Equestria Girls Reaction (very minor spoilers) · 10:35pm Jun 30th, 2013
Hmm, I've never actually posted anything on my blog, but this seems like something to share. And hey, where else can I share my two cents?
So... I can't believe I'm actually going to be doing this. Anyone who knows me knows that I was against the whole idea of this movie from the second it was first intimated way back when. Adding humans to the ponies never seemed like a good idea and would have been, in my opinion, the beginning of the end for this wonderful show.
All that being said, I, like so many other bronies, have often cried foul when we have heard of upcoming plot points or what-have-you, only to be completely wowed by the show's creators. So it is safe to say that they have earned the benefit of the doubt, at least in my book. But this was pushing it. Humans... ponies... no, just no. And yet, after taking a deep breath, steeling myself, biting the bullet, and all those other cliches, I went to see it.
The results... not bad.
Perhaps it was because I went into it with such negative expectations, but when the credits rolled, I couldn't say that I was horribly disappointed, and I didn't feel like I had wasted my time. All of the positive aspects of the show that first attracted me to it were present. The phenomenal voice acting; the sometimes subtle, sometimes blatant humor; the decent story; the music and songs. All of it, present and accounted for. There were some let-downs, but I'll deal with those in a moment.
First, the positives:
The voice acting really was top-notch. After getting over the unusual experience of hearing the voices we know and love coming out of such visually different faces, I felt right at home. If I closed my eyes, it was like it was just another episode of MLP. And that's never a bad thing. Tara Strong, Andrea Libman, Tabitha St. Germain, Ashleigh Ball, Cathy Wesluck, Nicole Oliver, all of them, brilliant as ever.
The humor was strong. There were, of course, the usual somewhat childish jokes, but then it should never be forgotten that this movie, like the show, is targeted at children, and not the bronies. But there were many moments that made me smile, and quite a few that caused me to laugh out loud. I had fun almost the entire time. Pinkie Pie in particular, as a human or as a pony, was in top form here.
The music and songs may be the highlights of the movie. Daniel Ingram is a master at his craft. There really isn't much more to say about it. Listen to the soundtrack, I think you'll agree.
Now for the story. Ah, the story. Possibly the most divisive element of this whole experience. In reality, the basis for the story itself isn't bad at all. It may have required a few leaps of faith, and a good bit of suspension of disbelief, but I didn't find any of those derailing from the overall experience; although they are noticeable. Also, there are so many questions left unanswered, and so much seemed rather contrived and too coincidental. The pacing wasn't perfect, but for a children's animated movie clocking in at just under an hour and fifteen minutes, that's not all that surprising. Overall, the story wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly great either. I suppose I would say that it is serviceable.
Now for the negatives:
The big one, in my mind, is the human aspect. While there were quite a few good jokes to be had at the whole 'Twilight tries to figure out how to act in a human world,' the overall look just seemed... wrong. The animation, so smooth and pretty for ponies, felt kind of clunky with humans. The whole thing just looked off. And it really wasn't something that went away. Every time it would start to, something would happen that would just throw the whole thing off for me. I think I know why Hasbro pushed for this whole human aspect, but I for one hope that they'll leave it at this.
Another big negative for me was also the apparent crush that Twilight develops. Indeed, the whole character of Flash Sentry is almost completely unnecessary. Now, I'm not the type of brony who is going to immediately decry any significant other a main character may have in the show (although I do think it wouldn't be a good idea), but Flash just seems like something tacked on at the last second. His character is basically useless and does very little at all, except for one particular moment where he 'rescues' Twilight, which is, in my opinion, one of the few outright bad parts of the story. Plus, having him be present in Equestria as a pony leaves this whole thing open to troubling possibilities in the future. Honestly, I could live with everything else in this movie being canon in the show, just not this... please, Hasbro, don't have Twilight have a very special somepony, especially not this Flash guy. (Plus, every time I hear his name I think of that old Flash Gordon TV show, particularly its theme song. Amusing, but not exactly endearing to the character.)
The last negative is more of a disappointment really. Sunset Shimmer could have been, in my opinion, a decent antagonist for the show if used correctly, and I feel that she's wasted here. But that's a fairly minor quibble on my part.
Oh, and I think a brief cameo from Discord at some point in the human world would have been perfect. But sadly, not to be.
Conclusion:
Is Equestria Girls perfect? No. Is it good? ... yeah, I'd say it is. It's fun to watch and it made me laugh more than I expected it to. And really, it could have very easily been a regular episode of MLP. Which is really the biggest problem when I really think about it: this could have been an episode. With ponies. There really wasn't any good reason for it to involve humans. The human element is just so... unnecessary that it feels like a big let down. Our first big movie with ponies... and they're humans for about 90% of it. Again, it was still fun and enjoyable. I just wish it had been with ponies.
Oh, and I really could have done without Flash (aww awwww). If there's one thing I hope, it's that we don't see him in the show. Ever.
So yeah, to all the bronies who have, like myself, claimed that this is the worst thing EVER (except for Twilight getting wings... or Discord being released... or Applejack not getting a song until the THIRD season... etc...), give it a shot. Remember, we watch a show for little girls. You've been surprised before. You may be again.
A very nice review. I am in the camp of "kill it with fire" when it comes to this movie but I have heard several positive reviews. I still think I'll just wait for Netflix to watch this one.