Being one of the most notorious critics of the land before time 10 I reckon it is for me to give some answers on your questions.
I don't see where Bron's story doesn't make sense. Give me where it doesn't make sense, and I bet I can show you how it does. (Understand though, it's a little complex and not that simple to understand.)
1. To explain all the discrepancies of Bron's story, we need to remember the original movie. The story he is telling must have begun shortly before the beginning of the original land before time movie.
Yet where were Bron and Littlefoot's mother (whom they didn't bother to give so much as the same color she had in the original movie) in a lush, green, Great Valley like landscape. The landscape they showed was just a perfect nesting place for Bron and his wife. There was no point for him to leave his pregnant wife to look for a better place. They had a really good place already!
2. The way Bron tells the story it appears that almost the moment he left the world turned upside down and changed into the desolate wasteland we know from the original movie. This is highly unlikely and doesn't seem at all the way the situation is described in the original movie. Even if it was a sudden change from paradise to wasteland, would not a responsible Bron have returned immediately to find his wife and unborn hatchling? According to his tale he did, but if this was true, how come he didn't find them? First of all, if there was such a sudden change of situation I reckon Littlefoot's mother would have waited for Bron as long as possible, as she and her parents (the way the contact between Bron and Littlefoot's grandparents is shown we can take it for granted they are not Bron's parents) knew he was going to return as soon as he could (if he ever meant to return). Even if lack of food forced them to move on after all (Bron must have been really far away indeed not to be back by that time) it would have been easy enough for Bron to follow the fresh trail of three grownup longnecks (As Cera pointed out in LBT 10 they leave clear tracks) who certainly tried to leave a clear trail for Bron to follow. There is absolutely no justification why Bron didn't return to his wife right away!
3. So even if we assume that, in his overeagerness to find even better a nesting place for his dear wife, Bron had wandered so far off that he couldn't possibly be back in time to pick up the trail and reunite with his wife his eagerness to find Littlefoot may be doubted for the points I'm going to explain.
The existence of the Great Valley was obviously not a secret. Littlefoot told Ducky in the original movie that his mother had told him that all herds were heading there. Yet Bron, despite the fact he claims to have done everything to find his son (even after learning about the death of his wife) apparently didn't think to look at the most logical place. Was he the only one who never ever heard about the Great Valley? Even if nobody ever told him it is interesting to recall how Littlefoot's mother knew about the Great Valley "Some things you see with your eyes! Others you see with your heard!" Apparently Bron's heart never told him anything, a point I won't argue as I doubt so cold a heart as his would talk.
However, there is no justification for Bron never ever to search for his son at the place that was obviously the most logical destination for him to go!
4. I can hear the enraged shouts. How dare I calling this gentle longneck and great leader cold-heartet?
I'll lay it out to you. We are all very fond of him for taking care of Shorty and all the poor defenseless longneck kids he found when he was allegedly looking for his son. But he doesn't! Just take a look at that flashback. He checks whether his son is among the kids, finds he isn't, and moves on. Bron doesn't even open his mouth. No word of encouragement, no question if they know anything about the whereabouts of his son, and least of all an invitation to the kids to come along with him. He didn't decide to take care of the kids. They just followed him, knowing it would be safer for them and Bron apparently didn't mind. He did not offer his protection to them, they just took it.
Shorty in particular is a good example for Bron's indifference. You think Shorty (a character by the way whom I consider one of the positive points about LBT 10) would have ever turned into a bully if Bron had cared about him beyond saving him from being killed so long he stayed close enough? Throughout the whole movie the only scene in which Bron shows direct kindness to Shorty is when during the herd's departure he takes him onto his head. Shorty might have considered Bron a father, but Bron did not consider him a son. Just listen to what he told Littlefoot. All the others found parents, but not Shorty. I really pity Shorty. Bron seems to be more like a leader than a parent to him. It is not for kindness that Bron took care of anyone!
5. Speaking of taking care, let's take a look at how much Bron cares about his herd. He says he cannot accompany Littlefoot and his grandparents to the Great Valley as he has to go back to his herd. Now that's noble, isn't it? He would so much like to come along with his son, but he will sacrifice his personal luck for the wellbeing of his herd which apparently cannot survive a day without him...
