The Gang of Five
The Land Before Time => 1988 Theatrical Release => Topic started by: raga on June 29, 2009, 12:09:05 AM
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A couple weeks ago my girlfriend wanted to watch the original LBT so I put on my laptop and we watched it together. Now my favorite character is Cera so I was hoping she would like her too. Unfortunately I never realized how much of a... of a... well b***h she is in the first movie. They really do her no justice. I'm actually more shocked at myself for never realizing how horrible she is made out to be. Think about the movie, does she actually do a single nice thing during it?
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Her attitude is understandable in the first film. She hasn't gotten to experience being with anyone but her own kind so far. The only thing she has to go on is her father's beliefs. It's no wonder she's so horrible. :p
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Well, she does save the day in the end by providing the extra grunt the gang needs to push the rock off the cliff. It's also worth noting that she appears genuinely sorrowful when the gang believes Petrie to have gone down with the sharptooth.
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She is overcoming strong prejudices which she did not just "pick up" (as in case of Littlefoot) but which she was actively taught and which she had thoroughly accepted. This is a very difficult thing to do, especially for one as proud as Cera.
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All I can say is that she has improved a LOT throughout the series. She's perhaps the most improved character as far as I'm concerned. That's all I can say now without blowing smoke. I hate how she's treated negatively by many fans :anger :anger!
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Oh I know she proves herself through the sequels and I understand the reasoning, but try and consider it as if you were and outsider. Would you be so understanding?
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I don't know, i kinda missed Cera's original attitude in sequels.
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I like the fact that Cera has changed in the sequels and shows her sweet side now and again. And I fully understand why she was the way she was in the first movie. I don't begrudge her for her father's wrong teachings.
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Cera's my least favorite character, and probably for that reason. But she has changed throughout the sequels. And it seems that it's her father's fault, but, he too changes, especially after LBT 11.
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She does change quite a bit over the series indeed. Some of the other characters have changed a bit or just slightly, but often not as much as Cera has overall.
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Oh I know she proves herself through the sequels and I understand the reasoning, but try and consider it as if you were and outsider. Would you be so understanding?
I always was an outsider, and I do think I would be just as understanding. I've always been the type to see the positive in others and get to know them better before jumping to conclusions about them. Given that Cera was the outsider of the Gang in the original, I can totally sympathize with her character. Bein' misunderstood can really hurt at times, and some just grow to feel bitter about it. In addition to that, she was perhaps in her own way following "Survival of the Fittest". She most likely felt that acting tough would keep her safe and not look vulnerable or weak. It's a matter of opinion I suppose, but to me, Cera is anything but a b****.
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in my opinion, Cera is a B****!!! especially in the first movie!!!
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All I can say to that is to be careful with character-bashing. There was an interesting topic on here a long time ago, and it was locked 'cuz somebody referred to Ducky as a b****. As for my feelings, I'm offended by such a statement but ya have the right to your opinion also. No further comments at this time.
EDIT: I'm actually glad Cera is the way she is. Observing her throughout the years played a major factor in helping me finally grow a pair and start standing up for myself. Sure, she could be nicer and undoubtedly will be when she matures, but I would not like her any other way.
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I probably explained my view of Cera like 20 times already, but I'll say it again:
I'm not in anyway a fan of Cera. I never was and I don't think I ever will be. I just don't like her very much. I remember I used to HATE Cera. Like REALLY REALLY LOATHED her because I just needed something to hate. :p She was mean to my more favorite characters (i.e Little Foot, Petrie, Pterano, etc) and I just wish someone could put her in her place.
You know though, I find the characters or people that I don't like very much have something in them that I can find in me that I don't like. Like her, I can get VERY stubborn and I felt like I have to protect myself most of the time by acting a certain way. Not so much mean, but just "tough". Some people thought they were helping me with some things when really they weren't at all, they were just making the situation worse. So Cera is a character I have learned to love but I still get annoyed with her during her tude. Like being mean to Little Foot and Petrie.
I know she's only a kid, but she's a bully basically all through the series. She CAN be compassionate, but it's hard for her to show it.
