Chomper

[Nimrod]

I agree completely with LBTfan13 at this point.

[Jasper]

I think the reason why they aren't portrayed as ever growing up is because kids relate so much more to other kids, at least in my opinion.


There's one Family Guy episode where they show a Peanut's family reunion where everybody is probably in their late teens. I found it a little creepy.

I actually found that part in Family Guy funny.        

[Kor]

Like peanuts, the LBT gang will likely be the same age forever, unlike in little rascals where they have to keep replacing the kids as they got to big or old.

[arrogantrex]

I was actually wondering what would happen if they tried to do like a show or movie where the LBT kids were older, maybe even in their teens. And for some reason a dramatic anime type thing popped into my head...it was quite odd.  

[Sky]

Well, there is a show called "All Grown Up" where the baby's from "Rugrats" are teens now.

[Kor]

That could make an interested group of specials, showing the gang as teens, then showing them as adults.

[arrogantrex]

"All Grown Up" was silly to me, though I did love Rugrats, so seeing them as that much older was a treat. And if they did do an "All Grown Up" thing with the LBT Gang, it makes me wonder what the subject matter in the special would be.   Thoughts of the "Birds and the bees" come to mind. XD

[mcr mad]

i think he's adorable even tho im a guy he's so little and cute

[arrogantrex]

Very much agreed mcr.  

[mcr mad]

if i was a girl i'd proable fance him

[Kor]

Maybe they drew him to be cute, at least in part.

[Akiko]

Hah, I think everyone pretty much said everything here.  I would love to see a 'grown up' movie honestly, and some darker themes more like the original had. Honestly, as I've stated elsewhere the original is my main reason for loving LBT, some of the sequels and especially the series (what I've seen of it) just weird me out. :blink: I do  love Chomper though and think his character has great potential, if the original writers and producers had control (or interest) again perhaps we might see something more, but as it is I don't think it's very likely. If they were to do something along those lines and somehow kept it as innocent as it is now, they'd probably just overlook the majority of these issues. Make something up that somehow a trex can stay healthy and happy with just insects (perhaps fish too, as someone mentioned. Not logical, but it wouldn't surprise me.
This makes me think of something else strange they did with Chomper. Just why do they give him three claws? Tyrannosaurus rex had two. He only has two in LBT 2, so why change it? I'm pretty sure all other sharpteeth just have two. o.O I always draw him with two. He's a Trex; to my knowledge has no weird growths so...two claws/fingers. Also, how was he able to swim up from the ocean ("can't swim with those scrawny arms", to quote. I know Littlefoot rescues him, but before that it sure looks like he's swimming up towards the surface. Possible? Who knows... Ah, look at me rant. )

Right now in the tv show, Chomper is playing "Simba", so to speak, something I always found a touch confusing too. How could a lion grow up so strong with just insects? :blink: We can only assume this is all Simba has during his time in the jungle with Timon and Pumbaa. We can also guess he returns to regular prey after assuming his place as king. This is just an example, but we never see much of the conflict and uneasy feelings that would obviously show up there either. Of course, he wouldn't turn on his friends either and I think the same is true for Chomper. It would make for some major tension, though. Challenge friendships. All that good stuff that makes for an intriguing story. ;p

I'm looking too much into the tv series here too (and that confuses me enough as it is, it brings up far too many questions: How'd they get off the island, for starters). Just looking at the two movies in which Chomper appears in (especially the 5th), it implies that not only is Chomper eating meat, that his parents are likely teaching him how to hunt (why else was he stalking the gang, prior to recognizing them. When we first see a zoom in on his eyes, they're obviously narrowed, and from the look of things he had every intention of hunting).
Yet again, just looking at the movies, it seemed that insects were fine as a baby (and remember, as a hatchling Chomper showed 'interest' in Petrie, and instinct seemed to kick in at the sight of Cera's tail), but I'd think a growing tyrannosaurus (the age he is in the 5th movie/the series) could use a little something more. At the very least, his parents bringing him things or allowing him to share at 'meal time' (much like young wolves and lions). That gets us into the behavior of certain species though; I saw a neat show on Saturday that said some scientists now think Trex may have traveled in family groups, even packs so to speak.

Ah, I'm sure there was something else I meant to say here...but for now let me just say, great points made...now lets get to work on some fan fics/comics/artwork, since they're very likely the only way we'll see some of this cool stuff. :

[Kor]

These are some interesting points, and likely when they introduced Chomper they did not think out the full ramifications.  Most folks do not so that is normal.

