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General Land Before Time / Re: Screen Time Experiment - Land Before Time characters
« on: February 11, 2023, 11:53:01 PM »
Alright! Here we are; the top ten! It's time to meet the most prominent of all the Land Before Time characters (aside from the top three, whom I'm saving for the final post)!
How absolutely fitting that we begin the top ten with the friendliest Sharptooth around! Chomper ranks in 10th place with a total of 25 minutes and 16 seconds of screen time, covering three movies. Chomper is the ONLY member of the Gang of Seven who was actually born in the Great Valley, but this was because the Gang hatched him by accident after finding whom they mistakenly believed to be one of Ducky's unborn siblings. From the moment he hatched, he quickly grew close to Littlefoot and began to look up to him as a big brother figure, but alas they had to go their separate ways because of Chomper being a Sharptooth (whom were not allowed in the Great Valley). They did have a much-awaited reunion in Mysterious Island, but again this was short-lived, as the Gang grew wary of Chomper due to him being a Sharptooth. Littlefoot's rescue of Chomper following an attack by the previously-mentioned Plated Sharptooth earned the respect of his parents, and this would play a role in Chomper ending up back in the Great Valley a long time later, when, in the TV series, he and Ruby moved to the Great Valley following an agreement made between their two families after an attack by Red Claw. I still don't understand fully how the valley dinosaurs were convinced to allow him and Ruby to live in the valley, but they must have been told about their backstories. That, along with Chomper's history with the Gang being brought up, must have earned the sympathy of most. His and Ruby's part in Journey of the Brave, however, was very small, and his only real role was leading the search party of himself, Ruby, Grandpa Longneck, Topps and Wild Arms, using his nose to track the scent of his friends to follow the path they took to find and rescue Bron. We definitely need a 15th film so we can delve more into Chomper and Ruby's backstory.
If there's one thing that will make The Lone Dragon happy, it's that Mama Swimmer made it into the top ten! The biological mother of Ducky and adopted mother of Spike appeared in 12 films for a grand total of 26 minutes and 47 seconds of screen time, landing her in 9th place overall. Her most prominent appearance, obviously, was in Big Freeze, where she was torn between having Spike stay with her family or allowing him to leave with the herd of Spiketails so he could be with his own kind. That film saw her get agonizingly close to ten minutes of screen time, and even though she never made it to ten minutes in any of the films, her time in Big Freeze was good enough to ensure a place in the top ten. She is a very likeable character. She is a loving mother to both Ducky and Spike, and simply the fact that she readily adopted Spike for Ducky's sake shows that she does not share any of the racist beliefs that many others did, notably Topps. Everyone in the Gang adores her, and she adores them. She brings such a warming presence whenever she's on screen, especially in Big Freeze, where her presence really warms the otherwise cold mood left by Spike's departure midway through the film. She could be explored just a little more, but hey, she made the top ten! Let's all be happy about that!
We are taking a massive jump with this next one, going from just under half an hour to just over a full hour. Topps, the father of Cera (and later Tricia), sits in 8th place with 1 hour and 44 seconds of screen time, counting every film except Journey Through the Mists. Yep, that's a 1h 0m 44s. He only ended up breaching the one-hour mark right at the very end, during the closing moments of Journey of the Brave due to him being part of the search party that went after the children whom were rescuing Bron. I absolutely despised Topps for most of the series, especially the first, third and eleventh films (which was his most prominent appearance, ranking at #6 for that film). Originally a cruel bigot who refused to have anything to do with anyone who wasn't a Threehorn, hence his still-lingering low views of Littlefoot and others, he was the reason why Cera turned out the way she was most of the time, even though both characters mellowed as the series dragged on. Topps did everything he could to maintain his gruffness and dominance in the herd, but Grandpa Longneck was always quick to put him back in his place when he went too far. He continuously infuriated me throughout the series with his authoritarian-like attitude that only Grandpa Longneck could shut down, and at certain times when he irrationally blamed Littlefoot for putting Cera in danger, again much to Grandpa Longneck's chagrin. I know he eventually improved during the later films, especially after Tria came back into his life, but it's going to take a lot more than his occasional redemption arcs to make up for all the stuff he did in my eyes.
