Review of the 2017 MLP Movie · 4:25pm Oct 6th, 2018
A year has passed since the release of the 2017 MLP movie, and interest within the community appears to remain strong. Artwork and fanfiction is produced on a daily basis, and discussions persist as to whether certain characters will ever make a return. Certainly, many review videos and blogs have been presented, generally dealing with the perceived quality of the writing, character treatment, plot, etc. Thus far, however, little attention has been given to the film’s thematic structure. One might be tempted to be dismissive of any effort in this regard as being a waste of time: what depth or relevance could a commercial film ostensibly created for children have? What is true for the young is meaningless for adults, it might be said, or perhaps even dangerous, as such material distracts from the mechanisms of survival that one develops with age.
In this review I would like to respectfully disagree with the idea that a work of art is trivial because it’s designed for a younger audience, or because of an underlying commercial interest. An attempt will be made instead to demonstrate that cultural elements, being pervasive, may be drawn out of potentially any particular instance of storytelling (whether the story be fiction or “nonfiction”), with the critique of the movie providing a starting point for further application.
As an introduction, consider that the first, and perhaps only G4 MLP movie could be classified as belonging to the grimdark genre. This is justifiable based on the function of war as the primary plot driver (appealing to the origin of ‘grimdark’), but one can readily find other details that align with the genre’s connotations. Imprisonment, slavery, dismemberment, widespread destruction, death, exile, and violence are all either explicitly displayed or strongly implied. Not only are the familiar characters forced outside of their geographic comfort zone, but they’re confronted with concepts that are (mostly) alien to them.
One might then take the typical approach and claim that what we see is a coming-of-age story, in which the once-innocent characters, having witnessed and experienced traumatic situations that belong more to our real world than their fictional one, gain new wisdom and take a step closer to maturity. The latent structure would in this case be development of self-consciousness, recognition and acceptance of reality as it is, and the expectation that the motives of others are in conflict with one’s own (i.e. it’s best for the characters—and for the viewer—to ‘grow up and get wise’). With this interpretation, there are grounds for dismissal for viewers who have already been through this process. For them, there’s nothing to be gained.
But that’s not where the story takes us. In fact, the coming-of-age device is inverted. To be sure, Twilight and her friends learn something about themselves and their relationship, but to a far greater extent it is they who impart the lesson to the rest of the world. How that plays out is the primary point of interest.
The cause of the war is the fulcrum on which the story pivots, so the activity of the protagonists is best understood in that context. The apparent cause is, of course, the motivations of the Storm King. Who is he, and why is he conquering Equestria and the surrounding lands? We know little about the would-be ruler of the world, and there may be a telling reason: there is little to know. The sum of the Storm King’s persona is conquest: his character has not developed beyond the callousness required to pillage, enslave, maim and crucially, to impose his value system on those he subjugates.
His value system is straightforward. The newly conquered are at the bottom of society. Their worth is their market price, as they are slaves (or worse, a source of food and novelty products). Evidence for this is plentiful in Klugetown. We see unicorn (and alternately sourced) horns being sold at vendors’ tents. The residents show interest in buying manes. One even has a ‘collection’ of ponies. The members of the bottom tier have no autonomy, being in cages, let alone any say in what their value is.
Klugetown is presumably a fair representation of the rest of the Storm King’s domain. Those subjects with less compassion and scruples are able to gain an advantage over their fellows by deceiving and exploiting them, constantly seeking a position of strength and greater leverage from which to negotiate. The Darwinian competition escalates until transactions and relationships stop being bargains between independent parties, and the limit of this behavior is getting something for nothing (i.e. slavery, unwilling or unwitting). The mightier and wealthier one is, the less one must pay, and the fewer rules one has to follow. The Storm King, at the top of the food chain, makes the rules (to the pirates’ misery), and abides by none.
So why do the residents of Klugetown value Twilight and her friends as commodities? For the same reason they deal in songbirds, more likely than not. Perhaps it’s an attempt to regain the lost color in their lives, or the remembrance of gentler times. What better way to keep a reminder of freedom than to keep it safe and secure in a cage?
