Cera Showcase - March 2019

[rhombus]

Okay, okay, Cera.  Geez...

As she so nicely reminded us, it is indeed Cera's month of appreciation! 

In this topic please feel free to discuss Cera as a character, to share your own creations (fanfics or fanart), or to mention some of your favorite fanworks of others involving this character.  For a full set of rules please see the Montly Character Showcase topic but keep in mind that this is meant to be fun as opposed to any sort of contest.

Just to get things started I will pose an initial question to the Cera fans on the forum: What are your thoughts on Cera, and how has your opinion on Cera as a character changed over the years?

Rhombus: Just a side note - one of us will change the icons to Cera ones in a timely fashion. Unfortunately I do not personally know how to perform this process yet.

[Petrie]

Cera I think has gotten tamer.  I mean look at the Cera of the first film, and then the Cera of the sequels.  She was a real prejudiced snot in the first film.  None of the sequels have ever been close to such an attitude.  Even that crazy angry song is mild!

[Mumbling]

She definitely has, Petrie! In the first film you can clearly see her upbringing affecting her behavior to dinosaurs who are not like her. This mellowed a lot after their first adventure.

I really like Cera. Sure, she has some attitude problems and is biased occasionally, but she wants to do good (as long as it is done her way ) She is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in, but is also willing to change her point of view eventually, as long as people show her how things could be if she approaches them from a different perspective. This is extremely mature, and I'm sure many people could learn from that.

I believe she can make a great leader. She knows what she wants, she wants everyone to join her in that cause, and is willing to listen to others if they keep bringing up the same point

Also, who could resist this wink? 

[Sneak]

!!!
Calm down, Cera, calm down...
 I didn't want to do this, you know.
They made me!
 It wasn'r me! It wasn't...
*runs away*

*retuns when Cera is gone*

Phew.
I missed previous showcase, since I couldn't say anything new and not commonplace about my #1 character Littlefoot.
So now, here is my couple words about possibly the most interesting character for me from LBT universe. Cera.

Yeah, she's interesting for me because she is complex, and my attitude towards her completely changed a lot- since the first time of watching original to today days.

During first watch of original movie, and rewatches during early years, I couldn't see her anything but as b*tch who spoils the group. I so disliked her... Since childhood, I just disliked people who had Cera's character in real life, so my attitude was terrible towards Cera.
And then , with each year, with each rewatching LBT universe, and other cartoons, with growing up, with meeting different people communities... I started to like Cera, her pretty complex character, her rock temper and sharp tongue, her inner true nature behind mask of angry threehorn of her kind, I liked it more and more. And not only she changed beside my eyes. Many other fictional characters with her character from any other media - I see them all from different position now. :Dl
And now, she became one of my favorite characters in LBT universe.
Congratulations, Cera. Life changed my attitude towards you, 32000 times different than it wasat the beginning. 

[jassy]

Cera is actually one of my favorite characters, mostly because of her attitude and how complex she is, although it didn’t really start off that way lol. When I watched the first movie I really, really, really disliked her, and I might even go as far as saying I hated her because to me she came off as just a spoiled, selfish and prejudiced brat. 

But she definitely mellowed out throughout the sequels and really grew as a character, and was a lot more open-minded. You can tell she really cares about her friends and family, even if she is a bit brash and blunt. Needless to say, I definitely don’t hate Cera anymore 

[jedi472]

Cera is probably the character I empathize with most, next to Littlefoot. She changes dramatically as she learns the value of others, while retaining the same fiery spirit that defines her. She can be occasionally frustrating, but I think I appreciate that tough pride and determination more than ever.

Cera is rad.

[Flathead770]

Cera's ready to kick the Flathead out and have her time in the spotlight! (OK, she would have done that over half a month ago, but still... )



So I share a lot of similar initial attitude to her that other members have mentioned. She was always uptight, arrogant and all around not that pleasant. Now that I'm older I've come to terms with it and find her to be one of the most interesting characters due to how flawed she is, which easily makes her the most dynamic one of the gang.

