My Little Pony: The Movie ~ Fan Club 198 members · 257 stories
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DaveMan1000
Group Contributor

Hello everybody DaveMan1000 here and now that My Little Pony: The Movie has been out for over three months, I think it's time for a full review.

Now this movie has received a lot of slack from "professional" critics, who basically threw together half-assed rambles/rants and passed them off as reviews, simply because they didn't want to talk about it, but now had to otherwise they wouldn't get paid.

Now unlike this "professionals", I am instead going to judge this movie as it should be judged, by its content. In this review, I will be looking at several categories and analysing the Pros & Cons of each one, before giving my final verdict.

I would like to clarify that this is strictly my opinion. If you disagree, feel free to say so in the comments section and please be civil! We're all friends here.

Also, be wary that there will be spoilers ahead (which will be marked), so if you haven't seen this movie, you might want to before reading on.

With all that said, let's kick some booty!


- Pros & Cons -
My Little Pony: The Movie

Let's start this off with the most important aspect of any movie:


The Plot

Princess Twilight Sparkle is set to host the Festival of Friendship at Canterlot. But before the celebration can commence, the city is invaded by the armies of The Storm King, lead by a rogue unicorn named Tempest Shadow. With the other three Princesses out of commission, Twilight and her friends: Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Spike, must venture out beyond Equestria for help against this new threat in order to reclaim their home.

So, is this a good plot?

Pros

I would say yes. Throughout the series, all the adventures the ponies have embarked upon have been within the boundaries of their homeland. Actually having them venture outside their comfort zone opens up the chances for a much bigger scope of the outside world and how different things are outside Equestria and how the ponies can adapt to this new setting.

On the flip-side however...

Cons

If this movie does indeed take place after Season 7 of Friendship is Magic, then they shouldn't have needed to leave Equestria at all to receive help against The Storm King, as they have several allies within their home turf: Discord, the Griffons, the Dragons, the Yaks and the Changelings. Now this is primarily to do with the fact that this movie has been in development ever since Season 4, and thus has a lot of inconsistencies with the show. Also, bringing in Discord would've probably lead to a Deus ex Machina, which is never a good thing. But still, a small piece of exposition as to why he's absent would've been nice. Plus, given the movie's relatively small budget, it would've probably cost even more to fix these plot-holes than just ignoring them altogether.

So yeah, the story itself is good, but the inconsistencies are something we're just gonna have to live with.

Now it's time to move on to something the show has excelled at since day one:


Cast & Characters

Friendship is Magic has some of the very best voice talents in any animated series to date; both experienced veterans and young new-comers, as well as the occasional celebrity talents.

The fact that the original cast were given the spotlight in the movie and the celebrities were relegated to the villains and supporting roles confirms that the team behind this series know which characters run the show (so to speak) and which ones will probably only be around for a few times at best. In almost every other animated movie, the celebrities would be everywhere and the professional voice actors would be shoved into secondary roles; it's very rare that it's the other way around.

So the show has brilliant voice artists turning in stellar performances, as well as celebrities who give it their all. Does the movie continue this trend?

Pros

Yes! Absolutely! All the cast members brought in their A* games for this one; the original cast are still as great ever, with each getting moments to shine in different ways. The movie also does a nice job of re-introducing these characters, either by passing lines of dialogue, subtle animation touches, or through the songs. This was a great move, as it provided returning fans with what they remember fondly, as well as giving newcomers a small taste as to who these characters are, should they have never seen them before.

While on the subject, I think now is a good time for me to tackle the movie's most controversial scene: the beach fight. People are basically in the same mindset for this as they are about the rehearsal scene from A Canterlot Wedding, and while I don't intend to dispute the righteousness of that scene, I will do so for this:

Throughout the entire quest, Twilight has been the only one whose remained on track the whole time, as evidenced by the fact that she never joins in on any songs after the first one; the others however have been galloping off with every creature they've met along the way, something Twilight sees as a distraction. Her breaking point is when she becomes so desperate to save her home that she planned to steal the Pearl of Transformation and probably leave her friends in Seaquestria while she fights off the The Storm King's forces by herself. After that plan backfires, she finally snaps and takes her anger out on Pinkie Pie.

