My Little Pony The Movie: Pinkie Pie Analysis · 1:27am Jun 11th, 2018
I posted this originally for the Pinkie Pie Group, but I figured, eh why not, post it here too 
Enjoieee
What’s up you guys? Or Pinkinators as PixelMoon would put it. It’s no secret that our gal Pinkie Pie had a big role in the movie, which was a pleasant surprise for Ponk fans. Some even would say that she stole the movie entirely! Although, it is saddening that some of the other characters (Cough Applejack cough cough Fluttershy) had to take the backseat in this movie.
But today, we’re going to break down everything that concerns the pink one, and boy, we have a lot to cover.
Right off the bat, Pinkie Pie starts off with having a big hoof in helping with Songbird Serenade’s concert. She’s no slacker when it comes to giant festivities! Zoom, she’s baking a cake, zip, she’s pulling a cart of party supplies, shwoop, she’s wielding props together. Hardworking Ponk is hardworking. Parties. Are. Serious.
The dynamic between Twilight and Pinkie in this movie also caught me by surprise. It’s been so long since we’ve had them interact like this. When the show first began, these two were the ideal comedic duo. Twilight, the intelligent no-nonsense brainiac, and Pinkie, the zany and out of control foil who constantly drives the braniac up the wall.
It’s reminiscent of the characters we adored as kids, like SpongeBob and Squidward, Dexter and his sister DeeDee, Lazlo and Edward andI can only assume Pinky and the Brain (Never seen it!). Maybe a platonic Cosmo and Wanda thrown in there.
In a way, it’s like the writers of this movie went back to the show’s roots and presented their relationship in a deeper way, which is intriguing. Well, at least for me.
Ah, yes, the old “PINKIE!” groan from Twilight. Let’s put up a counter on that, shall we?
“PINKIE!” Counter #1: Covered in icing
Evil clouds, skip skip, Tempest, skip skip, the horror, skip skip, Hungry Hippos reference, skip. I’d point out that her Pinkie sense should’ve kicked in before the Storm Troopers’ arrival, but I guess the plot dun need that.
We all know that Pinkie Pie’s not actually a blood-thirsty psycho (I hope), but it’s hard not to be afraid of that.
This is where Twilight’s frustration starts to set in. At least in Equestria, Twilight is more inside her element. Even if she found herself without much help, there was still something she could use to her advantage. Libraries she could research, places she knew, companions she could rely on.
Approachable. Reliable. Safer. More predictable.
Out here, in the unknown, Twilight has none of these things. This is a place of potential danger, a place where ponies get sold! SOLD! Which is why it was more than irksome when Pinkie Pie gets everybody’s attention after telling her not to.
Strike one.
Of course, Pinkie Pie means only the best, and in her mind, all she has to do is simply ask around like she normally would do. She even offers to trade stuff, which is kinda neat. (Also, comb you’ve never used? Then exactly who’s hair is that?)
Didn’t expect a reference to Maud, but there she is! I wonder what her reaction would be to all this.
She doesn’t quite grasp that this is not the place to do that kind of thing until they're surrounded.
But Meow Meow, get out of here meow. Despite Twilight’s warning about trusting Capper, Pinkie can’t resist the opportunity of making a new friend, especially one that insists he can help. He saved them after all, so how could he possibly double cross—
Oh.
“PINKIE!” Counter #2: Falling to Certain Death
Pinkie, why. When someone is holding a rope in between their teeth to help us cross, we 👏 don’t 👏 jump 👏on 👏the rope. It’s a good thing Twilight was fast enough, ‘cause your head would have been split wide open, and then where would we be?
(Still waiting on that ‘What if’ fic, cough cough, bats eyes at readers.)
I like how whenever Pinkie has a near-death experience, she just brushes it off. Twilight looks like she’s about to smack her upside the head for doing something so dangerous, but no time for that! There be pirates to deal with! Aarrgh!
No real note here. Just cute Pirate Pie.
Rainbow Dash is just itching to show off her rainboom, and Pinkie cheers her on despite Twilight’s warning. I mean, who don’t wanna see a rainboom, but still.
Strike Two.
What is she looking for???
I’ve heard people say it a billion times. Why is Pinkie laughing at the fact that they’re plummeting to their deaths? She’s not crazy, I promise, ish. There’s terror at first, I mean, who wouldn’t scream.
