Ah, Littlefoot’s father. He does share the same even-keel temperament that Littlefoot, his mother, and Grandpa and Grandma Longneck possess. I surmise alikes didn’t repel when it came to Littlefoot’s parents.
It’s of note that Bron seems to have a sense of responsibility where he decides to act himself. He decides to scout out for a more immediately safer place to raise Littlefoot other than the Great Valley. He takes Shorty and other orphaned children in while searching for Littlefoot. He eventually accepts the duty of herd leader even though he hadn’t looked for it. He looks after Shorty even when no one else would accept him into the family. He personally rescues Wild Arms despite the dangers. Whatever the issue, Bron doesn’t appear to mind getting his paws dirty as long as it improves conditions or see someone be safe.
As for how Bron is as a herd leader, I get the sense he does take the needs and words of his herd into consideration. He makes a proposal about where to go next and how to get there, and he listens to the feedback of the others. They make their case back and forth until there’s a majority or consensus opinion. I believe Bron prefers that kind of leadership. He does have some trust in his own judgement but he has made mistakes as he got used to his role and he would prefer to have a check in case he made some more errors in.
Of course, just because he cares about others doesn’t mean he can’t be insensitive. I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s a deadbeat father but are moments when he seems oblivious to the feelings of others. When he looked after Shorty, he seemed to think of this duty as simply that of a Good Samaritan looking after a troubled neighborhood kid. It didn’t seem to occur to Bron that Shorty might see him as something more until Littlefoot brings it up. Even when the adoption becomes official, he at times give more attention to Littlefoot than Shorty. I don’t think this is intentional. If Bron has this behavior pointed out to him, I’m sure he’d feel guilty and do his best to correct it. I’m not sure where this behavior originates but I find it makes him a more interesting character then if he was a deadbeat or saint.
It’s been commented on a few times but Bron can also be quite playful, as seen with the “It’s great to have a dad” sequence. He looks like he’s having as much fun as Littlefoot. I have a headcanon that when there is downtime, he likes to play with the herd’s kids. This serves a dual purpose. He wants to make sure the youth are happy and entertained but I also think he does this both to make up for not being able to play the role of father for so long and to have a release valve for all the work and stress being a measured herd leader is. I think he revel in being silly once in a while, much to embarrassment of Shorty and some of the kids. Some might roll their eyes at that but I believe others would be fond of it.
In concern with his relationship to Shorty, I have the sense if Bron knows the boy is having an issue, he will try to solve it. I suspect he still has some guilt for not always taking Shorty’s emotions and needs into consideration. Bron knows Shorty would both like and find it annoying but he can’t resist checking up on the boy. Though from how he behaves in his TV show appearance, I kind of got the sense that Bron wanted to either allow Shorty to figure things out on his own or wait until Shorty gets experienced enough to get the explanations. Bron was rather vague about why Shorty wouldn’t be taking the Longneck Test yet and I’m kind of curious if Bron didn’t elaborate on why or if Shorty didn’t understand his explanations.
He probably plays with Shorty by indulging in some of the mischief the boy can get in. If Shorty, for example, throws a snowball at Bron, Bron would respond by throwing a snowball back. Bron likely enjoys that tit-for-tat bonding and putting a smile on Shorty’s face through these games.
That’s all I can think of for Bron. I had a lot of this pinned down while thinking about and watching his scenes but there are parts of him I’m still attempting to figure out (A writer’s exploration of a character is never done).
