Revisiting MLP: The Movie · 12:22am Feb 12th, 2018
I rented the movie on DVD this weekend and watched it for the second time ever. Since I saw it without any young ones to distract me, there are some parts that jumped out at me that I missed the first time, so I'd like to talk about them here.
The Big Things
Pacing: The rushed pace bothered me more on the second watch than it did on the first watch. This may be because movies tend to feel shorter on the second viewing. The movie definitely needed more transitional scenes and moments for the characters to breathe. For example, the Mane Six and Spike are walking across the desert, obviously thirsty and overheated, but when they get to Klugetown, they don't immediately ask for water. It's as if the mere sight of the city is enough to revive them, and by the time they enter the city, their manes and tails are perfectly groomed. It felt like the writers and director were afraid that they would lose their youngest viewers' attention if they spent too much time in one location. However, I believe these fears are unfounded. My experience with my young niece has taught me that all you need to hold kids' attention are bright colors and cute animals, both of which are plentiful in MLP.
Plot Holes: The biggest plot hole is the missing guards. There was no Shining Armor, and no unicorns or earth ponies wearing armor. Yes, the Wonderbolts were there, but they weren't enough to deal with the invasion.
I had questioned how the Storm King's ships were able to cross the southern half of Equestria without anyone noticing and sounding the alarm. After giving it some thought, I reasoned that perhaps Tempest used those dark crystal balls to stop any witnesses from ruining their element of surprise. It's a stretch, but it could work.
I'm not the first person to mention this, but there were several times that Twilight could've teleported herself and her friends to safety, but didn't. Now, if she had teleported every time she was in danger, that would've made the movie less exciting, so an alternative writing solution might have been to have Twilight's magical reserves depleted, perhaps from barely touching a dark crystal as it expanded. She could've kept her ability to fly and use telekinesis, but not teleport. This would've made the movie more tense while keeping with the show's continuity.
Some have asked how the Storm King's army subdued the ponies so easily while the Mane 6 and Spike were gone, but keep in mind that these are Equestrian ponies. I think it's likely that after three of their princesses were captured and the fourth went MIA, most of the ponies were so disheartened that they lost their will to fight.
Forced Drama: You know the scene I'm talking about. At first I thought it was completely OOC for Twilight to tell Pinkie that she wished she was never her friend. After a careful re-watch, I could tell that Twilight wanted to apologize right away, but Pinkie told her that she didn't want to talk to her, so Twilight kept her mouth shut. Having said that, the scene still felt “off” for these characters. It's as if the writers felt obligated to add this scene because these types of family adventure movies always have the main hero at their lowest point near the end of the movie. Bleh.
The Wrong Apology: To be fair to Twilight, she does apologize to Pinkie after she's freed and they are reunited . . . And then Pinkie says, “I'm sorry too.” Pinkie, what are you apologizing for? Yelling at Twilight? You had every reason to yell at her. She used you to steal from your new friend, which goes against not only your Element of Laughter, but all the other Elements as well. My thoughts about this are that Pinkie was apologizing for the situation, although it would have been better if she had clarified her statement by saying, “I'm sorry you got captured.” Either that, or Pinkie had become accustomed to apologizing to her sisters just to smooth things over (I imagine she had to do that often with Limestone).
And then Twilight doesn't apologize to Queen Novo for stealing her magic pearl. I have to assume that Twilight did it off screen, but still, it bugs me that we didn't see it. It would've added, like, 15 to 30 seconds to the run time.
Little Odds and Ends
Horse Puns: The beginning includes horse puns that sound like Season 1 dialog. I suppose the writers thought it was a good way to introduce newcomers to the world of Equestria. If you're going to watch MLP, be prepared to deal with horse puns.
Cameos: It would've been nice to see Pinkie's family with her during her verse of “We've Got This Together,” but maybe they were off doing their own rock-based contribution for the festival. Also, there was one orange earth stallion with a goatee and Christmas . . . er, Hearths Warming Eve lights for a cutie mark. He had two lines and I have the feeling he's based on somebody specific, or else he's an inside joke for the crew. Anyone have any idea who this guy is?
Raised in a Barn: The first time I watched this movie, I laughed after Applejack said, “. . . I just spent a lot of time in a barn . . . Where I was born . . . And spent most of my formative years,” and as a result I missed Rainbow saying, “You were raised in a barn!” Which makes that part even more hilarious.
Surprising Strength: Tempest kicks that big land fish guy hard enough to make him skid several feet and then jumps up high while lifting him with her. Judging by the land fish's size, I'm guessing he weighs at least a ton. While that feat doesn't quite reach Applejack's or Maud's strength, it's still much stronger than I expected a unicorn to be.
