Land Before Time Retrospective #37
A continuation of the Character Showcases from 2019. Unlike the previous year, which had no distinct theme, this time it was “Character Showcase 2020: The Year of the Antagonist”, focusing on The Land Before Time’s villains.
Sharptooth Showcase – January 2020
Happy New Year everyone! I too would like to voice my pleasure at seeing the Character Showcase return for another year. I think these threads are a fantastic idea.
The first Land Before Time antagonist, and in my opinion, still the best.
1) How do you see the original Sharptooth in terms of his motivations? Is he to be seen as a villain, or as merely another hungry predator in the Mysterious Beyond?
2) What qualities do you think the original Sharptooth has that subsequent sharpteeth in the series lacked?
I haven’t read the Illustrated Story book adaptation myself, but I am aware that it portrays Sharptooth as much more overtly sinister, rather than simply being a hungry predator. However, I think I like his portrayal in the film better. It gives him just the right touch of ambiguity regarding his true motives. If anything, I think it makes him scarier if we don’t know exactly what he’s thinking.
Although that said, I personally thought he still came off sinister even then, so it’s not hard to imagine him as a genuine villain even if we don’t see inside his head.
As for what he has that many other sharpteeth lack, he comes off much more dangerous and intimidating. Which is interesting when you think about it, because he set the template for most of the sharpteeth in the sequels, and he really isn’t portrayed all that differently from his successors. One thing which does add to his menace is that he actually kills someone. That, and the darker tone of the first film in general lends itself well to making him stand out as an antagonist. Still, it does make me wonder why many of the later sharpteeth just weren’t as threatening.
Ozzy & Strut Showcase – February 2020
[See here.]
Dil & Ichy Showcase – March 2020
They both speak the leaf-eater language in the film, which is curious, especially in the case of Dil who is an obligate carnivore. How do you think that Dil learned the language? Were Dil and Ichy formerly friendly sharpteeth? Or do you have another idea that you would propose?
A good question, albeit one that I never thought of before. Note that Ozzy & Strut can speak it too. Hmmm. The best answer I can offer is perhaps that regular T-rex sharpteeth have their own language, but most of the other dinosaur species all speak the same common language, which includes Dil & Ichy. Even though I guess Dil could count as a sharptooth as well, she seems different from the standard sharpteeth due to being a crocodile. Or else perhaps she learned to speak it from Ichy, although I’m learning more towards the former explanation.
However, that itself leads to the question… why do T-rexes have their own separate language from everyone else?
Regardless, I do think the language thing is an interesting concept, and one that I wish the series had explored further.
Rhett Showcase – April 2020 (April Fools)
[See here under “The Brave Longneck Scheme”.]
Rinkus & Sierra Showcase – May 2020
[See here.]
Pterano Showcase – June 2020
[See here.]
Domeheads from the first film Showcase – July 2020
Despite the domeheads’ brief but memorable role, I seldom think of these guys as villains, per say. Usually when I think of LBT villains, I think of the main villains per film (Ozzy & Strut in #2, Ichy & Dil in #4, the “Useless Sharptooth” in #6, etc.). And of course, the very first Sharptooth in the original film, who overshadows the domeheads to an extent. Still, I think this was a good idea for a character showcase. I was curious to see what others would have to say about them.
What do you think motivated the antagonism of these domeheads against Cera in the first film?
You know, that is a very interesting question, and one that I never thought all that much about before. In itself, I’m inclined to say that it was either just them being overly territorial, or else they were hungry predators looking for food, or perhaps both. Still, it is all the more interesting because I believe this is the only time we see their species as outright antagonistic. Unlike sharpteeth who went on to become the main villain species in the series.
Domeheads are a seldom-seen species in general, another interesting little tidbit. A pack of them runs by in the Land of Mists in the fourth movie, and I also recall seeing them in one of the TV episodes. But as far as I’m aware, the scene where they attack Cera is the only time we see them as dangerous. Even in the removed oasis scene from the first movie, there were some domeheads who were shown to be unpleasant, but not overtly hostile.
Speaking of which, if the oasis scene had been included in the film proper, it would’ve given the domeheads two different appearances in the movie. I kinda wish they’d included the oasis scene for that reason alone as it would’ve been neat to see more of them.
Chomper’s Parents Showcase – August 2020
Quote from rhombus: Chomper should be back after awhile, he is working on a commercial for salad dressing right now.
Lol. I would sure love to see that commercial.
Now this is a showcase I was looking forward to! Chomper’s parents are among my favourite characters in the entire series. My only disappointment is that we didn’t get to see more of them.
1) Based upon what we have seen in the films, what do you think of Chomper’s parents in terms of parenting skills?
Another thing I would’ve liked to have seen more of, come to think of it. But they seem like solid parents all in all. They’re always shown to be concerned for their son’s well-being, and their reunion at the end of LBT II is genuinely touching.
2) If the gang had been stuck on the island for a longer period of time in LBT V, how do you think Chomper’s parents would have reacted?
Very intriguing question indeed. In fact, this is a good enough plot hook that I think they could’ve made another movie centered around this idea alone, or at least a TV episode or two. Great potential fanfic idea as well.
