My Little Pony: Friends Are Never Far Away (Review)

And I'm back for round two. I know this was a bad idea, but I've already watched this one, and I might as well finish watching the other ones while I'm at it. I decided to reward myself with good Friendship is Magic episodes to encourage myself, so at least I'm getting something good out of this. I also recommend reading my first G3 review first for some context on a few things. Anyway, time for the sequel to Dancing in the Clouds.

My Little Pony: Friends Are Never Far Away (Review)

First, let's talk about the constants: what I said about the animation, soundtrack, voice-acting, and characters in the previous review applies to every G3 special unless I state otherwise. However, there are some new characters. The only one I remember the name of is a pegasus named Thistle Whistle, who whistles while talking and is afraid to visit Ponyville. Giving credit where credit is due, two "character traits" are an improvement over one. In addition to that, she actually learns not to be afraid of Ponyville, so it seems the writers have figured out how to do basic character arcs. It's too bad she's still one-dimensional and that arc is bare-bones at best. In addition to her, there are a bunch of new pegasi, who are also afraid of visiting Ponyville. Some of them may or may not have important roles, but I don't remember for sure or care.

Now let's jump into the story. Timmy Turner is shown the land of pegasi (whatever it's called) by Star Wishes, and then she decides to introduce Star Wishes and the rest of the pegasi to her friends. She obviously says no, because as stated in Dancing in the Clouds, she shouldn't be seen by them (for some reason). At least that's what should happen. In reality she says yes, despite what she said before. It isn't even addressed, so I assume the writers just forgot about it. Either that, or they didn't get the memo that continuity isn't optional. What makes this even more annoying is that they could've made a decent conflict out of Timmy trying to convince Star Wishes do it anyway, and we could've actually learned why they couldn't be seen. Unfortunately, quality doesn't seem to be allowed here. Instead, we get a generic conflict where the pegasi are nervous to visit Ponyville, and the ponies there are also nervous. Timmy's friends actually don't believe her at first, but then they quickly change their minds, making that mini-conflict pointless. Meanwhile, the pegasi start to travel to Ponyville, but Thistle Whistle turns back because she's too nervous. However, she changes her mind when Star Wishes promises her ice cream, making that conflict pointless, too. When the pegasi arrive, everyone celebrates, and the special ends in a huge bundle of I-don't-care.

Thankfully, a lot more things happen in this special, making it feel shorter than the previous one, which is funny because this one is actually slightly longer. The animation also seems to be a little better, though that could just be my imagination. Overall, it is better than the last one, but that doesn't necessarily mean it isn't still bad. It still has an uninteresting story, boring characters, a generic lesson, and bad animation. It also still feels lazy and like a total waste of time, and as a result, I still recommend avoiding it. However, if you absolutely HAVE to watch a G3 special for whatever reason, pick this one. It isn't too long and it's the least horrible one of them all.