Follow TV Tropes

Following

History Headscratchers / TheLandBeforeTime

Go To

OR

Added: 2903

Changed: 3398

Removed: 952

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
moved to individual pages


[[folder:Egg insult]]
A minor nitpick from 'The Great Valley Adventure'; when talking about going to the sinking sand to play, Cera insults the others' cowardice by calling them "a bunch of eggs". Considering that they have the term baby and in fact use it later in the film, isn't that like insulting someone by calling them a zygote?
* That makes sense, considering there are things even a baby can do that an egg can't.
* Could also be that she's basically insinuating that they're useless and just going to sit there and do nothing. Similar to calling someone a "lump on a log"
* Maybe for them, being called an "egg" is a far worse insult than being called a "baby"?
[[/folder]]



Something this troper noticed in the TV series: why can small mammals suddenly talk to the dinosaur characters? Anyone who remembers Tickles from the 4th movie can probably see my point.
* Perhaps it's a case of learning the language, similar to how Chomper speaks both Leafeater and Sharptooth

to:

Something this troper noticed in * In the TV series: why can small mammals suddenly talk to the dinosaur characters? Anyone who remembers Tickles from the 4th movie can probably see my point.
* ** Perhaps it's a case of learning the language, similar to how Chomper speaks both Leafeater and Sharptooth



*[[/folder]]

[[folder:Who's older, Littlefoot or Shorty?]]
* They appear to be the same age



[[folder:Who's older, Littlefoot or Shorty?]]
They appear to be the same age
[[/folder]]



Chomper returns to the Great Valley in the TV series. How did he and his parents get off the island after the land bridge was destroyed by the earthquake?
* Maybe Elsie took them for a ride back to the mainland, like she did with Littlefoot and his friends at the end of 'The Mysterious Island'?
** The problem with that is Chomper's parents are pretty heavy even for a plesiosaur like Elsie to carry. Young dinosaurs the size of Littlefoot are one thing, but a full-grown T-rex, let alone two, would be a rather heavy load for an Elasmosaurus to carry across the sea. She'd have no trouble getting Chomper across, but his parents would be far more difficult.
** There could have been a low tide. Remember the size of Chomper's parents would give them an advantage as, even if they couldn't swim, they could wade in water that would be too deep for Chomper. Even water that was 10-15 feet deep would be shallow enough for a full grown Tyrannosaurus to wade in with no trouble. They probably could have carried Chomper across.

to:

* Chomper returns to the Great Valley in the TV series. How did he and his parents get off the island after the land bridge was destroyed by the earthquake?
* ** Maybe Elsie took them for a ride back to the mainland, like she did with Littlefoot and his friends at the end of 'The Mysterious Island'?
** *** The problem with that is Chomper's parents are pretty heavy even for a plesiosaur like Elsie to carry. Young dinosaurs the size of Littlefoot are one thing, but a full-grown T-rex, let alone two, would be a rather heavy load for an Elasmosaurus to carry across the sea. She'd have no trouble getting Chomper across, but his parents would be far more difficult.
** *** There could have been a low tide. Remember the size of Chomper's parents would give them an advantage as, even if they couldn't swim, they could wade in water that would be too deep for Chomper. Even water that was 10-15 feet deep would be shallow enough for a full grown Tyrannosaurus to wade in with no trouble. They probably could have carried Chomper across.



[[folder:Dinah and Dana's horns]]
* Why do Dinah and Dana have brow horns when Cera has only a nose horn and Dinah and Dana are younger than Cera?
** Maybe Cera's a late bloomer?
[[/folder]]



How much time passes in-universe over the course of the series? Based on the seasons that go by in the sequels and the TV series, it's implied that it's several years (perhaps at least 5-7?), yet the young dinosaur characters don't seem to age much or grow bigger in that time. Even in the last installment, they're still much smaller than the adults, when realistically, most of them would at least be adolescents, if not full-grown, by that time.
* Presumably just another example of NotAllowedToGrowUp, which is hardly a trope unique to this franchise.

to:

* How much time passes in-universe over the course of the series? Based on the seasons that go by in the sequels and the TV series, it's implied that it's several years (perhaps at least 5-7?), yet the young dinosaur characters don't seem to age much or grow bigger in that time. Even in the last installment, they're still much smaller than the adults, when realistically, most of them would at least be adolescents, if not full-grown, by that time.
* ** Presumably just another example of NotAllowedToGrowUp, which is hardly a trope unique to this franchise.



