Why Ali wasn't in LBT 10

[RainbowFaceProtege]

The question is, would Rhett have been with her?   

Rhett didn't exist until four years later. Nice try baiting people, though!

But how do we know if Rhett wasn’t with Ali four years earlier?

Not baiting, just curious if Ali did make a cameo, if Rhett would have already been with her.

Well, as far as canon goes, it's possible that Ali and Rhett's herds could have met up years earlier. Thinking about it in the context of making a movie, though, I doubt the writers had invented Rhett four years in advance in real life.

[Gentle Sharptooth]

The question is, would Rhett have been with her?   

Rhett didn't exist until four years later. Nice try baiting people, though!

But how do we know if Rhett wasn’t with Ali four years earlier?

Not baiting, just curious if Ali did make a cameo, if Rhett would have already been with her.

Well, as far as canon goes, it's possible that Ali and Rhett's herds could have met up years earlier. Thinking about it in the context of making a movie, though, I doubt the writers had invented Rhett four years in advance in real life.

Why do you think it took so long for Ali to make a second appearance?

[RainbowFaceProtege]

I think it was because the series switched directors. The promise of Ali returning was probably forgotten for a while.

[Dr. Rex]

I think it was because the series switched directors. The promise of Ali returning was probably forgotten for a while.

I'd say that sounds reasonable.

[Gentle Sharptooth]

I think it was because the series switched directors. The promise of Ali returning was probably forgotten for a while.

That is probably the case. But why the writers would shelve or put on the back burner a romance between Ali and Littlefoot is beyond me.

[Dr. Rex]

Another way would be to have Littlefoot and the gang meet Ali as they were leaving the crash site at the end of the movie and this could serve as cliffhanger for the next movie. Instead of Invasion of the Tinysaurus we'd have something like Return to the Land of Mists with Ali having a greater roll.

This idea just made me realize something: LBT should've done what the Pokémon movies did during the Sinnoh era and made a trilogy of movies that were connected.

LBT 10:

The movie begins as per usual, with Littlefoot and his grandparents leaving the Great Valley because of their sleep stories. On their way to the meteorite crash site, they're joined by herds of Longnecks; we reunite with old characters like Ali and Doc; and we meet new characters like Bron, Sue, Shorty, Rhett, etc. The rest of the gang follows behind and meets Pat like usual. The reason why Longnecks are converging and venturing out in the middle of nowhere is treated as a mystery throughout the film and is still unresolved by the end of the film; only bits and pieces of hints can be put together in this puzzle.

Because this is the tenth film, we could have cameos and/or clip show-style flashbacks of other characters and films. All the while, this new super-herd is constantly being followed by many Sharpteeth that have been habitually following the individual herds and now become occasional nuisances to the super-herd, just for action's sake. However, Chomper and his parents are among these Sharptooth, and they're not aware Littlefoot is a member of that super-herd because of its tremendous size. The film ends on a cliffhanger when Littlefoot realizes Bron is his father, just as the super-herd reaches the crash site.

LBT 11

The film begins with the super-herd entering the crash site and beginning to settle in. As they do, Littlefoot deals with the revelation that he just found his long-lost father, which makes things extremely complicated with his relationships. Eventually, Bron explains why he was never in Littlefoot's life to begin with, and they begin to bond. Bron tells Littlefoot all about what his mother was once like (perhaps even finally revealing her true name), including revealing she was a capable fighter who could hold off multiple Sharpteeth (this is important for later on). He also starts teaching Littlefoot how to lead a herd of Longnecks, which gets him close to Bron's herd, including Shorty, and also sparks a romantic relationship between him and Ali. Of course, Rhett is a butt and an antagonist about it, but he eventually gets his butt kicked.

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang is lagging behind with Pat like in canon (perhaps being aided along the way by characters like Tickles and Mo), while Grandpa decides to dig deep into the mystery of the sleep stories and soon learns of the solar eclipse. The film ends on another cliffhanger, with the Sharpteeth that had been following the super-herd, an ambivalent Chomper and his parents included, gathering en masse to take advantage of the all-you-can-eat buffet they have on their hands.