Going from the most rigid parent figure of the Gang to one of the kindest ones, we have Grandma Longneck in 7th place with 1 hour, 1 minute and 33 seconds of screen time. This means that like Topps, she also did not reach the one-hour mark until the final film in the series. The grandmother of Littlefoot, she is an occasional voice of reason in the Great Valley when it seems that neither her mate nor Topps can get things settled down. Besides the Gang, she, along with her mate, were the only characters who appeared in all 14 films, and she ranked in the top ten in six of them, her best rank being 8th in both Journey to Big Water and Great Longneck Migration. There were two films were she had the most screen time out of all the Great Valley adults (Journey Through the Mists and Wisdom of Friends). Like her mate, she is a lovable character whom everyone has great respect for, and she is warming and welcoming to all good characters. I think it's no wonder she landed at #7.
I think it's absolutely no surprise at all that Grandpa Longneck would end up in the #6 rank. This one, I suppose, was painfully obvious from the moment this project began. As I just said when going over his mate, he appeared in all 14 films, and he had a grand total of 1 hour, 29 minutes and 56 seconds of screen time. Just four seconds more, and he would have made it to one and a half hours of total screen time! The grandfather of Littlefoot, he is the voice of reason and the man of power in the Great Valley, watching over the herd with his strong leadership and wise council which is even capable of making Topps bow to him from time to time like he is simply the Hand of the King. He adores all of Littlefoot's friends, and they all look up to him for occasional counseling when things go wrong. Without Grandpa Longneck, there is simply no Great Valley. I guess that's why Journey Through the Mists really took a toll on us; to think that the Great Valley was that close to losing its wise leader. He has even shown to be ferocious in combat despite his age, as seen in Secret of Saurus Rock and Great Longneck Migration, even though on both occasions, he briefly lost the upper hand and had to have backup on his side. I love Grandpa Longneck. He is among the best characters in The Land Before Time, and there is simply no Land Before Time without him.
And now, we're down to the original five main characters!
At #5, Spike had 3 hours, 56 minutes and 41 seconds of screen time, just missing out on an opportunity to reach four hours. Being the silent one of the group, he is just simply there most of the time, yet somehow won the Bronze in Mysterious Island and then surprised me yet again with a shocking Silver in Journey to Big Water! I had originally predicted that Big Freeze would be his only true medal opportunity, but I was 100% wrong, as he didn't even rank in the top five in that movie due to the Spiketails' lack of screen time in the second half. Because of Spike's mute nature and eating habits, he does annoy me at times, but he also has a big heart, as he is willing to be there to help his friends in times of danger, such as when Ducky was kidnapped in Stone of Cold Fire. Not one of my favorites, but still a loyal friend when the time needs him to be.
In 4th place, we have the first of the three Gold medalists (being a character who had more screen time than anyone else in a particular movie), and this was none other than my favorite character in the entire Land Before Time series (and the character whom I'm happily voicing in the VO projects); Petrie! The Flyer had a total of 4 hours, 21 minutes and 37 seconds on screen over the course of the 14 films. Petrie started off the series as a cowardly, flightless nobody who annoyed many film critics with his poor attempts at being the comic relief. However, the sequels slowly improved his character over the years until he became a very likeable character by the time Stone of Cold Fire came out. Petrie was not very active during the first half of the series, as he didn't get his first medal until Stone of Cold Fire (thanks to his uncle Pterano), and even after that, he would have to wait until Invasion of the Tinysauruses for his next top 3 result. Of course, though, as we all know, his crowning achievement was in Great Day of the Flyers. I've already covered on this before in my review of that movie, so here's the short version: Petrie really came out of his friends' shadows in Great Day of the Flyers, especially after Guido came into the picture to coach him on being a better Flyer. Then, when Guido went astray in his sleep and ended up running into a Sailback Sharptooth in the Mysterious Beyond, Petrie showed uncharacteristically pure bravery by getting right into the face of that Sailback without any flinching or any hint of fear and successfully rescued Guido after his friends (whom had been lagging behind) finally showed up to distract the Sailback. He later proved himself a hero by rescuing the newborn Tricia from certain death DURING the Day of the Flyers, and he ultimately earned the respect and admiration of everyone in the Great Valley for his heroism. In the process, he earned the Gold medal for that movie for having the most screen time (one of only two Golds to not be won by Littlefoot due to him not being the central focus character). Petrie ended up having quite a big run late in the series, winning medals in all the last four films consecutively, and for a moment it looked as though he was threatening to challenge Ducky for third place, but in the end, he couldn't come within five minutes of Ducky, and thus Petrie ranks at #4.
