Equestria Girls Film Rankings, From Worst to Best · 3:34am Dec 24th, 2015
I don't think I've ever really expressed my thoughts for the "Equestria Girls" series as a whole, though I've made it clear which one I consider the best. I will say this much, I don't hate any of the films, not even the first one which is usually considered really bad by the fandom.
So, as a sort of early Christmas present to you all, why don't I give you my more detailed thoughts in regards to how I see the films? You probably know how they'll stack up, but you may be surprised at some of the opinions I have in regards to them. As always, I mean no disrespect to DHX or Hasbro. They may not always make the best decisions, but they seem to show a willingness to address criticism and learn from their mistakes.
3. Equestria Girls
This is hardly a surprise, I doubt there's anyone out there that considers this film better than either of its predecessors. Though I feel like this product is kind of overhated. It does get some things right, such as the interaction between Twilight and Spike. Even if Spike is largely confined to a supporting role, he seems to work really well, not only keeping Twilight grounded in reality, but providing some impressive comedic relief. Sunset Shimmer wasn't a bad idea on paper, and the IDW comics did a decent job of fleshing out her backstory with what little they had to work with. The problem lies in Sunset Shimmer's execution as a villan, she is just the sterotypical mean girl you see in almost every teenage high school drama, and ever since "High School Musical" that genre of movies has long outstayed its welcome. Sunset Shimmer is supposed to be this powerful antagonist, but she gets by on luck and her entire plan is entirely dependent on the human five never sending a text message asking what happened. The framing Twilight subplot is pointless, and Flash Sentry is little more than the typical bland love interest, though it begs the question of why his pony counterpart is a royal guard, while human Flash seems to be a rockstar. The pacing is good, until the third act when it all falls apart, and even after her transformation it's still impossible to take Sunset Shimmer seriously, though I believe the teenage army was intended to be used as a bargining chip against Celestia. This movie seemed to largely be good at admitting to past mistakes, rather than attempting to be its own thing. Not as bad as everyone makes it out to be, but certainly underwhelming and forgettable.
2. Rainbow Rocks
Everyone showers praises on this movie for being a huge improvement over its predecessor, and is still considered by much of the fandom to be the best product. Lilly Peet is perhaps the biggest praiser for this, to the point where she considers Adagio Dazzle the best villan of FiM, and bashes "The Cutie Map" for not trying to one up this movie. But honestly, I feel like this product is overrated. The big problem I have is the pacing, outside of the final showdown against The Dazzlings, the movie feels rushed. There are several scenes that go by too fast, and so many things that just get glanced over for no reason, while most of the running gags get recycled long past when they should've stopped. The inclusion of pony Twilight hurts this movie way more than it helps, because it only further robs screentime from the characters we're supposed to be focusing on, and her entire inclusion is revealed to be pointless. The behavior of the human five becomes incredibly painful to watch, especially from just about everyone except debatedly Pinkie Pie though even she grates on the ears when she gets whiny (this plauges her pony counterpart as well, but at least it's not too often Pinkie Pie gets high pitched in the show). Sunset Shimmer is clearly the best aspect of this movie, as she grows into her own character, and has to work for her redemption. The Dazzlings are definitely better villans in comparsion to Sunset Shimmer and even Principal Cinch, both of whom were dependent on events that would've happened if not for the sake of the plot. But Aria Blaze only gets a throwaway power struggle line to shine compared to Adagio Dazzle's mastermind influence, and Sonata Dusk's comedic relief (which is fine at first, but towards the end you actually want to facepalm at how stupid they make her). The fanservice, rather than aiding this movie, feels like a hastily applied bandage to cover up the movie's flaws, and Trixie probably didn't need to be included in a subplot considering she doesn't do much. And it's hard to really feel something when the band gets back together, when they break up just ten minutes before hand. And don't get me started on how much Rainbow Dash gets annoying. I get that the movie is called "Rainbow Rocks", but that does not justify letting her hog all the screentime just because some people didn't like her having a smaller role in the previous film. Sometimes, less is more. All in all, I still can't hate this film, but it's not that big of an improvement over its predecessor, and really should've gone through a rewrite.