But this was all Twilight’s plan, and Pinkie knew this. Twilight was there to catch her the first time, and Twilight would undoubtedly come through again. And when that’s realized, you might as well have fun with it. When you know for certain you’re not going to die, falling though the sky can be quite fun. It’s like having a parachute, and in this case, Twilight is the parachute. Pinkie’s simply skydiving. That’s how deep her trust in Twilight goes.
“PINKIE!” Counter #3: Diving in after mysterious glowy creature without a moment’s thought
“Way to wait to the last second, Twilight!”
Umm, excuse me, Missy? You’re the reason why y’all almost drowned in the first place! They followed you! 
Even when hope seems to be lost for Equestria and time seems to be running out, Pinkie can’t bear to leave a sad face behind before they go. The others are quick to object, but Twilight does a complete 180.
I’d like y’all to take a moment to observe this exchange here. Get a good picture of what’s going on in these few seconds and keep it stored up in your mind, because we’ll be getting into this later.
For now, let’s party! “One Small Thing” is a pretty catchy song indeed. In my opinion, not as catchy as “Friend that you need”, but I do catch myself humming it from time to time. Pinkie Pie is in her element here, brining smiles to gloomy faces and livening up a dreary atmosphere. That one small thing turned out to be a huge thing, because it made Princess Skystar forget about her loneliness, even for only a few minutes.
Obviously, she’s seen all there is to see in the Seapony Kingdom. There’s not a spot she doesn’t know, or an activity she hasn’t tried to keep herself busy with. Yet Pinkie Pie and her pals manage to make everything fun again, despite having seen and done everything a gazillion times. They brought sparkle back to her home, and that’s awesome.
And as my fellow admin PixelMoon pointed out, Pinkie showing her Element of Laughter through it all. With One Small Thing, and with Capper sneaking the mane five in to save Twilight, Pinkie kept smiling! (Well said!)
One moment of fun and laughter left a lasting impact on the Seaponies, and even brought joy to Queen Novo herself! So much so, that she agrees to let the ponies borrow their pearl. Unintentional victory achieved!
Also, y’know, if Twilight hadn’t tried to pull a fast one, Pinkie Pie would have saved the day 
But she did try to pull a fast one, and book horse is trapped! 
Also, Queen Novo could have easily thrown them into an ocean dungeon for Twilight’s crime, but she simply kicks them out—which is also kinda worse, because now they’re out in the open, and far from the safety of the Seapony Kingdom. Ouch, Novo ☹
Alrighty, now here we go. The moment that made our jaws drop to the floor and sparked a debate in the fandom. Tempers rise, and harsh words are spoken. We’re expecting Twilight to get called out here, but it wasn’t Spike, or Applejack or Rainbow Dash, or heck, even Rarity that did the honors.
It was PONKA FREAKIN’ PO, Y’ALL.
And I think that’s why Twilight got so defensive. Because when the bearer of laughter herself starts yelling at you, you know you’ve done goofed.
Okay, switching to serious mode. Let’s break down this fight, because it says a lot about Pinkie Pie’s character. But first, let’s talk about the two sides. In my personal opinion, I’d say both were in the right and wrong here.
Twilight’s under immense stress, with all their loved ones imprisoned back at home, being hunted down personally, and trying to keep her friends safe in wildly unsafe environments along the way. All her warnings went unheeded, and her friends didn’t seem to be taking things as seriously as the situation called for. Stealing the pearl was dead wrong, but desperation is a powerful thing indeed. As the last princess, Twilight has a weight on her shoulders that none of the others have, and if they don’t succeed, or if she gets caught, Twilight would think that she would fail not only Equestria, but also other Kingdoms and cities, which have also been greatly affected by the Storm King. Twilight knew her mistake, but when Pinkie Pie of all ponies stepped in and threw it all back in her face, that was strike three. Blow-up.
But on Pinkie’s end, it goes a little bit deeper. It’s no secret the Pinkie Pie places a lot of trust in her friends. Overall, she holds them in a pretty high regard, especially Twilight, their fearless leader. Her trust in Twilight is boundless, and in this movie alone, we’ve seen that in the beginning with her pep talk speech, and again when the mane six fell from the Pirate Ship.
