Friendship is Card Games: Movie Magic · 11:08am Jul 2nd, 2017
Others have mentioned this, but there’s something important to note about “Dance Magic.” It was originally intended as a prequel to Legend of Everfree, which would make vastly more sense in terms of the timeline. Doylistically, they switched gears mid-production (hence the spring dance after summer camp,) but Watsonianly? I’m going with my standard policy for bizarre temporal phenomena in pony: I’m blaming Starlight Glimmer.
In any case, time for a proper sequel to LoE. After all, that was basically a pony-human-flavored Scooby Doo movie: A bunch of meddling kids and their dog investigate a mystery that culminates in an encounter with the genuinely supernatural. And “Movie Magic?” That’s a textbook Scooby Doo episode.
You’d think they’d have caught this issue while editing the script. Or they decided to go with a single name for the character throughout the film in order to avoid confusion in the audience that wasn’t entrenched in the books. Either way, Dash is probably on the verge of getting thrown off the set.
Also, who, if anyone, is Stalwart Mojo talking to in that scene? Though it’s nice to see them use practical effects instead of just greenscreening everything.
Interesting to see the fellow with Timber Spruce’s coloration wasn’t related to them. Instead, he’s a Spielbergian figure. Nice way to thread the movie and this special together.
Hmm. I’m pretty sure the movie studio pushes the probable location of the human world’s Canterlot closer to the west coast, assuming identical geography to our Earth.
It’s really nice to see human Twilight bond with people other than Sunset. Just because I ship it doesn’t mean I don’t want to see one purple bookworm flourish as much as the other has. It’s also nice to see that Twilight’s comfortable enough with magic to wear her necklace on a habitual basis. (Heck, not even Sunset’s doing that, though that’s likely more for plot reasons than anything.)
I have to imagine casting for film adaptations is all kinds of complicated in the Equestria Girls world. Not only do you have to find an actor who can handle the role, you have to get the skin tone right. If you thought Scarlett Johansson in that live-action Ghost in the Shell movie was weird, imagine a lime-green Daring Do.
Okay, this is kind of weird. Bon Mot is my headcanon name for Bonbon’s father. Including that being a cover identity for him. It’s complicated; I really do need to write How Lyra Met Bonbon.
I do love how the Sword of Altoriosa is a golden macuahuitl. Those things are awesome.
Ah, Juniper Montage. Enjoy seeing her in a positive light while you can, folks.
I’m going to assume Juniper wasn’t actually acting as a gofer for all of Canter Zoom’s movies.
For Spike’s sake, I hope those crunch bars didn’t have any chocolate in them. Magical or no, dogs and theobromine don’t mix.
Huh. What do you think the odds are that human A. K. Yearling is also an adventurer archeologist? Probably better than even.
Wait, given what happens later, what was that crashing sound that got Canter’s attention? And what caused it?
Let’s split up, gang! (See what I mean about this being a Scooby Doo episode?)
I admit, after AJ tempting fate, I’m a bit disappointed Dash didn’t say “Hey, tell us where you’re hiding the relics.”
Good to see that the girls don’t need to wear the ridiculous outfits to use their geode powers.
Sadly, we shall never see the majesty of the cupcake fountain.
Dash has a point. The cloak and body stocking actually makes the oh-so-mysterious, totally-not-Juniper figure much more conspicuous.
I know it’s kind of pointless, but I like the girls in the Power Pony costumes. Especially Mane-iac Sunset. And Pinkie as Filli-Second is nicely ironic considering that she’s not the one with super speed this time.
… though, thinking about it, given the time constraints involved, I’m pretty sure they were just forcibly stripped and stuffed into those outfits. And now I’ve made it weird. 
And now a musical chase scene! All we need now is for Spike to develop a speech impediment. (Or for Dash to realize that now would be a very good time to pick up the pace, but again, plot demands she doesn’t.)
Huh. I know Dash does all the sports, and by extension track, but I wasn’t expecting all of the others to have roughly the same amount of stamina. Still, credit to all of them. That is Dana Scully levels of running in heels.
A live-action Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs? That seems more than a little bizarre, though it definitely fits as Pinkie’s favorite film.