While there was a general separatism among the different species, from what we've seen of Mr. Threehorn in the sequels with the more outright hatred and feeling of superiority it's impressive that Cera has managed to make the progress she has. I find her development at the end of the first film to be one of my favorite parts, with her realization that she was wrong and comes to save the day with the final blow to the rock to knock it and Sharptooth over.

I also like the small change in dialogue between "finding" the Great Valley and finding the Great Valley with going from bragging that "I found it!" to "Littlefoot, you found it!"

[Mumbling]

Flathead! That Cera drawing turned out really well! Awesome job

[Flathead770]

Hey thanks Iris! Anytime a Cera drawing turns out it's a great day!

[OwlsCantRead]

Ah, Cera!

There's a character my opinion went a complete one-eighty on. Understandably, my opinion of her wasn't the greatest when I watched the original LBT. She came off as a braggart who was too stubborn for her own good.

Then I watched the sequels.
The sequels completely changed my perception of her. She comes off as a more down-to-earth, "WTF are you thinking?!" realist to Littlefoot, and I really relate to her and her exasperation with her friends as a result. Maybe I'm a realist and a pessimist very much like Cera, but her constant brash, haughty shooting-down of Littlefoot's idealistic viewpoints is a great foil (and arguably more realistic in a darker world) and works wonders in their relationship with each other and the rest of the Gang.

She's sorta like a devil's advocate and her actions have snowballed many good and not-so-good things throughout the series, almost always resulting in someone learning a lesson as a result.

Cera also gets great character development as well, arguably one of the best arcs overall in the series. From haughty "threehorns are the best" to a she'd-never-admit-it-but-implied "I'll fight you for my friends". Even in the final films, her arc with her family: Topps, Tria, and Tricia is one of the saving points of LBT XI & XII.

She's a great threehorn. Arrogant and prideful, but we love her for it.

 

[The Lone Dragon]

Well, in the original film I thought of Cera as a bit of an idiot with her prejudice ways and bragging attitude but over the sequels she really grew on my as a character into someone who was far more relatable. I personally found that we both had very strong tempers and were rather blunt and sceptical in some aspects. I really enjoyed her character however in regards to the latter films particularly Journey of the Brave I find that her character development has slowed almost to a complete stop which is a pity cause she has so much potential as a character. She's one of my favourite members of The Gang.

[LeventeII]

Most of Cera has already been mentioned. Cera has a personality for me that I really like. I always have to laugh about her sayings! For example, when the gang in "The Stone of Cold Fire" walks over a ravine, she says that they always had bad luck when they walked over ravines. That's why she wants to walk in front.
Another one is in "Journey of the Brave" during the song "Hot and Stinky". Her shocked look was a highlight in this movie for me!

It seems to me that Cera is the most realistic minded of the group. Maybe that's why I like her so much. 
Without her, the movies would not be the same. If one asked me about my favorite characters, it would be a tie between Littlefoot and Cera.

[Sovereign]

Great drawing, Flathead! The scene is great and your style works here very well again! And yep, Cera is quite an interesting character as the combination of a degree of level-headedness and inner warmth is a pretty interesting one. In the original, she was a pretty one-sided character and she is a dinosaur who needed the sequels to make her more interesting. In many films, especially in some later ones, her part is a key one in the Gang and there would be much potential in trying to open up her feelings and motivations even more. For example, JOTB wasted a major chance to show she's these days capable of leading her friends in Littefoot's abstention but that chance was pretty badly squandered. In addition to what others have mentioned, i also like the way she points out a plot point's absurdity as she did in the seventh and tenth films as that's good to acknowledge in those movies . Overall, Cera is one of my favorite characters as her antics make her a rather complicated and likable character. (at least after the original)

[rhombus]

My views on Cera have evolved in a similar fashion to what many others have described previously. In the first film (which I first viewed as a young child) Cera did not come across as the most sympathetic character at first though I could understand where her temperament came from. With the passage of time in the sequels, however, she noticeably mellowed and grew into the perfect foil for Littlefoot's more idealistic tendencies, becoming the realist of the two.  Though I do have to concur with Sovereign that the sequels often missed out on opportunities to further show this character growth - such as showing Cera being more of a leader in Littlefoot's absence. Overall though, Cera is one character that I am quite fond of, and I quite enjoy using her in the context of fanfiction where the unexplored character depths can be further explored outside of the realm of canon. 

