Jun
29th
2017
So, the MLP movie trailer just dropped... · 12:46am Jun 29th, 2017
Okay, I'm very much psyched about how impressive the movie looks based on the trailer. Having said that, there's something I have to say after the break. (Mild spoilers for MLP movie trailer and the story if you haven't caught up yet ahead...)
Me many many months ago: "I've got it! TechQuestria will invade Canterlot with an airship! That'll be the kind of visually stunning imagery that we'd never see in the show!"
Me thirty minutes ago: "Okay, let's fire up the trailer here and see what's--"
"...ARE YOU F
KING KIDDING ME?!"
But still, it's actually a really amazing looking trailer. The show and characters have never looked so good on screen. I mean... wow. 
Hehehehehehehhe. I am so excited for the movie now.
Too be fair, Techquestria is still on a far larger and impressive scale.
That things a dinky dirigible compared to what you made.
I don't dig the animation or art style. Just turns me off.
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I agree, but I think that's just cause I'm used to the vector mlp I've been seeing all these years. I hope that I'll actually get used to this style too after a few minutes of watching.
I somehow prefer the show's art style. This looks more like common 3D CGI with a little bit of bland rotoscoping. The ponies -- especially their heads -- just don't translate well into 3D for me.
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The MLP artstyle is the main reason I even gave the show a chance in the first place, as I bet is the case for most people. Now it looks like a generic modern kids cartoon (and not the good kind) and it reflects badly on the series as a whole. My main point when explaining this show is how great the artstyle and animation is.
Something like that you wouldn't get caught with your pants down with. And of course the so-called "Royal Guard" is caught holding the idiot ball again. Just gonna wait for it on HBO or the like.
I'm seeing that animation and I don't know how to feel about it. On one hand, it looks ok with the new things, but on the other, it doesn't look good on pre-existing stuff.
Any one else got a 2d disney vibe from this?
I agree on the "wow".
And you're right, it would never happen in the show. But in a film...
As for the animation, I like it. It is more fitting for a cinema film than vectors, with the required fluidity and effects. I personally find the ponies still are cute.
the ship design reminds me of the star ships from that one planet in Star Wars the one with the flying bugs I can't remember the name of it
I think I'll withhold my opinions on the movie until I've seen it, to many times I've judged a movie, game or piece of music with above/below expectations only to be wrong later (a few times I was ashamedly so).
*EDIT* pinkie pie is freaking adorable in the trailer.
They've had schizo-tech in the show since forever. Remember Twilight's encephalograms on Pinkie Pie, and her computer analyses of same?
Now remember how they light their rooms sometimes with candles, sometimes with electric lamps, but have no visible power lines?quickmeme.com/img/ac/ac0c27270a2fb6a7da5c92d8303a95d556b655bb4d55e54ec7ef75b7c232e0b8.jpg
The art style for the movie. Its watchable. There are moments where it looks like cgi backgrounds & props with non-cgi ponies over it. The pones dont look to bad, there really squishy looking.
My biggest thing is all the new anthro species. I liked the whole non-anthro approach to pony. Iron Will being the exception. Tirek was in-between. I dont know.
Im going to watch it. And it will more then likely enjoy it, though I know im going to be irked by some of the things they've done in the movie.
A case of great (or strange) minds thinking alike?
But seriously, the trailer was awesome!
Okay time to
procrastinate on writing the next chapterer, reply to some posts!derpicdn.net/img/2015/6/27/924883/full.gif
4586471
More proof that I should just write for the show! Heck, I'm not positive that I didn't write "Rock Solid Friendship." Maud liking stand-up comedy? Check. Maud having difficulty connecting with someone but wanting to? Check. Pinkie meaning well but not handling the situation right? Check. Maud hooking up (platonically) with the OC who lives with Twilight? Big check!
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Oh, believe me, the schizo-tech is a real thing. It partly influenced the way the story was written: were it not for the notable appearances of advanced tech in an otherwise pre-industrial society, Celestia might not have been portrayed as a technophobe to explain why some tech never showed up!
4585970
Yeah, that's true! I guess size does matter!
(immature snickering)
4586153
Exactly! At least in my story the guards had zero time to mount a counterattack. Tempest's ship came in on a giant, ominous cloud. Welp, more evidence mounts that the Royal Guard are mostly just for show. Jesus, Celestia, how the hell did you avoid getting assassinated for 1000 years with just these guys around to guard your massive white flank?!
But on to the bigger issue: does the trailer look good or not?
In the NO camp, we've got:
4585982
4585989 (sort of)
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We've also got some neutral folks. (The heck is wrong with you... this is the internet, have a completely one-side opinion and yell at everyone who disagrees with you like a normal person!)
