Bron is a character in the The Land Before Time series. He is an Apatosaurus, better known as a Longneck in the films and the TV series. He is the father of Littlefoot, and adoptive father to Shorty. He was separated from Littlefoot along with his mother, and Grandma and Grandpa Longneck before Littlefoot was born. He was voiced by Kiefer Sutherland in his debut appearance.
Character[]
History[]
During the drought seen in the original The Land Before Time, Bron left his wife and parents-in-law in search of a better land, so that when his child hatched, he would not be raised in famine, or in danger of the Sharptooth roaming the region. In his absence, the great earthshake occurred, and when he returned, he was unable to find his family. Knowing Littlefoot would have hatched by then, he made it a priority to find him. He met a dinosaur who informed him of his wife's death but who was unable to tell him the fate of his son. It is possible that the dinosaur was the character Rooter from the first film, however, this was never confirmed and due to the fact that Littlefoot and Rooter met in the first film, it is unlikely this is the case, as according to Bron, the dinosaur had no word of Littlefoot.
Bron continued in his search for Littlefoot, and along the way, he met dozens of Longnecks. They looked to him for support and leadership, and with them, he formed a new herd. The first members were many orphaned children, including a Brachiosaurus boy named Shorty, who, though protective of the younger Longnecks he had been stranded with, was aggressive in nature. While the other children were adopted, no one took Shorty in, and thus Bron acted as a guardian for him. He is horrified when his son is called a bad influence by Cera's dad, which lead Bron to dislike Cera's dad.
In The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration, when Littlefoot and his grandparents are moved by their sleep stories to the valley within a crater, in which Bron's herd had also traveled to, Littlefoot meets with Bron after Shorty bullies him, and they marvel over the apparent coincidence that Littlefoot's name is identical to a nickname Bron had as a child. At that point, Grandpa Longneck finds Littlefoot and recognizes Bron, and reveals the depth of their connection. Believing Bron to have abandoned him, Littlefoot flees, and Bron follows. Upon catching up with him, he explains his absence and Littlefoot forgives him; admiring his father for taking leadership over the Longnecks.
For the remainder of the film, Littlefoot and Bron bond with each other, they play, eat treestars, go swimming, and have a wonderful time together. Bron wishes for Littlefoot to stay with him, but in the end, Littlefoot decides that his place is with his grandparents and friends in the Great Valley. Promising upon Littlefoot's request that he will adopt Shorty, Bron adds that he will visit Littlefoot sometime, and they part.
He is briefly mentioned by Grandma Longneck in The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses, when Littlefoot is feeling self-conscious about his stature. She reminds him that the longnecks in his family have all grown up to be very large, including Bron and Grandpa Longneck.
In The Land Before Time (TV series) episode "The Big Longneck Test", Bron and Shorty visit Littlefoot and his grandparents; Bron mentions that they have visited them serval times before. In the episode, Bron tests Littlefoot's skills at leadership with the "Big Longneck Test".
Bron reappears in the 14th film where he becomes trapped at the Fire Mountain while saving his herd from an eruption, which urges Littlefoot and his friends to journey there to rescue him.
Personality[]
Bron is portrayed as having a strong paternal instinct, as he informs Littlefoot that he set off to find a good land to raise Littlefoot in, and when he returned to the land where his family had been and could not find them, he spent many months trying to find Littlefoot. He also gives guidance to Shorty. On a different note, he is shown to have a fun and playful side, as shown when he plays with his son in the song, "Me and my Dad".
In The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration, Bron mentions during the Sharptooth attack that he despises Sharptooth; viewing them as "cowards." It is uncertain if Chomper has had any effect on Bron's opinion of Sharptooth, as he is not shown paying much attention specifically to Chomper during his appearance in the TV series; this indicates that this is not his first meeting with Chomper. It's very probable that Chomper is one of, if not the only Sharptooth, that Bron does not view as a "coward". In Journey of the Brave, he is shown to be proud of the children's will to save him when they refuse to give up and leave him. After they rescue him, Bron shows that he has great admiration for Littlefoot's friends.
Character development[]
Voice acting[]
Bron's voice was provided by Kiefer Sutherland in The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration. In a 2009 interview with Shiela Roberts of MoviesOnline, on his role as General W.R. Monger in DreamWorks' Monsters vs. Aliens, and Samson the lion in Disney's The Wild, Sutherland briefly mentions the Land Before Time character, and states that he wanted the voice to sound like his own, so the audience would recognize it as himself. In the television series, he is voiced by Cam Clarke. In The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave, he is voiced by a new actor, Scott Whyte.
Physical Description[]
Like most longnecks, Bron is very big, as Littlefoot's grandmother points out when Littlefoot fears he won't get any bigger. Bron has somewhat effeminate facial features, and bluish green eyes. He is very muscular. He has three different colors. He has a deep brown stripe running from his nose to the tip of his tail. His legs, as well as the sides of his tail, neck and body, are a rich chocolate brown. The underside of his tail, his stomach, his chest, and his throat are a very light tan.
Reception[]
Bonnie Sayers on epinions.com said in her review on The Great Longneck Migration that she believed Kiefer Sutherland's voice was just right for him. She said it was surprising to see Littlefoot's father introduced in the film, but thought it was nice that Littlefoot and Bron were finally acquainted. In his review of the film on reel.com, James Plath expressed an opinion that the plot depicting his and Littlefoot's distant-relationship would serve as educational for real-life fathers and children in similar situations. Bron has received some negative reception among fans, who believe his excuse was invalid. Marzgurl, an internet reviewer, pointed out in her review of X that while she thought they introduced him kindly, it didn't excuse his absence from the past nine movies.
Gallery[]