[Malte279]

Maybe they did think more about the ramifications at the time Chomper was introduced than they did later on. The problem of Chomper being a carnivore was very present in LBT 2 and in LBT 5 as well. Neither sequel found a solution for the problem because there really is none. It would have been an awful turnabout of the laws of nature if they had done something like turning Chomper into a "friendly vegetarian" or something along that lines. Mercifully they didn't do this in the TV series either (for all I know without having seen most of the sequels), but there they totally negate the problem. Is there any episode which explains why all of a sudden none of the grownups has a problem with Chomper in the Great Valley?
I suppose it is not too far fetched to suggest that Chomper could life on insects and small lizards so long he is as small as he is. As Akiko said, LBT 5 clearly suggests that he did eat larger prey before. Chomper's parents were not surprised at all at Chomper's excuse that he "had longneck" for breakfast. Apparently they not only didn't question his eating longneck but they didn't question his ability to hunt down a longneck (presumably a very small, that is young, one) either. Had they known of a longneck they had hunted down recently Chomper could have referred to it directly.
It was mentioned that there was not much to eat on the island for the sharpteeth and we never ever saw any larger dinosaur except for the Sharpteeth and the flyer that caught Ducky. So they probably didn't have a very broad selection of species to life on.
Anyway, with the causeway gone food is very likely to run out for good on the "Mysterious Island" (what was so mysterious about it anyway?). This would be a very interesting theme for a land before time story, but it would also be a story that would no longer allow for any "beating the bush" about Chomper's being a carnivore. I have been thinking about a story in which a flyer carries a message to the Great Valley. The flyer was caught by Chomper on the island (fragile as flyers are I don't think even a grownup flyer would be an impossible prey for Chomper so long it is not one of the largest kinds) but set free again in exchange for the promise to carry a message to Littlefoot in the Great Valley.
That message would be a kind of goodbye from Chomper with the explanation that food is running out for good on the island and that he and his parents are to starve soon. Littlefoot and the others would of course never allow a friend to starve if they can help him. But CAN they help him? The obvious "solution" would be to find a way for Chomper and his parents to leave the island. Finding a way for Chomper might be comparatively easy while finding a way for his parents would be a lot more difficult. I don't think that there would be any realistic way for them to leave the island if it wasn't for another earthquake or a similar disaster providing a temporary way to leave the island (While Elzy might be capable and at ease carrying Chomper I don't think the same would be possible for Chomper's parents). But leaving aside all the difficulties of finding a way to get Chomper's parents off the island there is also the moral conflict on whether Littlefoot and the others could even do that. If indeed they managed to help Chomper's parents off the island this would cause death to other dinosaurs with all the consequences we have seen in the original movie. Could Littlefoot possibly accept that other dinosaurs would have to go through the grief he suffered in the first movie? Could he possibly close the eyes to a friend's peril on behalf of other dinosaurs he doesn't know? Could he possibly save a friend but tell him that he must leave his parents behind? And would saving Chomper not cause just the same problems as saving his parents, just with some delay?
It would certainly be VERY tough stuff for an LBT story.

[Mornai]

Anyway, with the causeway gone food is very likely to run out for good on the "Mysterious Island" (what was so mysterious about it anyway?).

It was mysterious because the gang had never seen the island and/or didn't know anything about it or it's inhabitants.

[Kor]

They never explained, it happened offscreen before the series happened.   I'm not sure if Elsie would have a problem carrying one of Chomper's parents at a time, and if the tide goes go low who knows, maybe his parents could walk across it.  There are many possibilities.  

The more likely thing is Chomper would have to leave the great valley eventually, though allowed to visit it now and then.  Perhaps, as I mentioned before somewhere, he'd patrol the area outside the great valley to keep it more safe from other sharpteeth.

If one looks at the movies, and ignores the tv series, Chomper, and Mo, would be likely friends of the gang that they see only once in a while.  Similar to Ali, though for different reasons.

[Akiko]

Is there any episode which explains why all of a sudden none of the grownups has a problem with Chomper in the Great Valley?

