G5

So, (finally) watched the new movie The Next Generation A New Generation today.

Normally, I prefer 2D animation to 3D, and this was no exception, but I'm still impressed with the end result. Not that I'm an animation buff or anything, but if I had to imagine an ideal 3D version of the show, it would be somewhat reminiscent of this. Overall, I liked it! The new cast are fun, and I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Plot-wise, you get what you expect for a story crammed into 90 minutes that has to set up a broad universe and still keep kids entertained with musical numbers and punchlines. The abrupt ending certainly leaves a lot of doors open to interpretation as to exactly what happened after the end, though the credits scene certainly suggests the tension between the three races (tribes?) has abated, as we see three fillies, an earth pony, pegasus and unicorn playing together as friends.

The new locations were... interesting. It was definitely strange to see the unicorns relegated to living in the woods like superstitious hillbillies, especially given that in FiM, they were usually portrayed as dominating the educated, rational and upper-class elite of Equestria. Also, missed opportunities for a duelling banjos joke everywhere. The pegasai now live on the ground - presumably the loss of flight entails the loss of cloud-walking. Also, they seem to have usurped the position of the economic elite, based on what we saw of Zephyr Heights. Meanwhile, Maretime Bay is... there. Apparently the Earth ponies went pseudo-cyberpunk. Good for them. I'm sure there's more to this new world, but it looks like the pegasai are the only ones with a functioning government, and based on what we saw of the royal family being arrested, there's more to it than an absolute monarchy. Or maybe I'm overthinking a kid's cartoon.

So... what happens next? Does Sunny become a princess, or is she just a regular pony who happens to be an alicorn? It's been an indeterminate amount of years since G4 (presumably at least a thousand) and the entire world has changed so much that I don't see everyone running up to accept some random mare as their new leader. Then again, the circumstances surrounding Celestia and Luna's ascension to the throne are somewhat obscure, so who knows? Alicorns presumably haven't been seen for at least a millennium, so Sunny's transformation is a revolution no matter what.

In any case, it's good to see the new generation shares a universe with the old. I had hoped to see the reason for the loss of magic explained, but once again, 90 minutes isn't a lot of time to build a universe. Since magic wasn't affected the last time Equestria was disunited (before the founding of Equestria), it's entirely possible the loss of magic was the cause of the discord in the first place. Maybe they'll explain it, maybe not. If they don't, it just leaves more room for headcanon!