Dinosaur Families

[Akiko]

Maybe I'm just a little weird in that I notice these things, but here's something that keeps me pondering lately. I'm not sure if this should go here or in the sequels section, since it deals with both the original and the sequels...and the series. :blink: When watching the tv series the other day, I saw an episode that centered on Petrie and his family...(they had to move their nest) however, I noticed it only showed three siblings for him (two brothers and one sister it looked like, since I'm assuming the brown ones are male and the blue ones female, like their mother).

I clearly remember Petrie having at least three brothers and two sisters though (if these colorations are correct; nonetheless five siblings). Although we don't get introduced to Petrie and Spike until later on in the original (and thus don't get to see Petrie's birth like all the others), I've got some screenies that...to me...are quite interesting. I've not yet seen the newest LBT movie, although I wonder if all of Petrie's siblings are shown in that or not. This was a cute episode (and the siblings' reaction and fear of Chomper was a neat little addition), it just really made me wonder about the the number of brothers and sisters and if the writers are keeping track of this.

Petrie's Family:

Nicest picture I could get

The same is said of Ducky's family, in that after they reach The Great Valley we clearly see at least three siblings, a mother and a father. Something that makes me scratch my head is when we see Ducky's hatching there are originally at least seven eggs...yet a few moments later (after her mother saves her from the snapper's jaws), they've hatched and three other baby swimmers are seen...not six and you'd think after seeing the original seven eggs. :huh: Here's a screenie showing some scenes of what I'm talking about...notice the seven eggs in the lower corner :



Also, there's Cera's family...who (from what I've seen of the sequels and tv series) have had major changes. Cera starts out with at least three siblings (sisters, I assume, since she says she has sisters in the original movie ), a father and a mother.
I'm very curious about Cera's mother, since in a screenie of after they arrive at The Great Valley you can see another adult threehorn next to Cera and her father; all signs would suggest it's her mother. Her sisters, however, are not seen.  :unsure: Here's the little collage...



Also, notice that after the earthquakes that both her parents are standing there, so they're alright...and if in fact that is her mother in the valley scene then it just makes it even more confusing.

Somehow I'm guessing not even the writers of the original movie gave the back characters like this so much thought...as I mentioned, I'm just weird.    

Still, I wonder what everyone else thinks on this topic.

[DarkHououmon]

From what I heard, the original writers for the first movie did not take part in the sequels, which explains part of the problem.

In LBT12, Petrie had more siblings, I think. I haven't counted..I think he had about 6 or 7..or 8. I can't remember. Yeah the number of how many siblings he has does change. In LBT2, it appears he has no hatched siblings, since you see his nest, and all you see is his mother with an egg.

Cera's siblings only appear in the beginning of the first movie. When they react the valley I do not recall them making a reappearance, which may mean they might have been killed on the journey to the valley, or got lost.

As for her mother, she has, possibly, made an appearance in LBT2. In the scene where the children are screaming, and you see each of the adults, watch for when Topsy appears. In the background, you see another threehorn who reacts to Cera's screams just as Topsy does. And considering that in the other shots of the adults, you only see the parents, it's easy for me to assume that mystery threehorn was, indeed, Cera's mother. If it was, I think that is the only appearance she ever makes.

Now onto Ducky. I think it's the same issue as Petrie's family, the number of siblings change. And there is at least one time you see Ducky's father, and that's in LBT5, near the ending, when you see the adults together. The darker colored duckbill (I think he was darker) was probably Ducky's father.

One thing that bothers me about Ducky's mom in the original is that, in the beginning, she is green, just like she is in the sequels. But in the end, she's a reddish color.

Well that's all I have to say for now.

[Petrie.]

Kacie put out the best explanation - the original writers and animators were not making the sequels.  Universal Cartoon Studios operates in South Korea I believe.

[Malte279]

Good topic and beautiful collages Akiko
The number of brothers and sisters is really very varying and sometimes lack of explanation creates real plotholes.
In LBT 6 Ducky mentions to be one of 13 twins. We saw that there were less in the original movie, but from her LBT 6 point of view I don't suppose Ducky would be exaggerating a fact which her friends can check out so easily. Her words "at the same time" rule out the possibility of her having included her later siblings in the term twins. We never ever saw 13 of them. I am quite fond of the idea of a story about Ducky and one sister of her looking absolutely identical... Double Ducky so to speak.
Anyway, LBT 6 is also suggesting questions about Cera's family. Where are Dinah and Dana coming from? In LBT 2, 3, and 4 we saw other young threehorns which could be taken as an implication that more members of Cera's family may have made it to the Great Valley, but later sequels clearly work against that theory. The different look of Dinah and Dana (three horns, different color) makes me think that they were adobted, possibly orphaned. I really regret they just vanished without a track. I must say I found them more interesting than Tricia from what I have seen from her so far. Moreover Cera's dealing with Dinah and Dana should have accustomed her, at least a little, to dealing with the situation of being not the only kid of her father. I consider the disappearance of Dinah and Dana a very sad plothole.

