#baylene

Well, didn't think I'd get a Dinosaur ask. Don't come across too many fans on the internet.

Anyways, Aladar. I'd say I'm a fan. Truth be told, he's not the most engaging protagonist. And like I said, he's a bit cliched in a few areas being the snarky kind kind-hearted protagonist which were popular around the start of the 2000s. But "cliche" doesn't always mean bad. Cliches are popular for a reason after all. It's the matter in which they're handled that matters.

Aladar in that case does handle it fairly well. For starters, remember how I said he was cliched for being kind-hearted? We have a concrete reason for that in-universe since he grew up on an island with no predators. And it sort of bites him a few times in the ass such as when he didn't recognize the Velociraptors as predators (granted they're so small, they're more of a threat to the lemurs than Aladar themselves), or inadvertently drawing Kron's ire by trying to supersede his decisions. He's essentially a fish out of water that needs to learn fast.

Plus, the guy has limits. He flat-out loses it in the cave-in scene after all the crap they've been through and is on the verge of giving up. It's one of those cases where the harsh situation and constant misfortunes (losing the herd, Bruton's death, the cave-in) begin to grind on Aladar before it just breaks him.

Thing is, the other thing that makes Aladar work is how he operates with the other characters. For starters, he's the only one that doesn't give up on Eema, Baylene, or Url. It's that kindness which managed to keep them alive and eventually led to Baylene pulling Aladar out of his despair and breaking themselves out of the cave. Essentially, he made them feel like they were worth something and had a purpose. Which is what all leaders are supposed to do.

Aladar's story is essentially about becoming a leader and what it takes. It's not easy since him shouldering all the burden of his friends caused him to break. But here's where he differs a bit from Kron, whom I see as a foil. Kron began to make increasingly rash decisions when faced with hardships (having the herd force march without searching for water, hurriedly moving them out on the threat of the Carnotaurs), but since he believes that only the strong survive, he's pretty detached from the herd. Aladar on the other hand focused more on getting EVERYONE to the Nesting Grounds. He doesn't even directly compete with Kron either, opting to keep his head down in the beginning but only speaking out when it becomes obvious the latter is putting the entire herd in danger. Because of that, when he falters, he has friends to help pick him back up when he hits his lowest.

(Please note, I'm not trying to slander Kron here. He's nowhere near as bad when we first see him than when he risks them all to get away from the Carnotaur at the very end.)

And this is where I feel Aladar's character works best: he's a good leader. Plain and simple. He puts the herd first and risks his life for everybody else (defying Kron when he knows the latter will try to kill him, being the first to face off with the Carnotaur). He empowers and makes his people feel like they're worth something. And in turn, they band all the more together when faced with hardship. There's a reason why he was able to get the previously broken down stragglers break themselves out of the cave or muster the herd to fend off the Carnotaur. In the end, while he and Kron do agree that only the strong survive, Aladar recognizes that everyone is all the stronger when they work together. Which actually sort of fits in with actual herding behavior in today's animals.

Happy 94 birthday to Beatriz Aguirre.