Forgiving and Forgetting?

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

I've noticed something interesting. The narrator said, "Littlefoot had been wrong about the sharptooth, but the others followed him." Well, why shouldn't they? Wasn't it an honest mistake? Does the narrator imply that the viewers should be holding something against Littlefoot at the moment?

Or am I just overanalyzing?

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

Hello? Why is this thread dead?

[DarkHououmon]

Because nobody has any sort of reply perhaps? You can't expect every thread you make to instantly get attention and replies.

[jansenov]

I think you're reading too much into it. The narrator is an unbiased bystander. He is the David Attenborough of LBT.

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

So should Littlefoot be blamed or not? Cause I don't think he should.  I don't think it's "ever-admirable loyalty" that his friends still followed him just cause he was wrong. Heck, he admitted he was wrong, whereas Cera was too proud to.

And Ducky, Spike and Petrie weren't exactly being loyal to him when they left with Cera. Well, Petrie tried to follow "Flathead", and Ducky tried to be reasonable  :, but Spike...well Spike was all but padding in the original film, he wasn't much of a character originally

[DarkHououmon]

Spike wasn't much of a character? I don't really think I can agree with that.

And of course Petrie and Ducky decided to go with Cera. It makes sense, given what had happened. First off, Littlefoot just attacked Cera. Yeah she did call his mother stupid, but even given that, Littlefoot's reaction likely scared Ducky and Petrie; they never seen Littlefoot like that and were probably cautious.

But the biggest reason I feel they left with Cera is that they were exhausted and tired. Cera was going a route that they could handle better. So in their eyes, rather than risk death from exhaustion with Littlefoot, they go with Cera so they could rest. It doesn't mean they weren't "loyal" to Littlefoot, but loyalty can have limits, and in their case, they were very tired from their climb up.

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

I'm talking about Spike in the original; even though he's part of the main cast, he wasn't introduced until halfway through this already short film, and never gave any of his trademark "mm-hmms" or licks. He was underdeveloped, even for the character he is. All we really found out is that he eats a lot. They didn't even bring up the fact that he can't speak. Really, it's odd they never brought it up before 4.  :huh:

And yeah, to be fair, Littlefoot wasn't really that nice in the original either. Littlefoot of the sequels would never have (remembers 5) oh yeah, well...that was even more unfair cause Cera herself didn't even say anything lame about anyone.

But yeah, Littlefoot was seriously...I wouldn't say a bully, but...not exactly a completely likeable character. As Darkhououmon said:

Cera is known to be pretty bossy in the sequels at times, but in the first movie, I feel it is Littlefoot who was the bossiest. She never told the others what to do (aside from Littlefoot going away) and she did not attempt to force Littlefoot to come with her and the others came with Cera on their own accord. Littlefoot is the only one who was actively trying to make the others do what he wanted, including getting them to help him defeat Sharptooth, something that could have cost them their lives.

So is Cera better or worse then Littlefoot in the original? I'm gonna say worse cause she almost got her friends and herself killed, but Littlefoot...was hovering somewhere closer to the Cera of the sequels...

[Cancerian Tiger]

Littlefoot had just led them into more badlands.  How were they to know he was going the right way or not?

So you say Cera was worse than Littlefoot?  How about when he set Ducky up to be bait for Sharptooth?  Instead of taking on the role himself, he jeopardized someone else's life.  They both made their fair share of mistakes.  Everyone makes mistakes, even dumb mistakes.  Nobody got hurt or worse in the end, so I wouldn't be saying anyone was "worse" than the other.

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

So Littlefoot really was that bad in the original. OK, I guess I've adjusted to it.

No matter what Cera said about his mom, what he did to her was awful.

His friends are cool for staying with him after the sharptooth came back, because most wouldn't.

Littlefoot didn't know whether the sharptooth was dead or not. He actually tricked his friends into believing they were safe---other then Sarah, who in contrast warned them.

Littlefoot used his friends to defeat the sharptooth, even though if they'd just kept going they'd reach the valley and be safe from him (he'd already found it in the original cut). There was no need to stop him from getting in; even if he did manage, there were other adult dinosaurs who had a better chance of fighting him off.

Cera is known to be pretty bossy in the sequels at times, but in the first movie, I feel it is Littlefoot who was the bossiest. She never told the others what to do (aside from Littlefoot going away) and she did not attempt to force Littlefoot to come with her and the others came with Cera on their own accord. Littlefoot is the only one who was actively trying to make the others do what he wanted, including getting them to help him defeat Sharptooth, something that could have cost them their lives.