One thing that bothers me about Ducky's mom in the original is that, in the beginning, she is green, just like she is in the sequels. But in the end, she's a reddish color.

I suppose this is meant to be a trick of the light. There are scenes in the original movie in which Ducky and Littlefoot look yellow to create such an effect.

[Digi-Dragon]

Well, I don't know much about the family subject, but as for Dana and Dinah, I would assume Cera has an older sibling of some sort, and that's how those two exist. In fact, maybe the other Threehorn we see in the end of LBT 1 and in LBT 2 (speculation here) is her older sibling rather than her mother.

[Noname]

The main problem stems from the Roy Allen Smith movies; they have little connectivity with the first movie and even less with each other. This is why so many potential characters from the first movie (like Cera's mother) don't reappear. So far, the only missing parent to show up in any movie would be Bron (Littlefoot's father) in movie ten. We know nothing of Petrie's father, Cera's mother, Ducky's father, or any others. Strangely, we know more about Ruby's  parents and Chomper's parents then we do about those characters.

EDIT: And by "those characters" I mean Petrie's father, Cera's mother and Ducky's father.

[DarkHououmon]

Concerning Cera's mother and Ducky's father, they may have made appearances in the sequels.





This is from Land Before Time 2. This is when LF and the gang are trapped in the tarpit. During the sequence where you see the adults hearing their children's cries, you only see the parents in every shot. This leads me to believe that the other threehorn in this picture could be Cera's mother. But it's just speculation.







From Land Before Time 5.

The other duckbill could be Ducky's father. I get this impression because of how they stand together like mates. The only evidence to suggest that this is not Ducky's father that I've seen is when the parents go reunite with their kids, only Ducky's mom shows up to hug Ducky and Spike. The second duckbill is nowhere in sight.

[Highsoar]

The other part that wasn't revisited are the hatchlings at the end of LBT 2...Cera had like two new siblings...I think actually only Littlefoot didn't, there was even a younger version of Spike.

[DarkHououmon]

Oh yeah, I forgot about those.

[Tails_155]

always wondered about that XD

[The Great Valley Guardian]

Now that I think about it, that really is weird that those new hatchlings dissapear!

[Petrie.]

Now that I think about it, that really is weird that those new hatchlings dissapear!

And the kids that watch the film probably hit stop before the credits finished.....or if they watched it, they perceived it as a song number, not a character you meet and learn about.

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

Akiko, your images aren't showing up for some reason!  

But anyways, Ducky's comment in 6 (her "doom movie---IknowI'mobsessedletsmoveonwiththetopic) is comepletely false because that's not true in the oringal. Petrie usually has about 5 but in movie 12 it's like 12. What? Makes no sense

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

One thing that bothers me about Ducky's mom in the original is that, in the beginning, she is green, just like she is in the sequels. But in the end, she's a reddish color.

She's pink, just like Topps is lavender  

In LBT 6 Ducky mentions to be one of 13 twins. We saw that there were less in the original movie, but from her LBT 6 point of view I don't suppose Ducky would be exaggerating a fact which her friends can check out so easily. Her words "at the same time" rule out the possibility of her having included her later siblings in the term twins.

Someone please explain this to me...it's driving me insane!!!    

[Malte279]

Someone please explain this to me...it's driving me insane!!!

Driving everyone else insane (thus rendering your own perceived status the norm) isn't helping either!
Nobody of us is part of the production team of the land before time movies and nobody of us is so closely acquainted with anyone who is as to just ask there. Nobody of us has any unworldly power of omniscence either allowing him or her to just read the sane or insane minds of whoever is making the decisions about the words uttered by the characters in the land before time movies.
So unless you have any good reasons to think that anyone of us here is maliciously withholding information from you for the sake of driving you into insanity kindly quit acting like you did
All that we do know is that it is one out of a large number of continuity ERRORS. And there it is, errors. Errors, by definition are something that is wrong, as in not right, that is a mistake and thus escapes any attempts of explaining it by means of pure intelectual reason. So our options are either to get over it and live with the fact that there are continuity errors in the land before time that cannot be explained by any reasons, or we allow for ourselves to get so worked up over it that it drives us insane. Driving others insane for being unable to cope with the horrors of lacking continuity in land before time movies however is something that is not tolerated on the GOF Bruton

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

Sorry  :unsure:

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

One thing that bothers me about Ducky's mom in the original is that, in the beginning, she is green, just like she is in the sequels. But in the end, she's a reddish color.

Funny how you notice this (she's pink here acutally, and otherwise brown), yet it wasn't until I pointed it out that anyone seemed to realize Topps isn't the color he is in the beginning, like he is in the sequels, and that he's lavender!  

