Littlefoot's Stubborness

Chomper98 · **on:** August 20, 2012, 06:22:40 PM

Lovable Littlefoot, the main character of the series, a kind hearted, sweet, innocent Apatosaurus, oh yeah, I forgot to say STUBBORN AS A MULE! Yes, a sweet, kind, lovable character is that stubborn. I don't hate Littlefoot very much, but his stubborness is what really gets to me.

Here are some examples, in 1, when he and Cera are hiding from Sharptooth, and Cera starts running, he yells its the wrong way, not considering that Cera may be running for her folks, and automatically assuming that the way back to his folks is safe. If he didn't scream its the wrong way, they might have gotten out safely.

Another is his stubborness when Cera tries to leave, he's hostile BEFORE she insults his mother, and tries to be a dictator and act that his word is final. That scene always irked me, and he thought his mother's word was right, as if it was a divine God's word, which it wasn't.

In 5, he automatically trusted Chomper blindly. I love Chomper of course, but he just blindly assumes he's friendly.

After 5, I don't recall any other incidents like this, until of course the TV series.

In the Search For the Sky Color Stones, he blindly believes that the Sky Color Stones are at the river, yet doesn't consider that they are more likely to be in caves. Honestly, I thought Littlefoot matured past this in 6.

EggStealerGirl · **Reply #1 on:** August 20, 2012, 06:44:09 PM

Yeah, I actually saw that T.V. episode the other day, don't know what was going on through his head, to be honest.

As for the original movie, you do have to remember the situation Littlefoot was going through at the time; he had just led the group to a barren wasteland, after all.

I don't exactly see it as stubborness, but more like determination.

And as far as narcissism goes, I don't really see it with Littlefoot. Pterano's the one who has that kind of problem, not him.

jansenov · **Reply #2 on:** August 21, 2012, 06:14:23 AM

Littlefoot is a natural leader. But since he's a kid, he doesn't have the experience of an adult, so he's bound to make decisions that are far from well-considered.

Tha fact that the Gang always survives the consequences of his decisions, we can ascribe mostly to sheer dumb luck

, with a notable exception in the first movie, where their survival can be ascribed to Littlefoot's childishly naive, but complete faith in his mother.

Cancerian Tiger · **Reply #3 on:** August 22, 2012, 03:18:45 AM

Personally I think they're all stubborn from time to time. We all are; it's part of nature

. Cera is obviously stubborn often, Petrie is stubborn in his defense of Pterano and his overzealous beliefs in "The Bright Circle Celebration", Ducky is stubborn in VIII when she heald a grudge against Spike and in "The Search for the Sky-Colored Stones", where she was so hellbent on keeping her stones it nearly killed her :blink:, and Spike can be stubborn when it comes to eating and sleeping

.

I wouldn't single any one character out for the same behavioral habit they are all guilty of at times

.

Malte279 · **Reply #4 on:** August 22, 2012, 04:29:28 AM

It is often said that Littlefoot was a "natural leader", but is he?
This is not meant to be a snide against him or anything, but I'm really not so sure about the natural leader bit myself. He does show leadership qualities on occasion, but I would not go so far as to call him a natural leader. He rather has a tendency to do what he wants kind of forcing the others to follow (the alternative being to shrug off his putting himself in danger on his own), not allowing for much discussion about pros, cons, alternatives or allowing for much questioning of his views (examples in the original LBT, LBT 2, LBT 3, LBT 5, LBT 6 and LBT 9 in particular). He tends to be vindicated in the end for having done the right thing or by the others following (and sometimes saving) him when it was not quite clear if his actions were the right decisions. He does have a moment in LBT 9 after the presumed death in which he feels that he has been wrong, but there he is actually blaming himself for a chain of events he could not really foresee and where the blaming may be out of place (the scene still is one of the most emotional ones in any LBT sequel).

Chomper98 · **Reply #5 on:** August 22, 2012, 09:50:13 AM

I agree with you Malte, while Littlefoot shows leadership qualities, he may not be a natural leader, yet, as he is a kid, he is still growing. Often, he seems to force the others along, or they just follow him. He is smart, but does not always make the right decisions. One thing that really got to me was how he forced Ducky to be sharptooth bait in the first movie, which may have well killed her, and putting the others at risk to. I personally don't see him as a natural leader, as he often makes mistakes, and more then once risked the gang's lives. I personally think that these flaws will lessen as he grows older, and be a great leader like his father or grandpa.

WeirdRaptor · **Reply #6 on:** September 03, 2012, 03:25:18 PM

So you do hate Littlefoot, then. Of course he thought his mother's word is divine. All kids think so at that early age. It's not really until you get older that you start to realize how wrong they can be. All this Littlefoot hate is starting to make me want to disown you all.

Oh, and HE WAS right. She was going the wrong way when she wanted to leave. He may have been over-aggressive, but he was trying not to add her to the piles of bones out there in a wastelands.

And that TV show never happened. Nor was it a good representation of any of the characters.

