Ali

Nick22 · **Reply #20 on:** November 30, 2007, 04:22:42 PM

Well said Kor.. they may be what happened although they don't go into great detail... all we can do is guess..

Malte279 · **Reply #21 on:** March 24, 2008, 10:34:34 AM

Recently Tim mentioned his dislike of the opening of the land before time 9 to me. He didn't like Littlefoot's wish that his mother had "given him a brother" in particular.
The thought of it made me consider a very different point of view on the relationship between Littlefoot and Ali.
I don't think there is anyone to be found who does not see some degree of romance in the relationship between Littlefoot and Ali. This more than anything made Ali probably the most thoroughly discussed of all land before time guest characters. I too agree that there is probably a kind of "sandbox love" between the two.
However, there is another fact which I suppose must be taken into account when we look at the relationship between Littlefoot and Ali. Remember the first movie? Littlefoot's mother promised him that there would be many young longnecks for him to play with in the Great Valley. To this day we haven't seen a single one of them.
We have seen other threehorn, swimmer, flyer, and Spiketail kids, but as for longneck kids we only had the Tinysaurs of LBT 11 and they were probably not what Littlefoot or his mother had in mind when talking about other longnecks in the Great Valley for Littlefoot to play with. The other longneck kids we saw were all part of herds outside the Great Valley and Ali was the first of those Littlefoot ever met.
Littlefoot is of course not a racist and is certainly happy with his short-necked friends, but is it not likely that he too would be happy to know other dinosaurs of his own age and species? I think that this may well have played an important role in Littlefoot's relationship with Ali. Ali may well have been in exactly the same situation as Littlefoot. At least we never ever saw another young longneck in her herd.
The idea of this hope to find a friend of the own species doesn't necessarily contradict the possibility of a "sandbox-love" between the two, but perhaps their relationship would have been much less close if Littlefoot or Ali had known other longnecks of their age.
The land before time TV series seems to support this point of view. Ali's enthusiasm for Littlefoot seems to have cooled down to some degree because since Rhet joined her herd she has a friend she can play with every day rather than on the rare occasions when her herd happens to enter the Great Valley.

Clawandfang · **Reply #22 on:** March 24, 2008, 12:48:52 PM

Quote from: Malte279,Mar 24 2008 on 02:34 PM

Ali's enthusiasm for Littlefoot seems to have cooled down to some degree because since Rhet joined her herd she has a friend she can play with every day rather than on the rare occasions when her herd happens to enter the Great Valley.

I agree with most of what you say Malte, but I think this last point can be largly attributed to the amount of time the two spent apart.

Malte279 · **Reply #23 on:** March 24, 2008, 12:55:02 PM

If this is so we would have to assume that if Ali had never met Rhet she would have been just as reserved towards Littlefoot upon her return to the Great Valley as she was in his company. The time would have been just the same, but I still think Ali's greeting of Littlefoot would have been more enthusiastic had it not been for the presence of Rhet.

Kor · **Reply #24 on:** March 24, 2008, 01:41:50 PM

That is likely true. Some of her seeming to have cooled down is likely to have been due to the presence of Rhett. With him there she now has a longneck about her age who she plays with every day. Though still a bit odd with the herd the size it is with only 1 fertile female in the whole herd, but that is another topic.

She likely still likes Littlefoot and his friends, but maybe not as close since Rhett is there. It did seem Rhett's reaction to seeing non longnecks wasn't like Ali's first reaction. Maybe his herd had encountered other non longnecks before they joined Ali's herd.

Her feelings towards Littlefoot may have changed due to either the presence Rhett who she sees everyday, or it may have happened due to the passage of time. Perhaps also the knowledge that she can't see Littlefoot very often, only when the old one decides to visit the Great Valley.

Nick22 · **Reply #25 on:** March 25, 2008, 11:56:41 PM

Rhette does bring oput a certain jealousy in Littlefoot as his words "He can't be her best friend" in the episode's song indicate. HE thinks that he should be Ali's best friend. rhette, to me, is basically nothing more than a plot device,thrown in there to liven things up. The ALi in LBT 4 would not been as taken in by his stories as the Ali in the episode was. as for her relationship with littlefoot, it likely has cooled some, but to what to degree we don't know, as Ali and Littlefoot don't hang out by themselves at all in the episode.

The Great Valley Guardian · **Reply #26 on:** March 26, 2008, 12:50:30 AM

I suppose I see Rette being solely a plot device, but on the subject of Ali, Littlefoot, and Rette as a triangle of sorts...I believe if given the chance to spend some alone time together Ali would show us that her relationship is still going strong with Littlefoot, no matter how small.

Nick22 · **Reply #27 on:** March 26, 2008, 12:57:39 AM

i agree Great Valley Guardian, which is why the episode was such a missed oportunity. while it is possible Ali might appear in Season 2, I find that to be unlikely. I interpret the closing line of LBT 4 to be in reference to a future sequel, be it 14, 15, 16, whatever.

