Review of My Little Pony: The Movie (2017) by Peterg4 — 15 Oct 2017

My Little Pony: The Movie wants to be more than a toy commercial and succeeds with a serious adventure plot, Disney-quality songs and villains who give you chills – even as adult.

PLOT.

My Little Pony: The Movie starts in the capital city of Equestria, Canterlot, with a short introduction of Equestria's princesses and Princess Twilight Sparkle's best friends, as well as her loyal dragon assistant Spike, to get the audience up to speed.

Princess Twilight's worries about the big Friendship Festival lead into a joyous song, but soon, the happiness gets interrupted as a menacing airship emerges from a dark, foreboding cloud in the sky.

Out of it step Commander Tempest Shadow and her partner Grubber, both of them there to conquer Equestria and get ahold of the magic of Equestria's four rulers, on behalf of the Storm King.

Princess Twilight can evade the fate of her fellow princesses with the help of one brave citizen, a gray pegasus mare called Derpy Hooves, but vastly outnumbered by the Storm King's invading army, she has to flee after saving one other princess from getting shattered to pieces of the statue she got turned into.

After escaping, Princess Twilight and her friends go on a charmingly-classic hero's journey south to find the enigmatic “Queen of the Hippos”, last words said by Twilight's mentor and co-princess, Celestia.

Their journey leads them through a variety of different places, including a desert town with nefarious citizens and an underwater capital. Mentions of never seen places like the “Badlands” or the mystic “Blackskull Island” give the audience the immersive feel there's more beyond the screen's confines.

CHARACTERS.

Tempest Shadow (Emily Blunt) and Grubber (Michael Peña): The Storm King's commander, a grim unicorn with a broken horn, and her partner.

Grubber seems to have joined the Storm King's ranks more for the food than anything else and never appears truly malicious. His interactions with Tempest Shadow give a feeling of mutual understanding and imply a deeper bond between them.

The Storm King (Liev Schreiber): A yeti-like, classical tyrant, intent to increase his power and influence via an old relic that can control storms, once charged with magic.

Hates Equestria's pony culture and has a tendency for quite refined comments (“Deliver the punchline, Tempest, because this gotta be a joke!”).

He fits perfectly into the formula of dark villains the animated TV show has seen across seven seasons.

Capper (Taye Diggs): A sly cat, who pretends to help, but has his own interests. Becomes a valuable ally later, inspired by Rarity's generosity.

Capt'n Celaeno (Zoe Saldana): Captain of a crew of swashbuckling pirates, who are slaves of the Storm King. Joins the heroes later.

Queen Novo (Uzo Aduba): Sympathetic, but relentless, queen of a seapony tribe. Refuses to help to keep her own citizens safe.

Princess Skystar (Kristin Chenoweth): Rebellious daughter of Queen Novo, joins the heroes later when everything seems hopeless.

SONGS.

The songs of My Little Pony: The Movie are memorable pieces of musical delight straight out of equestrian (and non-equestrian) mouths, delivered in a quality that puts them on the same level as Disney's best musical repertoire.

The offerings range from happy party songs to Tempest Shadow's own, dark anthem; a chilling performance that reveals her reason for pursuing the path of ruthless villainy.

The latter paints a black picture of the mercilessness the world can sometimes meet you with, in a welcomed, cynical and realistic tone one would not expect from “My Little Pony”.

Only Sia's “Rainbow” comes across a bit generic and doesn't completely fit Equestria's world, but still provides an enjoyable tune for the movie's grand finish.

DEMOGRAPHIC & WRITING.

Though “My Little Pony” is commonly seen as a girls show, it presents itself as a movie for all ages/genders, with sharp dialogues and intelligent, mature jokes. More humor comes from the characters simply being themselves, like Rarity showing her best drama queen performance as the journey gets hard, the big strength of the movie's comedy.

The all-ages appeal also shows in the finale as a good amount of (non-bloody) violence is needed to fight the last battle, because the power-hungry Storm King does not listen to the “Magic of Friendship”.

A significant step-up from the flowery past of the franchise, as well as the recent, brand-defying “Equestria Girls” spin-offs that turn the ponies into humans and focus on boring high-school drama.

MESSAGE.

In the end, My Little Pony: The Movie manages to offer a positive message: One of tolerance, inclusion and overcoming one's insecurities, without being cheesy, as the path to these values is a long and hard one for some.

If you seek a worthwhile My Little Pony adventure on the big screen, then the journey of Princess Twilight and her friends to find a way to defeat the Storm King is the right choice for you.