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Actually, I think that was one of the overall points in the movie. Cera who isn't very nice to any of the gang, possibly due to her ''kind'' reaction to other dinosaurs I got the feeling that the others (with the exception of Spike) were more tolerant of each other than the ''three horns''. As the gang's journey progresses, Cera begins to tolerate and eventually become friends with each of the members. That was one of the whole point; character progression. Not saying that she was very nice at the end. What I mean is that she had changed to become more tolerant.
That should make some sort of sense.
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She changes over the course of the movies to an extent. It makes sense she'd be at her worst in the first movie.
Ducky & Petrie's kind/ parents, seemed very open about associating with others who are not their kind. Littlefoot's mother seemed to think it was normal to not associate with non long necks, though she seems to not have been a speciest like Cera's dad is.
Littlefoot had some of this, but he was able to fairly quickly loose it, which likely shows his mother and grand parents were likely not speciests, just didn't associate with non longnecks since that seems like the more normal way of doing things.
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Perhaps it makes a bit more sense for species like Ducky's and Petrie's not to be as racist as species who could "take care of themselves" in case of a fight. I notice that all the species we have seen displaying racism (mainly threehorns, but also longnecks, and spiketails) are the kind that might be able to take on a sharptooth. Species like Ducky's or Petrie's on the other hand would rather have to run in case of a sharptooth attack and may therefore be less racist towards other species if there is any chance to get any protection from them. In case of the flyers, the racism of the other kinds may not be quite as pronounced (this is must my guess though) as a moving herd offering protection to a flyer might benefit from that flyer's ability to scout ahead or warn of approaching danger or anything like that.
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...somebody referred to Ducky as a b****.
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:mad
Anyway... I don't know about how much more negative she is in the first movie compared to the sequels. Like I was watching 5 last night, and the way she acts to Chomper...It just seems that every movie she learns a lesson and stops all the crap about being mean to everyone. But in the very next movie, she goes back to telling everyone off.
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As I've said many times before, I'm glad she's made to be a tough female character. Quite frankly, I get sick of seeing so many female stereotypes in entertainment. It seems, in American society, that if you're a female and you're not a passive wuss who only does "feminine" activities, then you're a b****. That is so wrong it makes me wanna puke :x! I love Cera's outspoken personality, and her tendency to deviate from bein' just another female stereotype. Also, I can understand why she fels she has to come across as tough or "mean". She's just protecting her vulnerability, and there's nothin' wrong with that. Anyone who has ever been an outsider or bullied by others would know how awful it feels to feel vulnerable and helpless <_<.
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in my opinion, Cera is a B****!!! especially in the first movie!!!
I disagree with that statement, to be honest. As stated already, in the first movie, she was still overcoming prejudice she was brought up with. In the later installments, she becomes gentler, though still retains a tough attitude. That doesn't make her...that word you used.
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I notice that my posts in this thread may not have made my view on the original statements sufficiently clear. I am really glad they made Cera the way she is rather than coming up with some clischÈ creation like another Mary Sue or a "helpless female".
It seems, in American society, that if you're a female and you're not a passive wuss who only does "feminine" activities, then you're a b****. That is so wrong it makes me wanna puke
I understand your point very well, but alas it is not a problem of American society only and certainly not of females only. Being a single male and speaking up in favor of equal treatment often seems to be sufficient proof of any male being gay these days :rolleyes:
Anyway I'm getting off topic.
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I definitely believe that Cera was made out to be the way she was in the first movie because she was the character that brought out the conflict within the main characters. If you look at Ducky, Petrie, and Spike, none of them would ever discriminate against another because they were different. Also, on another note, Cera is the closest to Littlefoot's age, so it would make more sense that she were the "dinosaur prejudice" because a much younger dinosaur like Ducky would probably not argue with an older dinosaur like Littlefoot. Hopefully this makes sense, but basicly I think Cera had to be the way she was.
I think what really caused Cera to change the most was Chomper. They met Chomper not long after they first arrived at the Great Valley, and although she showed high animosity towards him at first, throughout LBT II she becomes more accepting of him as a friend. Of course, her tension towards him is revived in LBT V since he becomes a little older, but again towards the end of the movie she becomes more accepting until she fully considers him a good friend. I think this was the turning point in her change because if she could learn to not discriminate against a sharptooth, then she could be accepting of practically any dinosaur.
