Rainbow Rocks Review · 9:07pm Nov 1st, 2014
Hello followers and friends
It's finally time for my first review, wish I could have released this much earlier (was planning to do it the day after my last blog) but life gets in the way. Anyway, it's time now, I plan to address various parts of the film, both good and bad, hopefully we can get good discussion going cause I really want to hear what you guys thought of the film too, so let's crack open the Jack Daniels, turn up the Sheppard and get to this.
Overall Plot
The film, as we all know, is about the humanized mane 6's band 'The Rainbooms' trying to stop a group of evil sirens from using the powers to manipulate the world to their will. My thoughts? Loved it. Something that made this movie particularly interesting was how it felt more human than pony, in a good way. For the first film it was more about Twilight going to strange world, but here we start in the human world and the ponies come later, definitely the right chose, especially given their future plans...
Spin-off
You may or may not be aware, but there is a spin-off series coming out called 'Equestria Academy' based off the movies (set in that universe I suppose), the movie has done a good job to actually set this up, there are many possible things that could be used, such as Sunset's new connection to Princess Twilight (the book), could be used in a similar fashion to Twilight's messages to Celestia.
The Songs
I some real mixed feelings here. Some songs were absolutely brilliant, such as 'under our spell', others I was less enthused about, I can't even remember the name of it, but remember Dash's 'I'm awesome' song? Not for me. Not because the song went kaput in the movie storyline, but the song itself irked me. Another annoying factor of the song list was the fact 'Tricks up my sleeve was cut down, that was the song I was most looking forward to seeing, and it's barely there, very disappointing.
Overall the songs were damn good, though I think the Dazzlings songs are probably better than the Rainbooms. 
Fun fact for all you trivia nuts out there, remember when Snips and Snails rap? That was actually the voice actors (Lee Tockar and Richard Ian Cox) freestyling. The only other line in the movie known to be made up by the voice actor was when Rarity says "past...ahem...booboos", that was all Tabitha St. Germain.
The Dazzlings
I was very excited to see these characters, I love mythology and when I heard they were sirens I became very pumped, and they did not disappoint, I really hope were able to see those girls again in the series or another movie. I would say Sonata is my favourite of the three, she's just too cute.
That being said, I do feel they lacked a proper finish. In the first movie after Sunset is defeated, she is given a second chance and is set on the path to friendship with the help of the humanized 6, however, the Dazzlings are a little different. They're defeated and we see they can't use their magic, but then they run off and that's it, another reason I hope to see them again, so we can see what happens next for these girls.
The Rainbooms
Not much to be said about the characters we've known for years, though I will say I was a bit annoyed we had to deal with that Dash the entire movie, I love that girl, but dear god she was tough to sit through, I know technically speaking she's a different Dash to our Dash, but that didn't make it any easier. One character I was proud of though, was Fluttershy, she actually stuck up for herself in the end, granted it was after a while of being pushed around by Dash and it only helped to create chaos amongst the group in that scene where they're all fighting, but still, go Fluttershy 
Flash
Probably the most annoying and pointless part of the movie. When the first movie came out a lot of people were against Flash, I thought his character had some potential, it did feel like the writers just threw him in there but I was willing to look past it, as long as they did something with him. Here we are one movie and a season of cameos later, and I somehow feel like he's developed even less of a character. He did nothing for that movie and now I don't like him because he's gone from 'has potential' to 'generic character for subplot'. There was more to support Twilight having a relationship with Sunset than Flash in the movie, so since they don't seem to want to actually do something with him, then I'll have nothing to do with it.
Other Characters
Few things here, first the awesome Octavia cameo, she was voiced by Kazumi Evans, who voiced Adagio Dazzle (singing and speaking) and did Rarity's singing. So glad they finally got an Octavia voice, so is Vinyl the only background 6 member who hasn't had a line yet? 