But wait a second, is not the herd supposed to be right there, at the crater where the solar eclipse occurred? All longnecks were supposed to be there!
We know that all longnecks were not there. Ali and her herd was missing and so was Doc. There must have been quite a few who either didn't have that dream or didn't get there in time. But how is it possible that Bron and a part of his herd was there, but another part wasn't? There is no doubt that not all of Bron's herd was there, as he told Littlefoot he was looking forward to introduce him to the rest of the herd. Now can you give me a reason why Bron would leave what must be a considerable part of the herd rather than leading all of them there? I have a theory and as you may expect it doesn't cast a positive light on Bron, but I beg you to give me a better reason.
It appears that Bron left behind the part of his herd that was too slow to make it to the crater in time for the solar eclipse. If he really did, doesn't that mean that he must've left the old, the weak, the too young kids etc. behind? Not the kind of herd members a good leader should leave to their fate! I just hope he left some strong longnecks behind to protect them. Bron must have something that makes other dinosaurs follow him, but he doesn't show any of the responsibility true leadership demands!
6. Did you notice how Bron talked to Littlefoot about sharpteeth? "Sharpteeth are cowards!" Even though the statement seems to apply to the extremely harmless sharpteeth in the land before time 10 I wish he would say that into the face of the sharptooth who killed Littlefoot's mother!
Bron's statement is a generalization and it is also quite insensitive talking this way in front of Littlefoot whose mother was killed by a sharptooth. Also I wonder if Littlefoot thought of Chomper when his father said this. Wouldn't Chomper be a perfect counterproof? It does take courage to attack a grownup sharptooth while you are still a hatchling, and it does take courage (even for a grownup sharptooth) to attack huge leafeaters.
Bron doesn't need to fear sharpteeth, for he is invulnerable! We see a sharptooth biting his leg, but it doesn't cause much more than an "Ouch". We don't see a scratch, Bron doesn't limb or anything. They could've made all this so much more dramatic if they had stirred up some memories about the death of Littlefoot's mother. Bron is arrogant and invulnerable!
7. Bron had given Littlefoot up! Even though he apparently never heard anything about him after learning about the death of his mother, he just stopped looking. What Bron says to Littlefoot is: "I can't wait to introduce you to the others back home". The statement leaves no doubt that Bron's herd is not a herd of migrators (as Ali's) but has one place to stay, similar to the Great Valley I suppose. This fact does weaken the reproach of Bron being irresponsible for leaving the herd to head for the place where the solar eclipse takes place. So long he leaves them at a save, protected place...
However, it also raises the question why they depend on him at all. If they are in a place save enough to be left behind there by Bron (a place where they have stayed long enough to call it home), what for do they need a leader anyway? The Great Valley doesn't have one leader either, and there is not a one of the dinosaurs in the Great Valley that is so important for the Valley that his or her departure would cause any serious harm for the Valley's population.
8. Finally, if Bron was indeed so great and admirable character, how come that in nine previous movies he was so much ignored, that Littlefoot didn't even know he had a dad? Was there a good reason for Littlefoot's grandparents to try to conceal Bron from Littlefoot? Perhaps so. Littlefoot's grandparents may well have intended not to tell Littlefoot about Bron, fearing that he would risk his life trying to find his father. Still I'm not sure that explaination justifies leaving Littlefoot so ignorant he didn't even know he had a Dad.
I haven't yet mentioned every single point that make me dislike Bron, but as this thread is not only about him, but also about LBT 10 in general there are several more points I would like to address:
9. The whole story about all longnecks having the same dream which makes them heading for the same place should at least have been better explained. We know Littlefoot's grandparents from nine previous land before time movies (okay, make that eight as they didn't really play an active part in the original movie). From those movies we know Littlefoot's grandparents as very careful characters (just think of any scene when there is talk about the Mysterious Beyond). Yet in the land before time 10 their decision to leave the Great Valley (just two old longnecks and a kid) appears a really rash one. I'm sure these dreams were something important enough if we had been told a bit more about it. It would have been time for a "some things you see with your eyes others you see with your hard"-type of message. Maybe they could've even included something more than dreams by just making the legend Pat told a just a little more known. That would have been a reason I would feel much more comfortable about.