LBT 12

The film begins with Shorty jealously running away like in canon, and Littlefoot follows him to bond with him and get him back, but instead of being attacked by one Sharptooth, they're attacked by the super-pack. They're cornered, but before they're killed, the leader (who has been the biggest nuisance out of all the Sharpteeth in the trilogy) suddenly chooses to capture Littlefoot instead, while Shorty manages to run away. Through captivity, Littlefoot finally reunites with Chomper, who helps him escape. In the process, Chomper learns through his understanding of Sharptooth language that the Sharptooth leader was one of the Sharpteeth that Bron and Littlefoot's mother fought off in the past, and that he lost his mate to them as well; he recognized Bron in the herd earlier, saw him talking to Littlefoot, and put two and two together, so now, he's seeking revenge.

Littlefoot's escape triggers an epic battle between the important Longneck characters and the Sharpteeth super-pack, which is joined by the rest of the gang and Pat. Chomper and his parents rebel, with his parents helping Bron kill the Sharptooth leader. But before the rest of the super-pack could overwhelm the heroes, the solar eclipse happens, scaring off the Sharpteeth. The Longnecks carry out the mysterious tradition that has guided them through the entire trilogy, "saving the world". Afterwards, Chomper and his parents leave on good terms with the heroes. Littlefoot chooses to return to the Great Valley with his friends and grandparents rather than have a future with Bron and Ali, which they accept. The film, and therefore the trilogy, ends on a triumphant note, with Littlefoot recalling the life he's led so far, which put him on the path of this epic journey in the first place. Cue commemorative montage of all the films, one last scene of the gang returning to the Valley, and then...fade to ending credits.

...

Did I just write all this epicness in one go?

Anyway, back to the original point...I think that kind of approach would've solved the dilemma of Ali being out-of-place in an otherwise standalone film. Just give this premise A LOT of breathing room so she could find a role in which she's integral to the plot.

Then again, I doubt the prospect of the characters leaving the Great Valley, only to return two movies later, would be something in the crew's cards. XP

[Ducky123]

I've been on lockdown for 19 days and I've decided to rewatch the entire LBT series. Today was time for The Great Longneck Migration. It's incredible how after all these years this movie still fills my heart. It's hard to stop the tears listening to Bestest Friends.

I know this sequel has a lot of emotional points, but it still grinds my gears that they didn't find a way to include Ali in it. What about you guys? How do you think they should've included her?

Honestly, I've thought about it, and it made me realize something.

This is supposed to be a story about Littlefoot reuniting with his father, first and foremost. It may not look like it in the beginning, but ultimately, that's what this film boils down to. Without that, there's no other meaningful theme or message that can be gleaned. The whole Longneck migration/solar eclipse thing is just a complex excuse to get the two of them together, as well as a red herring/smokescreen to make the twist leave even more of an impact. (Plus, since this is the tenth LBT film, I assume the crew wanted to make this commemorative movie as special and epic as possible.)

Because of that, I think Ali's inclusion in the film would've been more of a detriment, a distraction from Littlefoot and Bron's storyline, than anything else. As much as I would've liked for Ali to be in the movie, I think it might've been for the best. For example, before I thought of this, I thought Ali could've played the role of Littlefoot's love interest here, and Shorty falls in love with her too, so he and Littlefoot strike up a rivalry over her. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how out-of-place it would seem in the overall movie. I can't imagine what kind of role Bron would've played in this scenario, how it would affect Littlefoot and Bron's relationship (whether positively or negatively), and whether it would've been beneficial or detrimental to Shorty's own character arc as the writers intended it.

There's also the issue of pacing and fulfilling time quotas for the movie. The movie needs to be 85 or so minutes, otherwise I assume it would go over-budget. How much of the film would've been sacrificed just so Ali can have a role in this? Maybe there might be a sequence or two that could be cut for her sake, but once again, this goes back to my earlier argument on how out-of-place she already would be.

With that in mind, I personally can't imagine anything that would be good for her outside of a small cameo. But that's just me, though.