Really, she's spot on.

He had severe anger issues, was very rude to his friends, orders them to get up, gives them false hopes, and as a result of being a bad leader and friend almost spends the night sleeping alone.

Let's face it---Littlefoot was a bit of a wreck in the original.

But seeing as his mom had just died, it's kinda excusable. I think I forgive him by the time the 2nd movie starts.

Spike wasn't much of a character? I don't really think I can agree with that.

I meant in the original alone.

Back to the topic:

This doesn't mean I think Littlefoot is a bad character. I'm just saying that Cera isn't the only character that is known to be aggressive. Littlefoot is as well, though largely in the first movie. In the sequels, he mellowed out more. He has his moments, still.

Which he shouldn't have. When people ditch their "old shame"...they ditch it. I'm not saying I expect Littlefoot to be Jesus, but he should not have "his moments" because that's something that should be left behind.

[DarkHououmon]

Honestly, I see Cera as no worse than Littlefoot in the movie. Sure, at first, she would rather be alone and chased away Littlefoot, but what did Littlefoot do when he first met Ducky? Tried to chase her away, until he learned she was alone too.

Cera did give up on the idea of being alone when she found out Sharptooth was alive, which is normal behavior, but that did not make her an angel. Same thing with Littlefoot. Yes, he did act nicer in comparison to Cera, but that doesn't make him so much better; he still acted bossier than Cera and he still, as CT pointed out, used Ducky as bait rather than himself.

Cera, despite her bad demeanor, never once did this. When she and Littlefoot were attacked by Sharptooth for the first time, Cera never shoved Littlefoot into Sharptooth's path. While they were being chased by Sharptooth later, she never tripped anyone to save herself. In short, she never tried to endanger anyone's lives for her own benefit, whereas Littlefoot did just that so he could take down Sharptooth.

Both Cera and Littlefoot made mistakes. But they are no worse than each other. I see Cera as no more bad or guilty than Littlefoot and vice versa.

Yes you could say Cera is worse in the sense of leading them into a tar pit near a volcano and they almost got killed, but then so did Littlefoot. Yeah he didn't lead them into such an area, but he did lead them into danger; climbing up that mountain face was dangerous, with one wrong move they could have slipped and gotten seriously injured, or killed.

Giving Cera a chance to lead did make sense, when you look at it logically. Littlefoot has yet to prove himself a capable leader. He has no proof the way he's going is the right one. After so long of no results, it made sense for the others to want to give Cera a try, to see how good she could do at leadership.

Also, Petrie wasn't trying to be insulting when he called Littlefoot "Flathead". The first time, it sounded like he was joking with him, which shows he felt comfortable enough around Littlefoot to joke with words that one would otherwise find insulting. He didn't look like he intended ill will towards Littlefoot.

And then when he calls him "Flathead" again when Littlefoot leaves after the fight with Cera, if you listen to the tone of his voice, it's desperation. Petrie is not joking now; he doesn't want Littlefoot to leave. The way I can make it out, Petrie just wants Littlefoot to be reasonable and not storm off like that. He doesn't want Littlefoot to be mad at them.

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

Also, Petrie wasn't trying to be insulting when he called Littlefoot "Flathead". The first time, it sounded like he was joking with him, which shows he felt comfortable enough around Littlefoot to joke with words that one would otherwise find insulting. He didn't look like he intended ill will towards Littlefoot.

 
I never said he was. I never had a problem with him doing it. Littlefoot was the one with issues.

I'm glad they sorted him out for the sequels.  

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

So is it all agreed on that he was a low-down dirty rotten jerk  with horrific anger issues in movie 1, by far worse then Cera ever was beause he wanted to put his only friends in the world in danger, and cause he was really mean to Petrie when Petrie stood on his head, and that it would have made more sense had the others NOT followed him after the sharptooth returned?

[Cancerian Tiger]

Nobody agreed that Littlefoot was a jerk, and nobody agreed that Cera was a jerk.  The point we were trying to make is that they ALL had their shortcomings.  They are ALL considered mortal characters and therefore have flaws and shortcomings.  Not one lone individual caused everything bad to happen.  You're the only one trying to point the finger at one specific character here.