Finally, I think Cera's personallity is meant to portray a "nice bad girl". She definitely has the bad girl attitude, as she displays it quite frequently, but it does not overshadow the nice girl sensitive side she has inside. I think she is a very dynamic character and is probably one of the most important characters because of her personality, along with her change and the beliefs she was brought up to believe.
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Cera is the closest to Littlefoot's age, so it would make more sense that she were the "dinosaur prejudice" because a much younger dinosaur like Ducky would probably not argue with an older dinosaur like Littlefoot. Hopefully this makes sense, but basicly I think Cera had to be the way she was.
The suggestion of Cera as the oldest wasn't brought up until LBT 5 though and has been debated ever since. If the order of the hatching in the original movie plays a role in this question then actually Ducky would be the oldest.
Personally I don't think Ducky would be significantly younger than Littlefoot and Cera, but rather that her kind is just not as ready to take on prejudices or biases as some of the more defensible kinds (threehorns, longnecks, and spiketails) are. There is nothing to suggest that at any age Ducky would through her personality or through teaching by her parents have adopted any prejudices similarly strong as those of Cera or Littlefoot's mother (Littlefoot himself never seems to have adopted them with heart and mind).
One point that contradicts my view of less prejudices among the not so defensible kind is the outcut oasis scene (http://www.gangoffive.net/index.php?topic=1300.20) in which members of Ducky's kind don't want to allow anyone of a different kind to drink from their water. The scene never appeared in the movie though, so Ducky's kind, no matter the age, has remained rather unburdened by prejudices so far.
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Not sure if there’s much I can add to this topic, and I don’t consider myself to be a particularly keen judge of character anyway, but after considering numerous details of Cera’s behavior in the first movie, I have come to two conclusions. Firstly, I think that Cera mainly acts rude and arrogant to protect her pride as a threehorn. (We all know how important that is to her.) Furthermore, maybe I’m just interpreting the movie and Cera’s actions differently from other people (or perhaps I’m just outrageously oblivious), but outside of insulting Littlefoot and his mother and being seemingly apathetic towards Ducky, Spike, and Petrie when she leads them into the Burning Mountains, I really don’t see her as having been all that bad. :blink: (Stubborn, proud, boastful, and rash she may be, but certainly not deserving of a label like “b****.”)
When Littlefoot first meets Cera, she appears to have no qualms about playing with him. (Granted, we will never know exactly how the pair would have interacted had Cera’s father not prevented it; for all we know, he may have inadvertently saved Littlefoot from one nasty head-on collision. :lol) Even after taunting Littlefoot by repeating her father’s statement, “threehorns never play with longnecks” (my opinion is that she was just being impressionable), she hardly objects to playing with them in the hoppers’ pond. It is only after Cera is separated from her family that she refuses to associate with Littlefoot, and even that doesn’t last long.
I have always been disappointed that we never really got to see Cera’s (or Spike’s, or even Petrie’s, for that matter) “initiation” into the gang (if you get what I’m saying). But although she appears to largely keep her distance from the others for much of the journey, it’s obvious that she would rather travel with them than adhere to traditional threehorn doctrine and go it alone. (At the very least, she is accepting that it is safer to stay in a group, even if the other members of that group lack horns. :p)
More significantly, when Cera is woken by Sharptooth’s roar the morning after sleeping in the footprint with the rest of the gang, the first thing she does is attempt to wake Littlefoot. If she had been solely interested in self-preservation, one would have expected her to immediately and silently race off, leaving the others to sate Sharptooth’s appetite. The fact that she bothered to raise an alarm says to me that she cared enough to not want such a fate to befall them.
It could also be argued that her apparent apathy for Petrie, Ducky and Spike while traveling through the Burning Mountains is attributable to her being angry after her squabble with Littlefoot (who appeared equally unconcerned for the others’ safety when they left to follow Cera); so much so that she didn’t notice that Petrie had fallen off her or that Spike and Ducky had been left behind. (I’m not entirely sure if this interpretation makes sense, but I thought I’d share it just the same.)
While my early memories of watching the original The Land Before Time are dim, I don’t remember ever disliking Cera (though her father genuinely scared me). Somehow, even compared to the sequels, her behavior in the original movie never struck me as being all that horrible.