Now that can’t be sanitary. Who knows how old that pudding is? I can only hope they’re making a sequel. Or a TV series.
… Holy crap, DHX makes the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs series. Which I didn’t realize was a thing until now. This is much more metareferential than I thought.
I’ve never understood how nets work when it comes to capturing people.
You’d think “I’ve got this” would be a phrase up there with “No offense” for these girls after Gloriosa rammed it into the ground.
Very nice touch in explaining why Dash can’t just call someone. Perfectly reasonable.
I guess Sunset doesn’t have much concern about mental privacy. Of course, given Equestria’s attitude towards psychomancy, I can’t say I’m surprised.
You can see Twilight physically forcing herself not to ask how Pinkie’s hair works.
That Fluttershy line… I don’t want to make a mountain out of a “Dashie,” but it’s hard not to.
Telekinetic lockpicking. That is cool. And a nicely creative use of Twilight’s powers.
Huh. Far fewer shenanigans involved in capturing the culprit than Scooby Doo led me to expect.
Yeaaaah, sorry Juniper, but an apology won’t solve everything in this world. In any case, her motives definitely set the tone for her character. This is not a girl with a firm grip on cause, effect, or the fact that she’s not the center of the universe.
Apparently Chestnut doesn’t register outside reality if something’s angering her.
… Was that the Ark of the Covenant at the start of the last scene?
In all, this was definitely a fun adventure, though there were a few dialogue-heavy moments that dragged the pace down. Still, overall, quite fun. And now the Humane Seven have IMDB entries… which should be quite interesting if human Sunset ever sees herself in that movie.
But that’s a matter for another day. The cards are out of makeup. Take one!
Chocolate Infusion W
Instant
If target attacking or blocking creature is a Human, it gets +2/+2 until end of turn. Otherwise, Chocolate Infusion deals 2 damage to it.
Sunset was shocked to learn how many familiar foods were technically poisonous in this world.
Cupcake Fountain Expedition 1W
Enchantment
Landfall — Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, put a quest counter on Cupcake Fountain Expedition.
Remove three quest counters from Cupcake Fountain Expedition and sacrifice it: Search your library for an enchantment card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.
Quiet on the Set 2W
Enchantment
Landfall — Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, your opponents can’t cast spells this turn.
Chastising Rainbow Dash is best done with a megaphone and a large lot.
Maretropolis Defenders 4W
Creature — Human Warrior
Heroic — Whenever Maretropolis Defenders becomes the target of a spell you control, you may exile another target creature until Maretropolis Defenders leaves the battlefield.
”It’s off to Arkhoof for you.”
3/4
Catch Red-Handed U
Instant
Kicker 2(wb) (You may pay an additonal 2(wb) as you cast this spell.)
Counter target activated or triggered ability from a creature. If Catch Red-Handed was kicked, exile that creature.
Acclaimed Actress 1UU
Creature — Human Citizen
U: Acclaimed Actress becomes a copy of target creature until end of turn, except it’s still 1/1.
No role too ludicrous, no makeup too extreme.
1/1
Elusive Author 3U
Creature — Human Scout
When Elusive Author enters the battlefield, draw a card.
3U: Exile Elusive Author. Return it to the battlefield under its owner’s control at the beginning of the next end step.
Muses don’t leave forwarding addresses.
2/2
Stalwart Stallion 3UU
Legendary Creature — Human Rogue
When Stalwart Stallion enters the battlefield, search your library for a legendary artifact card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.
2U: Gain control of target legendary artifact.
2/2
Tormenting Saboteur 2B
Creature — Human Rogue
Skulk (This creature can’t be blocked by creatures with greater power.)
Whenever Tormenting Saboteur deals combat damage to a player, that player loses 3 life unless he or she sacrifices a nonland permanent or discards a card.
Her motives are a mystery. Her identity unknown. Her actions unmistakable.
1/1
Rain of Pudding 3B
Instant
Distribute two -1/-1 counters among one or two target creatures.
Storm (When you cast this spell, copy it for each spell cast before it this turn. You may choose new targets for the copies.)
The expiration date isn’t a suggestion.
Regretful Gorgon 3BB
Creature — Gorgon
Deathtouch
Heroic — Whenever Regretful Gorgon becomes the target of a spell you control, you may return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand.
