once he got to the great valley he found parents willing to adopt him so it turned out ok, with 2 parents and many brothers and sisters.

[LBTFan13]

Spike is a very interesting character. Like Littlefoot, he is definitely non racist in terms of other species because he hangs out with the others. Also like Littlefoot, there are no children that are the same species as Spike, so he will never know what it feels like to have a blood brother or sister (although he definitely considers Ducky as his blood sister). However, unlike Littlefoot, Spike is an orphan who never meets his real parents. I think we will never learn why Spike's egg was alone in the first movie (unless the writers create extremely detailed biographies that reveals the missing links to every character). This creates the main conflict in LBT 8 when the heard of Spiketails visit the Great Valley and Spike becomes friends with Tippy. This relates back to when Ali came to the valley in LBT 4. Littlefoot spent more time with her probably she was the first longneck child he had ever met. Like Littlefoot, Spike probably decided to leave with the herd because he had never seen any Spiketails like him before, and this was his first chance to really experience what it would be like to travel with those of his own species.

[Kor]

That and he was torn between wanting to go with the spiketail herd and staying in the valley.  Ducky helped him make the decision, though she regretted being that angry later.  

And as for no other spiketails, likely what his and Ducky's mother meant was no other "resident" spiketails since I think there was a spiketail in some shots in some movies before that one, though I may not be remembering right.  If I do recall correctly his and Ducky's mother may have approach the spiketail off camera between movies and he either responded in a gruff mean way more like Threehorn or Mr Clubtail would and say something like "no way, I'm not taking care of someone else kid."  or he may have said he's a wondering male, and it's dangerous out there he the mysterious beyond.  He'd e taking Spike way from his family and friends.  He has no idea when or if he'll come back to the great valley and he's not any kind of parent.

[Malte279]

In another thread Rat_lady mentioned that Spike reminded her of a dog. She is quite right according to an article which Don Bluth wrote in the January 2001 issue of his Toon Talk magazine (the issue primarily concerned with the land before time). This is what Don Bluth wrote in that article about Spike (and about the other characters as well):

Spike the love sponge
Although the five little dinosaurs would each have his/her own look, the more daunting challenge was finding an identity for each. Cera, with her irascible personality and vitriolic tongue, was an easy character to profile. Every family has one of these, the brat that against all reason and wise advice, tosses her curls and walks directly into harms way. Littlefoot, on the other hand, is the voice of reason, the pragmatist that tries to find all the answers to problems in his head. Since emotion plays such a big part in coming to terms with life, Littlefoot is bound for frustration. Although he is easy to like, he is not the best leader. Then there is Petrie. He can’t fly, he’s out of step with his own kind, a self-proclaimed weirdo, and he bellyaches his way through the movie. Next, there’s Ducky, the small voice of hope. With her, anything is possible. “Yep. Yep. Yep.” She chirps as she tags along, always the follower. At the end of the day, my favorite dinosaur is Spike. A pure soul, simple, accommodating, and eager to please: He is a character who never utters a single word, yet for me, speaks louder than all of the others. He is a standout like Dopey, who just wants to be loved. I found inspiration for Spike in Cubby, a little Chowhound I befriended at age ten. He was guded to our home simply because my dad thought he might be a good herd dog on the farm. Although these cows would be hard pressed to jump over the moon, leaping the farmer’s four-foot barbed wire fence was a no-brainer, and I was taking flack from dad. It was a simple plan; keep the cows in their own field. The cows were our responsibility, Cubby’s and mine. Though I can’t swear by it, one afternoon I thought I saw Cubby from a distance, plant himself between the fence and the herd to hold court, his head gesticulating as if he were laying down some kind of rules for the ladies, who in a moment or two, tossed their heads, flicked their tails, and walked away. The fence jumping stopped permanently. I put it to Cubby one night as he lay at the foot of my bed, “Tell me old boy, what did you say to them?” He threw me a glance with reprimanding eyes, and then wolfed out a few affectionate throaty sounds, “You know it’s not allowed to speak in human tongue, you must listen to my eyes and read the wag of my tail. I said, don’t mess with the kid, he’s my buddy. Now, if one of you girls is thinking about jumping that fence, think again, because I’m going to bite your tail.” I felf his wet nose burrow under my hand where he soon fell asleep. Keep your eye on Spike when you watch Land Before Time. He may look like a Spike Tail, but that is really Cubby, the Chowhound.