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Cera is one of my faves too.
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As I've said many times before, I'm glad she's made to be a tough female character. Quite frankly, I get sick of seeing so many female stereotypes in entertainment. It seems, in American society, that if you're a female and you're not a passive wuss who only does "feminine" activities, then you're a b****. That is so wrong it makes me wanna puke :x! I love Cera's outspoken personality, and her tendency to deviate from bein' just another female stereotype. Also, I can understand why she fels she has to come across as tough or "mean". She's just protecting her vulnerability, and there's nothin' wrong with that. Anyone who has ever been an outsider or bullied by others would know how awful it feels to feel vulnerable and helpless <_<.
Wow...such Passion for one Character. And you know what I feel the same way about everything you said. In fact I to don't see why most fans would show discrimination against Cera especially why they call her a B####. They just don't understand what Cera has been through. I see Great amount of improvement from her myself.
All I can say is...Cera will ALWAYS be my favorite Character for the Franchise because she changed alot and deserve some credit. beside; most every TV show must have there Aggressive Characters to keep the show balanced.
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Like many, I'm not particularly fond of Cera, but I can also understand the rational behind her attitude and personality. I think that she just takes after her dad, and that his heavy influence on her in her early years did not help matters.
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It does make sense since her dad and mother had all the time from when she hatched till she was separated from them in the earthquake seen in the first movie to influence her, and that would be a lot of influence. I doubt that could be fully shaken off. Though lessened perhaps over time with the added influence of her friends and Tria. Tricia will likely not be influenced as deeply as Cera is since from the start she has other influenced then just her father.
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What does she do in each movie? I mean, what is the extent of good/bad things that she has done? (You may need to refresh my memory, I haven't seen the films in a while)
In the first film, well, we all know what happened there. Although I imagine her heading off to cry may also have been guilt for insulting someone who came back for her. Actually, I think this is the worst thing Cera has ever done, and I doubt she would ever do anything like this again.
In 2, 3, and 4, she seems to be mostly nice, with occasional outbursts of pride. 5 & 6 she appears to be just grouchy. Come to think of it, in most of the movies her behavior has remained consistent, and despite her nasty demeanour in parts of the first film, I think she has completely reformed, and just retains some aspects of her angry side, mostly out of pride, which is still quite an improvement.
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One thing I have often been wondering about is the scene in LBT 4 in which Cera flatly refuses to believe or help Ali to save Littlefoot. One of the things I have been wondering about is if Cera REALLY believed that Ali was lying or if perhaps she was actually quickly making up her mind for the later great entrance the moment Ali said Littlefoot was in danger. Neither seems very plausible.
What if Ducky, Petrie, and Spike had in that moment followed Cera rather than Ali? And what if they had and Cera indeed did believe Ali? In that case Cera would have had to make a rather strange turnabout.
Her motives about Ali are also an interesting question, was it mainly her annoyance about Ali's being scared about them (pretty much the same kind of racism which Cera was brought up to believe in though in Cera's case it was more the "we are better than the others" rather than the "the others are dangerous" kind of racism)? Or was it the same kind of jealousy which she showed towards Mo in LBT 9? The later seems more likely but she showed very clearly that she had overcome it in the scene where she makes room for Ali to lie beside Littlefoot when they lie down to rest in the field of night flowers (though Ali could have laid down on the other side of Littlefoot just as well).
What if Ali's initial reaction towards Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike had not been this "fear"? Was it actually really fear or was that fear on Ali's part just a pretense to get Littlefoot all for herself? Whatever else Petrie may say, he and the others did not come across as particularly scary and one would expect a migrating longneck who has experienced the hardships of the land of mists and the mysterious beyond to have a bit more backbone.
Anyway, I reckon I am straying too far from the topic now.
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Her motives about Ali are also an interesting question, was it mainly her annoyance about Ali's being scared about them (pretty much the same kind of racism which Cera was brought up to believe in though in Cera's case it was more the "we are better than the others" rather than the "the others are dangerous" kind of racism)? Or was it the same kind of jealousy which she showed towards Mo in LBT 9?