By the end of LBT V, Chomper’s parents no longer come of villainous and do seem to have made their peace with the Gang, especially shown with the cute moment where Cera hugs Mama Sharptooth’s foot and she smiles. Still, there remains a slightly ominous and foreboding air about the idea of the Gang remaining on the island, particularly with Chomper saying, “You’d be safe with us… I think…”
My feeling is that Chomper’s parents would continue to recognize the Gang as Chomper’s friends and things would be fine… for a while. Eventually, I think they would succumb to their predatory instincts. This never seemed to be an issue for Chomper himself in the TV series, and I attribute that to him spending enough time with his leaf-eater friends from a very young age, becoming acclimatized to their frequent company and getting used to simply eating things like insects instead. Thus, even as an adult, I don’t think Chomper would ever be a danger to anyone.
With Chomper’s parents, on the other hand, they (presumably) had a much more typical Sharptooth upbringing, and were shown to be very dangerous predators in the second movie (along with most sharpteeth in the series being predatory in general), and I don’t think their hard-wired instincts would ever fully go away. The Gang would have to be on constant alert living with them. Even if Chomper’s parents never fully succumbed to the temptation, I think it would always be there to at least some degree, and it’s something they would have to wrestle with multiple times.
“Useless Sharptooth” Showcase – September 2020
Well this particular showcase has gotten a lot of attention already, hasn’t it? xD
After the sympathetic portrayal that Chomper’s parents offered, I liked the idea of returning to a more overt sharptooth menace akin to the first movie, which I think is what the filmmakers were going for. Especially because the Plated Sharptooth from LBT V showed that they could still make sharpteeth genuinely menacing. But alas, the fifth movie seemed to be the last one to really get sharpteeth right.
Do you think the useless sharptooth from LBT VI is the ultimate representation of futility in the series, or should another predator/antagonist take that title?
Mm… no, I don’t think the sharptooth in LBT VI is the ultimate representation of futility. Or at least, I don’t think it’s the fault of #6 specifically. #8, #11, and #13 all had more jarring examples of incompetent sharpteeth than #6, imo. #6 may have been the film where it started, but I largely view it as more of a series-wide problem than a Secret of Saurus Rock problem. Even despite us getting a pretty ridiculous scene where Littlefoot goes inside the sharptooth’s mouth, then it wakes up and stands up with Littlefoot still inside, and he still somehow manages to escape.
Still, with some fairly simple tweaking and rewriting, we could’ve had another solid sharptooth antagonist here. Especially if they’d stuck closer to the original script which had four sharptooth villains and a more intense climax. Overall I think Saurus Rock is kinda underrated, but still, that would have improved the film a lot.
Red Claw, Screech, & Thud Showcase – October 2020
[See here.]
Hyp, Mutt, & Nod Showcase – November 2020
[See here.]
Alternative Character Interpretation: The Gang – December 2020
1. Considering the gang’s exploits in defeating or outsmarting sharpteeth, including the original film sharptooth, what kind of reputation do you think they have in the Mysterious Beyond?
Hmmm… is this actually a case of the gang being that clever? Or is it more a case of the sharpteeth being less than clever?
But in all seriousness, I don’t think the gang would have a big reputation in the Mysterious Beyond, if they would have any reputation at all. They’re definitely competent enough against predators to have earned such a reputation. But their lush society in the Great Valley versus the harsh wilderness of the Mysterious Beyond are separate enough that anyone within the Great Valley likely wouldn’t have much of a reputation outside of it.
That, and the various predators they’ve encountered mostly seem like isolated incidents. As in, the different sharpteeth (the ones who managed to survive, anyway) probably wouldn’t all meet up with each other and swap stories and be like, “Oh, did you hear about those kids? Yeah, they’re a nasty bunch. They look like they’re harmless and easy prey, but they’re scarier and more dangerous than any of us! Watch out for them!” It’s definitely a funny scenario to imagine. But I don’t think it would actually happen.
But I do find it a fascinating idea of the Gang – being the cute, cuddly dinosaurs we know them as – having a reputation as dark and deadly monsters amongst their enemies. Possible future fanfic idea?
2. Are there any instances in the films where you think the gang’s actions could be seen in a more sinister light?
There are a few noteworthy instances of the character acting more anti-heroically; namely Littlefoot in LBT 11, and Ducky in “Search for the Sky Color Stones”. It stands out all the more because Littlefoot and Ducky are otherwise two of the nicest and most easygoing of the cast. But even there, I think “sinister” may be too harsh of a word. Even with Cera throughout most of LBT 1 – which is the meanest we’ve ever seen any of the main characters behave – she still reforms by the end of it. And the “reformed bully” being the whole point of her character arc in the first place. So no, I don’t think there’s any instances where the characters could be seen in a more sinister light, per se, or at least no more sinister than what’s already portrayed.
Again, I like the idea of putting a darker spin on the characters. But I think it would largely be a fanon thing, as canon simply doesn’t give us much to work with there.
Update: After reading the other posts in here, Sneak brings up a very good point in regards to Littlefoot wanting to kill the original Sharptooth. It’s mitigated somewhat when you consider how dangerous of a predator Sharptooth was; not only to the kids, but also if he’d discovered the Great Valley. There’s a strong “self-defence” argument to be made for killing Sharptooth, and thus in itself it doesn’t make the kids come off sinister.
However, it seems to go a step further for Littlefoot than mere self-defence. It’s not outright stated, but certainly implied that taking out Sharptooth is personal for him. Which I really can’t blame him for. But it does indeed paint Littlefoot in a darker light, and shows a very uncharacteristically vengeful side to his psyche.
