Review of My Little Pony: The Movie (2017) by Chiedu M — 16 Jan 2018

I am proud Brony. I've been a brony for about a year now and I've been more open with my love for My Little Pony more than ever. For everyone out there that doesn't get the fandom, let me explain. The number one thing that drew me to the show is the characters. There are all definitive, memorable, complex, and have a lot of development. There are six main characters, also known as the Mane 6. First, there's Rainbow Dash, who's a confident but ego headed athlete that will do anything to defend her friends. Then there's Fluttershy, she's a pegasus that prefers to stay on the ground and starts out as timid but then learns to be assertive. The third member is Applejack who's a farm pony that is tough as nails. Rarity is a fashionista who's also very dramatic and kind. And then there's PinkyPie, my personal favorite, the party pony that is super extra and loves to make people smile. The final member is Twilight Sparkle, the main protagonist, and the leader of the Mane 6. She's a brainy bookworm that at first didn't feel that there was a need for friendship in her life but then becomes the Princess of Friendship.

Now you would think that this would be just a girly show made to sell toys, right? Wrong in actuality, the story is very mature. The writing was specifically made to appeal to the whole family and in turn appeals to a wider, and older, audience. The writing is very realistic. There was one episode where Rainbow Dash was pranking her friends. Now in a regular kids show would just tell the audience that pranking is wrong and you shouldn't do it. But in My Little Pony, they don't say that. They actually say that pranking is okay as long as the person being pranked doesn't mind it. And then, in the end, Rainbow Dash gets pranked as payback. And even after almost 8 season of television, they still find ways to keep the story expanding and the characters growing.

So I finally bought the DVD of My Little Pony: The Movie for pre-order in the mail, cause I was never able to see it in theaters. Many people thought the movie was harmless but "not for them". So as a fan how do I feel about the ponies finally getting their big screen debut?

Well, honestly I was quite disappointed with the movie. It's not a bad movie but I've seen the TV show have better pacing in its story then the movie had. And I'm not just talking about one episode. I am actually referring to the episodes that have part ones and part twos, and the TV movies. But the pacing for this is off and the story is quite watered down.

So let's talk about the story. Twilight is throwing a party for everybody in Canterlot. It's a Friendship Festival to party, coerce, and to celebrate friendship and love with each other. But then the evil pony, Tempest Shadow, invades the city and destroys everything. And it's up to the Mane 6 to save the city and everyone in it. The plot is simple enough, but it's the execution that makes it subpar. For example, while Tempest is the main villain, she isn't the head of the army. She works for the real leader as a second in command. And the thing is the real leader, the Storm King, is not needed in the movie at all. Yes, he does a few actions that affect the plot, but not very much that he's needed in the story. You could have just taken him out of the narrative altogether and made Tempest the full-on antagonist, that way the movie would have more time to invest in her character. Cause she's not a bad villain she makes a good leader.

And that's another problem with the movie nothing is really fleshed out or expanded upon. Capper is one of the characters the ponies meet on their journey. But there's not a lot of time devoted to him so you're not as invested in him as your supposed to be. Songbird Serenade is the pegasus played by Sia and it's kind of hard to tell if she's just a guest star with a lot of scenes or an actual character you're supposed to care about. It looks as though the movie was trying to make her one of the side characters. But she's not needed for the plot, so probably just making her more of a cameo would be better, despite the fact I do like seeing her on screen.

Okay so what does this movie get right? Well, the narrative may be underwhelming, but it is cohesive and it's not a mess. The movie follows your standard story structure and the third act is the best part of the film.

The Mane 6 are the ponies we know and love and I love watching them go on this adventure. Because there are six of them some do get more dialogue than others, but that's what's to be expected.

The songs are alright. I can name a hand full of songs that I enjoyed and remember more from the show. But I love Sia's song. I've been playing that on repeat for months.

I like the animation they went for with the movie. Bright, colorful, highly expressive, very fluid but still familiar.

Listen I hope it doesn't sound like I'm basing the film causes I'm not. I liked it. But the truth is the show has done a better job with its pacing and narrative to tell a more interesting story. And not just the regular old episodes, the Equestria Girls movies did a better job with this (including the first movie, which had the most issues with pacing). This movie does not let itself take its time to develop and that really hurts the impact of the film. There are things for audiences to enjoy this movie and I am glad I saw it. But this should have been better, cause My Little Pony has done better. Can't say I would never come back to this movie, but I can say I did feel underwhelmed.

2.95/5 Stars.