Mama Swimmer Showcase - August 2021

[rhombus]

This month we would like to introduce one of the most dedicated mothers around, Mama Swimmer! Welcome, Mama Swimmer!



I would ask how she was doing, but her mouth appears to be full. 

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In this topic please feel free to discuss Mama Swimmer as a character, to share your own creations (fanfics or fanart) concerning her, or to mention some of your favorite fanworks of others involving her.  For a full set of rules please see the 2021 Monthly Character Showcase topic but keep in mind that this is meant to be fun as opposed to any sort of contest.

I will go ahead and get the discussion started with the following questions:

1. Since the controversy was mentioned in the upcoming newsletter, what species do you think Mama Swimmer (and also Ducky) is?

2. What character qualities of Mama Swimmer stand out the most for you in the series?

[Gentle Sharptooth]

I believe Momma Swimmer and Ducky to be Saurlophus.

They do not have the arched head bone of Parasaurlophus, but rather a pointed one like a tooth which is what Saurlophus has.

[Mouse-a-saur]

1. Saurlophus

2. I suppose I just appreciate how accepting she is. When you compare the other dinos' parents, she definitely stands out as pretty steady. I love that scene in the first film when she saves Ducky, who laughs and says "Mama!". So sweet. 

[DiddyKF1]

I would agree with everyone else and say she is a Saurolophus.

Ah, in my opinion, the warmest mother figure of the entire franchise, unless you count Littlefoot's, who sadly didn't last very long.  There's something about her that really wins your heart over and gets you to accept her as a warm and fuzzy supportive character, which is especially evident in The Big Freeze.  We see her playing around with her kids from time to time, which we don't really see any other parent doing, she gives out warm vibes with her kind and soothing presence around the children, and let's not forget how open she is to ALL the kids, given the fact that she readily adopted Spike for the sake of her beloved Ducky.  Mama Flyer is also a warm motherly figure, but Mama Swimmer takes it to a different level.  She's proven herself to be the perfect mother that any young child would dream of having, and Ducky should be ecstatic to have such a loving mother like her who brought her into the world and playfully dotes over her.  She has that type of charm that the other parents seem to lack, for the most part.  Littlefoot's grandparents are wise and clever, Topps is, well, who he is, and Mama Flyer is a bit of a serious but warm figure, but Mama Swimmer takes the icing on the cake. Yep, yep, yep!

[Gentle Sharptooth]

Well said @DiddyKF1 I completely agree with your words. Couldn’t have said it better myself.

[Hammy]

1. Saurolophus. Her and Ducky's phenotype just matches the closest, even just based on the crest.

2. I really do love her characterization, what little there is overall, and The Big Freeze is both a fantastic sequel and a really great showcase of who she is. She's a saurolophus, but I'd argue that her strong motherly characteristics come from maiasarus, or the good mother lizard. She's certainly a lot warmer to all of the kids than Mrs. Maia is. Not only does she love her children, including Spike, unconditionally, but she's also willing to let Spike go with the other spiketails if that's what's best for him. She's unselfish in her love, despite the fact that she was clearly going through a lot in that movie, and, on that same note, she comforts Ducky rather than allowing her own feelings to get in the way. "He will always be part of your family" and such. I wish we heard her sing more. Really appreciate Tress McNeille's performance as her, and it sucks that she seems to have been replaced recently. Family on the whole is just a song that reinforces how family oriented she really is, in what I would call a very healthy way. And God, the ending with Spike falling through the ice is just beautiful and perfect and one of the most emotional moments in the franchise. Mama Swimmer doesn't hesitate to jump in after Spike and her just saying, "Of course. He's my boy" is just wonderful. I wasn't adopted myself, but I did grow up without any boy siblings, like how it seems to be with Ducky and her biological sisters, and I think it was always special to my mom when I brought over male friends. The moment almost brings me to tears just because of how special Spike must be to Mama Swimmer, and what that scene can mean to any family, but especially ones with adopted kids. Not to say she doesn't love all her children, but, well, Spike's her boy.

I wish more had been done with her overall, but what we got was really, really good.

[LittleDas75]

She's one of my favorite side characters.

[Gentle Sharptooth]

I had to share:


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iZCT_nfBaTI

The song always tears me up, it is so moving, especially when Littlefoot says “remeber all the things we’ve been through,” and you get that montage shot of Spike in the previous films. Momma Swimmer steals spotlight witj the lines she sings, but for me this song is so powerful because I wish to be like Spike, to be adopted into a new IRL family; mine is gone, forever…

Its hard to express how much emotion this one stirs in me. I even wept re-listening to it. :’(

[chomper94]

Well for the first question, since everyone is saying it, I’ll say it myself, she’s a Saurolophus.