Alas, Poor Harpies: Captain Celaeno has two harpy skulls in her cabin. Former crew mates or enemies? Or both?
Too Much Levity: The scene where the Storm soldiers get hit in the face with pies (along with cartoon sound effects) undercuts the threatening feel of the tornado.
Special Features
I was pleasantly surprised that the DVD I rented included special features, since many rentals are bare bones.
Deleted Scene: An alternate introduction to the movie narrated by Twilight which shows stained glass windows of each princess. Interestingly, it retcons Cadence to be the Princess of Family instead of the Princess of Love. I'm going to hold off on considering that canon until the show confirms it.
Equestria Girls Short: A cute story about the Rainbooms traveling in their psychedelic van to perform at Cousin Goldie Delicious's birthday party. Why couldn't the theater have shown this short instead of that weird cartoon with the gumdrop bunnies?
Baking with Pinkie Pie: I watched only the beginning, as it was just a voiceover with no new animation.
Making Magic with the Mane 6 and Their New Friends: Interviews with the cast and director. It was cool to see the Mane voice cast all recording together at the same time. Based on what I've heard about voice acting, they most often record their lines separately.
One interesting tidbit is that Tempest was originally supposed to be angry all the time (I'm guessing like Kylo Ren), but Emily Blunt was very insistent that she should be calm and cool. She said that villains are more scarily competent when they are in control of their emotions, and it ended up working very well for the character.
It's also revealed that Michael Pena was hired first and then after they met him, the writers based the character of Grubber on him. At least that's what I thought was implied, but it's also possible that the writers met him very early in production and he inspired them to create Grubber. No offense to Pena – he might be the nicest guy in real life – but it speaks poorly for a character when the best part about him is that it's satisfying to see him get zapped.
The Journey Beyond Equestria: An interesting spotlight on the animators that shows how they used 3D models while keeping a 2D feel.
I'm the Friend That You Need Music Video and Hanazuki: Full of Treasures: The song from the movie edited with Taye Diggs in studio, and the aforementioned gumdrop bunny cartoon. Nothing noteworthy here.
Final Thoughts
The DVD is well worth a rental, but if I ever buy this movie, it will probably be a digital version for my PC. To be honest, the main reason I'm thinking about buying a digital copy is so that I can re-watch certain scenes on my laptop to help me write some of the new characters if I ever decide to use them in my fanfiction.
Darn it, now I want to see the sudden but inevitable betrayals that led to Celaeno and the other harpies weak and divided as the Storm King swept in. Possibly with Celaeno recounting the tale to wide-eyed chicubs in Griffonstone.
Plot Holes that get my goat:
-Where the heck were Shining, any of the royal guards, Starlight, Discord, or Twilight's ability to cast any spells aside from 'magic laser'?
-While seeking aid from the "hippos" is all well and good, but why not also reach out to the Crystal Empire, Changelings, Buffalo, Yaks, Griffons, Dragons, or (once again) freaking Discord? They've spent 7 seasons (give or take depending on when this takes place) helping and gaining allies.
-The desert scene as you mentioned.
-The pirate harpies/parrots got way too little screentime.
-Twilight grabbing the idiot ball and running with it in regards to the magic pearl.
-Great, we got 7 new friends. How in the blazes does that suddenly make us more capable vs the army than the first 15 minutes of the film?
Just a personal wish:
Tempest had better show up in season 8 as Twi's new friendship student. Either that or head through the mirror to live with Sunset (and subsequently not have to worry about a broken horn).
4794710
Now I want to see that too. Also, LOL at chicubs.
4794745
Starlight was in a couple of scenes, but this movie was written before S6. I imagine if it had been written after she found her footing as a protagonist, she would have gone with the Mane 6 and Spike, and then the movie would have either had to nerf her or make the creatures around them more powerful. But yeah, the other plot holes bothered me as well.
Both good options, although I don't see why Tempest couldn't get a prosthetic crystal horn.
My explanation for the shortcomings is unfortunately Doylist: it's an introduction to the setting, not a further chapter. Twilight and the gang shift in characterisation around the first three seasons or so, they cut out as many characters as possible, etc.
I still quite enjoyed it, as it dropped in two character archetypes that were missing; lovable rogue and black knight.
4794917
That explains most of the plot holes, but it still doesn't excuse the hurried pacing.
I did like (most of) the new characters - I just wish they had been given more time to develop.
4795360
It's rushed because it's still a crapload of characters. Introducing the mane six and interplay, bit parting the remaining princesses, Capper and his ambiguity, Tempest with hers...
If I were cutting things down, I'd say nix either the hippogriffs or the pirates, but Hasbro gotta get dem characters to make toys of. I'm tempted to run an experiment with a friend that hasn't watched the show, to see their reactions to just the movie versions.