Coming from someone who is trying to achieve this addition of Ali to the movie in a fanfiction I can confirm that...
A: Including Ali would have required the film to be much longer, too long, as unfortunate as it is
B: The parts of the story that will play in the oasis from LBT 10 are really really complex. There wouldn't be a clear focus on the relationship between Littlefoot and Bron (which hasn't been handled quite well in the movie but that's a topic for another day) because of the love triangle taking away a lot of attention, especially if they'd have planned to go for a more confronting development between the two boys.
C: The movie had enough potential to become material for an entire season of the tv-series. Consider this, I'll need around 40 chapters for the characters to even reach the oasis, that's an estimated 150-200k words. The movie was extremely condensed already, down to the bare minimum of what the synopsis had to offer! Adding Ali just wouldn't have worked when the movie already suffered from its own time limit.

Great post, there's nothing I could add 

This doesn't change the fact though that I want her to be in this movie, I just realize that it realistically isn't going to happen 

She was too busy being together with Rhett!

Rhett didn't even exist back then 

We can argue that had they put her in the film, she would've become essentially useless and merely served a side role in the grand scheme of things. However, I feel like her presence would have made the movie so much more enjoyable to watch. And the talk about Littlefoot and Shorty having a quarrel about who will eventually triumph to become her mate is just ridiculous. They're children. Love is not the first thing on their mind, especially after coming to a new place in search of answers for their peculiar dreams.

They are still kids but kids can develop crushes and with a crush comes jealousy. It wouldn't be about who gets to marry Ali of course lol but it could certainly be about who Ali should play with. It could have added to Shorty's already difficult relationship with Littlefoot. Bron abandones and neglects him, Littlefoot takes away the girl he likes (because it'd reckon Ali would be really glad to see him and ditch Shorty who's more of a bully and a tough guy than the thoroughly kind and funny Littlefoot) so he can't spend much time with her anymore (while playing with her alone). That is assuming Ali and Shorty meet before Littlefoot joins the picture which, in my opinion, would result in the biggest effect. Now how would Shorty feel if you were to take away not one but two things that are very important to him and the reason for that is one silly longneck. I would be mad at that particular longneck. 

I won't deny, they might be more interested in what the dreams were about or just about the adventure itself, exploring new places, meeting new people etc. but I've always been assuming that there's at least some amount of "liking each other" between Ali and Littlefoot 

I agree that in terms of pacing and the overall plot, it would be hard to find the time or the space in the movie to fit Ali in a way that would be satisfying for the fans and that would make some sense to this sequel's main story arc.

That being said I thought about a few ways that she could be introduced. One way would be for her herd to arrive in the great valley just before the sleep stories about the eclipse began. Then the old one could be the one to tell the story about how Longnecks stopped the night circle from bringing the bright circle down upon the Earth. Littlefoot and his Grandparents would follow Ali's herd to the meteorite crash site.

Seeing Littlefoot and Ali going off on an adventure together would make Cera jealous and she and the rest of the gang would follow. The third act could still be about Littlefoot meeting Bron, with Ali falling a bit to the background.

Another way would be to have Littlefoot and the gang meet Ali as they were leaving the crash site at the end of the movie and this could serve as cliffhanger for the next movie. Instead of Invasion of the Tinysaurus we'd have something like Return to the Land of Mists with Ali having a greater roll.

PS.: I had no idea there were people who liked Rhett's character.

Those are both very interesting versions, both of which I didn't realize in my story so I guess I should probably add a third

No changes to Littlefoot and Shorty who travel to the oasis with their respective folks but Ali is somewhere far away with her herd, longing to go. Old One is too worried about a journey into Lands Unknown but Ali tries on her own since she doesn't like herd life much anyway (it's boring and she's lonely), her mother following her after she runs away. They happen to bump into Bron's herd and travel together to the oasis where they eventually meet Littlefoot. (this is 40+ chapters condensed into a single paragraph lol, there's so much more )
The Gang would still go simply because they feel left out and it's boring without Littlefoot, I think that's enough motivation for them to go already haha.

This idea just made me realize something: LBT should've done what the Pokémon movies did during the Sinnoh era and made a trilogy of movies that were connected.

LBT 10:

The movie begins as per usual, with Littlefoot and his grandparents leaving the Great Valley because of their sleep stories. On their way to the meteorite crash site, they're joined by herds of Longnecks; we reunite with old characters like Ali and Doc; and we meet new characters like Bron, Sue, Shorty, Rhett, etc. The rest of the gang follows behind and meets Pat like usual. The reason why Longnecks are converging and venturing out in the middle of nowhere is treated as a mystery throughout the film and is still unresolved by the end of the film; only bits and pieces of hints can be put together in this puzzle.