Kor · **Reply #28 on:** March 26, 2008, 06:10:48 AM

That would be nice to have her in a sequel. Rhett should not be in it if it takes place before the tv series since the gang have not met Rhett yet, and Ali has not yet met Chomper before the episode.

Malte279 · **Reply #29 on:** March 26, 2008, 06:28:51 AM

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I believe if given the chance to spend some alone time together Ali would show us that her relationship is still going strong with Littlefoot, no matter how small.

Yet how often will she have that chance compared to the occasions where she can be alone with Rhett? And is Ali really to "blame" for appreciating Rhett as a friend she can be with every day over Littlefoot with whom she had been for just a few days and with whom she can't keep contact when she is on the move with a herd in which, apart from herself, Rhett is the only other young longneck we ever saw?
Please don't get me wrong. Of course I would rather have Littlefoot and Ali as best friends, but the story the authors of that TV episode told is not implausible. I think that each and everyone of us had some concept for a return of Ali in mind and we may have almost "mythologized" her in our perception. I suppose it would be almost impossible for the creators of the land before time to come up with a return of Ali that would match the very, very high expectations.
I think that many people here have a degree of "romance" in mind when it comes to Littlefoot and Ali, that does by far exceed that degree of such emotions that can usually be expected from kids of their age. I'm repeating myself when I cast in the word "sandbox-love" for the threethousandtfourhundredfortyseventh time, but I still consider it much more likely than some of those "concepts" being suggested in the AM section so far and which I consider proof that indeed the thesis of the exaggerated expectation of romance is true.

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Rhette does bring oput a certain jealousy in Littlefoot as his words "He can't be her best friend" in the episode's song indicate.

No doubt about it. No doubt that Littlefoot was jealous, but a romantic love is no precondition for jealousy. Remember Cera in LBT 9:
"Newest best friend! I probably won't even like him!"
Later on she even admitted her jealousy, but still this doesn't go to show that Cera perceived any kind of romance going on between Littlefoot and Mo

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #30 on:** March 26, 2008, 07:45:23 AM

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No doubt about it. No doubt that Littlefoot was jealous, but a romantic love is no precondition for jealousy. Remember Cera in LBT 9:
"Newest best friend! I probably won't even like him!"
Later on she even admitted her jealousy, but still this doesn't go to show that Cera perceived any kind of romance going on between Littlefoot and Mo

Oh god, that's a nasty thought.

I agree with Malte on this one. Cera was jealous of Mo because of the friendship that Littlefoot shared with him. We know that Cera&Littlefoot would never be a couple, nor would Littlefoot&Mo. Littlefoot wasn't jealous of Ret because he wanted to be the target of Ali's romantic affection, but because he didn't want Ali being lied to and he wanted to play with her but Ret was preventing it. Ret therefore became the "enemy" in his eyes as well as Cera's because they wanted to have fun with Ali, who they hadn't seen in a long while but it felt like Ali was being controlled by Ret.

Mornai · **Reply #31 on:** March 26, 2008, 01:04:43 PM

Quote from: landbeforetimelover,Mar 26 2008 on 07:45 AM

I agree with Malte on this one. Cera was jealous of Mo because of the friendship that Littlefoot shared with him. We know that Cera&Littlefoot would never be a couple, nor would Littlefoot&Mo. Littlefoot wasn't jealous of Ret because he wanted to be the target of Ali's romantic affection, but because he didn't want Ali being lied to and he wanted to play with her but Ret was preventing it. Ret therefore became the "enemy" in his eyes as well as Cera's because they wanted to have fun with Ali, who they hadn't seen in a long while but it felt like Ali was being controlled by Ret.

First of all, how could Littlefoot and Mo be a couple? :blink:

I agree with you on your statement, though. Littlefoot knew that Rhet (however that's spelled) lying about the stories he told Ali. Maybe he probably thought That Rhet didn't deserve Ali as a friend because of those eyes?

Malte279 · **Reply #32 on:** March 26, 2008, 01:27:57 PM

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First of all, how could Littlefoot and Mo be a couple?

Of course they aren't. Still Cera was very jealous of Mo.
This is a good example that romance need not be involved for LBT characters to get jealous. I think that many people interpret more romance into the three or four days (possibly more but not likely) than is likely to be true for a relationship between kids of their age.

Nick22 · **Reply #33 on:** March 26, 2008, 03:38:57 PM

While it is true that he have mythologied Ali based on her LBT 4 performance, ands that it was unlikely that the episode in which she appeared could meet our prior expectations, still I found it disapointing. The episode focused less on her than on Rhette and the gang;s attempts to prove him a fraud, which were ultimately successful.

LBTFan13 · **Reply #34 on:** March 26, 2008, 03:41:26 PM

Quote from: landbeforetimelover,Mar 26 2008 on 06:45 AM

We know that Cera&Littlefoot would never be a couple.

Although I highly agree with that statement, I at first thought Littlefoot and Cera would have made a nice couple because of their experiences in the first movie (sharptooth in the beginning, the fight before they split up, Cera learning she was wrong, Cera returning to help the others kill sharptooth). However, I guess she always will see him as a friend, especially after her quote in LBT 3

"Littlefoot is my friend! He'll always be my friend..."