10. Another example of strange behaviour of characters concerns Cera's, Petrie's, Ducky's, and Spike's reaction upon learning that Littlefoot considers leaving them. The scene is the emotional climax of the movie and I really like the song "Bestest friends". But don't you find they seem to have a bit too less of a problem to let Littlefoot go for good? They hardly stop smiling upon hearing the news and they don't make the slightest attempt to keep Littlefoot with them. Highly considerate behaviour no doubt, but after all they have gone through together I would have expected at least an incling of true reluctance to give him up for somebody who could just as well come to the Great Valley.
11. The animation of the movie also had several shortcommings in my opinion:
The way they showed the solar-eclipse was very unrealistic. They showed the moon as a black circle long before it even came in front of the sun and the colouring of the sky too appeared almost as if a solar eclipse the way it is is not spectacular enough, they even felt they had to put a shower of shooting stars in, like a solar eclipse was not spectacular enough.
I experienced a solar eclipse in August 1999 and memorized my impressions. It was amazing. The eclipse could be felt before one saw it. The temperatur suddenly dropped and the air became chilly. There was no sudden shadow falling whose edge one could see, but the light became twilight and finally darkness when the moon moved before the sun...
They have the habit to tinge the sky red almost always when there is danger since LBT 5. I never liked this. This bad habit had a "tragic" climax in LBT 10 that gave me a real shudder. Not only the sky, but also the landscape, my goodness, even the characters turned red!
Unlike most other people I do not like the new 3D animation very much, at least not all of it. There are elements created by the computer which fit very well to the hand-drawn characters or landscapes. The water in LBT 9 for example looked great. However, much of the photo realistic pictures to me looks almost as if it had been taken from a different movie and just "inserted" into LBT (the mossy tree-branch Littlefoot climbs up for example).
^ Note that the last three points are mainly a matter of taste rather than anything fact based, so they just represent my subjective opinion.
12. The sharpteeth were just stupid! What has become of the impressive sharpteeth from the original movies and sequels 2, 3, 5, 6, and 9? I already pointed out that Bron is invulnerable to sharpteeth bites, but that Shorty can trip a grownup sharptooth by creeping under it's foot is a real outrage!
Remember the sharptooth from the original movie. What do you think would have happened if a longneck had crawled under its foot? That’s right! And that is why young longnecks should not deliberately crawl under a sharptooth's foot!
Then there was the thing with the stones. I really don't think that any of the LBT characters is strong enough to kick or hurl a stone large enough to do more than bother a sharptooth over such far a distance. A sharptooth tripling about a few little stones thrown in front of his feet... really that must be either extremely smooth and slippery stones or an extremely clumsy sharptooth. The sharpteeth in LBT 10 were for my opinion almost reduced to a ridiculous entertainment for the young dinosaurs! That's not what sharpteeth are supposed to be.
Well, you have a point there, but there is something else
nobody , other than me, I think, has brought up.
If Mama Longneck and Grandpa and Grandma Longneck loved Bron so much, WTH didn't
they go looking for him? I mean, with Sharpteeth, particularly the evil infamous one that is the main villain of the first film, one might have thought Bron had that sort of violent end.
Also, I have another theory of where Bron may have gone that could make a good deal of sense and put Bron in a bit of a better light. The narrator says that Littlefoot, Mama Longneck, and Grandpa and Grandma Longneck were the last of their herd. Well, what if the others
didn't die, but went with Bron. Perhaps Bron was saving them from Sharpteeth and doing other stuff, while also looking for a place to live.
His pregnant wife would never be able to keep up with him, so she stayed with her parents. He intended to come back, but something bad happened to him and the rest of the herd. Perhaps the longnecks he found, including Shorty, were actually part of that herd. Perhaps he started taking cared of orphaned longnecks as the Mysterious Beyond wasn't a nice place and Sharpteeth were going around attacking them.