So why exactly do the other adults act like Chomper is a time bomb and would attack his friends when he's older? There's no reason he can't act as security for the Valley. I'm sure a full grown T-rex would give most sharpteeth pause for thought. Or he could eat the corpses of leafeaters that die of old age, or mercy kill them when they are on their deathbeds. There's plenty of ways for Chomper to eat meat without attacking his friends.
* Likely just FantasticRacism mixed with PrimalFear. We obviously never get to see whether or not the anxieties of the adult dinosaurs end up ''warranted'', so it's entirely possible they're just letting their fear and mistrust of carnivorous dinosaurs override their reason.

to:

* So why exactly do the other adults act like Chomper is a time bomb and would attack his friends when he's older? There's no reason he can't act as security for the Valley. I'm sure a full grown T-rex would give most sharpteeth pause for thought. Or he could eat the corpses of leafeaters that die of old age, or mercy kill them when they are on their deathbeds. There's plenty of ways for Chomper to eat meat without attacking his friends.
* ** Likely just FantasticRacism mixed with PrimalFear. We obviously never get to see whether or not the anxieties of the adult dinosaurs end up ''warranted'', so it's entirely possible they're just letting their fear and mistrust of carnivorous dinosaurs override their reason.



How long exactly did it take Littlefoot and his friends to reach the valley?

In the first movie, we only see one scene in which they sleep. And everything they go through happens in rapid succesion, implying that they were traveling for maybe 2 or 3 days tops. Yet, "Stone of Cold Fire" suggests it must have been longer than that. After all, in the time it took Littlefoot and friends to reach the valley, the adults also formed a mixed herd (which can't have been easy considering the whole "everyone sticks to his own kind" rule), had a falling out over leadership that led to Pterano taking a part of the herd with him with disastrous results, and eventually they reached the valley before their children did.

* Perhaps the first movie had some easy to miss [[TimeSkip time skips]] to skip over the days nothing important happened and just cut ahead to the next main event in the children's journey.

* It’s worth remembering that Littlefoot and Cera didn’t encounter Petrie, Ducky, and Spike until much later in their journey, so it’s entirely possible that by sheer luck both Petrie and Ducky managed to cross paths with Littlefoot precisely within a day to two days’ journey to The Great Valley, where shortly after Cera caught up and the four of them found Spike.
** Actually, Littlefoot was still grieving when he encountered Ducky, so it wasn’t “much later” in his and Cera’s journey. To answer the original question, it’s possible it took place over just a few days, but there could have also been time-skips. Also, it’s worth remembering that are a lot of deleted scenes, which could easily indicate a much longer journey.
** Mother also says they'll have to see the Bright Circle pass over several times, meaning it'll likely take more than a couple of days to reach the Great Valley, and that's going by the pace of full grown adults.

to:

* How long exactly did it take Littlefoot and his friends to reach the valley?

valley? In the first movie, we only see one scene in which they sleep. And everything they go through happens in rapid succesion, implying that they were traveling for maybe 2 or 3 days tops. Yet, "Stone of Cold Fire" suggests it must have been longer than that. After all, in the time it took Littlefoot and friends to reach the valley, the adults also formed a mixed herd (which can't have been easy considering the whole "everyone sticks to his own kind" rule), had a falling out over leadership that led to Pterano taking a part of the herd with him with disastrous results, and eventually they reached the valley before their children did. \n\n*
**
Perhaps the first movie had some easy to miss [[TimeSkip time skips]] to skip over the days nothing important happened and just cut ahead to the next main event in the children's journey.