4586429
I'll address Ponkers in a bit, actually. But also...
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And then there's the YES camp:
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First, I love all the great comments about this. I'm not one to tear down other people for their taste in things with the possible exception of "displaced" fics, so whether you love it or hate it, thanks for stating your reasons!
I totally get why people find the art shift off-putting or if they're ambivalent about it. The show has its own style and seeing the movie shift to a less, er, "vector-y" style is definitely jarring. The CGI backgrounds and objects especially stick out compared to the flatter, pop-up book style the show has, and I do indeed see the contrast between that and the more traditional 2D look the characters have in the trailer. All of that comes down to your taste, and if it bugs you, then it does.
But I actually love the look. For one thing, seeing that flowing animation style reminds me of the 2D animated films of my youth. I grew up on cartoons, especially 2D animated movies. And you know when the last time I saw a new western 2D animated film was? Honestly, I don't either! Heck, here's a question for you... what was the most recent 2D animated film put out by the Disney company? Any idea?
It was Winnie the Pooh, which came out in 2011. And I haven't even seen it. And it looks gorgeous.
Now we're getting a film which, while not quite as ambitious, still shows some effort to look fantastic. The smoothness and shading on the characters, their fluid movement as they walk and talk, and the vivacious expressions on their faces as they react gives them a greater sense of weight and cartoony energy that I sometimes felt lacking in the TV show. For example, I just adore the look on Pinkie's face when she goes from panicked to gleeful as she shoots through the air. Especially for a character that's so energetic and animated anyway, this animation style just works. Heck, that 2-second shot alone is the best argument for giving this style a chance, if you ask me.
Heck, you know what this character style reminds me of more than anything? It's not Disney... it's fan animations!
Compare the trailer to Duo Cartoonist's "The Moon Rises," for instance:
Even the CGI stuff doesn't look cheap or "plastic," like some CGI does. I'm impressed to see Canterlot for the sprawling city it is, and they even came up with some new designs rather than resting on their laurels. Notice the throne room shot? They gave Luna a throne alongside Celestia's! The evening shadow spreading over the city as the airship touches down? The show never quite got that look down, either. I'm just saying, there are some upsides for an imagining of Equestria, and I don't think you can dismiss it as lazy (not that anyone is, I'm just saying).
I suppose that's my own preference coming through, but seeing the more cinematic look for what should be a big screen experience rather than a two-hour long TV quality episode is heartening to me.
In any case, sorry for geeking out about this.
...Still mad that future readers are going to think I stole the airship idea from Hasbro, though.
4587109
The design of Canterlot has always been a sore spot for me.
On one hand, it's a beautiful rendition of an almost elvish style city.
On the other, defending a capital thats 50% free floating disc of stone is something that sets off alarm bells everyway in my mind.
All it would take is one mage of any of the season opening/ending levels to blast it's supports and moorings to kingdom come and it's coming down from it's own weight, even more so with how the cities grown past it's original architecture.
Which means additions, weaker joints were old meets new
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...maybe the support and moorings are... magically enhanced??
(Fortunately, book_burner's provided the perfect image for this occasion!)
camo.derpicdn.net/5fe311103c51d71dd2049c1e083b9cd4852f5baf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.quickmeme.com%2Fimg%2Fac%2Fac0c27270a2fb6a7da5c92d8303a95d556b655bb4d55e54ec7ef75b7c232e0b8.jpg
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Actually, I don't think that technophobia/technoreluctance would be necessary to explain the schizo tech on the show. One part could be explain by the presence of magic - since magic is naturally accessed by the ponies (in special, by unicorns), they would think in terms of spells or magical objects to solve problems, not machines. When a machine is designed, it is to be single-purpose, to solve an specific problem - so to them, magic is a general-purpose solution, technology is a specific-purpose one.
And so there a certain conservative tendency, in special by earth ponies, if Applejack is the average example - if it works well, why try thinker on it?
Of course, it is just possible that ponies just follow a different tech path than humans...
But now I'm curious about what the conflict would be about if Celestia wasn't technoreluctant...
I'm excited to see the movie, and I don't find the animation too off-putting. The style on display in the trailer reminds me of Don Bluth's films, maybe Lilo and Stitch... at least in regards to the way they animated dialogue/facial expressions. I've got to tone down my excitement some, however, because the writing could make or break this movie. I'd be willing to forgive all the weird bipeds stomping onto the screen if the writing is on point. Give me relatable, multifaceted characters and a fresh plot, and I'll watch it a hundred times.