Because this is the tenth film, we could have cameos and/or clip show-style flashbacks of other characters and films. All the while, this new super-herd is constantly being followed by many Sharpteeth that have been habitually following the individual herds and now become occasional nuisances to the super-herd, just for action's sake. However, Chomper and his parents are among these Sharptooth, and they're not aware Littlefoot is a member of that super-herd because of its tremendous size. The film ends on a cliffhanger when Littlefoot realizes Bron is his father, just as the super-herd reaches the crash site.

LBT 11

The film begins with the super-herd entering the crash site and beginning to settle in. As they do, Littlefoot deals with the revelation that he just found his long-lost father, which makes things extremely complicated with his relationships. Eventually, Bron explains why he was never in Littlefoot's life to begin with, and they begin to bond. Bron tells Littlefoot all about what his mother was once like (perhaps even finally revealing her true name), including revealing she was a capable fighter who could hold off multiple Sharpteeth (this is important for later on). He also starts teaching Littlefoot how to lead a herd of Longnecks, which gets him close to Bron's herd, including Shorty, and also sparks a romantic relationship between him and Ali. Of course, Rhett is a butt and an antagonist about it, but he eventually gets his butt kicked.

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang is lagging behind with Pat like in canon (perhaps being aided along the way by characters like Tickles and Mo), while Grandpa decides to dig deep into the mystery of the sleep stories and soon learns of the solar eclipse. The film ends on another cliffhanger, with the Sharpteeth that had been following the super-herd, an ambivalent Chomper and his parents included, gathering en masse to take advantage of the all-you-can-eat buffet they have on their hands.

LBT 12

The film begins with Shorty jealously running away like in canon, and Littlefoot follows him to bond with him and get him back, but instead of being attacked by one Sharptooth, they're attacked by the super-pack. They're cornered, but before they're killed, the leader (who has been the biggest nuisance out of all the Sharpteeth in the trilogy) suddenly chooses to capture Littlefoot instead, while Shorty manages to run away. Through captivity, Littlefoot finally reunites with Chomper, who helps him escape. In the process, Chomper learns through his understanding of Sharptooth language that the Sharptooth leader was one of the Sharpteeth that Bron and Littlefoot's mother fought off in the past, and that he lost his mate to them as well; he recognized Bron in the herd earlier, saw him talking to Littlefoot, and put two and two together, so now, he's seeking revenge.

Littlefoot's escape triggers an epic battle between the important Longneck characters and the Sharpteeth super-pack, which is joined by the rest of the gang and Pat. Chomper and his parents rebel, with his parents helping Bron kill the Sharptooth leader. But before the rest of the super-pack could overwhelm the heroes, the solar eclipse happens, scaring off the Sharpteeth. The Longnecks carry out the mysterious tradition that has guided them through the entire trilogy, "saving the world". Afterwards, Chomper and his parents leave on good terms with the heroes. Littlefoot chooses to return to the Great Valley with his friends and grandparents rather than have a future with Bron and Ali, which they accept. The film, and therefore the trilogy, ends on a triumphant note, with Littlefoot recalling the life he's led so far, which put him on the path of this epic journey in the first place. Cue commemorative montage of all the films, one last scene of the gang returning to the Valley, and then...fade to ending credits.

...

@Dr. Rex are you a writer in disguise? This synopsis is so good that I REALLY want to see this written now  Come join us fanfiction writers, this will be epic! 

[Dr. Rex]

This idea just made me realize something: LBT should've done what the Pokémon movies did during the Sinnoh era and made a trilogy of movies that were connected.

LBT 10:

The movie begins as per usual, with Littlefoot and his grandparents leaving the Great Valley because of their sleep stories. On their way to the meteorite crash site, they're joined by herds of Longnecks; we reunite with old characters like Ali and Doc; and we meet new characters like Bron, Sue, Shorty, Rhett, etc. The rest of the gang follows behind and meets Pat like usual. The reason why Longnecks are converging and venturing out in the middle of nowhere is treated as a mystery throughout the film and is still unresolved by the end of the film; only bits and pieces of hints can be put together in this puzzle.

