Shorty is a character in The Land Before Time films and TV series. He is a young Brachiosaurus, 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 four Camarasaurus and three Barosaurus 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. 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.
Shorty reappeared 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.
For unknown reasons, Shorty was absent from Journey of the Brave dispite the fact that Bron and his whole 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.
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. 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.
Trivia[]
- The relationship with Shorty and Littlefoot in The Great Longneck Migration is similar to Ty and his brother Sly in Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. Sly was once sent by Boss Cass to destroy Ty but is then revealed that he is his brother. Just like when Shorty bullied Littlefoot until they agreed to be brothers.
- 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 take have already taken the Big Longneck Test in order to impress the others in the TV Series.