Lyra and Bon Bon, I think we can we can pretty much call them canon now, the writers know it, we know it, just sit back and enjoy:
Trixie, as I said before, really annoyed they cut her song, but she was still really good in the movie. Her band was the best of the ones NOT using magic hacks, so she's a fan favourite, the highest level unicorn, and the best musician, is there anything she can't do... catch a break I guess, she still kinda gets screwed over here, not as bad as Boast Busters though. At least she stopped Twilight and Flash, that was close.
I know Crowscrowcrow probably wouldn't like me skipping this one, so... Maud Pie! A nice cameo I really wasn't expecting, just goes to show they really are trying to please their fans (as if Lyrabon wasn't enough). Crows did notice I didn't in the scene, apparently as Maud leaves she actually starts 'feeding' boulder, I think human Maud might be a little... off :twilightsheepigh:
Finishing thoughts
The movie overall was spectacular, don't be thrown off by all the things I complained about here, I did genuinely love it, gotta be about 8/10, maybe higher. It really needed to be longer, that way they could address things like Flash's lack of development or where the Dazzlings go from here, still a really great though.
A couple of closing questions for you guys and girls: What did you think of the movie? What did you think of what I've said here? If you disagree on something, please say, good to get multiple opinions.
If there's any fics on here or episodes of the show you'd want me to review, feel free to leave it in the comments. I'm going to sleep now (it's 5am here) but I will get back to everyone who leaves a comment, for now...
ta ta, and love ya 
You definitely nailed Dash and that song perfectly I agree with everything you mentioned in the review I just want to note that I thought asshole Flash Sentry was much better than his normal self Lybon yes definitely canon and I thought the pony scene was god awful I feel they could have done it so much better than having Twilight automatically know what the problem is how to solve and worst of all pretty much immediately knowing how to put together some random machine to get back to CHS I can't describe the diseases that scene gave me
P.S. told you Dash's song was a giant ego trip
I can agree with the TTricks up my Sleeve problem but at least we have the song on the soundtrack and with that we can picture Trixie singing it however and in whatever outfit we want
dirty thoughts abroad
Can't stop talking about this movie
i get chills when I hear the Dazzlings sing what about you
Yet another note why are Celestia and Luna still so useless
But Celestia fuck I love this movie so much
I like the format you went with for this review of the movie. It's nice clean and effective.
Sonata Dusk has pretty much blown up in the fandom hasn't she? I am not complaining, she was designed to be stupidly adorable, and she delivered. The interesting thing is, I tried to keep an eye out for how evil she was the entire movie. She does act and look like a ditz, but when she's singing she's on about equal level with Aria Blaze, or a bit below because she doesn't keep the scowl face up as much. So you might start to think Sonata is pretty harmless. However, take a look at the last battle.
i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj120/ryonalionthunder/MLP/Dazzlingsfinalfight_zpse805933d.jpg
Sonata is really into this now, beating even Adagio Dazzle in evil look there. So I submit the theory that Sonata is not harmless at all. Rather, her evil is directly proportional to how much power she is currently wielding.
None: Cute Ditz
Singing to gather power: No nonsense
Powered up from just one high school: Pure evil
Powered up from most of Equestria: ???
fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2014/292/9/1/lyrabon_by_jake_brithgside-d83fp44.jpg
(Though it isn't.
)
I could not live another second without finding a bigger picture of that one. It actually looks as if it is part of the movie.
Surely this would have happened had Trixie not blown them away. Which btw, seems to be her thing now. So far Trixie has stopped LyraBon and FlashLight. I guess she really doesn't like anyone else getting attention.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/9/24/728275__safe_equestria+girls_maud+pie_rainbow+rocks_spoiler-colon-rainbow+rocks_boulder+(pet).jpeg
Hurray Maud!
I really enjoyed the movie. Though as with the last movie a lot of that enjoyment came from seeing all the side characters doing things. There are far too many to name that I enjoyed, but for instance the CMC, I am sad we didn't get to see them singing, but it was a joy to see them in their Show Stoppers outfits. (Omg Rocker Sweetie Belle growling from behind Scootaloo during the 'under our spell' song at was the cutiest thing I have ever seen!