There’s also Pinkie’s eagerness to help out. In Klugetown, Pinkie insists on the fact that asking around for favors was a good idea, as she proudly proclaimed, “Don’t worry, Twilight! I got this!”
Now, let’s return to the moment before One Small Thing. When Pinkie Pie first suggested that they cheer Skystar up, the others weren’t sold, but Twilight seemingly agreed with her. For Pinkie, this was a pretty big deal. Twilight saying ‘Yes’ to a plan of hers meant that Twilight trusted her, that Twilight had her back, that she had faith in her.
At the beach, it’s clear that Pinkie was just as disappointed and put off as the others that Twilight resorted to stealing, and that they were back to square one—but notice how Pinkie didn’t start shouting notjust because Twilight ruined their chances. It was when she realized that her plan was just a use for distraction. Right now, the rug’s been swept from under Pinkie’s hooves here. She placed so much trust in Twilight, but in her eyes, Twilight didn’t feel the same way. Trust is an important thing to Pinkie, and when that trust is broken, doesn’t matter who you are, you’re gonna have a problem.
Yep, Pinkie and the others should have been more focused during the mission and less of a hinderance, and yep, Twilight shouldn’t have stolen. Both were in the right and wrong in my opinion.
But now we get to the line.
Maybe I would have been better off without friends like you.
Of course, we know that Twilight didn’t mean what she said, it was just a word-vomit moment coming from pent up frustration. But to Pinkie? Wow. Dagger in heart. Something that would make season one Pinkie Pie keel over. Or maybe it’s worse, because they know each other a lot better at this point, and they’ve built upon their friendship over the years.
This takes the fire out of both of them, and Andrea Libman does a great job with handling Pinkie’s heartbreak here. Hats off to Tara Strong as well, they both did a stellar job.
The Mane 5 part ways, leaving Twilight and Spike to await Twilight’s inevitable doom XD
OPEN UP YOUR
Back to the Mane 5, Spike delivers the bad news. Bring in the Calvary! I can give Skystar a pass for knowing where to locate them, they didn’t move very far, but how in the heck did Capper and the Pirates even find them, and without a ship no less??
Ah, whatever. Rescue mission is a go. Eventually.
Now, I know this is a Pinkie Analysis, but I can’t let that passing moment between Twilight and Songbird go. The slow rendition of “Rainbow”, that single look. This brief moment is pretty excellent, and actually gave me a chill when I first saw it.
Okay, now back to Ponk.
Overselling it with the pouting, but nice, nice...
That little moment with Capper was cute too!
The implications of this is disturbing as heck O.O Don’t eeeeeever mess with a friend, no matter how bad they messed up before. ‘Cause you will get a double surprise.
Long Live the Quee—oh, never mind, Twi Twi save you, Tempest 😊 But time’s running out for the two of them, and fast.
Good thing Pinkie’s got her giant party cannon! I do believe this is the second time the party cannon’s been used to defeat the bad guys, correct me if I’m wrong?
Sweet, sweet reunion. A hug is worth a thousand words. Me and a great friend of mine, when we were kids, we used to have this saying: Only the best of friends have the biggest of squabbles.
When Twilight first came to Ponyville, Pinkie was the first one to greet her (Kinda), and that connection between them is sort of like a reminder of Twilight’s first real friendships in Ponyville. Again, it’s like the writers are bringing it full circle, kinda.
But as always, Dash always interrupts perfect mushy moments, but it is important this time, heh heh.
Pinkie turns it all over to Twilight to finish this thing, but Twilight includes all her friends! We’re doing this together!
A lot of not okay things happened in this movie, but Twilight literally being ripped from Pinkie’s hooves was definitely not okay! I mean, of course she’s gonna make it, but let’s just pretend Twi’s a gonner.
They literally just made up, barely, and now she’s just…boom, gone. Man, have some mercy for pink horse, writers! Geez!
It makes sense that Pinkie would find consolation in Applejack, because #1: she’s Twilight’s right-hand mare in the mane six group. Besides Spike, Twilight used to rely on Applejack for guidance and stability the most, and Applejack would certainly take up the mantle of being leader if Twilight’s not around. I really wish they could have shown that in the movie, but I guess it was all timing and new characters. If they do make a sequel, I’m hoping for more of that.