[StardustSoldier]

What are your thoughts on Cera, and how has your opinion on Cera as a character changed over the years?

Cera is my second favourite character, behind Littlefoot. I'm still relatively new to Land Before Time and so I can't say my opinion of her has changed "over the years" yet, but this'll certainly be an interesting question to come back to at some point.

A few people mention either hating her in the original and/or not really warming up to her until the sequels, which I totally get. Personally, I really liked her even in the first film. She starts off as a jerk, sure, but she's just so well-written, and she has a compelling character arc. She and Littlefoot have the most meaningful development, imo. Even before she redeems herself near the end, you get occasional glimmers of her nice side buried deep down, particularly during the sleep scene. She's alarmed when she wakes up and discovers she's all alone, and then she notices everyone has moved over to go sleep with Littlefoot. But for once, instead of getting angry or jealous, she just goes over and snuggles up beside Littlefoot herself. And then he rests his foreleg around her. D'awww.

But her most awesome moment, I think, comes near the end. During the final battle, just when it seems like all is lost, she appears out of nowhere and shouts a triumphant "I'M COMING!!!!" And then she rams the boulder and sends Sharptooth plunging into the drink, thus saving the day and avenging Littlefoot's mother.

I also like how it's shown that part of the reason for her belligerence and bragging stems from insecurity about how she really does get scared, just like all the other dinosaurs.

[ImpracticalDino]

Now that I realize it, the reason why I liked Tops in the third movie so much is probably also the same reasons why I didn't like Cera in the first movie. Both of them had prejudice against other dinosaurs at first, and both of them had a character like arc like you already said. Hmm, perhaps her sassy attitude had something to do with it. I honestly agree with all of the points you've mentioned here, but I still won't get over the fact that Cera insulted Littlefoot's mother. The nerve that she had, ugh. I knew threehorns were stubborn, but not to the extent of that!

Overall, while there were many redeeming qualities of her in the first movie, it would take me a bit longer to fully warm up to her. And guess what? In the end, she's now one of my favorite characters!

[StardustSoldier]

Now that I realize it, the reason why I liked Tops in the third movie so much is probably also the same reasons why I didn't like Cera in the first movie. Both of them had prejudice against other dinosaurs at first, and both of them had a character like arc like you already said. Hmm, perhaps her sassy attitude had something to do with it. I honestly agree with all of the points you've mentioned here, but I still won't get over the fact that Cera insulted Littlefoot's mother. The nerve that she had, ugh. I knew threehorns were stubborn, but not to the extent of that!

It certainly was mean of Cera, and it's probably the most heinous thing she does in the film. However, even despite her prejudices, I don't think it was premeditated on her part. At that point, they'd been travelling for who knows how many exhausting days on end, with no end in sight, and I think it's understandable that any of them would be quite cranky and irritable at that point. With Littlefoot continually pressing them forward, I can see why Cera got fed up. I think it was just a heat-of-the-moment comment expressing her frustration at Littlefoot telling her that she was going the wrong way when, from her perspective, he has no valid proof of this whatsoever. It certainly doesn't justify her comment, but I do think the context is important.

Perhaps more importantly, though, after the tar prank and she wanders off on her own before she breaks down into tears, I think it was implied that she did feel genuinely bad about earlier, even if she couldn't admit it. I don't think she would've had as much of an emotional reaction if Littlefoot hadn't been part of the 'tar monster'.

[ImpracticalDino]

Thank you for your perspective on the matter. Knowing the full implications of something is pretty important on the way you view something. When I watched the first movie, I guess it was more of a blind dislike for her than anything else. I probably focused more on her personality than context or her actions. But I did always knew that she was a big softie on the inside.

By the way, do you happen to know where that evil glaring picture of Cera originated from? The picture in this character showcase?

[StardustSoldier]

It's from The Big Freeze (#8), during "The Mad Song".