Greetings, folks. We’ve had top ten characters, villains, and some more original ones, now how about another specific one? This thread is about your top ten supporting protagonists not related to a main character. (Mouthful, ah…) Anyway, I encourage people to give at least a tiny reason why they have their list the way they do (should anyone actually want to try their hand at this) but feel free to just list names if you’d prefer.
Littlefoot’s father was a character that started out ruled by logic, and that is why he hit my lowest spot. There is a saying that the lives of many outweigh the lives of few. He clearly uses his head over his heart, and that is why he took care of his large herd rather than going after his small family. I feel that his contributions to the series were very neutralized, as he answered questions but caused new ones to arise. Despite his long period without having to worry about sharpteeth, as his herd was too big for attacks to be considered, he proved to be a very proficient fighter, a great quality for a leader. At the end of movie X, we see he did begin using his heart more, as he let his son live with his grandparents even though he wanted ever so badly to have him there with him. The logical thing was to have him in the safest place with the safest company, but his love for his son allowed him to let him go, whereas it was simply doing what was best for the dinosaur world that made him stay gone before. He grew, but he takes a low spot on my list because he improved in an area that should have never been an issue for a good father.
For number nine, we get to the RPG clichÈ of a character or characters who literally do nothing to help the plot but explain how other characters should do things to help the plot- the rainbow faces. This was what made them somewhat annoying characters. Any The Legend of the Zelda: Ocarina of Time fans out there? Yeah, imagine being followed by not one, but TWO Navi’s. Ah, the image burns! Anyway, they glorify stalking, something not exactly appreciated in a movie meant for children.” Hey kids, if you find some old guy is following you, he might have food, so don’t you worry!” I understand the whole secretive thing which made them have to stay hidden, but- Wait a minute! I don’t understand the whole secretive thing that made them have to stay hidden! The common belief is that they were aliens from another planet, and if that’s correct, where they sent by the planet’s king to observe or something? Scope out their intelligence? We never find out! While some mysteries can be exciting and make us really examine logic, there is no logical answer for what those two’s story is. All they really did was turn The Land Before Time into a science fiction and make its universe a confusing mess. Other life exists outside Earth! Oooooooh! How dinosaurish that is!
Who doesn’t love Rooter? Sure, he was rude to Littlefoot at first, but upon hearing his dilemma, he softened up… And THAT is why he does NOT have a high mark on my list. He comforted Littlefoot, but only after hearing about a great tragedy. Do truly kind hearts need to see a shambling horror to reach out? “You stupid kids! Get off my lawn! /Throws rocks Never come back again. This is private property. Huh? One of them is limping? Hey, come here, and I’ll get you some lemonade and cookies.” He gave good advice that got our hero off to a great start, but Rooter needed way too much motivation to drop his rudeness. He was basically a situationally-nice character, and not so much the angelic voice of kindness and wisdom some make him out to be. Upon seeing him cry, Rooter should have been kind right then. Actually, no, he should have been nice whether Littlefoot was crying or not. I appreciated his advice, but being nice shouldn’t come at such a high price. He may have only done good in the first movie, but he should have done it much sooner and much more easily. This combination has him on my eighth position.
Whoa! Oh, sorry about that, I was sleep walking. That’s very common and highly possible. As for flying in your sleep? Uh… Guido, at number seven, certainly puts the do in weirdo. The series tried way too hard to make an original character. In fact, he is so complex that there is no way to summarize his personality. He is not shy but very shy and very brave yet very afraid and very knowledgeable while knowing very little and very sarcastic while also being very serious and good at remembering while being horrible at remembering. /Huff huff huff Couldn’t he have some defining trait rather than being a confusing mix of contradictions? He gives very generic advice and wins favor by almost saving someone. He needs a lot more than he contributes. He cheered Petrie up when the other couldn’t, and that was very impressive. He was simply there when Petrie needed it, and that strengthened him into flying well in the contest. Still, the gang went through a lot of trouble just so one of them could be a little bit more confident. What I disliked most though was his past and how it is never touched on. Sure, he probably sleep flew into the Great Valley, but why have no memory of his herd or name? Did he bump his head? He is too mysterious with an even more mysterious background for my taste. If the writers want to explain, give me a call.
Ah, Pat. A true longneck in whom there is nothing false. He is thoughtful, helpful, caring, kind, wise, and the list goes on. As for his problems- zip. And that’s his problem- he had no problem! I can picture a halo around his head as he traveled with the kids. He talks a lot, and I mean a lot, but being alone and trying to make extra conversation when the time comes is not exactly a crime. He needs that. Throw in a little arrogance, a little selfishness, a little bluntness, a little anything! He contributes a ton to movie X, but my problem is that he didn’t hinder it at all, the plot, I mean, not the characters, as he did get injured which slowed him down. It is debatable, but he might have had some pride by how he didn’t want the kids’ help when he got hurt, but it was more likely him just thinking of their safety. Also debatably, one might say he had a lack of faith by being surprised by the children’s acts of kindness, but that can also be negated by him being lonely and not used to help. Every flaw in him can be excused. He’s number six because he was too good.
A selfless character gets my number five position. What is also interesting is that she spends her movie time seeking something, so movie X was several quests, with hers being one. She also makes you feel sorry for her by doing nothing but being helpful while wanting something small she may never get. This makes her discovery of that taller male ultimately satisfying. Viewers are just going, “Yes! Now Sue can find her own happiness, not just bring it to others.” She was slightly creepy though how she joked about killing creatures. She stomps on those crocodile things often, I guess, and makes very VERY light of the matter. It would be like a giant coming home and being all like, “Hi, honey. Not much happened today. I just chopped down some bean stocks, carried some cows to our pen, and stepped on some little humans. What’s for dinner?” /Shudder I can really picture some creepy scene where she squashes one, smiles, the scene freezes, then we hear some scary music as it keeps giving sudden closer ups of her face. So she is my middle spot because she does a lot for Littlefoot, finds happiness which warms my heart, but also scares me.
