My Review of the MLP movie (mostly just a collection of random thoughts about it) · 4:20am Oct 16th, 2017
Yeah, so I really shouldn't be writing this right now considering how much work I have to do with college apps, legal paperwork, and putting together a care package for my bestie. But I really need to de-stress right now and writing this blog is going to help me do it, so. Here goes. I'm going to dissect plot, songs, etc. first, and then get into a more personal review, like my favorite moments and stuff I would have done differently.
(Absolutely don't read below this point unless you have seen the movie or you don't mind spoilers.)
Okay. ... I actually LOVED the movie. I wasn't expecting to hate it, but I wasn't expecting to love it either. I kind of thought I was going to leave the theater going 'Meh'. But nope. It was PURE FABULOSITY, DARLINGS.
I found the plot to be not only quite interesting, but also quite unpredictable. For example, I was actually expecting Tempest to get her horn back. I was kind of surprised when she didn't. I also wasn't expecting Twilight to have that total blowup and cause an argument with her friends. That was an interesting facet to her personality that we haven't been treated to in the show very much yet, and I think that was one of the biggest indications that this movie was aimed at teenagers and adults rather than just little kids. That was a really deep, dark, and scary moment for the characters. And I'm usually pretty stone-cold and emotionless when I'm watching movies, so I don't say this lightly: my heart went out to the Mane 6 in that moment. It really did. I felt really bad for all of them. Watching all of them troop away from Twilight, watching their friendship shatter even if it was just temporary, actually tugged really hard at my heart. I'm really impressed that this movie was able to make me feel that way. I also loved that this movie was a touch darker than the show: for example, the Storm King shattering at the end of the movie, which to me implies death. That's one of the closest things we've seen to an actual onscreen death. Anyway, overall, the plot was really great and I loved watching our favorite ponies rise to the challenge of saving Equestria!
The animation and songs were also fabulous. I hate to say it because Rainbow Dash is almost my least favorite character, but her song was actually insanely catchy. I'm humming it right now. All the songs were really beautiful and inspirational, and accompanied by some phenomenal animation. I didn't like the animation when I was watching the trailers but I've completely changed my mind now. It's just magical.
The movie was also fairly humorous, and Pinkie Pie's funny side was absolutely on fleek. I didn't like the short hedgehog-y guy though. He got on my nerves. But everypony else was amazing, and the humor definitely played a part in keeping me from getting bored.
Tempest is a really cool new character, though I have to say she wasn't an instant favorite. (Twilight x Tempest, though. Adorable). The movie did a great job of making me care about her backstory though and by the end I really did want her to get her happy ending.
One of my biggest nitpicks about the movie was the amount of screen time given to AJ, Rarity (as usual, the least favorites of most people) and, more surprisingly, Fluttershy. I actually think Fluttershy had a pretty good amount of screen time, even though you can tell it was less compared to RD, Pinkie, and Twilight, but the problem was that she didn't do anything interesting with her screen time! Like she's cute and all but that was pretty much all she did on screen, whereas in the show she's a much more major character. So I would definitely have given Fluttershy some more effective moments if it were up to me. But AJ and Rarity were the ones who really suffered. Sure, they had their moments (especially Rarity: I can't keep going on! We've lost! Sorryyyyyyy...) But they did not have enough screen time! I mean, seriously! I'm especially annoyed about Applejack's lack of presence, because the thing is, that gal is a fighter!!! So how come she isn't helping save Equestria? She didn't get to buck anybody in the face or anything. How come rainbow gets to rainboom all over the screen and pinkie gets to fling cupcakes at people? Where's Applejack? Surely she'd be up there fighting too? I kind of expected to see some more action from her. That being said, she didn't waste a single bit of the screen time she did have. Everything she said was very classic applejack, right down to the sarcasm and the raised eyebrow. I just wish she'd had the chance to shine onscreen like Twilight, Rainbow and Pinkie.
One thing I did love about AJ's moments was her interaction with RD and Rarity, and not just cause I ship Appledash and Rarijack. In the show we barely even get to see AJ and Rainbow interact anymore, but they had multiple cute moments in the movie. I absolutely loved the running joke about cider in the beginning. I think that was my favorite part of the whole movie. Rainbow's just stealing and stealing and AJ is just casually refilling it each time like 'you know what, I'm not even gonna bother yelling at you anymore, I know you ain't gonna stop.' A sign of how far their friendship has come since the early days of MLP. Also I love how every time Rarity does something dramatic, Applejack is always there in the background to roll her eyes! How adorable is that.
So. I'd give this movie a solid 95% rating. (The extra 5% hinged on my overall satisfaction with Applejack's screen time... and I was NOT satisfied). Overall, it was a blast to go see and I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it yet. You won't regret it. Pinkie Promise.*
*Actual cupcake not stuck in my eye, just in case you end up hating the movie.
P.S. FIZZLEPOP BERRYTWIST. ENOUGH SAID.
I'm with you on those points, but I'm also a little annoyed that the princesses were there purely to be captured.
COME ON! Celestia, you and Luna are millennia old and powerful Alicorns and you got owned by a Unicorn with a broken horn. What do you even do now that you can't use the Elements of Harmony?
That little rant aside, I had pretty positive thoughts on the additional cast, especially Tempest and Skystar. Capper....I can take him or leave him. I love Taye Diggs, I just feel they could have done less Artful Dodger and more Jack Harkness or Mal Reynolds with the character. Just my opinion.
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I agree with that too. That seemed strange to me. And YES JACK HARKNESS. Capper would have been so amazing if he were like that lol. Honestly I can just see him trying to flirt with all of them in turn and Rarity is all starry eyed and applejack is like whoaaaaaa hold your horses ya big fur ball.
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I will take your Jack flirtiness and raise you one Floral Bonnet.
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