My Movie Review on My Little Pony: The Movie · 8:55pm Oct 17th, 2017
Greetings, my friends.
This is your top-of-the-line film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review to share.
Today, for my 2nd film analysis, and my very first to be on an animated film, I'm gonna give you guys my take of "My Little Pony: The Movie (2017).
Here's the rundown of this tale:
The ponies of Equestria are getting ready for the nation's very first Friendship Festival, with pop star pegasus Songbird Serenade as the main attraction. But, an evil army commanded by a broken-horned unicorn named Tempest Shadow and her sidekick Grubber crashes the party and takes over Equestria to gain the magic of Equestria's four princesses, and put it in the hands of their master, the Storm King. Now, it's up to Princess Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Spike to leave their home and seek help from hippogriff turned seapony royals Queen Novo and Princess Skystar. Along the way, they encounter a feline con artist named Capper, and a crew of parrot pirates lead by Captain Celaeno.
As a fan of the fourth generation of My Little Pony, I often couldn't help but find myself on the edge of my seat as I waited for this movie to come. I frequently watched the trailers for it, and had even made posts displaying my curiosity regarding it.
When it finally came...I found it to be absolutely worth the wait.
Now, I would like to note that my review will be the opposite of what other critic reviews have said. They've given the movie mixed or negative reviews because of it being a movie related to a toy line.
But, you know what I think?
I think they didn't go deep enough to really scratch the surface on the movie they were reviewing.
Everything about this movie was brilliant from start to finish.
For instance, the story by Meghan McCarthy and Joe Ballerini, and the screenplay by McCarthy, Michael Vogel, and Rita Hsiao, were marvelously spot-on.
Everything about the filmmakers' work in this movie was especially to the point of where you'd say things like, "Wow! My mind is totally blown!" They created a film that was epic to the point of suspense, dramatic to where you'd feel like crying, and funny to the point of laughter! The team incorporated great messages in the story involving friendship, hope, and leadership as well, which are all things that people can live by and take to heart.
The animation that was done by an entire team of animators lead by veteran MLP director Jayson Thiessen was likewise awesome. One big thing they had to do was replace the equipment they used for the show called Adobe Flash and instead use Toon Boom Harmony. With the new equipment, they were able to make the backgrounds of each scene look real, especially the water. The part where our heroes go underwater and meet the sea ponies was so realistic, you'd feel like you're in the ocean. The character designs were amazing as well, especially with the characters that had fur or feathers, such as Capper and Celaeno.
On the directing, Thiessen does it again by making another winner to the franchise, and marking an excellent comeback to theatrical hand-drawn animation. The dramatic and comedy moments were perfectly timed, the cinematography was colorful, and the camera angling to every scene was so engaging, you wouldn't want to miss it even when you want to get more popcorn.
The characters were wonderful too! Each of them had a quality and personality about them that made them so interesting and lovable. The writers kept the current characters from the show the same, and the new characters were also well thought and in all seriousness great! The voice acting done by the people old and new were top-notch as well. They played their parts beautifully, especially to where you'd think their names would become synonymous to those characters.
But, the most intriguing performances come from Tara Strong, Emily Blunt, Taye Diggs, and Liev Schreiber. Their performances made their characters realistic with so much feeling, personality, and emotion. The performers showed the world why they're among some of the very best in the film industry, that's for sure. Out of all of the characters, Twilight Sparkle, Tempest Shadow, Capper, and the Storm King were the ones that particularly got my attention hook, line, and sinker, and they developed marvelously.
The only thing I couldn't help but wish was that the Storm King had a lot more screen time since he was the main antagonist, but at least he had enough time to showcase his personality and what kind of villain he is. As a matter of fact, the Storm King is one of my favorite MLP villains regardless of his lack of screen time, because he was extremely fun to watch.
Finally, the music and songs made by veteran MLP musician Daniel Ingram were additionally wonderful, particularly to where it'd make you joyfully emotional. The songs had lyrics that were heartfelt and fun, and they're powerful enough to touch you deep down into your soul. The overall score even had a fantastic sense of power that was on the level of an animated Disney film.
Overall, by watching it and looking at it closely without falling into stereotypes about movies based on toy lines, you'll find that this movie and everything about it is one that's worth seeing. It delivers something that hasn't been seen for a very long time in the animation industry. A movie full of heart, passion, and commitment.
So, I rate "My Little Pony: The Movie (2017)" five out of five stars.
I enjoyed the movie too; what brony wouldn't? But there were definitely flaws. Often moments would feel oddly slowed down somehow, where the camera would linger on things a little longer than they should. And the humor is often hit-or-miss. It doesn't help that there would be this pause after a joke is made where you're expected to laugh, but if you don't laugh, it can feel awkward.
I do love the music and soundtrack, though. The animation is spectacularly done as well, the plot seemed to work well for a MLP movie, there were enough interesting characters to keep me engaged, and I honestly wouldn't have missed this no matter how flawed it might be. It's for kids. Yeah. But at least we can enjoy it as well.
Here are my thoughts about this movie:
In my positive thoughts, the animation is beautiful, the environment is great, and the characters are great (only most of them). The musical is enjoyable to hear even the lyrics itself. They're also some references that made me laugh, and they also add some special guests. Tempest Shadow (played by Emily Blunt from Edge of Tomorrow) is the best villain here, and she showed us her true origin (we'll get to it later).