It says he got longnecks after the Great Earthshake, but that doesn't make it so that he couldn't have been collecting them. Having others to watch over would hamper him from going too far to go back home, and, speaking of home, we're assuming here that Littlefoot and his Grandma and Grandpa didn't move themselves from where they were when he left. After all, sticking around in the same place for years when that place isn't the Great Valley is a great way to become a meal for Sharpteeth!
Bron might have tried to find them earlier, but kept having no luck. As he was in charge of the longneck herd, he couldn't take too much time looking for his family. In this case, it might have been like the Old One, willing to let Grandpa Longneck die rather than risk the lives of her herd by going back to the Land of Mists.
Also, if Bron left before Littlefoot hatched, how the heck is he supposed to know what he looked like? Heck, in fact, considering that there were other eggs, though smashed, as far as he knew, he could have several kids. Also, as he wasn't there when Littlefoot hatched, how would he even know he had a son and not a daughter?
Also, if he was thought lost, why didn't Grandpa and Grandma Longneck appear greatly shocked to see Bron still alive?
All in all, Bron's behavior is a mystery, but, on the flip side, so is his family's that they apparently made as little effort to find him as he them.
Also, as for oddities, there is one even in the original LBT. The Gang of Five, minus Cera, are all in the tar pit. Cera has apparently done a Pterano and abandoned them. The others are already in there, and even Littlefoot falls in. It doesn't appear any of them are hanging onto the shore and so they should have perished. Yet, they appear as the tar monster and save Cera.
As for other oddities, we don't know how Mo learned Leaf Eater or why Dil and Ichy are the only Sharpteeth, other than Chomper himself, that can speak in English. (Heck, considering how much those two fight, it would be interesting to know how the heck they stayed together so long!)
Also, I did think that maybe Littlefoot's parents actually separated over marital strife and Bron and Grandpa and Grandpa Longneck and even Littlefoot's mother are just too uneasy about telling poor Littlefoot, who just found out he wasn't an orphan, the truth. It would sort of be how Mama Flyer was keeping the truth about Pterano from Petrie. However, if this scenario is true, we'll have to wait till a future release to find out. This theory would make sense, as the grandparents didn't appear shocked to see Bron alive, but Litltefoot did, so they may have told Litltefoot that Bron died, but somehow Littlefoot misses their lack of shock when seeing him still alive.
However, Bron's story isn't the oddest thing that has happened in LBT. We know that GVA happened only a short time after the original film ended.
I'm going to bold what I believe is the biggest irony in the entire Land Before franchise.
[B[
LITTLEFOOT LOST HIS MOTHER, AT MOST, ONLY A FEW MONTHS EARLIER. HE SEES THE SHARPTOOTH EGG HATCH AND HIS FRIENDS RUN FOR IT. THOUGH HE TRIES TO RUN, HE, ALONE OF THE OTHERS, COMES BACK AND NAMES THE SHARPTOOTH "CHOMPER" AND STICKS BY HIM EVEN WITH THE REST OF THE GANG OF FIVE AGAINST HIM. HECK, THEY STILL ARE FRIENDS EVEN INTO THE TV SERIES. [/B]
If you can find a bigger irony than that in LBT, I'll give you all the Tree Sweets on the tree!
Also, the how Chomper got into the Great Valley plot hole in the TV Series and why Chomper's parents wouldn't fight Red Claw like good parents but would send Chomper off with Ruby rivals the Bron mystery if you ask me.
Of course, there are some mysteries that bother me far more than Bron's oddities or the TV Serires plothole. Two in particular.
1.) Will Littlefoot ever marry Ali or is there someone else for him? (We all wonder that.)
And, the greatest unanswered question most LBT fans wonder, if they dare not speak it:
Will Littlefoot's actions in LBT's greatest irony (as I call it) pay off big time one day, perhaps leading to some salvation of the Great Valley from an evil mega villain, or will it rather lead to a huge betrayal on the part of Chomper and leave Litltefoot more grief stricken than he's ever been in his life (and, God forbid), be the LAST mistake he ever makes in his life? That last one keeps me up at night and I wonder
constantly about it and have tried to write fanfics to give me peace about it and hope to somehow get on the writing staff and write an answer that does what I want without a lot of
Anyway, those are my takes on some things.