This is from Land Before Time 2. This is when LF and the gang are trapped in the tarpit. During the sequence where you see the adults hearing their children's cries, you only see the parents in every shot. This leads me to believe that the other threehorn in this picture could be Cera's mother. But it's just speculation.

I've seen her in the background in 5 as well

[Bruton the Iguanodon]

In LBT 6 Ducky mentions to be one of 13 twins. We saw that there were less in the original movie, but from her LBT 6 point of view I don't suppose Ducky would be exaggerating a fact which her friends can check out so easily. Her words "at the same time" rule out the possibility of her having included her later siblings in the term twins. We never ever saw 13 of them. I am quite fond of the idea of a story about Ducky and one sister of her looking absolutely identical... Double Ducky so to speak.
 

I remember that comment.   Interesting to note: Ducky and Spike apparently have more later siblings by this next movie. Does that mean Ducky's father will return? Or are they half siblings?

Anyways, according to the end of the original LBT Ducky is one of about 5 siblings born at the same time, but I think there were more shown hatching (8 more would put it at the correct amount of thirteen). I'd like to think the others were simply somewhere else at the end. Assuming this is correct, Ducky and Spike will probably have somewhere near 30 siblings by the end of movie 14, lol  

[Ducky123]

I am quite fond of the idea of a story about Ducky and one sister of her looking absolutely identical... Double Ducky so to speak.

Malte, I'm still in favor of you writing that story That would make for a really humorous story, yep, yep, yep!

Now on topic...

My opinion on this is quite simple.

• Spike: He's the easiest case since he doesn't have any parents, at least we have never seen them. They more than likely died somehow during the harsh situation in LBT 1. Speculations here are okay in fics but it's pretty much impossible that Spike's parents are around... unless the producers pull the same stunt they did in LBT 10 in a future sequel if there ever are ones to follow LBT 14.
  
• Ducky: Ducky has her mother and a fluctuating number of siblings. in LBT 1 she has (as somebody pointed out in one of those 7 years old posts) 7 sibling eggs which end up hatching 3 siblings. In LBT 2 she only has about 7-8 eggs but no trace of her siblings from LBT 1. The next time they are seen is LBT 5 when she has 5 if I remember correctly. I would have to watch LBT 8 again to double check but I could swear their number even fluctuates within that movie... I know that most of the time we see 3 siblings just like in the first movie but in one scene I could swear the muddle of her siblings sleeping beside their mother consists of more than just three of them :unsure: I'll skip the other sequels for I think my point already stands: There is no such continuity in their number whatsoever and Bruton is completely right there, that Ducky may have had up to 40 siblings if we counted them all
  Now about her father... I personally don't believe his existence is official. Yes, we see another duckbill not just once but several times in at least 2 movies (1 and 5, possibly 2 too) but he never interacts with anybody so I personally don't consider him an actual character but just some background character who pops up every now and then. It's very well possible that Judith Barsi's tragic fate may have contributed to Ducky not having a father
  
• Cera: She's a single child with a father we all love to despise sometimes The fate of Cera's true mother and siblings we see during her hatching scene and the scene where she meets Littlefoot, has been intensely discussed in separate threads already so I won't do that here and simply say that the most plausible answer to their disappearance is their death during the earthshake or during the journey to the Great Valley.
  In LBT 11 Tria comes along, actually one of the few positive things to say about that movie and in LBT 12 Tricia is hatched.
  Dinah and Danah are a mystery to me because they appeared out of nowhere and then dissipated into nothingness again It would have been interesting to see them again...
  
• Petrie: Petrie has a mother and a fluctuating number of siblings (same like Ducky... continuity *sigh*). Unlike Cera's mother, we have never even seen a sign of Petrie's father so it's save to assume he's dead. Another possibility would be that Pteranodon males simply didn't care for their offspring but discussing that would belong into the respective threads about that again...
  
• Littlefoot: Littlefoot is a single child. His mother was killed by sharptooth and the earthshake, his dad wasn't known to us fans until the events of LBT 10 (his introduction causing some plotholes but... OT). There are also Littlefoot's Grandparents. Shorty could count as a half-brother of sorts. He is not a half brother of Littlefoot by blood but was adopted by Bron.
  Picking up the recent discussion about Ali possibly being related to Littlefoot... I don't think there is any connection between Old One's herd and Littlefoot's family. Greeting Old One's herd as "cousins" is probably just a formal way of greeting another herd...
  

[Kor]

As for Ducky's dad I assume his disappearance was due to the animators deciding it would be easier to not draw or animate another character, it would save time if they just stopped drawing and animating him.  One can come up with fancannon reasons why.

and sloppiness in the number of sibblings, is due to what I'd call cannon sloppiness where most don't care about that and there is not anybody in charge of enforcing that.  as for Dinah and Danah that was just plain sloppy & lazy writing.  along with other examples.