For the second question, that’s really difficult to answer, but most of her characteristics stand out the most by watching The Big Freeze.  Caring, is the only word I could think of when describing her characteristics after what the 8th movie. 

Other than that, there’s nothing else I can say, except for the fact that she’s my second best side character in the franchise behind Grandma Longneck.

[The jewelstone queen]

I will agree that she is a strong character at heart.

I appreciate her love and care for her children. It's very sweet!       

[Gentle Sharptooth]

I think she would win best mother by a landslide. I mean she adopts Spike, a Stegosaurus. You don’t see any other parents in the Great Valley doing that.

[Compsognathus]

I consider Mama Swimmer the most loving mother maybe apart from Littlefoots mother. She is nice to her kids, adopted Spike, tries to cheer up Ducky, when Spike has left the Valley during VIII. Likeable character.

[CappyGaming]

She definitely cares for her children, and she tries to be kind to everyone.  She sounds like a great mom!

[The Lone Dragon]

I think the way Mama Swimmer interacts with any of the children throughout the series be they her Children, Ducky and Spike or Ducky's friends, she show's them all kindness and compassion, we can certainly see where Ducky gets that from. I also think that in LBT 8 when Mama Swimmer has her shining moment, we can see so much of her struggle and I personally find it to be rather relatable. While her occasional scenes of anger (LBT 11 and possibly 3) do paint her as a flawed character, as well as allowing the children to wonder off on adventures all the time. She has a better excuse with taking care of all those children she has, it's a good thing she only has one Ducky and Spike, can you imagine if everyone of her children liked adventuring!?

I also think in LBT 8 she goes through her own, less emphasized arc where she is forced to give up Spike to his own kind but also at the end, she saves his life proving beyond any doubt that she is his mother to him. One thing I am curious about though is whether she has the same mate or does Ducky have the same father throughout as we don't see much of any of him.

Overall, it is her love for her children and how much effort she puts into them that make her a good mother and one of the favourite adults in the series, up there with Littlefoot's mother and Grandma and Grandpa Longneck.

[Mr. Clubtail]

1. A cel literally calls her "Saurolophus": https://landbeforetime.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000000188633

2. Mama Swimmer is perhaps the ugliest non sharptooth female dinosaur in the franchise. I wouldn't be surprised if Bluth revealed that she is an effeminate male and is gay as a result.

[The jewelstone queen]

1. A cel literally calls her "Saurolophus": https://landbeforetime.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000000188633

2. Mama Swimmer is perhaps the ugliest non sharptooth female dinosaur in the franchise. I wouldn't be surprised if Bluth revealed that she is an effeminate male and is gay as a result.

Now I wouldn't go considering that. This is a children's show/family movie franchise, they would put something like that in there.

And I wouldn't call her ugly. It could just be that she has a lot of wrinkles. Everyone in the shows has them, even the kids. I personally don't like the extra wrinkles and folds in their designs. It is what it is. But I feel like that last statement didn't make too much sense.

[somerandomfangirl]

1. Think it's a pretty unanimous result here and I agree with everyone else that Mama Swimmer is a Saurolophus.

2. I love that she got some more focus in The Big Freeze and we got to see just how kind and accepting she is. Spike may be different but he's as much her child as the others are, and she always does her best to do right by him and her other children and make sure they're happy. She's also someone who won't hesitate to put herself at risk to save her kids. A selfless, compassionate mom who I wish we got to see a bit more of in the series.

[Nanotyrannus]

I don't have particularly many strong opinions on Mama Swimmer; she's a good mother, she has a decent design, she has a good song in the eighth movie and she has a couple moments, but that's about as much as I can say outside of answering the two questions.

1.) Preference for them belonging to the species aside, I'd say the case is strongest for them being Saurolophus, between that being the name on some first movie concept art (Clubtail gave an example below) and being what Ducky is called in a little VHS thing from the late 90's. Anatosaurus has similar advantages of being what she and her daughter are called in other pieces of concept art and the movie's script, while them being Parasaurolophus came about in the early 2000's and doesn't have any basis from the first movie's development from what I can tell.

2.) Though I can't pinpoint consistent qualities of her characters, I can at least point to what I see as her most memorable scene; her rushing to save Spike near the end of the eighth movie.