)
Flash Sentry, I still hate him. I've hated him since the first movie, and I don't care what they do with his character, I still won't like him. (To be fair, I recognize this is purely because I prefer F/F ships. So it's really not his fault, and nothing short of a gender swap will fix it for me.) That said, I will give him a pass for this movie. Purely because it was not quite his fault his character didn't get any development as he was under the Dazzlings spell the entire time.
Speaking of being under a spell... Trixie was deliciously aggressive in getting what she wanted. I also noticed how Trixie's behaviour did not change one iota when the spell was started or dropped. I am not convinced she was ever under any spell to begin with, she just really wanted to win and get the attention.
(And hey, she did. Even while singing "Tricks up my sleeve" in a sleeveless dress. That's talent right there, and poor planning.)
I hear some people have a problem with the costumes that were being used. I didn't pay too much attention to them to be honest. Except those of the CMC.
Rainbow Dash
So, I like RD. Big shock. She was the designated jerk of the movie, and after thinking about it for a while... I am now gonna defend her actions, but it ran a lil longer than I expected. What else is new, huh?
Rainbow Dash. This is where things get kinda interesting, as at first sight Rainbow Dash got crucified pretty hard in the movie to get the plot where it needed to be. But, I do believe she could totally act like that, part of her being a jerk is her being brutally honest with the way she see's things. However, that unmatched arrogance and selfishness does lead to an interesting detail... one that shows that Rainbow Dash is not actually as bad as the movie would have us think at first sight:
Rainbow Dash appears to have been the writer of all the songs, but then that means she is the one that wrote everything except the last song(Which was Fluttershy's). Why is that important? It's just one more massive ego trip right? Well it provides a distinct insight into Rainbow Dash's mind when we look at the lyrics for her songs:
This here suggests that Rainbow Dash is not just being a bad friend for the sake of it when the criticizes AJ and Rarity, but she's saying those things exactly because she feels like they are good friends.
The next song is right after Twilight attempts to write the 'counterspell' song, and fails horribly at doing so. As a result, they decide to postpone the counterspell for the time being to give Twilight time to work on it. What do the lyrics for this song include?
It's a brief part in the song encouraging being creative and not giving up after failing once. The rest of the song is about having a party that night. The two things have nothing to do with each other, unless you consider that those lines are practically a pep talk for Twilight, it's something that RD wrote for the occasion.
The next song is the semi finals. RD once again snubs FS's request to play her song, which does seem like a mean thing to do, but she does provide a valid reason: It is minutes before the semi finals, and the Rainbooms know and have practiced "Awesome as I wanna be" while they've not played FS's song at all. (Granted that doesn't stop them at the final, but RD's logic was sound, and you can't argue that RD does not truly believe her song will get them into the finals for Twi to the counter spell ready.) The "Awesome as I wanna be" song itself though, is one massive giant ego trip. This is the last song that Dash has written in the movie, and nobody except Rainbow Dash even gets to sing solo in it. (Granted, the song is interrupted, but I feel confident saying that.)
But wait, did I just say "Nobody but Rainbow Dash even gets to sing"? How could I possibly argue that Dash is not a complete jerk for doing that? Well, first of all, did you notice that dispite Dash supposedly being an egomaniac... in all the other songs all the main singers (RD/AJ/Pinkie, and later Twi) get to sing solo. Keep in mind, Dash is writing the songs, which means she wrote equal parts for all her friends to sing up to this point. With one exception... Take a look at the previous song "Shake your tail" and you'll notice that Rainbow Dash did not sing, Rarity did instead. So before Dash's massive ego song where she is the only singer, RD picked out a song where she did not get to sing at all to make up for it in advance.
The final song. The moment it's established that they can sing any song they want, Rainbow Dash jumps at the chance to push Fluttershy's song as the one to play. Judging by what Dash says here, she has not been ignoring Fluttershy quite as much as the movie would have us think. Indeed, she already has read Fluttershy's songs, and knows one of them that she really likes.
