My Little Pony: The Movie. A (non)spoiler Review (spoilers after the break) · 12:11pm Oct 6th, 2017
I just got done watching The My Little Pony Movie and I was so excited I just had to write this. Okay, so this first bit will be spoiler free, and I’ll leave the spoilery bits below the break.
Let me start off by saying, it was awesome! I went in with a lot of excitement, but rather neutral expectations, which I suppose is how you should enter any film. After the Equestria Girls films, I really wasn’t expecting much, but I still wanted to see what they came up with. Plus, it gave me an excuse to rock a killer pink polka dot bow tie with my Pinkie Pie T-shirt. Can you guess who best pony is? Not important. The really important part is that all the kids at the theatre really enjoyed themselves, and a lot of them thought my bowtie was so cool. I made so many smiles and laughs and it was superb.
Once the movie started though, I could hardly contain my excitement. The new depth-heavy animation was a bit unsettling after seeing so much of the flash style animation from the show, but it still worked pretty well, and if they’d been done that way from the beginning I don’t think it would have bothered me at all. I was actually able to appreciate the effort that went into it during a few song sequences that made excellent use of lighting, and the wave motion during an otherwise rather somber scene.
As to the story, I’ll leave full comments below the break, but overall it was nicely constructed and portrayed a genuine conflict for Twilight and the girls in a very natural and relatable way. Big points to Megan McCarthy for this one. The characters were also superbly done, shining through the chaos with their own little quirks and habits. I could barely contain my giggles and little bursts of joy as the film went on. (And I will admit I squeed a few times, which made all the kids around me giggle.)
There were a few moments I thought were going to turn out too scary for the kids, but they kept things admirably tame, and the humor definitely overshadowed the would-be scary scenes. It was all wrapped up so nicely I felt proud to be supporting such a well done kids production. Definitely something to bring your kids to see, or your friends if you don’t have kids.
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Here there be spoilers. Venture beyond if ye dare.
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So we start out with a spectacular flying scene and song sequence about a festival going on in Canterlot. Excellent way to show off the new animation style, which allows for a lot of density in the pony population without seeming too crowded. Definitely a great choice. We get to see Twilight’s friends being themselves, and setting up for some big festival in their own adorable way.
Then we transition to Twilight being adorkable as always, nervous about asking the Princesses for help with another of her silly little problems. They tell her she can do it on her own of course, and we get to see her try to face another problem head on. Of course, her friends reassure her via song sequence about how they’ve got this, together. Then just as Twilight is cheered up, the baddie comes in.
Okay, so at first I thought this would just be another cheap enemy invasion and takeover, and in a way it was, but the humor thrown in more than made up for the childishness of the story (RIP, Brian, the balloon pony). And honestly? I think that’s how it should be: childish. The show has been so fantastic over the past few years that I often have to remind myself that this is a kids show, and that some things will be simplified and feel very childish. I actually award points for them pulling this off in a way that was interesting and fun, despite the darker theme. Liev Schreiber did a fantastic job as the storm king, and I wonder if they would have picked him for Discord if they hadn’t wanted John De Lancie so badly.
And oh, MY GOSH. Emily Blunt was FANTASTIC as Tempest Storm. Her droll cynicism gave such a delightful pinch of salt to the whole entrée, and made for a satisfying turn around moment when Twilight overcame her own personal conflict. Tempest made for a terrifyingly powerful antagonist, foreshadowing how dangerous the Storm King must be, meanwhile highlighting her more relatable traits, such as how personal and simple her goals are, and how torn up she is inside about what happened to her.
Michael Pena did a great job as Grubber, whose enjoyment of cakes and sweet treats made for some delightfully funny moments and helped mellow out some darker moments. Grubber and Tempest worked very well together too, providing great contrast for each other, and adding some color to their scenes.
Capper was one of my favorite elements of the cast. His coloration is clearly designed to make his eyes appear to glow, which they make full use of during his heavily ambiguous song sequence. Pinkie trusts him, of course, but Twilight is skeptical. The writers and animators do an excellent job of keeping it hazy whether or not Capper is actually trying to help them. As it turns out, he was only trying to help himself, but near the end of the scene Rarity’s generosity got to him, and he decided to turn a leaf and help them all out after all.
Then we get some great scenes about Twilight’s friends both helping and not helping, while being true to their elements. Like when Rainbow Dash recruits some swashbuckling treasure hunters to their cause, but then also alerts Tempest to their position. This is so realistic, that I had to give a thumbs up to the writers for using it. It made for great conflict as Twilight began to blame her friends for the problems they all faced.
On that note, let me draw attention to one of the most pivotal moments in the movie. Twilight hurts Pinkie. Pinkie, the insecure one, who always fears that her friends don’t want her around, and that they’ll forget her. The one always looking to create smiles. The one who smiles so much they have to remind her to frown when they’re sneaking past a pair of ugly guards.
Twilight regretted being friends with her. And that heart-shattering moment was so poignant I could feel Pinkie’s pain in my own heart. The theater was silent. Beautifully orchestrated and for a kids film to tackle something so averse to the very nature of the characters it portrays, and so emotional for its audience, in such a relatable but still tame enough for kids way, it really shows just how much time and effort went into making this. I was really disappointed that Pinkie’s mane didn’t deflate for this moment, but that’s a minor nitpick.