Because this is the tenth film, we could have cameos and/or clip show-style flashbacks of other characters and films. All the while, this new super-herd is constantly being followed by many Sharpteeth that have been habitually following the individual herds and now become occasional nuisances to the super-herd, just for action's sake. However, Chomper and his parents are among these Sharptooth, and they're not aware Littlefoot is a member of that super-herd because of its tremendous size. The film ends on a cliffhanger when Littlefoot realizes Bron is his father, just as the super-herd reaches the crash site.

LBT 11

The film begins with the super-herd entering the crash site and beginning to settle in. As they do, Littlefoot deals with the revelation that he just found his long-lost father, which makes things extremely complicated with his relationships. Eventually, Bron explains why he was never in Littlefoot's life to begin with, and they begin to bond. Bron tells Littlefoot all about what his mother was once like (perhaps even finally revealing her true name), including revealing she was a capable fighter who could hold off multiple Sharpteeth (this is important for later on). He also starts teaching Littlefoot how to lead a herd of Longnecks, which gets him close to Bron's herd, including Shorty, and also sparks a romantic relationship between him and Ali. Of course, Rhett is a butt and an antagonist about it, but he eventually gets his butt kicked.

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang is lagging behind with Pat like in canon (perhaps being aided along the way by characters like Tickles and Mo), while Grandpa decides to dig deep into the mystery of the sleep stories and soon learns of the solar eclipse. The film ends on another cliffhanger, with the Sharpteeth that had been following the super-herd, an ambivalent Chomper and his parents included, gathering en masse to take advantage of the all-you-can-eat buffet they have on their hands.

LBT 12

The film begins with Shorty jealously running away like in canon, and Littlefoot follows him to bond with him and get him back, but instead of being attacked by one Sharptooth, they're attacked by the super-pack. They're cornered, but before they're killed, the leader (who has been the biggest nuisance out of all the Sharpteeth in the trilogy) suddenly chooses to capture Littlefoot instead, while Shorty manages to run away. Through captivity, Littlefoot finally reunites with Chomper, who helps him escape. In the process, Chomper learns through his understanding of Sharptooth language that the Sharptooth leader was one of the Sharpteeth that Bron and Littlefoot's mother fought off in the past, and that he lost his mate to them as well; he recognized Bron in the herd earlier, saw him talking to Littlefoot, and put two and two together, so now, he's seeking revenge.

Littlefoot's escape triggers an epic battle between the important Longneck characters and the Sharpteeth super-pack, which is joined by the rest of the gang and Pat. Chomper and his parents rebel, with his parents helping Bron kill the Sharptooth leader. But before the rest of the super-pack could overwhelm the heroes, the solar eclipse happens, scaring off the Sharpteeth. The Longnecks carry out the mysterious tradition that has guided them through the entire trilogy, "saving the world". Afterwards, Chomper and his parents leave on good terms with the heroes. Littlefoot chooses to return to the Great Valley with his friends and grandparents rather than have a future with Bron and Ali, which they accept. The film, and therefore the trilogy, ends on a triumphant note, with Littlefoot recalling the life he's led so far, which put him on the path of this epic journey in the first place. Cue commemorative montage of all the films, one last scene of the gang returning to the Valley, and then...fade to ending credits.

...

@Dr. Rex are you a writer in disguise? This synopsis is so good that I REALLY want to see this written now  Come join us fanfiction writers, this will be epic! 

I am a fanfiction writer; I just haven't written an LBT fic before. I mentioned once or twice before that I had a pretty good idea for a fic; I'm just waiting for the perfect opportunity to write it. Thanks, though! I appreciate the praise.

[Dr. Rex]

Another way would be to have Littlefoot and the gang meet Ali as they were leaving the crash site at the end of the movie and this could serve as cliffhanger for the next movie. Instead of Invasion of the Tinysaurus we'd have something like Return to the Land of Mists with Ali having a greater roll.

This idea just made me realize something: LBT should've done what the Pokémon movies did during the Sinnoh era and made a trilogy of movies that were connected.