I'd say her motive is a mix of what you mentioned Malte
refering to the 1st point I'd rather say she didn't like Ali since she's a longneck( so she's not a threehorn like her( her father especially dislikes longnecks btw)). Since Cera is proud of herself she rather made fun of Ali being afraid of the gang instead of feeling annoyed because of that :)
In spite of the fact that Cera hates longnecks she befriended with Littlefoot in the original. Ali was a big rival of Cera since both of them wanted Littlefoots attention. While Ali wanted to play only with Littlefoot Cera wanted him to play with the gang. So it's more than understandible that jealousy is the much bigger motive of Cera :yes
What if Ali's initial reaction towards Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike had not been this "fear"? Was it actually really fear or was that fear on Ali's part just a pretense to get Littlefoot all for herself?
That's a good question! I think that it quite could be just a pretence, but since the movie should teach the children, for whom LBT is basically made ;), that all kinds are equal I'd say it was more
likely her fear than a pretence to play with her new friend Littlefoot.
Whatever else Petrie may say, he and the others did not come across as particularly scary and one would expect a migrating longneck who has experienced the hardships of the land of mists and the mysterious beyond to have a bit more backbone.
I never thought of that yet :D Now that I think about that I wonder about Alis fear, too. She actually should have some experiences the gang hadn't made so far, but it's exactly the reverse :huh:
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Cera has the biggest character development in the whole franchise.Sure,she starts out as a full time jerk,but gets better and better through the series.She's now like Rainbow Dash when it comes to her behavior,i'd say.
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I certainly don't think of Cera as a jerk, but she does have serious attitude. Some of which may in fact be defined as problematic because of her upbringing (just watching Topps and Cera arguing is enough :o)
but despite her overprotective, narrowminded, rigid father, Cera's turned out quite awesome^^ spending time wiht the Gang helped her, too.
Plus, bad girls rock XDD
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What got me was in the first film was when Cera called Little Foot's mother a "Stupid long-neck" knowing full well that she was dead and had saved her life. That I just couldn't forgive.
It's a shame that it sounds like her redemption would've come in one of the scenes that was cut since she really doesn't get much of one in what was released.
I can, however, admire that she's yet another Bluth female that goes outside what you traditionally see in kids' movies.
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It's a shame that it sounds like her redemption would've come in one of the scenes that was cut since she really doesn't get much of one in what was released.
Well, I didn't know there was a scene where she actually says 'sorry' to Littlefoot... I doubt a scene like an apologise of Cera would have been cutted anyway
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Well, I didn't know there was a scene where she actually says 'sorry' to Littlefoot... I doubt a scene like an apologise of Cera would have been cutted anyway
I'm referring to the part where she sees how foolish it is when they see the two dinosaur groups that won't share their food or water with on another. It sounded like that was where she started to realize how wrong her prejudice was, which would have most definitely made me view her more favorably.
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The oasis scene (based on a book while there is no evidence it has ever been actually filmed) is set before Cera's insult to Littlefoot's mother however. I never heard about any actual scene or planning of such a scene in which Cera appologized or took back what she said about Littlefoot's mother. Are there any sources concerning such a scene?
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I'm referring to the part where she sees how foolish it is when they see the two dinosaur groups that won't share their food or water with on another. It sounded like that was where she started to realize how wrong her prejudice was, which would have most definitely made me view her more favorably.
Ah okay :) I know this scene existed...
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The oasis scene (based on a book while there is no evidence it has ever been actually filmed) is set before Cera's insult to Littlefoot's mother however. I never heard about any actual scene or planning of such a scene in which Cera appologized or took back what she said about Littlefoot's mother. Are there any sources concerning such a scene?
I think I'm being unclear.
It's just that I'd heard about this being supposedly one of the cut scenes but didn't know where exactly it was supposed to take place in the movie. No, I never heard of Cera ever apologizing, but I would've appreciated a scene like this where she at least starts to see the error of her ways.
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Yeah close to the end she stars to be a bit nicer and she is more caring at the end and she shares and is now friends with everyone even tho they're different. I'm glad bluth touched on these subjects back than. It was a good thing to teach kids that life isn't all fun and games. That life throws a lot of darkness your way and you need to be prepared for it. Bluth did a very good job on making that clear in this movie. And teaching kids that being racist is a very wrong thing to do. And you should accept everyone no matter what they are or have. Such a good movie with great themes in it.