I agree with Malte in the sense that romance wasn't needed to arouse jealousy, and inmy opinion the biggest example was when Ali first came to the valley in LBT 4. I think Cera had such a hostile attitude towards Ali at first because Littlefoot was spending more time with her instead of the others. In my opinion, her distrust towards Ali was fueled when they rescued Littlefoot from the cave incident. I feel that Cera probably thought that Ali didn't even try to save Littlefoot and left him to die. You guys may argue otherwise, but this is just my opinion.

The Great Valley Guardian · **Reply #35 on:** March 26, 2008, 03:51:51 PM

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In my opinion, her distrust towards Ali was fueled when they rescued Littlefoot from the cave incident. I feel that Cera probably thought that Ali didn't even try to save Littlefoot and left him to die.

You make a very valid point...that probably is how Cera felt during the rescue, but then for Cera to overcome her jeaoulsy...it took Ali risking her life to save Cera's for them to become friends.

LBTFan13 · **Reply #36 on:** March 26, 2008, 04:00:13 PM

Quote from: The Great Valley Guardian,Mar 26 2008 on 02:51 PM

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In my opinion, her distrust towards Ali was fueled when they rescued Littlefoot from the cave incident. I feel that Cera probably thought that Ali didn't even try to save Littlefoot and left him to die.

You make a very valid point...that probably is how Cera felt during the rescue, but then for Cera to overcome her jeaoulsy...it took Ali risking her life to save Cera's for them to become friends.

...and then once that event occured, Cera probably realized that Ali didn't really abandon Littlefoot. She really did try to save him, but she couldn't move all the rocks by herself.

On the subject of Ali and Rhette, I think not only could her relationship with Littlefoot have softened because she found another longneck to spend time with, but also the stories that he told her amazed her. She must not here much about children scaring off sharpteeth or creating a mountain with his tail. Maybe after hearing this, she fealt that Rhette was braver than Littlefoot. That could explain why she yellled at him for being jealous of Rhette:

"You're just jealous that you can't build a mountain with your tail..."

To shy away from Ali, Rhette's attitude kind of has an affect on Cera. In the episode where Cera creates the rockslide that scares away the sharpteeth, her dad doesn't give her the chance to explain to everyone that it really wasn't all her doing. Eventually, she begins to go along with this story and even becomes arrogant of herself, even more than usual because she began to change her story multiple times. It just seems to me that all of the characters, including Cera and Ali, are easily influenced by a story no matter how extreme it appears.

Nick22 · **Reply #37 on:** March 26, 2008, 04:04:21 PM

The term is gullible. Rhette made up those stories ti impress her, and he repeated them so often thhat he began to believe it. It would be interesting to see how rhette changes over time.. From trying to monoploize ali's attention, to becoming a true friend. I don't know if we'll get to see that happen though, as the ending of the brave Longneck Svheme simply had them running off to play together, with no specifcs as to when the herd left.

Kor · **Reply #38 on:** March 26, 2008, 05:39:05 PM

It would be interesting to see how Rhett is if they did a season 2 or another sequel. Though many would like Ali and Littlefoot to eventually become mates likely, it's more likely now between Ali and Rhett since he travels with her and she sees him daily. With Littlefoot she'd have to either leave her herd to be with him, or he'd have to leave the valley to be with her. Not to mention his choice about maybe someday joining Bron's herd.

The Great Valley Guardian · **Reply #39 on:** March 26, 2008, 05:43:06 PM

Quote from: LBTFan13,Mar 26 2008 on 03:00 PM

...and then once that event occured, Cera probably realized that Ali didn't really abandon Littlefoot. She really did try to save him, but she couldn't move all the rocks by herself.

On the subject of Ali and Rhette, I think not only could her relationship with Littlefoot have softened because she found another longneck to spend time with, but also the stories that he told her amazed her. She must not here much about children scaring off sharpteeth or creating a mountain with his tail. Maybe after hearing this, she fealt that Rhette was braver than Littlefoot. That could explain why she yellled at him for being jealous of Rhette:

"You're just jealous that you can't build a mountain with your tail..."

To shy away from Ali, Rhette's attitude kind of has an affect on Cera. In the episode where Cera creates the rockslide that scares away the sharpteeth, her dad doesn't give her the chance to explain to everyone that it really wasn't all her doing. Eventually, she begins to go along with this story and even becomes arrogant of herself, even more than usual because she began to change her story multiple times. It just seems to me that all of the characters, including Cera and Ali, are easily influenced by a story no matter how extreme it appears.

Yes, while you are correct in saying that Rhette told those stories to Ali...You have to wonder, while she was 'amazed' by them did she really believe him at first...I mean come on...let's be honest if someone told me they could build a mountain with their hands, (Or in this case tail) I'd have to look at them like they have completely lost their minds! But that's me....I'm not sure how anyone else would react, but Ali must have thought the same thing the very first time she heard those stories.