”I’d never thought about how my sculptures felt.”
3/3
Canny Intern RR
Creature — Human Minion
Nonbasic landwalk
Prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)
“Ask me for another smoothie. I dare you.”
2/1
Desperate Assistant 2R
Creature — Human Minion
When Desperate Assistant enters the battlefield, you may have another target creature’s controller shuffle that creature into his or her library, then reveals cards from the top of that library until he or she reveals a creature card. If you do, that player puts that card onto the battlefield, then shuffles the rest of the revealed cards into his or her library.
2/2
Living Fallacy 3RR
Creature — Elemental Fish
Flash
Living Fallacy costs 1 less to cast for each Clue your opponents control.
When Living Fallacy enters the battlefield, you may change a target of target spell or ability to Living Fallacy.
3/3
Pick Up the Trail 1G
Instant
Put target card in a graveyard on top of its owner’s library.
Investigate. (Create a colorless Clue artifact token with “2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.”)
A journey of a thousand deductions begins with but a single candy wrapper.
Adventurer’s Bullwhip 2
Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature gets +2/+0.
Whenever equipped creature attacks, you may pay (2r)(2r). If you do, gain control of target noncreature artifact defending player controls until end of turn. Untap that artifact. If it’s an Equipment, you may attach it to equipped creature. When you lose control of it, unattach it.
Equip 2
Staff of Altoriosa 2
Legendary Artifact — Equipment
Artifacts you control named Arrow of Altoriosa, Staff of Altoriosa, and Sword of Altoriosa have hexproof.
Equipped creature has hexproof.
Alone, the Altoriosa relics are potent. Together, they are unstoppable.
Equip 1
Arrow of Altoriosa 3
Legendary Artifact — Equipment
Whenever equipped creature attacks, Arrow of Altoriosa deals 1 damage to each creature defending player controls.
If you control artifacts named Staff of Altoriosa and Sword of Altoriosa, Arrow of Altoriosa has deathtouch.
Equip 2
Conclusive Evidence 3
Artifact — Clue
2, Sacrifice Conclusive Evidence: Draw two cards.
As Twilight’s magic manipulated the lock, her mind manipulated the facts. In mere moments, the truth was clear.
Prop Closet 4
Artifact
4, T: Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal an artifact card. Put that card into your hand and the rest into your graveyard.
”Some of it has sentimental value. Some just hasn’t been sold off to collectors yet.”
—Canter Zoom, director
Sword of Altoriosa 4
Legendary Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature gets +3/+0 for each artifact you control named Arrow of Altoriosa, Staff of Altoriosa, or Sword of Altoriosa.
Whenever equipped creature attacks or blocks, if it has power 6 or greater, it gains first strike until end of turn.
Equip 3
Chestnut’s Outrage UR
Instant
Target creature you control gets +3/+0 and gains hexproof until end of turn.
The world could end and Chestnut Magnifico wouldn’t notice, so long as she was mad at something else.
Tricorners’ Village
Land
T: Add C to your mana pool.
T: Add CW to your mana pool. Activate this ability only if you attacked with two or more creatures this turn.
Taste the spices. Hear the chatter. Ignore the boom mikes.
Starship Corridor
Land
T: Add C to your mana pool.
T: Add CU to your mana pool. Activate this ability only if you drew two or more cards this turn.
Hear the engines. See the stars. Ignore the greenscreen.
Caballeron’s Lair
Land
T: Add C to your mana pool.
T: Add CB to your mana pool. Activate this ability only if a player lost life this turn.
See the plots. Feel the malice. Ignore the camera.
Mount Vehoovius
Land
T: Add C to your mana pool.
T: Add CR to your mana pool. Activate this ability only if you cast a noncreature spell this turn.
Feel the heat. Smell the sulphur. Ignore the plywood.
Jungles of Mareapor
Land
T: Add C to your mana pool.
T: Add CG to your mana pool. Activate this ability only if a creature entered the battlefield under your control this turn.
Smell the blossoms. Taste the fruit. Ignore the plastic.
