Review of My Little Pony: The Movie (2017) by Highlord A — 06 Oct 2017

The film was fun. A big, cute, bouncy ball of fun. A specific type of lovable, adventurous and energetic fun that anyone can enjoy if they just open their minds to the possibility of there being a world of wonder where small, pastel-colored ponies, of all creatures, are the type of beings one can't help but get behind and root for; no matter the amount of diabetes-inducing sugar and cherubic looks it may seem to possess on the outside.

My Little Pony the Movie is at its core a real treat for the kids and fans of the show, and on the outside and everywhere else is a delightful ride for average moviegoers. The film was not perfect by any stretch, but it was, without question, fun. Any who would say it's just there to be your run-of-the-mill, vapidly-told tale meant only to sell toys clearly only saw the nitpicks to be beheld and didn't give two cares for anything else at all (My eyes are on YOU, Michael Rechtshaffen of the Hollywood Reporter, you so-called 'top critic'. The Emoji Movie sucked eggs, and you can go ahead and suck on 'em too if you meant what you said about this movie somehow actually being below that festering tower of excrement and whoremongering product placement. Kiss my a**).

Some of the villains were a little generic and underexplored, and the plot was quite simple and a tad rushed in its basic form, yes. And yet, both were nothing short of entertaining to watch act and unfold. Parents who brought their children to see the film will be most amused by it for sure, likely enough to last through it. Even if they hadn't watched a single scrap of the popular show it was based off of in order to get a firm feel of the ever-expanding setting and developed characters it adapted so well to the big screen, it has immense potential to charm those originally outside of its parameters.

The ones who made the film really gave it their all to make My Little Pony a work of moving color and animated joy, quite close in fact to being compared to the all star-produced works of art from the Disney Renaissance, if I dare say. The color was vibrant and eye-opening to watch at times, and the animation was incredibly fluent. Both went together hand-in-hand (or hoof in hoof, if you prefer to hear a pun) in a manner few other modern, animated films have been able to capture - a real breath of fresh air in these trying times where 2-d animation now plays second banana to computer animation, given the noxious amount of seizure-inducing fusterclucks cgi films seem to have been feeding us lately. Not bad for a big-screen movie adapted from a show. And that's all without mentioning the expert voice acting we got as well. Big props go to Emily Blunt for her role in making Tempest Shadow a rather intimidating and complex villain you can't help but love to listen to, and a big thumbs up to Taye Diggs for the smooth vocals in his role as the feline con artist Capper. The returning cast from the show were no pushovers either. Tara Strong, Ashleigh Ball, Andrea Libman, Tabitha St. Germain and Cathy Weseluck all killed it in their roles as the main heroes who glue this entire, mini, pg-rated epic together by bringing their wit, emotion and flavor to the characters that have so endeared themselves to the peculiar fandom that possibly made this film the reality that it now is.

Overall, the film was a surprisingly exceptional piece to watch. Children will no doubt love it, fans will positively adore it, parents will smile, and only the most cynical and jaded of viewers will find whatever ignorant reason they can to try and shoot it down into the dust with the few nitpicks they can come up with, and then blame it on Hasbro just trying only to make a quick buck. This film deserves a B+ and nothing less.