A lot of people called this a huge Out of Character moment for Twilight, but let's view this from her position: her kingdom was seized in a matter of minutes, her mentors have been petrified and the only hope lies on the other side of the world. Something like this has never happened to Twilight on such a huge scale before, so it would naturally put a lot of stress upon her, and seeing her friends singing and dancing around during a time like this would only intensify that stress; as whenever they do, it puts them in more danger and further off track from their destination. Eventually that stress would culminate to her believing that they have completely forgotten the mission, and thus, the task falls to her alone.

Yes, I know stealing is never the right thing to do, but as far as character development goes, this is something we've never gotten from Twilight. She's made mistakes before and has been reprimanded for them, but she never tries to justify them; the fact that this was the first instance of such, shows how much she's been broken down; that even after seven seasons, she still has some ways to go.

As far as I'm concerned, this was a bold move and I applaud it. Normally, whenever moments like this occur in movies these days, it's usually very stiff and emotionless, and is resolved in no time. But here, we get a very powerful, intense, borderline frightening scene of two friends fighting and splitting up, and none of it was dumbed-down. While I agree it's a very hard scene to watch, it in no way detracted from my personal enjoyment of the movie (though I personally think the third act of Ponyville Confidential and the entirety of Newbie Dash are even harder to sit through), and I will gladly admit that I do get a little teary eyed whenever I see this moment. Tara Strong and Andrea Libman were spectacular in this scene; do they deserve a Best Voice Performance Award? Yes. Will they get one? No.

And of course, no theatrical animated movie is complete without the obligatory celebrity roles; and the ones chosen here were perfect for each of their respective characters:

Emily Blunt as Tempest Shadow is our dark and edgy villain that we've come to expect from the last few seasons of the show. The way she rarely raises her voice makes it all the more powerful when she actually does. Also, from what I gathered, Emily's performance also was the basis of Tempest's body movements in the movie and it definitely shows. It's no surprise she quickly rose to become a fan favourite.

Kristin Chenoweth as Princess Skystar was very bubbly and energetic without being annoying in any way. The fact that she opted to style her hair in the same manner as Skystar's mane only serves to prove her dedication to this character.

Liev Schreiber as The Storm King absolutely stole the show whenever he was on screen. After a lot of dark and menacing villains from the show and even Tempest in the movie, it's nice to see the return of an antagonist who's allowed to be playful and funny; something we haven't really had since Discord in Season 2. For his first kid friendly role, he really knocked it out of the park every chance he got.

Michael Peña as Grubber was a nice contrast to the constantly intimidating Tempest. The fact that the majority of his lines were ad-libbed, proves how much finesse Michael has when given the opportunity. Ever since the first trailer dropped, everyone assumed that he would be the annoying comic relief who always buts in when he's not needed, but Grubber actually keeps to the back quite a bit throughout; he does chime in every now and then, but never outstays his welcome.

Taye Diggs as Capper brought in plenty of charm and charisma; very fitting for a cat, which are normally quite slick and elusive animals. I know many people were somewhat apprehensive to his design choice of an anthropomorphic cat, but remember; such a character has existed in My Little Pony before, in the form of Catrina from Generation 1. Plus, given Friendship is Magic's tendency to revitalise concepts from older Generations, it was only a matter of time before this one was given the same treatment. Also, it was established in Season 1 that anthro dogs exist in this universe, so why not cats too? He was also a character I never expected to get a lot of screen time, or even a song for that matter, but I was pleasantly surprised that he did. If any of these characters ever make a comeback in the show, Capper is one I would happily welcome.

Uzo Aduba as Queen Novo gave off a very laid back and nonchalant performance, quite befitting for a ruler whose been sealed off from the world for who knows how long.

Zoe Saldana as Captain Celaeno was a blast to watch. She brought plenty of energy and attitude, as well as a nice slice of humility for her introduction. I should also mention that of all the people who sang in the movie, this is only Zoe's second time doing so (first being The Book of Life) and she was amazing!