And this was a big deal beyond just hurting Pinkie. Twilight messed up. Big time. When they arrive at the home of the help they’d been seeking, The Hippogryphs, Twilight is the one who ruins it all.
I about died of excitement during these scenes, because they used a believable conflict that actually made sense as a reason to create sea ponies, and turn Twilight and her friends into sea ponies, and it didn’t feel cheap, and… GAH! Oh man that was awesome, and that really cool song sequence, and Pinkie Pie, and just… GAH it was so good.
And then they totally botch it up. Twilight sneaks around and does some theivery. As she turned toward the pearl I heard myself saying “Twilight, no.” She was desperate, and trying so hard to protect her friends that she lost focus on the magic of friendship, and ended up alienating some potential allies.
I’m actually disappointed at how they brushed over this at the end, because of how beautifully it had been set up. She forgot all about how useful friendship is and ended up denouncing her friends, which was another great moment set up by a few mishaps along the way. But then they totally make it work and that’s fine, and they really don’t need the hippogryphs (even though one of them totally helped out anyway. Yay princess stardust)
And then Queen Novo just shows up at the end like “That girl was right, I haven’t talked to Celestia in a while, I’mma come out of my hidey hole that I’ve been cowering in for so many years and say hi.” That irritated me so much like. NO. They don’t need you. Go back to your hole and continue hiding. How did you even know it was safe to come out? Where you looking for your daughter? Where is the concern? Why are you here?
That aside, I have to add in big points for the resolution. It’s a classic trope, the spurned assistant to the evil tyrant becomes their ultimate downfall by exacting revenge on their perfidious former master, usually sacrificing themselves in the process. And that’s fine. I love tropes. They exist for a reason. I’ve seen this one a dozen times and as predictable as it is, it was a perfect fit for the theme of the movie and it wrapped up Twilight’s resolution nicely.
I was terrified for a moment that Twilight was going to restore Tempest’s horn. It would have cheapened her entire arc, making it less about her learning to love like a friend again, and more about selfishly chasing her past. But instead they took the exact route I was hoping for, and made it part of her.
As demonstrated throughout the film, Tempest Storm is a powerful unicorn, despite her broken horn. She has the power within herself to be amazing, and her horn is a part of who she is, broken or not. It makes her no less of a pony, and in fact, it helped her reach an amazing place. She learned to give back, instead of trying to gain. And gained a lot in doing so. What a great lesson for kids. Great lessons all around, all wrapped up in a well animated, beautifully written, concise but no less awesome little bundle.
Definitely worth the money I paid. 8/10 would watch again.
I absolutely agree with Tempest's (Or should I be saying Fizzlepop? I refuse to comment on any silly giggles that may or may not have left my mouth at that reveal) not having her horn restored. The message about recognizing that permanent injuries/scars do not themselves define you but rather you define them is something I was really happy to see a movie like MLP tackle. I was even more happy to see them tackle it without breaking the flow to monologue it out.
I was admittedly kind of skeptical about having Sia play the obligatory celebrity musical role, but I was really happy with the result, and despite having seen the music video for Rainbow, I was still moved by the actual sequence. As I told my husband when we saw the music video, the movie was shamelessly taking the scene from Zootopia and replacing everyone with ponies, but it still worked, and truthfully I'd dare to say slightly better, since it was simultaneously used as a vehicle for Tempest to show off. Really curious, and I had this discussion with my husband too, to see if she does in fact have a cutie mark under her armor, leaving it unanswered is sure to spawn the inevitable wave of fics that offer their own opinion on that and other topics (which don't get me wrong, is a good thing. As much as we all like movies to be perfectly encapsulated things which leave no thread unaddressed and no character neglected, leaving things open-ended for the audience to talk about later is something I enjoy, at least. But I'm just a dirty theorist-monger
).
If I had to list one big criticism of the movie, it would have to be the relative lack of presence with the Storm King. During the movie his iconography was everywhere, but his motives felt slightly conflicted at times, especially given the merchandise the pirates were carrying. I would have liked to see maybe one or two more scenes with him using the call spell with Tempest, but with the perspective from his end of the connection, to better show what his end state was. Although I nearly died laughing at the actual spell itself, that damnnable dial-up tone
. But regardless, for the brief time he was on screen, I liked him, and the way he went out was pretty explicit, even more so than Sombra.
The other big thing I was slightly disappointed in, but understood given the extra runtime it would have added plus the tone being a little too dark for the target audience, is them not seizing on the wordplay of hippogriff vs. hippocampus. It would have really upped the stakes for Twilight and her friends to arrive at the home of the hippogriffs, find the ghost town and the island devastated, and then in the pool find Princess Skystar of the hippocampi who takes them to their respective realm, where it's revealed that the Storm King's forces visited the hippogriffs first, and leave the terrible implications there for Twilight to feel even more pressured to take any action possible to keep Equestria from suffering the same fate.
Overall, my score is 9/10, I'm going to keep a close eye on the blu-ray release so I can binge it repeatedly to see any details I missed in the theater.
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Yeah, I noticed the hippocampus thing as well. And I didn't consciously notice, but now that everyone says it, the storm king not having enough screen time did bug me.
Still want to see it....poop.