Well, that about wraps up my rant on this topic. Rainbow Dash, not as big as jerk as the movie would have you think.
2569042 I could point out so many holes in your Rainbow Dash defense but I can't because all I have is my phone and besides you seem to be a hardcore Dashist so is my best friend and I know it would never work convincing you otherwise
2569097
Well, the beauty of an online forum is that you even if you do not convince me, you will have at least made a counter case that others can read and make up their own mind on.
That said, I like to think I am a pretty reasonable person, so I am actually interested in hearing what you'd have to say on it. It's not like I am saying Dash is not jerk in how she does things, even if she does not see it that way, just that she is not as big of a jerk as she appears.
2569113 I can see your point there in my own 6 viewings of the movie well 7 if you count I'm watching it right now I will admit the first time I watched it I thought Dash was utterly atrocious but after about the 3rd viewing I realized it wasn't as bad as I first thought but I still think it's bad
I'll start with Dash's Awesome as I Wanna be preformance besides the (delicious hair physics which I loved) my problem comes here when all the spotlights thrust downwards away from the others and just onto Dash ignoring Fluttershy's reaction because it could be reasoned she's just mad about not getting to play her song when the camera pans to AJ and Rarity it shows AJ holding her hands out in confusion like this wasn't supposed to happen AJ even says after the preformance that entire thing was Rainbow showing off
2569113 with that note note I'm jumping off for abit Bleach about to come on and I get cranky without my anime course I'll be around during commercials
2569134
I agree the entire song is one giant ego trip for Dash.
But, I never said otherwise? I only said that she tried to even it out by not singing in the previous song so it would be 'fair' (in her eyes) that she got to show off the next time.
I disagree in part. I think it was most certainly supposed to happen, but they never practiced with spotlights. Their practice area is not a real stage after all, so this may well be the first time RD got to do the song along with the lighting as it was 'supposed to be'. So the only thing that was different was the lighting, which the mane6 may not have known about, but the song was exactly as they expected it to. (As demonstrated by all of them not being into it from the start, they knew from the get go this was going to be just RD showing off.)
AJ is referring to them losing the round due to Sunset Shimmer needing to intervene when RD almost goes anthro, because she was not holding back during the gitar solo, not the song itself.
That does not take away the entire song was RD showing off though.
Fun detail actually, before the show this conversation takes place:
Then the next song is RD literally attempting to win the semi finals as a solo act. If the timing on this was different I'd have made more of it, but RD already decided on playing "Awesome as I want to be" before this scene. Drat, I will have to let that one go. ^^
2569153
Bleach? Cool. ^^ I follow the manga.
Have fun. Where is the tv series at atm anyhow?
I suppose I will probably get some sleep, but I'll respond later. (5AM)
2569134 Wow, you posted a bunch mate
I'll get through 'em bit by bit, I'll start at the first one posted and work up:
Nice to now we agree on a fair few of the issues, it was very annoying to have Twilight just fix up a special 2 way portal they can use whenever, in just a few seconds. I could maybe excuse cause they clearly just wanted to get on to the actual plot, but still annoying.
You did warn me about Dash's song
thanks for that
Listening to Tricks up my sleeve plus imagining costumes (or no costume
) seems to be the only way to go
I loved the Dazzlings singing, definitely the best of the movie (considering Trixie's was cut)
Valid point you make with your most recent post, I'll be checking out all of Crows' posts and replies now too, see how things go with the Dash issue.
2569170 the show is on its final episode actually
2569182 yeah I just met crows we had a short conversation before I stopped to watch Bleach
2569042 Thanks mate, I tried to set it out as good as I could
I love Sonata, such I cutie, I'm surprised I haven't seen more ship fics for her, I've seen two 2nd person stories (you x Sonata), one with Aria, and I've found (but not read) one that I believe ships her with Sunset.