I'd also like to give a shout out to all the other returnees from Friendship is Magic, who either reprise their roles, play new ones, or both: Nicole Oliver as Princess Celestia and Lix Spittle, Britt McKillip as Princess Cadence, Peter New as Big Mac, Brian Dobson as Verko, Max Martini as Boyle, Mark Oliver as Mullet, Michael Dobson as Bulk Biceps, Samuel Vincent as Party Favour and well as additional voices provided by: Adam Bengis, Andrew McNee, Tegan Moss, Sabrina Pitre, Rhona Rees, Richard Ian Cox, Alistair Abell, Caitlyn Bairstow, Julia Benson, Christine Chatelain, Paul Dobson, Rondel Reynoldson, Jason Simpson, Sarah Troyer and Siobhan Williams.

Wow! That's a lot.

So we have great characters with great performances, clearly following the hoofsteps of the show. Is there a downside to this?

Cons

Due to the amount of characters present, both old and new, coupled together with the movie's length, a lot of them end up feeling greatly underused. Why did you think I had so little to say about Princess Skystar and Queen Novo? Because they don't show up until the end of the second act, to which the latter of that two doesn't show up again until the very end.

The Storm King is also guilty of this. Despite being labelled as the "big bad" of the movie, he's really only on screen for about fifteen minutes; granted it's a great fifteen minutes, but still fifteen minutes regardless. Many brand him as "underwhelming" because of this, but I still feel that both King Sombra and The Pony of Shadows were much bigger disappointments; while all three of these guys hand build-up, Storm King actually had some payoff, the other two didn't.

Sadly, this doesn't just apply to the newcomers; despite all the Mane 6 and Spike being present throughout, most of the focus goes to Twilight and Pinkie. Rainbow Dash gets a few moments in the spotlight, even starting off a song and letting lose her legendary Sonic Rainboom. We also get a few entertaining moments from Rarity and Spike, the latter of which also gets a great moment of moral support for Twilight after her fight with Pinkie.

But the biggest offenders out of all the ponies are Applejack and Fluttershy. Outside of the first song, they really don't get any specific moment to shine throughout the movie and I can only recall about two quotes from both of them off the top of my head.

And Songbird Serenade. Even with Sia's name on the poster and in the trailer; outside her song, she gets even less screen time and lines than King Sombra, how is that possible?

Perhaps an extra twenty minutes or so would've fixed this problem, but as it stands, having fifteen marketed characters in a 99 minute movie isn't a good balance.

Now onto something new that this movie brings to the series:


Character Design & Animation

Something evident since the first reveal, is that this movie would be ditching the show's animation, Adobe Flash in favour of Toon Boom Harmony, which has been used for plenty of big name films and shows: The Simpsons, The Princess and the Frog, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and The Congress among others.

Was this a good move? Let's do this one backwards:

Cons

Friendship is Magic has a very appealing animation style that anyone can get behind, and since Adobe Flash is an easily accessible program, people can make their fan works resemble show's art style more so than any other show, which further adds to the appeal. So the idea of jumping to a new style did leave some fans worried; maybe the character designs would become altered, perhaps the backgrounds wouldn't blend in well with the characters, or perhaps the newcomers would stick out immensely compared to the ponies.

Was this worth the trepidation?

Pros

ABSOLUTELY NOT! This movie has some of the most gorgeous animation I've seen outside of Disney. Speaking of which; the team could've easily gone with the CGI route, like the aforementioned company, as 2D animated movies are unfortunately appearing less and less these days, but they knew what to change and what not to.

The characters are exactly how I imagined they'd look in an updated style, from their manes actually staying on one side of their faces to the visible reflective scales on Spike, everything here is accounted for and more. And to those who think the newbies wouldn't mesh well the ponies, let me assure you, they do. The crazy selection of creatures may seem overkill: cat, yetis, hedgehog, fish, reptiles, birds, seaponies and hippogriffs, but all look as though they can perfectly co-exist in the same world.

So yeah, animation is beautiful, no argument here. Now for something the movie really challenges itself with compared to the show:


The Music

Now the music in Friendship is Magic has become as much its own phenomenon as the show itself; inspiring remixes, bringing out new talents and elevating existing ones to new heights.

For this movie, Friendship is Magic's songwriter Daniel Ingram stated that he would finally be working with a live orchestra for both the songs as well as the score, in order to create something that he otherwise couldn't in the show.

Did he succeed?