Long ago on a mountain top
A might egg was laid.
If you figure out his story,
I’ll make sure that you get paid.
Just who is this guy? Is Littlefoot right about him being the lone dinosaur? He has the tail tricks. He has the long and limber neck and the shoulders broad and lean. And let’s not forget the scar. But Cera makes a good point. He couldn’t be alive after the story of him being so old. Maybe Doc is the lone dinosaur’s son. That would explain the figure and tricks, but the scar too? I’ve heard of “like father, like son,” but to get a scar in the exact same place as your father seems rather- unlikely. He’s basically a vigilante who goes about helping people, but why? Well at least his story has more logical guesses than the rainbow faces. Doc can be explained with some down to Earth explanations, but the problem remains that he brings a great mystery that is not only never explained, but is never hinted at. This is actually how the rainbow faces are BETTER. Getting beamed up strongly points to them being aliens, but Doc’s ending gives us nothing to go on when we guess about him. Maybe it isn’t necessary to understand him, but it makes viewers way too focused on his backstory when the main character of the series is actually trying to understand him! You could even go so far as to say Doc caused Littlefoot to fail big time. I mean, he spends most of the movie trying to learn about him and never gets his answer. It would be like creating a movie where the hero tries to figure out why there is ketchup on his hamburger, and near the end, we see a ketchup bottle sitting on a counter with no people around. Did he put it on while sleep walking? Did someone sneak by and put the ketchup on? Is he dreaming so there’s really no ketchup on his burger? That is how disappointing the end was when he is never explained. After saving Littlefoot three times, however, he earned spot number four.
Here I have Chomper at number three. Yes, you heard me right. I put him at number three, not one. /Ducks away from rotten tomatoes Hey, just hear me out! Sure, he is the first meat eater we see in the series that actually befriends the characters (followed by his parents and Ruby) and yeah, he enters not one but two films as a side character, but he doesn’t contribute much considering his double time in the spot light. In the second movie, it focused more on the gang’s acceptance and Littlefoot’s bond than the actual character. We don’t see any growth in movie II from him, but that’s to be expected from an infant. That only goes to make his ability to speak in movie V all the more confusing. So it’s like he grew but wasn’t able to express it until his mind could organize what he heard and saw. Confusing much? Well, yeah! He plays the saving game throughout the two which becomes sort of repetitious. They save him, he save them. While this doesn’t always happen in pairs, that’s the main impact he has and that he gets, basically neutralizing his presence. He wouldn’t have been in danger if not for them, and they wouldn’t have been in danger if not for him. It would be like spending all day tripping people then catching them before they fall. However, he does bring about some maturity in racism in the other four, as only Littlefoot was accepting after really stopping to think about Chomper. That almost made the lesson in V pointless, however, as he basically just taught them same thing, only adding how sharpteeth love their families too. My favorite thing about him was how he tested the gang’s bond by pitting Littlefoot’s against the other four on more than one occasion. That little sharptooth really showed just how good of friends the five of them are and how quickly they can learn, so kudos, Chomper.
Littlefoot’s cousin (?) is who I place at number two. Goll-y she has a beautiful voice! /Sits and replays It Takes All Sorts ten times Huh? Oh, sorry, my review. Anyway, I love the fence she rides between causing trouble and preventing trouble. She wants to take Littlefoot alone to go faster, but that can be seen as wanting time alone with him and not having his friends there. She forgets the way and waits to tell him, but that can be seen as her hoping she’ll remember so not wanting to worry him. She never says she hasn’t seen the flower, but that can be seen as her wanting Littlefoot to have hope and that she might just figure out what they look like. There is day and night to most of her big choices, and that makes her flaw/perfection hard to determine. If I was afraid of something, I’d sure want to spend my time with my friend away from my fear. This makes her very controversial but extremely interesting at the same time. Her tolerance also is astounding, as she never gets ugly with Cera and her constant poking. Not only that, but she learns at an astounding rate. She didn’t know about being with other kinds one day, and the next, she sings a very philosophical song about it. Just- wow.
Monday: No, I’m afraid I know nothing about World of Warcraft.
Tuesday: /You all know the tune…
World of Warcraft, you are the best!
Awesome places!
The coolest races!
You filled your pretty planet
With quests and fighting,
To keep from getting boring
And alwaaays, keep it exciting!
Who got number one as far as I’m concerned? Guess guess guess! If you guessed Strut, you are- WRONG! This is about protagonists, not, well, whatever he was. I’m talking about Mo. Sure, he should have been more serious at times. No parents want their children thinking that pretending to be in a life-threatening situation is funny. But aside from the poor example, what’s not to like about him? He is always jovial, the kind of character who really lifts your spirits and refuses to let you feel sad. What I love the most is the contrast between danger and casual scenes. When it’s fine to be so, he’s very laid back and goofy. When there is a problem, he puts on his serious face and does everything in his power to help his friends. Isn’t that the kind of friend we all want? Someone whose cheeriness puts a smile on our faces but is so serious and determined when we need it? He is also selfless, as he never ever told the gang that he saved them that first time, just like Littlefoot dropping that green food in movie I. I find his personality to be the most golden out of all of the supporting characters not related to the gang, rivaled partly by some like Ali, Chomper, and Pat. If you want a good friend who adapts to what you need, take a look at my best spot on the top ten supporting protagonists.
Thank you for reading, and feel free to agree or disagree with any of my points.
