IDW Micro Series #5 (Pinkie Pie) Review · 3:54am Jul 28th, 2019
There's quite a few developments to talk about here first and foremost, so let's get them all out of the way. First is some sad news, Russi Taylor, the voice of Minnie Mouse for over year 30 years (possibly over 35 years) as well as the voice of the original Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and several characters on The Simpsons died today at the age of 72. Interestingly, she was the wife of the late Wayne Allwine who voiced Mickey Mouse from 1983 to a handful of posthumous roles in the early 2010's (he died at the age of 72 in 2009). Second, on a somewhat sad note is the news that "Sunset's Backstage Pass" which aired today in the U.S. over a month after it was released elsewhere, is in fact the last Equestria Girls special. They did not in fact know that would be the case when they wrote the special and had plans for at least another season, but it seems Hasbro decided to pull the plug on the franchise rather than continue it past the life span of the show it spun off from. And third, as of now Episode 20 "A Horseshoe In" is the last episode to have an early release in China, China was supposed to air Episodes 21 and 22 today but for unexplained reasons they instead aired "Rainbow Roadtrip" (perhaps they meant to air it much sooner instead of all the early releases and only now got around to correcting it? Or maybe Hasbro finally stepped in to stop the leaks?).
But now let's put that all out of our minds and journey back to an interesting time from long ago. The year is 2013, the show is on hiatus with a fourth season in the works for the fall. The first "Equestria Girls" has come out in theaters to relatively little fanfare, and hardly anyone is paying much attention to it. So the comics are left to fill the void, and this is back when the comics are still relatively new and exciting (as opposed to now where the main series at least seems to have stagnated, the past two issues have been underwhelming to say the least). And thus we come to the short lived (but not the shortest lived) secondary series known as the Micro Series. Introduced in February of 2013, these comics were little slice of life stories focusing on a particular character. But the first two were marred by subpar artwork and lazy writing, and just when the series started to find its footing with the third one, the fourth one featured a particularly insulting portrayal of critics that would sadly go on to not be an isolated incident. Many consider the third micro series comic focusing on Rarity to be the best, but how did this one focusing on Pinkie Pie fare? Well, let's find out.
The comic opens up with Pinkie Pie entering the Golden Oak Library (boy does it feel weird to remember a time when it existed and when Twilight didn't have her wings, it feels so long ago and yet so recent). It turns out she won a pair of tickets to see her idol, Ponyacci perform in Ponyville. And yes, Ponyacci is a ponyfication of a famous Italian opera involving a sad clown (I have not actually seen it but it appears to be among the most well known operas, perhaps due to its theme and titular character). Just before the show, Pinkie and Twilight find an old stallion who says that not even Ponyacci can make him laugh.
After the show, Pinkie and Twilight go backstage and find out that said stallion was in fact Ponyacci himself. Basically, he's grown old and feels he can no longer perform, thus he's retiring. This comes as a shock to Pinkie, who spends the next day sulking in a wagon being pulled by Spike while Twilight is grocery shopping. She complains to Twilight, but Twilight points out that Ponyacci isn't going away and that he may be doing it for his own sake, not because he wants to disappoint his fans. However, Spike inadvertently gives Pinkie the idea to inspire Ponyacci.
This leads into a big musical production known as "Laugh, Ponyacci. Laugh!" and the artwork across the two pages it involves really carries the intended energy and feel. Alas, it is not enough to cheer up Ponyacci. But as he corrects Pinkie's performance and gives her tips, Pinkie suggests that he could open up a school to teach other clowns and Ponyacci agrees. Sometime later, Ponyacci has established just such a school, but Pinkie Pie isn't one of his students. Even though she idolizes him, seeing him has reinvigorted her to keep partying and doing what she loves best, which is what she explains in her letter to Princess Celestia at the end.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the issue? Well, it's an unpopular opinion, but I think it's the best of the micro series (not that that's saying much considering their short lived run wasn't very good). The Rarity one suffered from the obligatory introductions of the mane six that every big two parter feels the need to include (Rainbow says something rude, Pinkie Pie mentions a party, Rarity brings up fashion, etc.), a side story that has Spike sabotage Hayseed Turnip because he views the stallion as a threat for Spike's affections for Rarity (why is it only wrong if Rarity does it to him and not the other way around?), and the spa ponies featured in it are kind of breaking the law since they're marketing their spa under false pretenses even if it's for a good cause. This one isn't without fault though, Twilight's inclusion just feels like it was there because the writers think it looks weird if Pinkie Pie talks to herself (I don't see why she's the only mane six member who ever gets that stipulation, only a few times was that ever not the case). Pinkie feels kind of selfish when she's complaining about Ponyacci even after being told the reasons for his retiring. And Ponyacci's retirement feels a bit sudden (wouldn't there be some kind of announcement?). The artwork is definitely a step up from the early micro series comics, but it's not mind blowing and does look a bit on the cheap side. Still, considering the micro series has all but been forgotten, this is a hidden gem that's worth picking up.
And there you have it. Now, I may try on Monday to watch "A Horseshoe In", but I have a feeling I'm not going to like it considering it debuts a brand new writer, and appears to be a rehash of "All Bottled Up" so we're back to rehashing episodes for some reason.
As far as Rainbow Roadtrip in China goes, apparently it was an intentional decision to air it today, but episodes 21 and 22 WILL air next week.
Neither Wayne Allwine nor Russi Taylor were 72 when they passed away. The former was 62, while the latter was 75.
Thanks for sharing this with us. And, while, Russi Taylor will definitely be missed and did voice Huey, Dewey and Louie in the 1980s and some time afterwards, she was NOT the ORIGINAL voice for Huey, Dewey and Louie (THAT would be Clarence Nash [who was also the original voice of Donald Duck] in the theatrical shorts]). Still, I see your points.