Throughout this episode, the run-in with the pirates, and the scenes below Mt. Aris (and really, throughout the movie), it’s to be noted that the protagonists are largely unfazed by the horrors they witness. They are momentarily exhausted, or frightened, but their joie de vivre comes through unscathed. The exception is Twilight. Desperate to help the Princesses and save Canterlot, she attempts to steal the magic of another realm to obtain sufficient power to overcome her enemies. Of course, this is exactly what the Storm King is trying to do. By seeking power as her means, she puts Equestria (or at least herself) on a moral level with the invader, as neither political entity has an intrinsic right to rule. Twilight’s response is complicit with the ‘might makes right’ ideology. She proceeds to dig the hole of her error even deeper. After she’s caught by Queen Novo and banished from Seaquestria, she denies the importance of her friendship with the others, and even goes so far as to suggest that it was a hindrance to her efforts. Her outburst is a strong parallel with Tempest Shadow’s behavior (as dramatized by the fizz of magic that shoots from her horn while she’s yelling at Pinkie).
As for Tempest, the cynical, pragmatic mare who would school Twilight in the ways of the world, the situation is a bit more complicated. She is tethered to the Storm King by her desire to regain her horn, which she appears to have decided is the key to mastery over her magic, and the full realization of her abilities. She has come to define herself by her injury, and so all of her efforts revolve around it: she has sold herself and the entire world to regain her lost identity. Her flaw is that her submission to the foreign value system in order to restore her sense of self only drives her further from the possibility of acceptance. By pursuing the role of master among unwilling slaves, she’s accomplishing the opposite of what she really wants. The fact that the Storm King had no intention of helping her, and that she never in fact recovers what she lost, illustrates that her goal was a chimera.
Meanwhile, although the conflict with Twilight was a setback, the rest of the protagonists are quickly reminded by their newfound friends that there is hope, and that by cooperating they can retake Canterlot and set things right. The key difference between their approach and Twilight’s (and the Storm King’s) is the concept of willing participation. The pirates, hippogriffs and Capper want to help them because they want to save a world in which the inhabitants are actually free (and maybe get a little bit of revenge). The ponies gave them a view of this world during their adventures by personifying their elements, and in so doing imparted a variety of wisdom that achieves its aims, rather than the self-defeating submission to the world-as-it-is that Tempest subscribes to.
If at this point, the relevance to viewers who consider themselves adults remains unclear, then I’ve failed, and can only say explicitly that the message of the movie, and the product being sold by Hasbro, is hope. The idea is that there is a reason for children to want to play. There’s a world out there waiting for them that makes sense, and they can participate in creating it.
No one is free in a land where nothing is free. Do you still want to play, reader?
Nice analysis!
4949455
Thanks!!
Glad you liked it.
Gotta say, in many ways it almost felt like it was written for me, but I'm sure there some people who would say that's a result of excellent market analysis.
Nice review!
Get outta town...it's its first year anniversary ALREADY?! Happy Birthday, movie! 0_0
4950027
Thank you!
Time to blow out your candle and make a wish, movie
4950423
Movie: Yee! Thank you! :3
You're right, it is the mane six who change others in the story here, not the story which changes them (except for Twilight as you pointed out). I remember they did this a little in, I think it's season 4, where they get the keys to the harmony box thing. Everyone had at least one episode where they transformed another pony's outlook. It's a progression that makes sense (the mane six go from learning to teaching). But for some reason I haven't figured out yet, I've never really liked it in the show. I prefer they be the ones to learn and grow. Interestingly, I didn't mind it in the movie. I like seeing the mane six impress other creatures. Maybe I approach the show differently than I did the movie, or perhaps it's the execution.
I remember people criticizing Twilight stealing the power orb, but it's one of the things I really liked about the story. They say it was out of character, and I might agree, but I liked that the story was actually willing to let one of its main characters do something wrong. Instead of everyone being these perfect vessels of morality. It showed some humanity. I can accept that the execution is out of character (I'm not exactly sure if it is), but what they were trying to do was good, in my opinion.
Really liked your point on the importance of value systems actually achieving their goals, instead of the opposite. That's, like, the human condition right there. It's Adam and Eve eating the fruit.
4960773
Totally. And it wasn't Twilight's usual "oops, my spell went haywire" kind of mistake. She deliberately misled the seaponies and her best friends. Ultimately I think it was out of panic, which is understandable and easily forgivable (contrast with Cozy Glow, who at this point, does such things out of an amoral drive for power).
Brings to mind the adage about living an unexamined life ...