Thirteen is very flawed. I remembered it being a frustrating slog on my first watches. I can see where they were going with the lesson of the film – as good as planning ahead of time can be, doing it too much can bog you down and freeze you with anxiety, so sometimes you have to take things one step at a time. With the many adventures he had been on, I can see Littlefoot being plagued with that problem but he would learn the necessity of taking one step at a time from a group of dinosaurs who only can go one step at a time to survive.
The execution left a lot to be desired though. Him mentioning “listen to your folks, they know better” from the first song felt off because though their families have good intentions, he should know from experience they don’t always know better. The “stop worrying about tomorrow, and live in the fun of today” lesson(?) feels off. I agree about taking pleasures where you can to make this hellscape called life bearable but completely not thinking about worries doesn’t seem wise. Though I know they couldn’t help themselves, the yellow bellies were frustrating at times and it was hard to grasp their characters and how they did survive.
Still, there were points I liked about the movie. Cera remains in snarky but affectionate form. Grandma getting some limelight is great. She kind of gets the shaft when it comes to focus, often to the point it feels like “Littlefoot and Grandpa, guest starring Grandma.” I like Foobie, the sweet, bashful, wise one, and his friendship with Spike. I get the intent he’s someone who just goes with the flow of the yellow bellies and others, just letting the gang try to lead them all, but it didn’t always make him look like an effective leader. Maybe there should have been a few more moments where Foobie stepped in and smoothly brought his charges back on track. The fart joke made me go “Ugggh” but Petrie’s delivery of “That not funny” did amuse me.
Doofah could occasionally be entertaining, with her jumping majestically out of a mudslide as an example. Her “You’re beautiful!” exclamations could be used as fun image macros and gifs to send to loved ones. I did like her dynamic with Cera a bit, where she hugs Cera while the latter struggles out like an annoyed cat. Loofah I have a harder time grasping as a character, since he seems sensible some moments and oblivious like the rest in other scenes. I do like the skill set of the yellow bellies, like with being able to cause quakes with their bodies. It would probably hurt to be slammed directly. I also like their “bush” hiding trick. It gave me an amusing scene idea where the gang are being menaced by a villain only for them to spot one of the yellow belly trio pretending to be a bush nearby and confusing the villain by making a series of butt puns until the yellow belly come to the rescue.
On a slightly unrelated note, I hope Foobie knows how to marshal his charges so they don’t eat too much of the greens too quickly in Berry Valley. That might exhaust the food supply Then again, maybe it’s magic like the Great Valley where the greens often seem to refurbish themselves no matter how much is eaten or how many trees or bushes get casually destroyed.
Even with how flawed this movie is, I do have plans to write these yellow belly characters. I feel drawn to the challenge of writing from their perspective and fleshing them out. It might be fun and interesting.
I can see the frustration with Wild Arms. While the yellow bellies are at least good intentioned, he seems more selfish. His humor doesn’t always land for me. Though I’ve contemplated writing him, and the lines he slings out – oh, it’s a hoot. I feel his interactions with Shorty and Etta would be fun and how they bounce off each other could make them a great trio. I hope I can get to write something like that at some point.
