Review: Equestria Girls · 5:08pm Jul 14th, 2013
4/4 Stars
Many times when I have gone to the movies, I have seen two hour films with around a half hour of actual content (Transformers, Thor) which usually fall prey to the habit of having setting, exposition, and character introduction, followed by lame action sequences which end up being completely forgettable, or dialogue that has no point other than exposition or forced romance/importance. While some of these tend to be more enjoyable, I have been waiting for a new film to feel like its length—to be able to have enough content, character, and plot to be able to fill its time. I have found a film which has that two hours’ worth—in 72 minutes. And that film is Equestria Girls.
There was so much commotion before the film, about the art style of the humans, the end of the Brony fandom, the blatant hate—it was fairly bad. I was skeptical until the second trailer, where the basic element of the plot was revealed, and we got a good look at the animation. The art style was not my favourite, but I grew to enjoy it—having spoken to someone working with that type of design in Flash, they have said that it was incredibly complicated, so I have to congratulate Studio B for the wonderful animation. Of course, now was the wait to see the film. After the hassle of trying to find a single theatre to see it in, I finally found one, met with a friend, and watched the movies. If I had more money (and if the theatre was showing it again) I would have gone a second time. Roger Ebert said that that is the kind of word of mouth money can’t buy, and I believe he is correct. No matter what I put down in words, simply meeting someone who would pay cash to go back to the theatre a second time is a sign to see the film (something I’m more than likely going to say after Pacific Rim).
But what makes Equestria Girls that good? In my opinion, it will probably be one of the best films to come out this summer—simply because it is that good—a work of quality, a labour of love, and a film that is fun, heartwarming, and enjoyable for any age. For 72 minutes, my focus was on the screen. At no point, did I question the movie while watching, trying to find a weak point. Thinking back after, there are some plot elements which themselves don’t really make much sense, but that’s the joy of the movie. While you’re watching, the story and world are wholly believable; the TV show has already proven to be skilled at world building, and Equestria Girls shares that aspect.
Twilight, woops, Alicorn Princess Twilight Sparkle and company are visiting the Crystal Empire when Twilight’s crown—also her Element of Harmony—is stolen from her by a former student of Celestia, Sunset Shimmer. The crown falls through a mirror, followed by Sunset (who has been living on the other side of the mirror for some time). Losing the Element will upsets the balance of the other Elements and the balance of Equestria itself, so it is up to Twilight (with Spike the dragon tagging along) to retrieve it. There is the mention of alternate-universe parallels to deal with, as well as a three-day time limit. Once she is through, we find Twilight and Spike in a human world—a human world with people who dress brilliantly—trying to find her crown. The initial reactions Twilight has are all amusing, and the setup of the human world works quiet well. Here we meet all of Twilight’s friends—alternate universe human versions—but her friends nonetheless. Well, to be honest, people who make her think of her friends. To get the crown, she has to compete against Sunset Shimmer for a contest in the high school; more complicated from her iron grip around the school, so Twilight gets her friends together to try and win the contest and her crown back.
But I won’t go into the plot anymore, because I would reveal too much—and much of the movies contains visual references for the Brony fandom (seeing a background pony, finding a little joke from an earlier season, and a wonderfully timed appearance by Derpy Hooves herself) and is a treat to watch visually. The human clothing designs are amazing, and I would swear that the high school was designed after mine—even the same CHS initials (perhaps we had more mixture in our groups, but it was very similar; I’m not joking when I say that the cafeteria song and dance could have actually happened at my old school). The pacing of the movie is a strong point, as it never feels too fast, but at the same time doesn’t drag. There is a great beginning sequence, accompanied by an electronic song that sounds like some of the great fan-made songs and it reminds the audience that they are watching something not quite so simply as they were lead to believe. There is also a great moment in the ending sequence which I will liken to Sailor Moon—or any Magical Girl anime. The animation itself is as good as the TV show, as it is full of bounce, energy, and flow—and for anyone worried that watching the humans would be odd, it isn’t, so fret not.
There are a number of songs written by Daniel Ingram and Megan McCarthy, which are all very good. Some are more memorable than others—the one from the Cafeteria still hasn’t left my head—and others fit well into making scenes pass. I’ve heard people say only a few songs are actually good, but they are all good; each one has a job to do, either getting the audience pumped, or to help a scene go by in a montage, and they all do a great job in their respective jobs. The film isn’t exactly a musical, but music is a big part of it, which is one of the reasons it’s paced so well. The background music is also at the same quality of the show, fitting right into the situations of the film and doing a great job to accent them.
The movies does have some minor issues, most of which come up after you’ve left the theatre and think back on the film, but when watching, you believe what is happening because it is done with such earnest. Some might complain about the romantic sub-plot, which while not necessary, doesn’t hinder the movie in any particular way—it’s cute, it’s sweet, and shows Twilight dealing with a crush in a positive way, never letting it get in the way of her goals (though I still don’t see it becoming part of anything else in the series, but more on that later). As for the villain, Sunset Shimmer, I think of the differences between Peter Parker and Eddie Brock in the Spider-Man comics—they share many traits, ideas, and similarities, but they have different methods. The ending is perhaps a tad bit rushed, but with the third day ending, it’s not like Twilight had much time to have an epic, long battle or something like that. In fact, the ending isn’t the focus of the story; it’s really Twilight’s adventure in this new land and her trying to find friends which is the focus. The first two episodes worked in a similar way, with setup, a problem, journey, and conclusion (which was pretty rushed too). However, all of this is simply nitpicking—details so small that in the realm of things, they don’t affect the film in any way to make it less enjoyable.
I could keep going on about the film and how much I enjoyed it, but I’ll just say this: I would love if this film was part of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic canon. I know that I’ll be buying it on Blu-ray. Equestria Girls is definitely a film which reflects why friendship is indeed, magic.
Now if only the movie shows up in the Philippines.
1210725 Did you know that the U.S. territories are the only place in the universe that U.S. citizens cannot vote for president? Even astronauts have voted while in space.
1210874
the U.S confuses me.
because I'm a Canadian, what with the metric system and hockey and Tim Horton's.
wait, this has nothing to do with the review.1210882 The U.S. Sucks.
1210886 How did this derail to that?
1210955 When you said the Philippines, it reminded me of that, and I always look for a chance to show off my knowledge.