And #2: It’s just a theory and not relevant to the movie…and heck this is just my opinion, but the fact that the possibility of Applejack and Pinkie Pie being cousins is what kinda makes the scene for me. It’s not confirmed at all, but it does make sense that Pinkie would seek comfort from her cousin. But since it’s not canon, it’s good to see that friendship on display there, even though we didn’t see so much of it in the film.
I’m surprised Spike didn’t say anything, but I’ll chalk it up to silent denial perhaps.
Oh, wait she alive jk lol!
Pinkie and Skytar are tight now, which is cool, but I’m surprised that Twilight and Novo don’t interact at all when she arrives. No mention of the pearl? All forgiven for saving them I guess? And where’s Grubber at? Did he give up and reform, or did he slink off in the darkness? Oooh, sequal villain, nudge nudge wink wink. 
Tempest made a dangerous move in telling Pinkie her real name, because she can’t take it back, like ever. If Pinkie had an OC, that name would be the one.
And that concludes this analysis. This movie was a lot of fun. It’s not without flaws, but overall, it’s a good time and worth watching if you haven’t seen it yet. When I heard that Meghan McCarthy was working on the film, I was pretty pleased. She handles characters pretty well, particularly Pinkie Pie’s. She writes her with respect, and that’s what I always admired about her as a writer. The fact that we get to see both sides of Pinkie Pie’s personality in a big motion picture is huge.
It’s all Pinkie fans can hope for, not seeing our favorite character as the wacky crazy party pony who can’t take anything seriously when the situation calls for it.
In this movie, she’s the wacky crazy party pony with a big heart and steps up when she needs to. Major plus.
Welp, that about does it for me! Hope y'all enjoyed the movie. Bye!
This was thoughtful and lovely
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4880542
Thanks guys
Nice! And a nice selection of clips and stills <3
Also, I liked the movie for sure, though it's timeline tango gets me a bit. It's sort of like EQG in that it tangos with the cartoon, but the cartoon doesn't quite integrate them into itself. (unless season 8 started doing this, haven't started it yet). It also made me wonder about Discord or Starlight.
Plus, the stuff you mentioned in the first half irked me. How much no one would really listen to Twilight. It was like everyone had taken a few shots of Monster and espresso before the adventure and just couldn't resist making spectacles of themselves. Mostly Rainbow and Pinkie.
I felt, from Twilights perspective, that the attempted theft is understandable. Given Novo's initially supreme reluctance to help (which was also understandable given she just saved her species from the storm king with her mcguffin), and needing to find some McGuffin to save the princesses and the entire world from a mad/crazy Monkey-Yeti.
Honestly, I'd have loved an "oh snap" moment where Twilight reminds everyone of what they stand to lose. The cakes and rockfarm, the Apples and their farm, Sweetie Belle, animals, etc. Really just whip them into getting serious about things instead of trying to blow their cover and not make progress.
That might just be me being mean though...
Blarg, word-salad XP
Thanks for the write-up though!
4880569
Agreed. And yeah, a lot of players were missing from the field, though I can understand that they didn't have the time to introduce and explain Discord, Starlight, Flurry Heart. Yet the guards could have been there, I'll never understand that
I think things would have made a lot more sense if the movie had premiered after season three or even four, fitting in with Twilight's new anxieties of being a Princess.
And thanks!
Summer I freaking love you
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Love ya too!
Great read just wanted to post this gif since it's a crime for it to be omitted from a post like this.
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/350/044/837.gif
Ooh sweet analysis. And I pretty much agree with everything here! There definitely were a few times when the characters were dumbed down a little for something to happen, sorta like what you mentioned with Pinkie sense not going off when the Storm King's ship came blaring into Canterlot and again when Dash did the rainboom. Isn't she akin to military now? She has the history of the Wonderbolts down, shouldn't she get that making a big literal rainbow marker where you are is a supremely bad idea? Pfft I dunno. Writers didn't think that one through too well. At least she had the sense to not try to fly off to get Twilight herself near the end.
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So cute!
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Thanks! And yes, it's often a common problem in animation, where others have to be brought down to make things happen or build others up. There needs to be a balance.