Having a popular character abducted and in peril is a popular and very often a powerful story device. So from a point of view totally detached from any character's perspective the motive for the kidnapping of Ducky in LBT 7 would have been "to get the story on its way". This however is not a motive that one could ascribe to Pterano or anyone else.
Let's just give a little listen to the "evil talk" Ducky eavesdroped on before her abduction (which by the way was shouted out quite loudly right amidst a whole crowd of conveniently sound sleepers):
Pterano: "Sierra! Settle down, will you?"
Sierra: "Why should I? Anyway what are we waiting for? We could be halfway to the smoking mountains by now!"
Pterano: "Yes, with half the Great Valley right on our tails!"
Rinkus: "Why would they come after us?"
Pterano: "The young ones have told their parent that they have seen me. If we leave in a hurry, then they might think that we are up to no good."
Rinkus: "But we are up to no good."
Pterano: "No! I work for the greater good! My purpose is noble. They have never understood. But soon I will prove I am right! Until then we must be careful. We will leave with the rest of the farwalkers once the great night circle starts to shrink."
Sierra: "Humph." (Struts of to end up catching Ducky who is not exactly hiding herself with her whole head sticking out from behind a sleeping dinosaurs back even though there is no point in her watching at all when the flyers aren't even talking quietly).
Rinkus: "And then we will find the Stone of Cold fire, yes?"
Pterano: "Yes! And I shall take my rightful place as leader of the herd. And I will rule over the most beautiful fertile land in the world; the Great Valley!"
Ducky: "Oh no, no, no! I must tell Littlefoot!"
Slides down the soundly sleeping dinosaurs back, tries to sneak away but walks right between Sierra's feet while walking backwards for some reason.
Sierra: "It's kind of late for a stroll, isn't it?"
Ducky utters a loud scream which disturbs nobody's sleep.
Rinkus: "Hear! What was that?"
Sierra: "We caught us a little spy."
Pterano: "Well, ahem that forces me to make a small change in our flight plan."
I do not mean to go on about any complaints that wouldn't change anything, but there are some points about this whole abduction that really warrant some examination without it being mere whining.
It should be noted that up to that scene a good deal of time and effort had been invested into establishing the point that none of the grownups in the Great Valley believed in or cared about the so called Stone of Cold Fire (and the ending of the movie sort of proves them right all the while leaving most of the questions (e.g. why that flying rock Littlefoot saw did appear to be different) unanswered). So Rinkus actually had an excellent point when asking:
"Why would they come after us?"
After everything that had been said in the movie before, what do you think would have happened if Ducky had not been caught or if Pterano had told Sierra to let her go and if Ducky then had told Littlefoot or the grownups or both about what she had heard?
My thesis is that at least as far as the grownups are concerned Ducky's news might have caused the largest collective shrug the Great Valley has ever seen. Many might have been all too happy to see Pterano head of to chase some myth which nobody in the Valley was believing anyway.
And what did Pterano or the other flyers hope to optain by taking Ducky along? Pleasant company? Sierra's later complaints and Rinkus' suggestion to leave Ducky behind clearly show that she was nothing else but a burden to the flyers and for which benefit? It might have made some sense if the point had been to hush up their leave, but rather than keeping Ducky silent they caused a whole stampede as once they were in the air the sleepers were all of a sudden no longer oblivious to her screams anymore. But not only was there no benefit for the flyers in taking Ducky along, quite the contrary if there was one way to make absolutely certain that they would be pursued and would look like they were up to no good (exactly what Pterano wanted to avoid) it would be to abduct a kid like that. Just what was Pterano's intention with this move?
Ducky's escape also warrants a couple of questions. Just moments before Rinkus had suggested to leave her behind. It is kind of a pity that Rinkus' fall from the edge kept us from ever learning about Pterano's response. Would he have left Ducky behind in the Mysterious Beyond (not quite without risk for her) or bothered to take her along for unknown reasons?
A few moments after Rinkus' suggestion to leave her behind they are all very, very eager to catch her again triggered only by Ducky's making the decision for them.
It all remains rather odd.
But like I said I am not out to have a thread based on bashing LBT 7 or anything, but much rather I would like to hear your thoughts on questions like those I am suggesting below or your suggestions on how you believe LBT 7 could have been explained or improved.
What would anybody's reaction been if Ducky had told about the talk she had eavesdropped on?
What was Pterano's purpose when he decided to take her along?
Would Pterano have agreed to Rinkus' suggestion to leave Ducky behind?
Do you think there is anything Pterano could have said that would have made taking Ducky along more reasonable?
Are there any widely different "flight plans" you think Pterano could have taken from the moment Sierra had caught Ducky?
