Since Land Before Time 3 was the first movie I saw, I have some nostalgic fondness for this trio even if they are children’s show bully archetypes. Though how they harassed the gang, they weren’t wholly bad and could be persuaded to be better people in the right circumstances.
I agree Hyp seems to be the smartest. I suppose with a strict father like his, it would take some brains to get out from under that thumb and not get caught in too much trouble. He’s going through the teenage rebellion phase exasperated by how he’s parented. Despite his disobedience and fears, it’s clear that Hyp also admires and loves his father. When his friends insulted his father, Hyp objected and made an attempt to come to his rescue. Hyp learned to how to relate to others through his father’s parenting. Prior to arriving the valley, I surmise Hyp’s father was strict in order so his son could survive their tough and unforgiving environment. From that, Hyp learned that to survive and have standing, he must dominate those smaller and less powerful than himself.
There are moments where he is concerned about appearing unafraid and dependent, which leads him and his friends to do reckless and mean things. When they see mushy and soft kids like the gang, he leads them to go on the attack and dominate. Hyp and his friends went around acting like how they believe grownups act, not needing help and operating by their own rules. When the mushy and soft gang ended up acting like actual grownups by rescuing their tormenters in the Mysterious Beyond, it began a transformation that led Hyp’s posse to become better people.
Hyp’s posse kind of reverted in his TV show appearance, but they aren’t as bad as before. The gang strong-arming them in helping to move the fast biter eggs, with Hyp depending on Littlefoot and vice versa to survive, led him to once again respect and appreciate the longneck youth. In the end, he appeared proud to have done the right thing.
In both of his appearances, he was still snarky and a bit posing even after he became a better person. I can see him keeping these qualities even if he continues to have friendlier relations to the gang. At his best, he could become the teasing older sibling to the gang, trying to look after them even if the gang is better and smarter at doing such a thing. With his and Cera’s parallels, I can see them having a snarky but friendlier relationship as they grow up. I read someone note that he might have a bit of a height complex for his species as shown when the gang pointed out they’ll grow up to be bigger than him and that might be a source of a bit of his bullying.
As he grows up, he might come to see his small size not as a weakness but an asset. He can hitch rides on bigger dinosaurs and I can see him asking his compatriots to hitch a ride, hopping on before they can answer, and kicking back on their heads or backs while sighing contently. Said compatriots would sigh fondly and dump him off (at a reasonable height) or commit some other mischief in retaliation. Whatever their adolescent misadventures, I can see Hyp’s posse getting along with kids and teenagers as they grow up, being still snarky and a bit posey while being more careful and responsible.
For the other two, I admit I don’t have much material about Nod. I’ve mentally tried to flesh him out but he’s challenging. I do agree he isn’t much of a thinker and does defer to Hyp but there are moments when he does question Hyp, especially if he feels the latter’s logic is dodgy or if they’re reputation or survival are at stake. When his bravery is questioned, though, he quickly falls in line with Hyp. In moments of danger, he panics and doesn’t know what to do as much as Mutt. It takes the prodding of the likes of Hyp to get him to do the right thing. I surmise he aligned with Hyp because they share a similar kind of mindset and humor, and Hyp says a lot of what comes to his mind. I do have the amusing headcanon that he has overly affectionate parents who embarrass him and who are in turns fond of and concerned about Hyp and Mutt, and the shenanigans they get involved in.
As for Mutt, I think he’s one who joined Hyp and Mutt because he found being with them exciting and their snark funny. There’s a bit of a youthful soul in him that might or mightn’t be related to whatever disability he might have. He follows along to his friends beat more than anything else, and even then he kind of struggles with that. Every once in a while, he does offer objections, like with Hyp’s suggestion to go to the Mysterious Beyond to get water, but like with Nod he can’t stand being called a coward. He does seem the most affable among the trio. When Spike licked him to indicate he liked him and Nod, Mutt appeared delighted.
His TV appearance did build a sweet friendship between him and Chomper. Mutt was nervous about swimming across a lake and admitting he can’t swim but Chomper was nice and patient with him even when he panicked and bumbled in the water. Mutt became fond of him for this kindness, as shown when Mutt later rescued him from the Fast Biter. He shown in that scene he can be good-naturedly cheeky as well. In that episode, I felt we learned a bit more about him as a person even if he wasn’t the sole focus by any stretch and I became even fonder of him.
Anyway, these are my deep feelings about the trio.
