My Little Pony - the Movie: Spoiler Free Review

After watching a few reviews, I did go into this lowering my expectations somewhat. And I do think this was for the better, but this is not to say that this was a bad or exceptionally disappointing film either.

The main issue is the story is pretty thin. If you've seen any Disney or Don Bluth movie, then you know this kind of plot. I don't think much of us expected much more, but usually the show itself is pretty good at giving us more depth to the world and its surrounding stories to make us feel involved.
Most of the side characters are loosely linked together, plus most of the travel between scenes happens because the plot says so, without any other justification. If we take an episode like Lost Treasure of Griffonstone, then we get more surprises and depth as to why their culture fell apart, and how friendship can rebuild it.

However, I must say that the characters and setting are the parts of this movie which make it fun. Even though some characters seriously don't get enough to do *coughFluttershycough*, they still have enough depth in their archetypes to tie the grand adventure and "unity will save us!" narrative. Not to mention a few genre savvy jokes here and there manage to get an unexpected laugh.

I think the "Sea Ponies" are the best new characters in the film, since the film actually slows down to take the time to give their culture a little more elaboration compared to others. In addition, both Tempest and the Storm King were pretty generic villains, but their animation and voice acting managed to give enough life to give them a presence on screen.
What I like most about the film is how it explores Twilight's inner conflict as a Princess with a big threat. Yes, she has been in this kind of situation before (and arguably done better). But this time she doesn't have all the magic of the Princesses to make her exceptionally powerful. So it's easy to understand why she makes some of the risks she does.

If there is one thing absent from this film which would have made it 10x better, it would be Discord. I know it would be an issue with Celebrity voice actors, but show HOW the Storm King acquires his magic to force Twilight and co on her journey. Give us something more which gives us a back story on how Discord can cause trouble for the villains as a side plot, then there would have been more drama to get a wider audience invested in the plot.

As it stands, as you may have heard by now, My Little Pony: the Movie is going to be a fun ride for fans of the show and for kids. The upgraded animation certainly gives it quite a flare, and if you've ever enjoyed a Disney film in your life, this could give you some fond memories!

Those outside the fandom or without kids? I'd say skip it, or wait until DVD/Streaming. It's not going to blow your mind or anything. It's just a fun expanded episode of the show with more characters, a wider world and bubbly personality to watch on days where you just need something cute and fun to take the edge off a rubbish day.

I grade it at a B-.