1. Friendship Games
I suppose it might just be because Josh Haber wrote this instead of Meghan McCarthy, but I feel like this movie finally convinced me that "Equestria Girls" can work as its own series. The pacing is still a bit choppy in spots (though it's more in the fact that they try to cram too many characters into the story), and Principal Cinch ultimately ends up the weakest villan of the entire franchise because of her actions during "Unleash The Magic". Not to mention, there was never really anything that should've prevented Dean Cadence from blowing the whistle on Cinch, or even Twilight doing so when Cinch told her to spy on The Rainbooms. But since no ponies appear until the very end, we're allowed to finally focus all our attention on the main cast, and thankfully there is no fanservice to distract us from that (the shorts rightfully understood that they could use fanservice to get people interested, so long as they didn't overdo it). But out of all the Shadowbolts, only Sugarcoat, Sour Sweet, and debatedly Indigo Zap really get a chance to stand out. Lemon Zest feels like a poor man's fusion between Pinkie Pie and Vinyl Scratch, and Sunny Flare is just thrown into one scene then never heard from for the rest of the movie (she still appears during the games, but doesn't speak). Sunset Shimmer truly comes into her own as a protagonist, borrowing hints of Twilight's behavior, while still maintaining enough quirks and flaws to not feel like a Twilight clone. And while I do miss her shirt from the first two films and wish she'd kept it, her new shirt does help to symbolize that she's moved on from her past. There was going to be a subplot involving Sunset Shimmer getting homesick, and wanting to go back to Equestria, but I believe the decision to cut it out was a wise one. The movie was trying to cram almost a dozen and a half main characters into the run time alotted, throwing in the subplot would've only meant that characters like Sunny Flare and Lemon Zest would've been further neglected. Pinkie Pie's humor doesn't really improve here either, since it's either "Lol, random!" or making her the exposition fairy (which I think is a bad practice that needs to stop. There are better ways of using exposition while making it feel natural), but the scene of her arranging the party and participating in the games do help to make up for it. But at least the main characters don't feel so juvnile this time around, and this movie moves aways from the cliched high school drama setting to great effect. Which is why I consider it the best. Hopefully, Sunset Shimmer's past life in Equestria will be brought up in either the next Equestria Girls movie, or at some point if the franchise should get its own television series (to which I say, get on it Hasbro, what are you waiting for?).
And there you have it.
Honestly, I disagree with the Dazzlings being better villains than Cinch. For all intents and purposes, the Dazzlings were generic "take over the world" villains. Cinch, on the other hand, was not only more complex as a character, but her villain song creeped me out more than anything the Dazzlings did. And, on top of that, Cinch walked out of Friendship Games with her dignity somewhat intact, whereas the Dazzlings got utterly humiliated, so I also have more respect for Cinch.
I personally loved the fanservice, but I can see why it would get annoying to some.
Honestly, I think RD's behavior was one of the best parts of the movie. As I said on your best and worst EQG songs blog, this is basically season 1/first half of season 2 Rainbow Dash, not post Season 4 Rainbow Dash. So, her ego being the way it was made sense. Plus, I found her behavior to be hilarious as well.
I have the complete opposite opinion on both counts.
I consider her to be the second BEST villain in G4, and the best villain of the EQG sub-franchise, precisely BECAUSE of her actions during "Unleash the Magic".
As for Pinkie being used for exposition dumping, I disagree there as well. I personally hope it continues, since:
a. It happens quickly enough where it doesn't feel like it's distracting.
b. Everyone's reactions to her rambling is hilarious.
I do agree with the rankings, overall, though I personally think that Rainbow Rocks and Friendship Games are much closer in quality. Heck, for me the two films were more or less tied until "Unleash the Magic" hit, which then caused Friendship Games to just shoot ahead and not stop with every new thing that happened.
I also agree that the first film is better than most people make it out to be. Although for me, the weakest part of it was the human versions of Snips and Snails.
3639397 I was referring to Cinch in regards to just the Equestria Girls films. The weakest villan of the entire FiM franchise is undoubtably Flim and Flam.
3639513 In that regard, I still disagree, for the reasons that I said in my initial comment.
As for Flim and Flam, I don't really count them as villains, more just antagonists.
I see it like this:
The "true" villains of the FiM franchise are the ones from the two-parters and movies, and antagonists from the regular episodes are just that, antagonists.