Pros

Absolutely! This is undoubtedly a work of pure passion. Almost every song featured in the movie was expertly composed, beautifully performed and an absolute joy to listen to:

"We Got This Together"
Performed by: Rebecca Shoichet, Shannon Chan-Kent, Andrea Libman, Ashleigh Ball, Kazumi Evans, Cathy Weseluck, Tabitha St. Germain, Michelle Creber, Peter New & Phoenix Chamber Choir

A great opening piece if I’ve ever heard one. This acts as the re-introduction to these characters that casual audiences may not be familiar with. Each member gets their own part to showcase their talents and occupations, so no one feels left out; fitting seeing as how this is the preparations for the Friendship Festival.

I am slightly disappointed that it’s the only song in the movie to have Twilight, but given the context, I can accept it. Plus for the one verse she did have, Rebecca Shoichet made it count.

"I'm the Friend You Need"
Performed by: Taye Diggs ft. Shannon Chan-Kent, Andrea Libman, Ashleigh Ball, Kazumi Evans, Cathy Weseluck, Samuel Vincent & Vincent Tong

Like I said previously, Capper was the last character I expected to get a song out of, much less be the second one in movie.

The catchy beat, coupled with Taye Diggs’ smooth and charming voice alone makes this a brilliant listen, but to me, this song is a great representation of Capper’s character. He’s seen as a con artist in Klugetown, so what better way to con ponies than with a song? Because if you notice, Capper is the only non-pony character in the movie to start singing on his own accord, Celaeno and Skystar only join in. I can’t be the only one who saw this.

"Time to Be Awesome"
Performed by: Ashleigh Ball & Zoe Saldana ft. Shannon Chan-Kent, Andrea Libman, Kazumi Evans, Cathy Weseluck, Max Martini, Mark Oliver & Nicole Oliver

Time for the pirate song to end all others. This being Zoe Saldana's second time singing, she really hits a home-run. Granted I've never seen The Book of Life, so I don't know how well she did there. But if this is any indication as to her talent, I think it's safe to say brilliant as well.

This song gives off the whole "be yourself" message that a lot of media throws around plenty, but thankfully, this manages to do it in a way that is actually entertaining and non-intrusive; it's clear to see why this one's a favourite amongst fans.

Move over "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)".

"One Small Thing"
Performed by: Shannon Chan-Kent & Kristin Chenoweth ft. Andrea Libman, Ashleigh Ball, Kazumi Evans & Phoenix Chamber Choir

This one feels most like a true children's song, with its bright and bouncy melody and both Shannon Chan-Kent & Kristin Chenoweth's bubbly and happy performances. Though now that I know the song in context of the movie, it does make it hard to listen to for me personally, but that's not to detract from its quality, because it's still a great listen; though not my personal favourite... that honour goes to our next number.

"Open Up Your Eyes"
Performed by: Emily Blunt

Oh yeah, now we're talking! Remember a time very long ago, back when animated movie villains actually had epic, bombastic song numbers?
...
Yeah me neither, but thankfully Dan did. The instrumentation alone is epic enough, but combine it with Emily Blunt's incredible voice and you have something that's second to none.

During the backstory segment, the fact that so much is said through so few words and simple visuals is a testament to how great the team behind Friendship is Magic are at telling stories; they don't do mindless exposition like everyone else.

I hope this brings back more villain songs for future musicals; they just up and vanished years ago and deserve to be acknowledged in this day and age.

"Rainbow"
Performed by: Sia

Okay, what can I say about this one that hasn't already been said?

I believe I have something. To me, this song represents everything great about Friendship is Magic as a whole: it's bright, it's catchy, it's beautiful, it's uplifting, it's... magical, it made me use "magical" unironically.

Even though Songbird Serenade has the least amount of dialogue in the series, this song more than makes up for it. I'm glad Sia signed on for this; I honestly couldn't think of a better choice.

"Off to See the World"
Performed by: Lukas Graham

The song everyone wanted after the first trailer was released, myself included.

I find it fitting that this while this was the song to introduce the movie in the first trailer, it's also played in credits, making it the one to close out the movie.

So yeah, Daniel achieved what he set out to do. I can't comment on the score, because as of this review, it has not seen a digital or physical release.

Is there any negatives about the music to talk about?

Cons

There is but one song in this movie that is not 100% original:

"We Got the Beat"
Performed by: Rachel Platten

Don't be fooled by the lyrics, it's actually a cover of the song of the same name by The Go-Go's released in 1980. I don't mean to dispute this version's quality, but given that every other song is original, this one sticks out like a sore thumb.