Okay. We're saving the best for last. Stay tuned for the reveal of the top three!
Ranks 10-4
How absolutely fitting that we begin the top ten with the friendliest Sharptooth around! Chomper ranks in 10th place with a total of 25 minutes and 16 seconds of screen time, covering three movies. Chomper is the ONLY member of the Gang of Seven who was actually born in the Great Valley, but this was because the Gang hatched him by accident after finding whom they mistakenly believed to be one of Ducky's unborn siblings. From the moment he hatched, he quickly grew close to Littlefoot and began to look up to him as a big brother figure, but alas they had to go their separate ways because of Chomper being a Sharptooth (whom were not allowed in the Great Valley). They did have a much-awaited reunion in Mysterious Island, but again this was short-lived, as the Gang grew wary of Chomper due to him being a Sharptooth. Littlefoot's rescue of Chomper following an attack by the previously-mentioned Plated Sharptooth earned the respect of his parents, and this would play a role in Chomper ending up back in the Great Valley a long time later, when, in the TV series, he and Ruby moved to the Great Valley following an agreement made between their two families after an attack by Red Claw. I still don't understand fully how the valley dinosaurs were convinced to allow him and Ruby to live in the valley, but they must have been told about their backstories. That, along with Chomper's history with the Gang being brought up, must have earned the sympathy of most. His and Ruby's part in Journey of the Brave, however, was very small, and his only real role was leading the search party of himself, Ruby, Grandpa Longneck, Topps and Wild Arms, using his nose to track the scent of his friends to follow the path they took to find and rescue Bron. We definitely need a 15th film so we can delve more into Chomper and Ruby's backstory.
If there's one thing that will make The Lone Dragon happy, it's that Mama Swimmer made it into the top ten! The biological mother of Ducky and adopted mother of Spike appeared in 12 films for a grand total of 26 minutes and 47 seconds of screen time, landing her in 9th place overall. Her most prominent appearance, obviously, was in Big Freeze, where she was torn between having Spike stay with her family or allowing him to leave with the herd of Spiketails so he could be with his own kind. That film saw her get agonizingly close to ten minutes of screen time, and even though she never made it to ten minutes in any of the films, her time in Big Freeze was good enough to ensure a place in the top ten. She is a very likeable character. She is a loving mother to both Ducky and Spike, and simply the fact that she readily adopted Spike for Ducky's sake shows that she does not share any of the racist beliefs that many others did, notably Topps. Everyone in the Gang adores her, and she adores them. She brings such a warming presence whenever she's on screen, especially in Big Freeze, where her presence really warms the otherwise cold mood left by Spike's departure midway through the film. She could be explored just a little more, but hey, she made the top ten! Let's all be happy about that!
We are taking a massive jump with this next one, going from just under half an hour to just over a full hour. Topps, the father of Cera (and later Tricia), sits in 8th place with 1 hour and 44 seconds of screen time, counting every film except Journey Through the Mists. Yep, that's a 1h 0m 44s. He only ended up breaching the one-hour mark right at the very end, during the closing moments of Journey of the Brave due to him being part of the search party that went after the children whom were rescuing Bron. I absolutely despised Topps for most of the series, especially the first, third and eleventh films (which was his most prominent appearance, ranking at #6 for that film). Originally a cruel bigot who refused to have anything to do with anyone who wasn't a Threehorn, hence his still-lingering low views of Littlefoot and others, he was the reason why Cera turned out the way she was most of the time, even though both characters mellowed as the series dragged on. Topps did everything he could to maintain his gruffness and dominance in the herd, but Grandpa Longneck was always quick to put him back in his place when he went too far. He continuously infuriated me throughout the series with his authoritarian-like attitude that only Grandpa Longneck could shut down, and at certain times when he irrationally blamed Littlefoot for putting Cera in danger, again much to Grandpa Longneck's chagrin. I know he eventually improved during the later films, especially after Tria came back into his life, but it's going to take a lot more than his occasional redemption arcs to make up for all the stuff he did in my eyes.