I've been leaning more and more toward them being on the west coast for a while now. Consider that LoE wasn't billed as a summer trip, even though that would seem like the most logical thing. And now Dance Magic confirms the school year isn't over, so maybe LoE was more like spring break?
The Power Ponies costumes were pure fanservice (in the sense of being a geeky reference), and I am totally okay with that.
The pudding. Dear Lord, the pudding.
I hadn't heard that, but that does explain some of the oddities: the complete lack of geodes and the inclusion of the Crystal Preppers. It would've made more sense for them to be raising money to stay at Camp Everfree rather than raising more money for it after they've already done a benefit concert.
They probably have plenty of good makeup artists who can help with the skin tone issue, but it would still be easier to find an actor who's naturally a close match to the character.
I was distracted by that part too. I thought Dash and maybe AJ and Pinkie should have still been running ahead of the other girls at the end. Rarity is probably used to running in stilettos; the others not so much.
I did enjoy seeing them in the Power Ponies costumes, and they actually made them work in human form. But why are they still called the Power Ponies in the EG-verse? Their costumes and powers aren't even equine-themed (maybe super speed and lassoing are vaguely equine, but that's a bit of a stretch).
Oh, no! However will the girls escape from the net that Juniper just tossed over them?
Anyway, this was a fun little special. It was entertaining and nostalgic with the Scooby Doo plot and all the practical effects on the movie sets.
Y'know, I really liked this short, but it invalidates that one minific I wrote about Daring Do being a corporate shill. :B They really shouldn't have shown us the preview images and been all, "LOOK, KIDS, IT'S DARING DO!"
Because it wasn't. :|
4589822
Again, blaming Starlight. I'm going to mentally slot "Dance Magic" before LoE. It just makes more sense.
Any particular aspect of the pudding that merited that reaction?
4589852
This raises another issue: All cosmetics in this universe have to cover as many shades as house paint.
Yeah, Pinkie and AJ running out of breath at the same rate as Twilight just feels wrong.
Maybe the human ones' origins involve them traveling from a strange land of sapient horses?
4589853
Turns out some of the movie's merchandising hype leaked into our universe.
You know what's REALLY ironic? Human Fillisecond's costume has stiletto heels.
Think about that for a minute.
A lot of people are commenting on that. It's likely to lead to some pervy fanfiction. (Not from me, but from at least a few people.)
Zef and I were bantering back and forth about that too. I mean, Pinkie's just guzzling buckets of pudding that's God knows how old...yikes.
Entanglement. Ever have trouble working your way free from a blanket you've gotten tangled up in? It's like that only worse, because your limbs get caught up in the holes in the net weave. The purpose of a trap net isn't to contain you, it's to debilitate you while whoever netted you moves in for the capture. Most people have almost zero chance of getting up and running away while tangled up in a sufficiently large net.
I think I made a blog post about that a couple of years ago...
I like how this special was directly lifting the first Daring Do book. It's nice to see the EU get thrown a bone every once in a while.
Especially after the previous special kinda-sorta invalidated another chapter book due to timeline kerfluffles.
4589922
Purely its age/expired-ness.
Consider that Pinkie mentioned trying to get the girls to watch the movie it was from multiple times, which likely means it had been available on home video/horse-Netflix-equivalent for a few months. Then tack on a few months for the theatrical release and the inevitable delay between leaving theaters and getting to home video. Then tack on anywhere from three months to a year from the end of filming to the theatrical release. Then hey, who knows, maybe filming took a month or two.
That is how old and rancid the pudding is. And she is literally chugging it by the bucketful.
4589988
Thankfully, the very fact that there is still a set indicates this is for a currently-in-production series. I mean, the studio does seem to be very poorly managed in general, but I'm pretty sure sets don't get left up for years after the production ended
Iiiii dunno, what about ponies themselves?
Living Fallacy got an honest laugh out of me when it clicked what was going on. I'm picturing it as a giant herring made of flame now.
As for how nets are used, most of them will have weights along the outside edge so it's really difficult to lift them while also having to deal with the entanglement aspect 4589967 brings up.
I've actually been in a net designed to capture people, complete with weights, and it is not in anyway easy to extract yourself from such a thing.
Great work with that land cycle, especially the verb pattern and cycle in the flavor text.