"Through the Eyes of a Spiketail" is the twenty-fifth episode of the first season of the animated children's series The Land Before Time. It is one of four episodes featured on the DVD set of the same title (originally released on May 13, 2008), together with the episodes "Stranger from the Mysterious Above", "March of the Sand Creepers", and "The Forbidden Friendship".
Voice actors[]
- Cody Arens as Littlefoot
- Anndi McAfee as Cera
- Aria Noelle Curzon as Ducky
- Jeff Bennett as Petrie
- Rob Paulsen as Spike
- Max Burkholder as Chomper
- Meghan Strange as Ruby
- Dorian Harewood as Mr. Thicknose
- John Ingle as Mr. Threehorn
Plot[]
On the first day of the cold time (winter), the gang are trying to reach a tree sweet high up on a tree, with Littlefoot warning them that the cold will soon spoil it if they don't hurry. Failing to reach it on their own, they go to Spike for help. Spike, meanwhile, is busy listening to the "songs" of the plants around him, before selecting some to feed off of, and ruing the fact that the others, due to their constant articulation, never hear the music made by the plants.
As the gang, with Spike at the bottom of the tower they've made, try once more to reach the tree sweet, Mr. Thicknose and Daddy Topps show up at the scene, one at a time. Mr. Thicknose tells the children about a legendary winter treat known as the "hardwater sweets", which he describes as sweet bubbles (grapes) which have been frozen by the hardwater (ice) or the ground sparkles (snow). He mentions that they are cold and crunchy on the outside, but very appealing in flavour on the inside. Interested, the children ask where they are found, but Mr. Thicknose tells them that they are so difficult to find, that he has only ever heard of them. Topsy admonishes them as being a figment of legend, and when the children volunteer to find some, he places a bet, promising to give them all of the treesweets he can find in the valley if they can bring any hardwater sweets back to him.
Spike has not been paying too much attention to the conversation, instead observing the behaviour of the others around him, and expressing disdain over Topsy and Mr Thicknose's argumentative discussion. He quickly picks up that the other children want to go adventuring, and although he admits he does not usually feel up to the challenges they typically face on their adventures, he always goes with them out of loyalty. On their way, he overhears what they are seeking, and picks up the "song" of a plant which he does not recognize the tune of. Determined to find the source of the melody, he frequently wanders away from the group, to their disdain.
After they pass through a waterfall, and beyond the "Gusty Canyon", a canyon with blustery winds inside, Littlefoot and Cera begin to openly argue about the existence of the hardwater sweets, with Littlefoot supporting the legend and Cera opposing it. Meanwhile, Spike locates the source of the "song"; he uncovers a bed of hardwater sweets beneath the snow. As he turns to motion the others towards him, Petrie, frustrated by Littlefoot and Cera's loud arguing and refusal to pay attention to his warnings, finally screams about the danger of an avalanche brought on by their yelling. Unsurprisingly, his scream is more than the snow up above them on the mountain can bear, and it comes falling down, sweeping the six of them up, while Spike rushes alongside to save them. When the avalanche ends, digs them out of the snow, and after few minutes, successfully catches their attention, and leads them to the hardwater sweets he found.
The gang return to the Great Valley with several batches of hardwater sweets, and Topsy keeps his promise to them, even fetching the tree sweet they failed to retrieve earlier. The episode ends with Ruby and Ducky wishing that they were more mentally similar to Spike.
Reception[]
At TV.com, "Through the Eyes of a Spiketail" has a current rating of 10 out of 10, based on five votes.[1]
Songs[]
Trivia[]
- This is the only episode in which Spike talks, although it is in his mind.
- The episode gives more insight on Spike's personality than was previously made clear. Spike does not like going on adventures because of the potential danger, but still goes wherever his friends go. He does not like to talk because he prefers listening to the "music" made by the plants, and because he does not wish to get involved in any of the arguments between the other characters. At the same time, he finds that sometimes being silent is a hindrance, such as when he tries to motion the others towards the hardwater sweets without using speech.
- When the screen changes to Spike's perspective, the other characters are shown speaking in grunts and shrieks. This episode marks the only instance to date in which the herbivorous dinosaurs are shown speaking in their language, whereas their communication is mostly heard as English (or whatever language the disk is set on, or is spoken where the episode is airing) to the viewer.
- However, names and foods are heard. This shows that in their argument Mr. Threehorn repeatedly said "-------- tree sweet" for some reason, with Mr. Thicknose replying "--------- water sweet". Presumably "water sweet" meant hard water sweet.
- For some reason in this episode Chomper appears to be eating the frozen grapes and actually enjoying them.
- This episode seems to show that Spike is colorblind. When the screen is in Spike's perspective, everything is violet. This is because Spike's eyes are violet.
- The episode is similar to "You are Arthur" and "Being John Malkovich" where the viewer looks through the character's point of view.
Quotes[]
- Spike: (In his mind) Sometimes I think Mr. Threehorn enjoys arguing.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
References[]
- ↑ "Through the Eyes of a Spiketail", at www.tv.com. Retrieved on November 26th 2011.
External links[]
- "Through the Eyes of a Spiketail" at the Internet Movie Database.
| Preceded by: Search for the Sky Color Stones |
The Land Before Time TV series | Followed by: The Great Egg Adventure |