*
journey.
**
It’s worth remembering that Littlefoot and Cera didn’t encounter Petrie, Ducky, and Spike until much later in their journey, so it’s entirely possible that by sheer luck both Petrie and Ducky managed to cross paths with Littlefoot precisely within a day to two days’ journey to The Great Valley, where shortly after Cera caught up and the four of them found Spike.
** *** Actually, Littlefoot was still grieving when he encountered Ducky, so it wasn’t “much later” in his and Cera’s journey. To answer the original question, it’s possible it took place over just a few days, but there could have also been time-skips. Also, it’s worth remembering that are a lot of deleted scenes, which could easily indicate a much longer journey.
** *** Mother also says they'll have to see the Bright Circle pass over several times, meaning it'll likely take more than a couple of days to reach the Great Valley, and that's going by the pace of full grown adults.adults.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Ducky's name]]
* Why is ducky named "ducky"? The movie never shows birds existing at the same time as the dinosaurs. Although in retrospect it becomes accidental FridgeBrilliance as the earliest waterfowl already existed when Ducky's species was alive.
** It's a kid's movie, not a palaeontology lecture. It's just playing on the fact that the kind of dinosaur that Ducky is had a mouth like a duck's bill.
** It could also be playing on the use of the word "ducky" to mean things are fine, i.e., "everything's just ducky."
** Maybe her name just happens to sound like the word "ducky" and she is not named after ducks at all in-universe.
** Maybe InUniverse she's named after a species of duck-like bird from the Late Cretaceous, like Vegavis or Polarornis, and the movie calling her "Ducky" is just TranslationConvention.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Unobservant father]]
* Cera's father kind of owes Littlefoot an apology. If he'd noticed Cera had wandered off sooner, either they both could have been rounded home before the Sharptooth ever showed, or could have helped protect the kids - maybe the Sharptooth wouldn't have wanted to take on two adult dinosaurs and Littlefoot would have a mother.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Continuity]]
* What is up with the fourth episode of the series? Cera asks if Petrie has ever been to the smoking mountain, to which he replies that no, he hasn't... while standing next to Chomper. The whole group went to the Smoking Mountain in the second film, where they MET Chomper. In fact, the reason they were on the Smoking Mountain was because Chomper was chasing bugs there and they didn't want him to get hurt! Especially egregious since that movie is the sole reason that Chomper is in the valley to begin with- he was hatched there and made friends with the locals, who proved capable of defending themselves against sharptooths (like Redclaw).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tar pit]]
* How on Earth did Littlefoot, Spike, Ducky, and Petrie escape the tar pit in the first movie? Right before the scene change, they're pretty thoroughly mired with no apparent way out. The next time we see them, they just show up coated head to toe in the stuff, indicating they were completely submerged at one point. Did they somehow pull themselves out? Nobody after that point was shown pulling that off - even they needed the adults' help in the second movie. Did someone see them going under and rescue them? But then why wouldn't that someone stick around to help save Cera?
** Given how much footage was cut from the first film, maybe some of the deleted footage answers this question.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eating habits]]
* Why doesn't Petrie (or his relatives) eat fish? That would be a more accurate diet for their species. Or insects, at least. But they are only ever seen eating vegetation, which ''Pteranodon'' almost certainly did not eat.
** Maybe Petrie and his family at some point encountered an aversion of NoCartoonFish and decided to go vegan after that? Tyrannosaurs in this universe can apparently subsist on nothing but bugs if they choose to, so why not?
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* And more cynically, there's bound to be plenty who perished in the earthquake or died of starvation along the way, so there might be less who actually make it to the Great Valley.


Added DiffLines:

** Mother also says they'll have to see the Bright Circle pass over several times, meaning it'll likely take more than a couple of days to reach the Great Valley, and that's going by the pace of full grown adults.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

** Actually, Littlefoot was still grieving when he encountered Ducky, so it wasn’t “much later” in his and Cera’s journey. To answer the original question, it’s possible it took place over just a few days, but there could have also been time-skips. Also, it’s worth remembering that are a lot of deleted scenes, which could easily indicate a much longer journey.

Added: 361

Changed: 29

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


** There could have been a low tide. Remember the size of Chomper's parents would give them an advantage as they could wade in water that would be too deep for Chomper. Even water that was 10-15 feet deep would be shallow enough for a full grown Tyrannosaurus to wade in with no trouble. They probably could have carried Chomper across.

to:

** There could have been a low tide. Remember the size of Chomper's parents would give them an advantage as as, even if they couldn't swim, they could wade in water that would be too deep for Chomper. Even water that was 10-15 feet deep would be shallow enough for a full grown Tyrannosaurus to wade in with no trouble. They probably could have carried Chomper across.


Added DiffLines:

* Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus are very closely related and very similar, which is why they were placed in the same genus for many years, so even if Littlefoot ''is'' a crossbreed, that shouldn't be surprising. I also wouldn't be surprised if young Apatosaurs and Brontosaurs were almost identical in appearance. Another possibility is Ali is also a crossbreed.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

** There could have been a low tide. Remember the size of Chomper's parents would give them an advantage as they could wade in water that would be too deep for Chomper. Even water that was 10-15 feet deep would be shallow enough for a full grown Tyrannosaurus to wade in with no trouble. They probably could have carried Chomper across.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* Likely just FantasticRacism mixed with PrimalFear. We're obviously never shown whether or not the anxieties of the adult dinosaurs are ''warranted'', so it's entirely possible they're just letting their fear and mistrust of carnivorous dinosaurs override their reason.

to:

* Likely just FantasticRacism mixed with PrimalFear. We're We obviously never shown get to see whether or not the anxieties of the adult dinosaurs are end up ''warranted'', so it's entirely possible they're just letting their fear and mistrust of carnivorous dinosaurs override their reason.

Top