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Shorty

Wanna do somethin' about it?

— Shorty, trying to goad Littlefoot into fighting him.

Shorty is a character in The Land Before Time films and TV series. He is a young Brachiosaurus,[1] and the adoptive brother of Littlefoot, first appearing in The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration as the tertiary antagonist turned-supporting protagonist. In the film, he was voiced by Brandon DePaul, while in the TV series, he is voiced by Elizabeth Daily.

History[]

As Bron tells Littlefoot, Shorty was found wandering in the wilderness with seven younger longneck hatchlings. Since he was the eldest of the small herd, as shown in the flashback, he was very protective of the hatchlings. In the end, Shorty, along with the hatchlings, followed Bron.

In the crater, where all the of Longnecks had all gathered, Shorty and Littlefoot failed to co-exist peacefully at first. Shorty was jealous of Littlefoot because, as Littlefoot was Bron's biological son, Bron had now devoted most of his attention to him. Near the end of the movie, Shorty tries to run away but Littlefoot tells him that he'll always be special to Bron and that no one could ever take his place. He even proposed that they could be brothers, which made Shorty happier. In the end, he gets along well with Littlefoot and his friends.

Littlefoot and shorty

Shorty with Littlefoot


When Littlefoot decided to return to the Great Valley with his grandparents, he asked Bron to officially adopt Shorty, which he did. The two then became brothers.

The Great Longneck Migration was Shorty's only appearance to-date in the films, but he appeared with Bron in the TV series' episode The Big Longneck Test. While Littlefoot performs the test, Shorty leads Littlefoot's friends on their own little adventure to see the Great Stone Walkover. However, it becomes clear that he has yet to gain most of the qualities needed to be a leader as he did not make very good decisions and nearly got himself killed because he didn't heed a warning. Non the less, Shorty learns from his mistakes and improves after the others give him some helpful advice.

Shorty is curiously absent from The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave, despite the fact that Bron and all of the rest of his herd appear. His absence is seen as one of the negatives of the film, as he has become a iconic character among fans of the series. Although it is very likely that Shorty was with the herd and was just not seen in the movie.


Shorty and Sharptooth

Shorty trips a Sharptooth

Personality[]

Shorty is the young bully in The Great Longneck Migration, since he had a nasty past, and although Bron continued to check up on him frequently, he was the only one from that small herd that was not adopted until the end of the film, implying that he was both lonely and had an inferiority complex. He was antisocial, mostly wandering by himself and picking on other young dinosaurs, including Littlefoot. But as Bron says, Shorty is really a good kid at heart and just likes to get things started. After Littlefoot presents the idea of brotherhood to Shorty, he reveals a more friendly side of his nature. He seems to be intrigued by Cera's headbutting strength and skills.

Name[]

There is some irony regarding his name, "Shorty," as although the character is intended to be a bully, "Shorty" is a frequently-used playground insult.[2] However, it might also be seen as befitting, as Shorty is shorter than Littlefoot, despite being older.

Trivia[]

  • The relationship of Shorty and Littlefoot in The Great Longneck Migration is similar to Ash and Kristofferson in Fantastic Mr. Fox, in which one (Shorty and Ash) is jealous of the other (Littlefoot and Kristofferson) and how he doesn't feel like he gets as much attention from their father (Bron and Mr. Fox).
  • Shorty may have an inferiority complex which he may try to hide by being aggressive and bullying toward Littlefoot in the 10th movie and pretending to have already taken the Big Longneck Test in order to impress the others in the TV Series.
  • Shorty's voice actor in the TV Series Elizabeth Daily was also known for voicing Tommy Pickles in the Rugrats franchise and Buttercup in The Powerpuff Girls

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 23483
  2. Cambridge Dictionaries Online; Cambridge University Press Definition of root-word "Short" and other variations. Retrieved on July 21st, 2008.


Main family members in The Land Before Time
Characters
Grandma and Grandpa Longneck | Ali | Bron | Littlefoot's Mother | Shorty | Old One | Ali's Mother | Daddy Topps | Cera's Mother | Dinah and Dana | Tria | Cera's Siblings | Tricia | Mama Swimmer | Papa Swimmer | Ducky and Spike's Siblings | Mama Flyer | Petrie's Siblings | Pterano | Papa Sharptooth | Mama Sharptooth | Ruby's Parents | Ruby's Siblings |
See Also
Main characters
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