There's another thing that confuses me about the series...it's all too sudden, as if you're just suppose to accept it and not question (I can't do that ;p). I would think at least some, if not all, of the grown ups would have some kind of concern about it at first. Most especially characters like Cera's father, who one might call a "speciest" (I know I've seen that phrase somewhere here ;P); if he has trouble accepting other 'non three horns' then a sharptooth? Although I do remember a scene in "The Lonely Journey" where he says something along the lines of "I'm not any kind of food" to Chomper after he and Spike bump into him; that's the most I've seen of anything like that. There was also the family (forget what species) who during the 'great giving' celebration seem uneasy (the mother pulls her children away from Chomper saying something like "Come children, it isn't safe to play around sharpteeth"), so obviously not  all the grown ups are comfortable with or accepting of him. We get subtle hints, but thus far no full explanation or episode/movie explaining the numerous questions the tv series brings with it. I know the main focus is for small children, but I think most kids with even half an attention span would wonder why all of a sudden Chomper is in the Great Valley (I know I would pick up on things like that as a kid...then again, I was more obsessive about my 'toons than most kids. )

As for the relationships between Chomper and the gang, I forgot to mention something in my other post. Something that really reminds me of this topic, in that the story focuses on the exact same type of thing. Has anyone seen "One Stormy Night"? It's a japanese animated movie in which a wolf and a goat unintentionally become friends, and the struggles that come with such a friendship. In many scenes where Gabu (the wolf) is very hungry, he's shown quite literally having an inner battle with instinct to keep himself from viewing Mei (the goat) as something...other than a friend. Gabu doesn't 'turn vegetarian' either though, and in fact in one scene is shown returning to Mei after 'having some dinner' (sneaking off to do so away from his friend), to which Mei reacts harshly to. Conflict comes up between their herd and pack, and well...I won't say too much more of the story in case you guys  haven't seen it. I highly recommend it though. You an find it with english subtitles on youtube (surprisingly); here's the first ten minutes  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj3m1oJwTQE I'm sure you can find the others easily enough ) To sum it up, I would love to see something along those lines shown in LBT.

I always found it a touch funny that all the dinosaurs (save for Cera's father) of the Great Valley would change their views so fast (remember Littlefoot's mother saying "We all keep to our own kind" and "Well, because we're different. It's always been that way." at the time his grandparents didn't seem to protest with this viewpoint; obviously it's long accepted.) unless the children teaming together to find their way to the valley really inspired all of them that much. When they first arrive in the valley, it seems the dinosaurs are all standing with their own kind, so it would surprise me if everyone just suddenly accepted a new point of view and tolerance (for some, it's easier; not everyone can change long accepted views so quickly though). Even if after time more and more of them became more open minded, accepting a predator is very different than accepting other types of herbivores, so yeah...they best give us an explanation to that eventually because it'll keep nagging at me.  

[Kor]

There are certain things like that about LBT that the writers and higher ups will likely never explain.  Which is to bad since some explanations could be interesting flashbacks, episodes, movies, and scenes.

[Zenoah]

One thing that botherd me about Chomper (and others) is how tiny he was in the 2nd movie compared to his parents. It was too small IMO...
Anyway, I found him adorable in the 2nd movie and loved the fact that he understood disaplin and such.

[Serris]

DH's fanfic Out of the Shadows provides an interesting if rather disturbing view of Chomper as a late teen (about 17-18 in human years), hence the M/R rating. The Gang has also aged to about the same age. I think DH will be able to explain it better than I can.

My fanfic (See sig) has the Gang aged somewhat (they are a little larger and the heavier fighters <Spike, Littlefoot, Cera> can stand up to small sharpteeth, like fast biters). Chomper is still a little too young to be able to stand up to even small sharpteeth but he serves as a "mobile sensor array" (Oh, Tiberian Sun reference!) and "aviatior/bomber/gunner" for the "Great Valley Air Force" (See Land Before Time: Twilight Valley (Chapter 4))

I had Chomper and his parents live in the Great Valley, as "soldiers/guards" (not permanently) and they subisted by scavanging on dead sharpteeth (and plant eaters... if they got the next of kin's permission ). Chomper subsited on scavanging, fish and insects.

I also played around with the idea in my fan fic that Chomper and his parents (and some of the allied sharpteeth) would eat the dead plant eaters, almost serving as the Great Valley's undertakers. And yes, they would treat the body with respect (as much respect as can be had when you are eating the body! )

Another fan fic had sharptooth kill only when in need of food and they treated the hunt like a duel

It wasn’t always like this. Long ago, we sharpteeth followed a code. We never fought unless in need of food. And we never went after the young, old, sick, and if they had any injuries or any other handicap before the battle. Also, we never used cowardly attacks on our opponents like going for legs and throwing sand in their faces.

This line is spoken by King, an allied sharptooth in this chapter: Land Before Time: War of the Worlds (Chapter 6)