In my negative thoughts, the story's filled with overused cliches that really bothers me (like the main villain with no origin, for example). They're also dark moments where the Storm Creatures turn everypony to stone, and would that even just kill them? And what did they do to Twilight Sparkle? I understand she had anger issues due to her Aspergers syndrome (in my headcanon), but come on! She's my favorite pony. During their journey, she's very impatient which made me so anxious. Speaking of which, the biggest problem of this movie is Storm King; I hated him so much, he's annoying, he's cruel, and he never tells the audience why is he doing all this (because it's a 'Fantasy movie'), and thus he's the one who deserves to die just like Mills from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom who got eaten alive by Rexy (Also, what was the point of people getting traumatized by Storm King's death and regarded as 'dark'? I call this one hypocritical because they're several kids movies involving deaths of villains). And when the main characters made their destination, the Hippogriffs, mentioned by Celestia, isn't helping them anymore. I mean, what was the point of that? What would Celestia tell them how are the Hippogriffs gonna help Equestria? It would've made more sense if they find some sort of alien artifact that would defeat the Storm Creatures once and for all, but nope they decided not to.
But I didn't hate this movie. It has flaws, but I like it. I'm giving this movie a Four out of Five.
4991195
Because they wanted him to make more appearances so that he could be explored more in the future, that’s what.
Simply put, this movie was ruined by bad word of mouth from big named online critics who basically had no intention of talking about Friendship is Magic at all, but had to now that it was a movie, otherwise no pay check for them.
IGN gave it a lower score than The Emoji Movie. Don't know what they were watching, but it certainly wasn't this.
Sure it's not perfect, no movie ever is, but when all is said and done, it's still better than ALL the other Hasbro Studios films combined.
I've made my own review of the movie, which you can find here:
[PROS + CONS] My Little Pony: The Movie (2017)
Be warned though, it's a BIG one.
Also, one little error:
Missed out Zoe Saldana.
You made a really good review of the movie. I myself really enjoyed the movie when I went and saw it at the movies. I really loved Tempest Shadow, because she's so bad ass, and her character reminds me so much of Darth Vader from Star Wars.
However, I do have some dislikes and complaints about the movie and its plot.
The first is to do with the invasion of Canterlot at the start of the movie. As you saw in the movie, Tempest Shadow along with Grubber invade and take over the Equestrian capital, and capture 3 out of 4 of the alicorn princesses, with Twilight and the main 6 escaping capture.
The problem with that is the fact that the royal guards were not present at all. If I understand, Canterlot has battalions of them to defend the city. It's so unlike Celestia and Luna to have Canterlot completely defenseless, even during a Friendship Festival. When Tempest Shadow landed, and the Storm Guards attacked, the royal guards should've been there.
As Director Krennic would say:
I think if the writers had added the royal guards in the movie, we could've gotten a really epic, exciting fight in the movie. Could you imagine how exciting it would be to see the Royal Guards fighting against the Storm Guards, with Tempest Shadow taking down any royal guards that engaged her like if they were a bunch of mall cops?
The other thing is that Starlight Glimmer was seen during the movie. But did she contribute to the plot in anyway? No.
I recon Starlight should've had a role in the movie too. They could've had her in the movie by being there to help Twilight and the others escape during the invasion. Like her and some royal guards hold off the Storm Guards for them to escape. And at the scene where Capper, the Pirates and Skystar join the main 5 for battle, Starlight could've appeared too with a cavalry. She would say that she and some royal guards managed to escape from the invasion, and she ordered some of them to seek aid from other allies, like the yaks of Yakyakistan, and two other races that a friend of mine told me they have, but didn't mention who or what for major spoiler reasons. In addition, they would rally as many royal guards as they could from different parts of Equestria to aid in the final battle.
The royal guards along with the yaks and one of the two races would fight outside Canterlot as a diversion to draw much of the Storm King's armies away from the city. All while Starlight, the main 5, Capper, the Pirates, Skystar, and the other of the two races would sneak into the city by the same secret passages they escaped in that were thankfully not all discovered by Tempest and the Storm Guards. There they would all gather into the city undetected, secretly freeing the enslaved ponies (civilian and royal guard alike), and take the Storm Guards in the city by surprise.
But did that happen in the movie? No. Instead, we got this.
As you see, none of them even attempted to free any of the ponies enslaved to help in the fight for Canterlot, and helpful characters like Starlight were nowhere to be seen to help them. They probably did save and free enslaved ponies off screen, but there was no indication that they did in anyway shape or form.
So I'll ask you this. Would you think this idea I thought of would've made the movie far more enjoyable and better? Let me know what you think?
4991316
Thanks for the heads up.
4991324
I do.
As a matter of fact, you’ve just inspired me to do some stories to address what’s been happening with Starlight, as well as why Shining Armor and the royal guards weren’t there. And also why the other races were unavailable.
4991334
Awesome! Glad you think so, and that I gave you inspiration. I'd love to read them.
I should remind you that Starlight Glimmer was seen for a brief second in the first song, We've got this together.
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vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/6/65/Trixie_shooting_off_fireworks_MLPTM.png/revision/latest?cb=20180113002455
Just bare that in mind while creating them. Some people forget that sometimes.
4991349
Now I'm very disappointed that Starlight isn't the main role of this film. Why did they put her as the main role? Is it because of the lazy writing? I don't know.
4991349
Thanks.
And actually, from the time I saw her and Trixie in the film and first trailer, even only for a brief second, I never forgot they were at the festival.
4991358
Well, you should read what I had to say earlier. My thoughts of the movie should be in the comments below.
Animation - 8/10
Story - 9/10
Screenplay - 5/10
Characters - 9/10
Locations - 9/10
Score - 10/10
Jokes - 5/10
Light humour - 7/10
Dark moments - 4/10
Overall: An enjoyable film to watch, though there is room for improvement in the story-telling and screenplay.
4991182
Brandy has a point. Good film, but slow on some parts. Enjoyable to watch, though.
4991478
Pretty much my feelings exactly.
4991324
Yes. Yes it would have.
Rogue One is awesome!