Going from the most rigid parent figure of the Gang to one of the kindest ones, we have Grandma Longneck in 7th place with 1 hour, 1 minute and 33 seconds of screen time. This means that like Topps, she also did not reach the one-hour mark until the final film in the series. The grandmother of Littlefoot, she is an occasional voice of reason in the Great Valley when it seems that neither her mate nor Topps can get things settled down. Besides the Gang, she, along with her mate, were the only characters who appeared in all 14 films, and she ranked in the top ten in six of them, her best rank being 8th in both Journey to Big Water and Great Longneck Migration. There were two films were she had the most screen time out of all the Great Valley adults (Journey Through the Mists and Wisdom of Friends). Like her mate, she is a lovable character whom everyone has great respect for, and she is warming and welcoming to all good characters. I think it's no wonder she landed at #7.
I think it's absolutely no surprise at all that Grandpa Longneck would end up in the #6 rank. This one, I suppose, was painfully obvious from the moment this project began. As I just said when going over his mate, he appeared in all 14 films, and he had a grand total of 1 hour, 29 minutes and 56 seconds of screen time. Just four seconds more, and he would have made it to one and a half hours of total screen time! The grandfather of Littlefoot, he is the voice of reason and the man of power in the Great Valley, watching over the herd with his strong leadership and wise council which is even capable of making Topps bow to him from time to time like he is simply the Hand of the King. He adores all of Littlefoot's friends, and they all look up to him for occasional counseling when things go wrong. Without Grandpa Longneck, there is simply no Great Valley. I guess that's why Journey Through the Mists really took a toll on us; to think that the Great Valley was that close to losing its wise leader. He has even shown to be ferocious in combat despite his age, as seen in Secret of Saurus Rock and Great Longneck Migration, even though on both occasions, he briefly lost the upper hand and had to have backup on his side. I love Grandpa Longneck. He is among the best characters in The Land Before Time, and there is simply no Land Before Time without him.
And now, we're down to the original five main characters!
At #5, Spike had 3 hours, 56 minutes and 41 seconds of screen time, just missing out on an opportunity to reach four hours. Being the silent one of the group, he is just simply there most of the time, yet somehow won the Bronze in Mysterious Island and then surprised me yet again with a shocking Silver in Journey to Big Water! I had originally predicted that Big Freeze would be his only true medal opportunity, but I was 100% wrong, as he didn't even rank in the top five in that movie due to the Spiketails' lack of screen time in the second half. Because of Spike's mute nature and eating habits, he does annoy me at times, but he also has a big heart, as he is willing to be there to help his friends in times of danger, such as when Ducky was kidnapped in Stone of Cold Fire. Not one of my favorites, but still a loyal friend when the time needs him to be.
In 4th place, we have the first of the three Gold medalists (being a character who had more screen time than anyone else in a particular movie), and this was none other than my favorite character in the entire Land Before Time series (and the character whom I'm happily voicing in the VO projects); Petrie! The Flyer had a total of 4 hours, 21 minutes and 37 seconds on screen over the course of the 14 films. Petrie started off the series as a cowardly, flightless nobody who annoyed many film critics with his poor attempts at being the comic relief. However, the sequels slowly improved his character over the years until he became a very likeable character by the time Stone of Cold Fire came out. Petrie was not very active during the first half of the series, as he didn't get his first medal until Stone of Cold Fire (thanks to his uncle Pterano), and even after that, he would have to wait until Invasion of the Tinysauruses for his next top 3 result. Of course, though, as we all know, his crowning achievement was in Great Day of the Flyers. I've already covered on this before in my review of that movie, so here's the short version: Petrie really came out of his friends' shadows in Great Day of the Flyers, especially after Guido came into the picture to coach him on being a better Flyer. Then, when Guido went astray in his sleep and ended up running into a Sailback Sharptooth in the Mysterious Beyond, Petrie showed uncharacteristically pure bravery by getting right into the face of that Sailback without any flinching or any hint of fear and successfully rescued Guido after his friends (whom had been lagging behind) finally showed up to distract the Sailback. He later proved himself a hero by rescuing the newborn Tricia from certain death DURING the Day of the Flyers, and he ultimately earned the respect and admiration of everyone in the Great Valley for his heroism. In the process, he earned the Gold medal for that movie for having the most screen time (one of only two Golds to not be won by Littlefoot due to him not being the central focus character). Petrie ended up having quite a big run late in the series, winning medals in all the last four films consecutively, and for a moment it looked as though he was threatening to challenge Ducky for third place, but in the end, he couldn't come within five minutes of Ducky, and thus Petrie ranks at #4.
Okay. We're saving the best for last. Stay tuned for the reveal of the top three!