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

But Littlefoot was more of the jerk then Cera here. He was god-awful. Sure he led his friends to the valley but he did a lot of questionable things to them

[WeirdRaptor]

When did this place become the Anti-Littlefoot board? Sheesh, people. Out of all of them, he was the only one who actually saw a member of his family die horribly. He may not have been nice, but you have to remember he was a kid with no reasonable adult around to get him through his anger and pain. You can't really blame him for some of his actions. He got short with Petrie, because he was clawing his head.
"Put his only friends in danger"? THEY WERE IN DANGER OUT THERE NO MATTER WHERE THEY WENT. They were all going to die out there unless they reached the Great Valley! What other choices did he have?!

What Littlefoot did to Cera?! He did nothing that wasn't earned. If I were eight years old and I saw my mother killed right in front of me, I'd also hit whatever brat called her stupid.

Let's not forget that Cera's the one that led them into a freaking tar pit, and then left them behind every time they fell behind. Littlefoot, on the other hand, saved them. Seriously.  

[MC CJ'S REVENGE]

Shoot what's gotten into some of you guys around here? Never seen this before around here in the past.

[Cancerian Tiger]

I was saying before that not just one character was to blame, but some people here have turned it into being a Littlefoot bash or a Cera bash, which was not what I intended.  I was trying to show both sides, because I don't blame any single character for what had happened.

I can't believe it myself what's going on here with the bashing.  If people can't handle criticism about their favorite characters in a more mature manner, how the hell can they handle someone in the real world chewing them up and spitting them out?  I've seen ten year-olds handle this stuff better.

It seems that trying to take a neutral stance and say the characters were mutually wrong will not cut it, becuase once again the blame game takes over an otherwise peaceful topic.  Because of this, I will not further post in a topic like this unless I feel a good reason to do so.  I'm sorry if I offended anyone, but I am not sorry for trying to keep the topic calm and having an opinion others don't agree with.

[DarkHououmon]

I do agree that there's fault in all the characters, as there is fault in everyone. Nobody is perfect. I was not trying to imply that only one character was to blame for everything that happened.

This brings me back to an old topic regarding the Littlefoot vs Cera debate, revolving around the incident where Cera insulted Littlefoot's mother, causing a fight. I had stated that I feel both are to blame, citing how Littlefoot helped to escalate the fight and made the real first move (I don't regard Cera's insult as the first move to the fight). I was not saying that Littlefoot deserved all the blame for the fight, but that I felt it was foolish to think that only Cera did anything wrong, and how people shouldn't turn a blind eye to Littlefoot's actions.

Yet I'm aware that there are people who continue to see fault in only one character, and that is usually Cera. It does depress me that some people can't talk about this one scene without bashing one character or the other (again it's usually Cera who gets bashed). I feel that people who are putting blame on either Littlefoot or Cera should really take a step back and look at that scene from a neutral stance, rather than taking sides, and look at the situation objectively. If they do that, I feel they can see why both characters were at fault, not just one.

The point I'm trying to make is that Littlefoot is not some angel in the first movie. He has his negative moments as well, and negative traits. He's done some not so nice things in the movie. So has Cera. But it doesn't make them bad; it just makes them flawed, which makes them more realistic. Neither of them were inherently nasty. They were just kids with conflicting personalities that clashed with each other.

But here's something I'd like to point out: they got over it. By the end of the movie, they learned to put their differences aside and become friends. Doesn't matter how it happened, or if Cera or Littlefoot apologized. The point is they learned to put the fight behind them and move forward.

So if Littlefoot and Cera could forgive each other and become friends after that nasty fight, how is it that some people are unable to debate maturely and respect others' opinions regarding what had happened?

[Ghostfishe]

Maybe Littlefoot just didn't get much socialization when he was little. Doesn't he say something along the lines of having nobody to play with? We do know that he was the only baby in his herd, so he wouldn't have really had much (or any) socialization with dinosaurs his own age until he met Cera. It could help explain why he was nicer in the sequels too--not only was his mother's death not so recent, but he had had time to hone his social skills and learn to "play nice" with other dinosaurs.

Somewhat of a side note, but I don't find it terribly odd that Spike's lack of speech wasn't brought up sooner... I mean, it's at least implied that some time passes between Littlefoot's hatching and the events that happen later. He doesn't look like a newborn so to speak. Same's true for Chomper. So perhaps they all just assumed Spike would learn to talk eventually, and only started to notice something was odd after a few years.

[WeirdRaptor]

I have no problem with the comments by Tiger or DarkH.

Dang, people. We all need to remember that these are probably about six year olds in dinosaur years.