LBT 10:

The movie begins as per usual, with Littlefoot and his grandparents leaving the Great Valley because of their sleep stories. On their way to the meteorite crash site, they're joined by herds of Longnecks; we reunite with old characters like Ali and Doc; and we meet new characters like Bron, Sue, Shorty, Rhett, etc. The rest of the gang follows behind and meets Pat like usual. The reason why Longnecks are converging and venturing out in the middle of nowhere is treated as a mystery throughout the film and is still unresolved by the end of the film; only bits and pieces of hints can be put together in this puzzle.

Because this is the tenth film, we could have cameos and/or clip show-style flashbacks of other characters and films. All the while, this new super-herd is constantly being followed by many Sharpteeth that have been habitually following the individual herds and now become occasional nuisances to the super-herd, just for action's sake. However, Chomper and his parents are among these Sharptooth, and they're not aware Littlefoot is a member of that super-herd because of its tremendous size. The film ends on a cliffhanger when Littlefoot realizes Bron is his father, just as the super-herd reaches the crash site.

LBT 11

The film begins with the super-herd entering the crash site and beginning to settle in. As they do, Littlefoot deals with the revelation that he just found his long-lost father, which makes things extremely complicated with his relationships. Eventually, Bron explains why he was never in Littlefoot's life to begin with, and they begin to bond. Bron tells Littlefoot all about what his mother was once like (perhaps even finally revealing her true name), including revealing she was a capable fighter who could hold off multiple Sharpteeth (this is important for later on). He also starts teaching Littlefoot how to lead a herd of Longnecks, which gets him close to Bron's herd, including Shorty, and also sparks a romantic relationship between him and Ali. Of course, Rhett is a butt and an antagonist about it, but he eventually gets his butt kicked.

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang is lagging behind with Pat like in canon (perhaps being aided along the way by characters like Tickles and Mo), while Grandpa decides to dig deep into the mystery of the sleep stories and soon learns of the solar eclipse. The film ends on another cliffhanger, with the Sharpteeth that had been following the super-herd, an ambivalent Chomper and his parents included, gathering en masse to take advantage of the all-you-can-eat buffet they have on their hands.

LBT 12

The film begins with Shorty jealously running away like in canon, and Littlefoot follows him to bond with him and get him back, but instead of being attacked by one Sharptooth, they're attacked by the super-pack. They're cornered, but before they're killed, the leader (who has been the biggest nuisance out of all the Sharpteeth in the trilogy) suddenly chooses to capture Littlefoot instead, while Shorty manages to run away. Through captivity, Littlefoot finally reunites with Chomper, who helps him escape. In the process, Chomper learns through his understanding of Sharptooth language that the Sharptooth leader was one of the Sharpteeth that Bron and Littlefoot's mother fought off in the past, and that he lost his mate to them as well; he recognized Bron in the herd earlier, saw him talking to Littlefoot, and put two and two together, so now, he's seeking revenge.

Littlefoot's escape triggers an epic battle between the important Longneck characters and the Sharpteeth super-pack, which is joined by the rest of the gang and Pat. Chomper and his parents rebel, with his parents helping Bron kill the Sharptooth leader. But before the rest of the super-pack could overwhelm the heroes, the solar eclipse happens, scaring off the Sharpteeth. The Longnecks carry out the mysterious tradition that has guided them through the entire trilogy, "saving the world". Afterwards, Chomper and his parents leave on good terms with the heroes. Littlefoot chooses to return to the Great Valley with his friends and grandparents rather than have a future with Bron and Ali, which they accept. The film, and therefore the trilogy, ends on a triumphant note, with Littlefoot recalling the life he's led so far, which put him on the path of this epic journey in the first place. Cue commemorative montage of all the films, one last scene of the gang returning to the Valley, and then...fade to ending credits.

...

Did I just write all this epicness in one go?

Anyway, back to the original point...I think that kind of approach would've solved the dilemma of Ali being out-of-place in an otherwise standalone film. Just give this premise A LOT of breathing room so she could find a role in which she's integral to the plot.

Then again, I doubt the prospect of the characters leaving the Great Valley, only to return two movies later, would be something in the crew's cards. XP

I just realized I didn't give the parents for the rest of the gang roles, and what would an LBT film be without the likes of Cera's father or Petrie's mother? Let's say, in LBT 10, they follow Cera and the others when they realize their children are missing, join up with them in LBT 11 and agree to follow them on their journey somehow, and participate in the final battle in LBT 12.