The image is cut off on my screen so I can't see Sonata, however just having a mean look or look that says she's into it doesn't make her evil, it's basically the equivalent of a child pulling a 'scary' face, it means nothing. Sonata still just follows the others lead, interesting theory you have, but I'm not convinced yet.
Trixie just wants to be shipped first
I actually thought that you thought Flash was ok, guess we're on the same level now
I think you put too much into 'Dash writes the songs', I really doubt it. Dash here is an egomaniac, now we can't know for sure because we don't actually see anyone writing, but I doubt Dash wrote every song. I'm sure she wrote the 'I'm awesome' song, but it's more likely Dash contributed and takes over. Like I said we can't be completely sure because we don't actually see the writing, but based on want we do know like: Dash has a big ego, this Dash was not shown reading is fun, this Dash isn't a bad band mate and a worse element of loyalty, I really doubt she wrote everything, making a lot of your argument invalid.
The only other point you have is Dash choosing to snub FS's song because they were more familiar with Dash's song, however this kind of proves my point, if Dash wasn't being such a jerk and a terrible band mate, they could have learnt her song easy.
I'll have to get back to everything else later, got to go now, talk to ya later
2569228
Dash flat out says she writes all the songs. Noone contradicts this. FS practically confirms it by accusing RD of not allowing any other songs. So, I think I have a good case here for RD as the song writer, unless we actually go against the movie itself. ;3
The Rest tomorrow ^^
Edit:
Just to show what I'm talking about:
2569228
I suppose the ship fics will come after the comedy fics?
Open the image in a new tab so you can contrast and compare. I'm telling you, Sonata is waaayyy too into it.
Yeah, Sonata follows the others lead when she's not using magic, but towards the end she is the first to adopt that pose and the others join Sonata in taking that pose, role reversal.
Not that I am strongly attached to that theory, but it's an interesting thought.
1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gvur9jFzTI4/TeQByPTgusI/AAAAAAAAFM4/3JOhiJdwpqQ/s1600/1302414346611.png
When I'm being objective, he's inoffensive. When I'm being opinionated, I hate him, but I realize that I'm not being objective, so I don't hold it against him, and won't try to argue he is objectively terrible. It's just that I recognize that my dislike for Flash has nothing to do with his merits as a character and it would be scummy if I tried to justify my dislike with things that are not actually the problem for me.
Sure the situation is Dash's fault, and she's a jerk for never playing any of Fluttershy's songs, but you can't fault her logic at the time for rejecting Fluttershy's song again.
2569747 on your note about Dash writing all the songs well she claims to write them all but this could very easily just be her mind stat there is an episode of South Park that touches on this specifically Dash could very well be such an egomaniac that in her head she contributes more than she really does I stand to think yeah she probably pitches in a few things but I doubt she sits around by herself thinking hmmm this seems like a good idea for a song and her ego is clearly shown by the fact she constantly refers to it as her band despite her friends obviously taking discomfort to this
2570119
While I agree that is certainly possible. The movie contains a scene that pretty much establishes that RD is not delusional in this regard.
I think it makes a very solid case.
If RD was not the one writing the songs, why does noone correct her when she uses it as justification for it being her band? Literally every single time whenever RD claims it is her band, she is immediately corrected/commented on. Usually, RD follows this up with a reason after getting protested: (She's Lead Gitar, Lead Singer, or came up with the idea to start the band). Each time she gives a reason it has been true, as confirmed elsewhere in the movie. If she suddenly started lying about the reason it is her band, wouldn't Applejack immediately call her on it? (As she does every other time when RD is out of line.)
Instead, Fluttershy confirms RD's story, by pointing out that she's written songs too(that did not get played). Implying that RD wrote the others. In addition, Fluttershy states that RD won't allow other songs to be played. Which is a pretty jerky thing to do, and it fits pretty well with Rainbow Dash here.
2570153 prepare for rebuttal on that later can't right now because I'm busy and in class
2579838
Sure, have fun.
