The stampede in the original!

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

What's with the stampede in the original? I thought it was pretty interesting, considering for most of the film, the gang seems to be the only leaf eating dinosaurs out there for miles. Then, the stampede showing up in the middle interupts the flow, if you know what I mean. Not that I'm bothered by it or anything. Just an observation.

You'd think Littlefoot seeing others of his kind for the first time would be something big. But really, he doesn't seem to care. Nor would it have affected the story if the stampede hadn't been there---the gang would have foraged for treestars in a similar manner, before moving on. I guess it was just there to scare kids for a sec?

[jansenov]

It was a welcome interrupt in the flow of the movie, to remind the viewer of the sheer desperation of searching for food in an unhospitable world, and also the stampede's purpose was to serve as an introduction into the oasis scene (which was planned, but not included in the final cut or not drawn at all), where the de-humanising nature of famine would be further explored. In famines, there is no civility, no empathy. That's also the reason why hungry Littlefoot and the others weren't thriled to see the stampeting longnecks, even though they are the first leafaters they've seen in a while.

[Malte279]

You are rising some really very interesting points Bruton
As for what caused the stampede we can only guess that perhaps it was just the scent of the food which the Gang had sensed before as well combined with hunger and the thought that "whoever gets there last will get the least".
A modification of that last thought may also be the reason why there was no attempt of the Gang to join that herd. Perhaps the gang had no hope at all to get any help or protection from the herd in which it seemed to be mostly the everyoneone for him or herself principle. Apart from the dislike of any herd member to share foot with five more mouth's / beaks (no matter how small said mouths / beaks are) the gang might have been seen as just a delaying factor.
It is just a speculation and a weak one given that the fact that the herd does leave some food behind.
Perhaps other members of the Gang (Cera in case of LBT as we know it) might have objected to attempts to join a longneck herd in addition to the probable unwillingness of the herd to take them (with the possible exception of Littlefoot) along.
To me the whole scene appears a bit like it would have very well fit in if the oasis scene had preceeded it.
I got to admit I never thought much about this scene when indeed it gives a lot of room for thoughts and speculations.

[Kor]

I either didn't give it much thought & thought, when I did think of it briefly, it was designed to show how desperate some were for food in the area and conditions the gang were traveling through.

[The Chronicler]

Let's also not forget that, just seconds earlier, Cera (and maybe the others) were convinced that that oasis they found was actually the Great Valley. So, I guess the purpose of that stampede was to show that the gang's journey to find the Great Valley, and their families, was still far from over.

[Littlefoot Fan 93]

That stampede in my opinion was the random, out of the blue event that almost every movie has!

[Ducky123]

As jansenov already said, the stampede should interrupt the flowing of the movie, which tends to be boring(no action). It likely was made to bring in a bit more action( remember, they first thought it'd be an earthquake)

[Malte279]

There is one thing about the stampede however which struck me as meaningful. It is one of the earliest scenes to show the special care Ducky had for Spike. There is a moment right before Littlefoot shouts "Ducky! Spike! Get out of there!" in which Ducky gives Spike a look that to me pretty much says: "I am not going anywhere without you! Nope, nope, nope!"

[Malte279]

This is it:

[Ducky123]

interesting fact Malte  
I think that Ducky was closest to Spike because she found him. Spike could have been adopted by any herd, but Ducky's herd did it at the end

[Malte279]

Not everyone is likely to have been as helpful and as ready to adopt Spike as Ducky was. In fact in one LBT book there is a scene in which Cera pretty much says that they should leave him because he would only slow them down.
There is a certain chance that such a scene has actually been shot and cut from the movie. In any case it is certain that there was a scene (images of it exist) in which Ducky comes up with the idea of getting sleepy Spike to come along by luring him with a couple of berries on a stick (we still see the stick with the berries in the next scene of the movie).
I wonder what the groub would have done if they had found Spike without Ducky being present. Her caring for him like few other things goes to show the compassion and friendlines which are her probably greatest qualities.