FreckledOne · **Reply #7 on:** September 03, 2012, 07:07:56 PM

Actually, one of the reasons why I like the original Littlefoot is because of his "stubborness". The sequels, in my opinion

, turn Littlefoot into a bland goody-goody who is treated as if he was perfect. He is not perfect, but none of the characters are.
It also seemed to me that in the original movie Littlefoot was the one to make all of the decisions because he was the only one with any idea of how possibly to get to the Great Valley. He only has his mother's guidance, but the others had nothing at all. I guess that they thought that it would be better to go off of what wisdom they had than to do nothing and die in the barren wastelands.

And also, it wasn't just Littlefoot who thought that Ducky would make good bait; they all looked at her when he suggested it.

:

Chomper98 · **Reply #8 on:** September 04, 2012, 12:55:17 AM

Quote from: WeirdRaptor,Sep 3 2012 on 02:25 PM

So you do hate Littlefoot, then. Of course he thought his mother's word is divine. All kids think so at that early age. It's not really until you get older that you start to realize how wrong they can be. All this Littlefoot hate is starting to make me want to disown you all.

Oh, and HE WAS right. She was going the wrong way when she wanted to leave. He may have been over-aggressive, but he was trying not to add her to the piles of bones out there in a wastelands.

And that TV show never happened. Nor was it a good representation of any of the characters.

I don't hate Littlefoot, but his characteristics, he's to much of a goody two shoes for my liking, and though he was right, he could have been wrong and died of exhaustion. By the way, I liked the TV series, you may not, but to me, it is in the canon.

Malte279 · **Reply #9 on:** September 04, 2012, 04:40:08 AM

Far is it from my mind to hate Littlefoot (and given how much stuff I collected about him and LBT in general it would be really odd if I did). I just wouldn't call him a natural leader. It doesn't require a character (or a real person for that matter) to be a natural leader for me to be very fond of the respective person or character. This particular thread is about a part of Littlefoot's character that may be seen as a bad thing in some contexts though less often noted because it is rarely depicted as such. Very often Littlefoot's "stubbornness" is shown when it comes to him being extremely compassionate for others, even if some of his friends (Cera in particular) would not show the same compassion. Examples are his occassionally stubborn compassion for Chomper or for the the bullies in LBT 3.

I see however where you are comming from WR. Of lately there have been quite a few threads focusing on traits of characters with headlines promoting a focus on a negative interpretation (Littlefoot's Stubborness, Is Littlefoot Ungrateful, Spike's stupidity... perhaps it may be time to start a thread on a character's qualities for a change)

jansenov · **Reply #10 on:** September 04, 2012, 05:49:17 AM

Quote from: Malte279, Aug 22 2012 on 10:29 AM

It is often said that Littlefoot was a "natural leader", but is he?
This is not meant to be a snide against him or anything, but I'm really not so sure about the natural leader bit myself. He does show leadership qualities on occasion, but I would not go so far as to call him a natural leader. He rather has a tendency to do what he wants kind of forcing the others to follow (the alternative being to shrug off his putting himself in danger on his own), not allowing for much discussion about pros, cons, alternatives or allowing for much questioning of his views (examples in the original LBT, LBT 2, LBT 3, LBT 5, LBT 6 and LBT 9 in particular).

Initiative verging on stuborness, and altruism. Those are traits of a natural leader. So, if you see these traits in Littlefoot, and I see them too, then why don't you call things with their true name? Is it because the word "leader" is too strong, carries some negative connotations and inappropriate for LBT? Because I don't see it that way.

Quote from: WeirdRaptor, Sep 3 2012 on 09:25 PM

So you do hate Littlefoot, then. Of course he thought his mother's word is divine. All kids think so at that early age. It's not really until you get older that you start to realize how wrong they can be. All this Littlefoot hate is starting to make me want to disown you all.

Oh, and HE WAS right. She was going the wrong way when she wanted to leave. He may have been over-aggressive, but he was trying not to add her to the piles of bones out there in a wastelands.

How do I hate Littlefoot? I said it was because of his faith they reached the Great Valley and avoided certain death. That I called his faith childishly naive is just a statement of fact (with which you agree), not a criticism of it in any way. It is something to be expected of somebody his age.

This is off topic, but I must say I have the impression that clear and, in context, inoffensive words (like calling a child's faith childishly naive) are being seen as strong or inappropirate, and clarity is forsaked in favour of long descriptions using vaguer terms. Not only on this forum, but generally when I read texts from people from Western Europe or North America. Why is this so?

WeirdRaptor · **Reply #11 on:** September 04, 2012, 08:20:56 PM

Alright, suppose he was wrong, Chomper. Okay, let's list the alternate directions provided by Cera:

1.

I think that speaks for itself. Even if he was wrong, he was still the only one that had anything, ANYTHING to go on at all.

I agree with Malte, we've been fixating on negative interpretations of these characters we supposedly grew up with and love way too much lately. I don't mind alternate character interpretations, but we seriously have to set aside the overwhelming negativity that's starting to take over character discussions and find something to celebrate about them.

Gentle Sharptooth · **Reply #12 on:** March 05, 2020, 03:20:20 PM

Little Foot is really stubborn in TLBTXIV. He abandons his friends and sings he needs no one. Littlefoot can be quite a little sharptooth pile, hence his nickname Flathead. While his heart is usually in the right place, he strangely gets pardoned by the rest of the Gang a lot; while Cera in contrast is demonized and must do pennance forever for any mistake. As I get older I like Littlefoot’s holier than thou attitude and find myself sympathizing with Cera.