And now, we look at the most unique aspect last:


The Hype

It's no secret that too much hype can kill an otherwise good movie, and to say the hype for this one was immense would be the understatement of the century.

Let's look at both aspects:

Pros

If the studio or the team behind the project is aware of the intensity of the hype, it does pressure them to work as hard as possible and churn out a quality product, no matter how long it takes. This team knows to prioritise quality over all else.

However...

Cons

Hype has a more negative effect on the ones awaiting the product. They might build up their expectations so much or have someone else build it up for them, that no matter the quality of the product, they will feel it didn't deliver.

This has unfortunately left the fan base divided on the quality of this movie; those who managed to avoid most of the hype seem to be the ones who like it, whereas the people who conducted the hype train are the ones giving two thumbs down.

I would like clarify that that last comment was a generalisation, and does not represent every fan, please acknowledge this.


Final Verdict

My Little Pony: The Movie was the film I was excited for the most this year and in spite of its flaws, it gave me exactly what I wanted from a Friendship is Magic movie: great characters, incredible performances, beautiful animation and catchy songs.

This was a passion project for everyone involved, and it clearly shows. The fact that we have this movie in the first place is proof that when film studios get the right people for the job, they will create something grand, to be enjoyed by everyone; as opposed to those who will throw together a lazy story with bland characters and explosions up the ass simply to make money.

I hope this will lead to a potential second movie, cause while I don't know how well it did everywhere else, here in the UK it was a massive hit; lasting in a lot of big cinemas throughout the entirety of November, and given its competition upon release and throughout it run: Kingsman: The Golden Circle, The LEGO Ninjago Movie, Blade Runner 2049, Thor: Ragnarok, Paddington 2 and Justice League, lasting that long is quite the accomplishment.

I give My Little Pony: The Movie an:
8/10

It loses some points for the wasted characters and the noticeable inconsistencies, but for me, it was an otherwise truly magical experience that I'm glad I paid £6.50 to witness more than once. Plus, when all is said and done, it's still better than all of the other Hasbro Studios feature films combined, I believe everyone can agree on that.

So that's my review of My Little Pony: The Movie. Agree? Disagree? Feel free to list your opinion in the comments section below and please don't fight.

As always, I'm DaveMan1000 and I'll see you all next time.

6259926 My takeaway:

Pros:

-Beautiful to look at. Not just with the scenery and locations, but I loved the fluidity of the animation and the cinematic designs of the characters.
-Music ranged from pretty good to forgettable (which is saying a lot, because I was expecting at least one real stinker somewhere)
-Tempest is a great villain.
-New characters are all fun.

Cons:
-The Storm King is a terrible villain. Perhaps if they cut a few of Tempest's scenes and allowed us to see him in action (so we could actually see the threat that film wants us to see in him (or hell, make Tempest and the Storm King a singular character)), he wouldn't have seemed like such a lame, incompetent character.
-Twilight's lack of use of magic. I know that it would have killed the movie otherwise, but limiting Twilight's magical abilities to purely kinetic based spells was far too much of a stretch for me to tolerate. When she's trapped in that cage during "Open Up Your Eyes," not once did she even attempt to teleport (as she had at least tried to do in The Crystal Empire) or change her size (or at the very least transform into a breezy) or any other plethora of spells she could have used.
-Applejack and Fluttershy served no real narrative purpose other than be there.
-While pacing for the most part was good, the film could have benefited from at least an extra 10 - 15 minutes (to perhaps give some more time to develop the Storm King or have the birb pirates not so quickly betray the Storm King after a single verse in a song).

Had a hard time over whether to give this movie a B- or a C+ grade considering that they're virtually the same minus one having a "rotten" stigma behind it, but after I came out of Last Jedi a couple of weeks ago and gave that a B- grade despite me enjoying the MLP movie WAY more, I decided to tip it to a B-.

6259926 Here's my review of the movie if you're interested in reading it. Although I like it, my guess is that it could've been better.

https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/766085/my-little-pony-the-movie

I will just say that Pinkie Pie should have not bin chosen for the fight with Twilight only 3 would have been a better choice the 3 being Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack :pinkiehappy:

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