2579838
I don't mean to rush you, but I just thought I'd mention I am still looking forward to what you have to say.
2589297 oops oh yeah forgot I was gonna say I think you are putting too much emphasis on what Flutters said when she said she writes songs I heard as more of a statement as in to say hey you aren't the only one who writes the music and in no way confirms Dash as the soul writer for the band and the reason none of them called Dash on it was because Flutters jumps in to call Dash then the conversation shifts so none of them focus on pointing Dash out I've had topics with my friends go through seamless transitions like this ESPECIALLY arguments I should know since I'm a Trixie fan and my best friend is Dashie fan so we have arguments like that all the time that go through transition
2589304
Geez, forgetting about it like that, shame on you! I'll forgive you though cause you were quick this time.
That's exactly the point though. Fluttershy objects to Dash writing all the songs by saying she (and perhaps others) have written songs, but Dash never lets them play any. It isn't that Dash is the only one who writes songs in general, but that hers are the only ones that get played in her band.
The movie makes a big deal out of what a huge jerk RD is, so it fits.
<Btw, Trixie and Dash are both awesome. I don't know how you could pick a fav.
>
2589333 at this point I've forgotten what I was disproving
2589333 so I'll say this instead Trixie is my favorite because she has tons of dimensions and potential as a character Dashie doesn't we've kind of learned everything about her through the series i much prefer AJ and Rarity because they have . A lot more depth to them well except AJ who I'm biased towards because I'm from Mississippi so my southern nature was like oooooooooo a country pony
and I personally don't think Trixie is all that bad I think she has a loving caring side she doesn't show (clears throat) The Deeper Side of Magic my Trixie fanfic wink wink nudge nudge kiss kiss innuendo innuendo #Shameless self promotion but you don't have to read it I was just using it as a reference point towards my opinion
2589694
It's an internet discussion, so it probably wasn't important anyway.
2589721
First of all.... wow really? You are from the south and like AJ? I keep hearing country folks complain about how she's terrible. Nice to hear a positive note from that area at last.
Mhm, that reminds me. I need to find some kind of deconstrution of Rarity as a character someday.
I can see the point that Trixie has potential, though that is largely a consequence of the show telling us nothing about her, thus giving more freedom to work with her. (and her absolutely fantastic design and behaviour in the brief little time we are allowed to see her
)
Whereas Dash has more canon information about her character, though in terms of background we also know next to nothing about Dash, or any of the mane6. Which provides more of a foundation to work from or toward.
There are pro's and con's to either starting point though. It's easier to quickly relate to Dash since we all know who she is, but you don't have as much freedom. While it
is easier to freely fill in blanks for Trixie since we don't know who she is, but you have to take a little time actually establishing her character.
I'll be honest, I have seen and looked at your story often over the past months. I adore Trixie, like the sole reason I even looked at fanfiction was because of her. My eye is always drawn to that beautiful piece of cover art whenever it pops onto the front page, but I just really don't 'get' human stories and refuse to read them.
Granted, the same goes for straightshipping stories, I guess I am biased.
(Although, seeing a few of the rage comments, I might maybe possibly give it a try one day just for that.)
2589788 I guess i can see it not everyone would like humanXpony stuff but I adore the idea mare shipping I liked at first but slowly began to wear on me because it literally is done so much it isn't interesting anymore but human pony stuff has so many things to explore and try that's why I took a liking too it though I find your hindrance on reading my story understandable because my Dash loving friend won't read it because it's second person
2589807
Yeah. Though I do feel a little bad about it.
Fortunately I so far have not suffered from any sort of genre fatigue yet. I hope it stays that way so I can love Trixiexmare stories for years.
)
(Delightfully, MaudxTrixie is picking up steam lately, so that's a whole new pairing to enjoy.
Now here's my review of Rainbow Rocks: http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/382311/shadow-reviews-episode-14-equestria-girls-2-rainbow-rocks
2622824 I'll make sure to check it out and compare our notes
Not as annyoing as that cunt Trixie