Trivial Pursuit is a Godsend! · 6:23am Aug 26th, 2019
Bless be DHX.
Man...this episode. T H I S E P I S O D E!!
I have something to confess. I have not watched any of the episodes from seasons 7 or 8. I've seen, like, the opener to 9 and now this. Otherwise it's just been short clips and the occasional synopsis. I'm also wildly out of date with the Equestria Girls series and specials. And any of you that know me know that I have a fondness for that material. I haven't even seen the one with the Dazzlings in it and that is a slight upon my siren overlords.
I've been a poor fan of the franchises. And for that I need to apologize to these beautiful fictional creatures.
I know this looks like a shitpost, and in part it is. But really, this episode, Trivial Pursuit, has rekindled my intense love of these ponies. The faces are so round and the the animation is so fucking good! The squash and stretch on these ponies, in motion, is like watching rubber become self aware. I don't know if Flash/Toon Boom animation has smear frames like hand-drawn stuff, but oh my god this shit is pure gold! And not just that! The jokes hit and hit hard! The ship names! Pinkie doing this vvv
It's all amazing. Like I literally haven't felt this jazzed by a random episode in fucking YEARS at this point! Like take this stuff, liquefy it, put it in a syringe and stick it straight into my eye meat! I feel goddamn alive right now! You want a review? Here it is!
See this? ^^^ This shit is GOOD. This is pure fun in animated form. It means jack all to any meta-narrative outside of this episode while at the same time calling attention to all the past these characters have experienced AND dropping hints at stuff thats been going on this whole time in the background that the show never shows us. It is a headcannon primer loaded with enough explosives that you'll need a new cannon after you light the fuse. This episode gives a fucking shoutout to US, not just the fanbase in general, but to us the fanfiction writers and fan artists. It goes about its business telling a small, self-contained story and smoothly, naturally, gives the camera and us the audience, a wink and fingerguns. This is the MLP equivalent to Keanu Reeves' "You're Breathtaking!" moment on stage earlier this year. This is some of the best stuff the show has ever produced and the writers, animators, and everyone else involved with its execution needs a hug and a high-five!
Bless be DHX, the VAs, and the Writers. And bless be a Trivial Pursuit for grabbing me by the short and curlies and reminding me of what I love about My Little Pony, good storytelling, comedy, a damn good Aesop, and just animation.
I love you.
-Fuzz
5111761
Same, but with eggplants instead. This is an example of Perfect Pinkie Pie and I absolutely love it.
Plus it's Twilight at max spaz with zero stakes and negativity to make her seem bad at the whole princess hero biz.
God, it feels so good.
5111765
It's nice to hear some positivity for a change. Sometimes I think I'm the only one around here who still likes the show.
It's such a shame this episode wasn't made five or six years ago when it would've been relevant.
Hasn't that been Pinke for the past near-decade?
But yeah, this episode was pure, condensed fun. And yes, smear frames are indeed a thing in this animation style.
5111765
Perhaps the best part? Right at the start of the very next episode, she outright says that she lets herself go max spaz on trivia night because it's zero stakes. She learned! (And seriously, "The Summer Sun Setback" is wonderful for different but equally valid reasons.)
5111769
Don't worry, friend—as much as it may feel like it sometimes, you're nowhere near alone.
Huh. o.O All the things you are reasons I disliked that episode.
I'm gonna go with "skipping seasons 7 and 8 was a good idea". :B You're lucky!
5111823
yell hes! Character growth! It is the fucking butter on top!
5111846
I can totes get that. This episode, in the greater context of the series as a whole, has TONAL WHIPLASH spray painted on its fat ass. The characters are laughably off-model for most of the runtime. It's chuck full of nods and winks at fandom stuff and even pokes at the hornets nest that was the Shipping Wars. By the math alone, this SHOULD be a bottom tier filler episode.
But for me, it transcended all that to become more than the sum of its faults. The wacky ass animation and over the top expressions that jumped from sharp to soft at breakneck pace reminded me of the best of Tex Avery. The juxtaposition of such a mundane activity as a small town trivia game set in a fantastical world and played with such intensity reminds me of some of the best dead trees I've hallucinated to. Everyone going to eleven and no one calling them out on it which in turn makes Pinkie the fucking Straight Mare reminds me of MY best writing and yours, frankly, among other esteemed horsewordsmiths. It was a perfect storm of all the right elements coming together to make both the grossest looking pizza and the tastiest fucking nachos at once. I have a smile on my face rn, reliving it in my head as I type this and I literally cannot recall the last piece of media that did that to me.
5111926
I can definitely see how enjoying the animation would make it a good bit more watchable.
And hey, it wasn't as bad as the episode before it. :)
Comedy FTW X3