My previous Reddit reviews can be found here:
Steven Universe
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Movies
Well, this was a long time coming. With a username like mine, you'd probably expect me to post a lot more about My Little Pony. But despite being a fan, I just don't have as much to say about the show as some others I've talked about.
I've always thought My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic worked best when it does either comedic or slice-of-life storylines. When it tries to do larger scale adventures (except for maybe Return of Harmony and parts of Twilight's Kingdom), it usually falls flat on its face because it feels like the rules of how the world works, as well as the lore of the universe, are always written as they go along.
It's harder to talk about slice-of-life and comedic plotlines in great detail because there isn't much to them. Slice-of-life plots are charming and comedic plots are funny. I can't talk that much about them beyond that because they're simple stories and it's simple for me to explain why I like them.
Even the bad episodes don't really give me as much to talk about compared to, say, Steven Universe (a show I've done much more reviews of, links above). In general, I like the show, but I can't really talk about it in real detail very well.
Fortunately, My Little Pony: The Movie does give me more to talk about. The story is slightly more complex due to the running time and it's one of the few times where MLP: FIM attempts a large, adventure driven story that really works.
Brony or not, this is one of the best movies this year.
Let's start with the story. The best thing about this film's story is the new characters and what they add.
The villains are great. Tempest Shadow has a dark backstory involving losing her unicorn magic and in the process, her childhood innocence (her villain song "Open Up Your Eyes" features several references to "growing up"), and while her personality isn't that special, Emily Blunt adds some character to the voice. I also like the idea of Tempest mirroring Twilight, with her lackey Grubber basically being an alternate universe Spike. The Storm King doesn't get much screentime, but the wait is worth it. Liev Schreiber really hams it up while also having genuine screen prescence, though he doesn't really have a backstory. I can't even tell what kind of species he is (According to the film’s Wikipedia page, he's a satyr). Incidentally, I recommend the MLP Movie Prequel comic series, which fleshes out the new characters and especially the new villains even more.
I was not familiar with Taye Diggs before, but he quickly won me over as Capper, a con-man cat character that provides many if the film's best moments.
I wasn't too fond of Michael Peña or Kristen Chenoweth as Grubber or Princess Skystar (they feel like characters I've seen before, but not as memorable or well-done), but I did enjoy Uzo Abuba as Queen Novo. Again, there isn't much new to her personality... she's just a mix of the sassy black woman and the overprotective mother tropes... but Uzo Abuba's voice acting again adds to her character (I know her best as Bismuth in Steven Universe and while I don't like that episode, I did like the character partly due to Uzo).
Zoe Saldana is another actress I thought I didn't know, but looking her up, she has been in a few things I've seen. She was great as Captain Celaeno, a parrot pirate captain. I love the idea of her crew being out of their prime and needing to climb back to grace.
Sia as Songbird Serenade feels more like a glorified cameo, much like her Zootopia character, but the design is cute.
The Mane Six and Spike honestly don't get much new development, serving more as a vehicle for the story... but I think this works okay. Twilight probably gets the most focus, eventually sympathizing with Tempest's backstory and feeling bad for her, in one of the film's best dramatic moments.
The new worlds are wonderfully designed and thought out, particularly the underwater world. It's a visual marvel. One or two of the designs feel desolate at time, though.
The new animation style feels weird at first, but you get used to it. I think it's the backgrounds. They're done in CGI while the character animation is done in classic hand drawn 2D animation as god intended. It's really jarring at first, but again, it works once you get used to it. In general though, I prefer the show's look.
Much like with the show, the songs are a mixed bag. We Got This Together is one of the more catchy songs, but I must deduct points for contributing nothing to the story, which is easily one of the biggest rules of how to do a musical. Time to Be Awesome is... okay. Competent, but not too memorable. I'm The Friend You Need and One Small Thing are really catchy and fun (with the latter being kind of a Little Mermaid homage) and Open Up Your Eyes is one of the best villain songs the show ever did. Finally, Rainbow and Off To See The World (the two "celebrity" pop songs) are surprisingly fitting and well done for what they were. I'm usually mixed on using pop songs like this in an animated film, so kudos for that.
By contrast, the instrumental score by Daniel Ingram is more consistent and extremely well done. They really make use of the full studio orchestra to deliver a sound that feels like the show's instrumental soundtrack but on a larger scale.
The action was well done. Not as good as Twilight's Kingdom, but for a show not really known for action, I was impressed.
Overall, despite a few nitpicks, My Little Pony: The Movie is a triumph. In a year that brought some good films, but also turned out to be not that memorable (there's a reason this was the worst summer box office in ten years) this turned out to be one of the most charming, intelligent films this year despite it's subject matter.
My theatre experience was a pleasant one. The little kids in the audience weren't a problem, but there weren't any Bronies in the audience (this was a 6:30 p.m. show). I'm sure that if there are any Bronies if you go, they will behave (I speak from experience).
In 2014, I saw Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks on limited release. It was the worst theatre experience in my life. The audience was more disruptive and the movie glitches out halfway through (they were literally just projecting the DVD). I'm glad to say that the experience this time was much better.
Please note that you will want to get there early. At my screening, a short film based on Hasbro's Hanazuki: Full of Treasures webseries was screened before the movie. It doesn't really explain much about the series to newcomers, but the animation is a bump up from the series and it's just a sweet and charming story. I really loved the artstyle here, very Steven Universe-esque. I remember reading that this short would play with the movie a long time ago, but I must've forgotten because this was a surprise. This was a very pleasant bonus, helping make the film seem even more like a special event. I haven't really heard people talk about it, so I don't know if it's playing at every screening. But you'll want to check it out.
So that's my review. If you have any concerns or reservations about this movie, throw them out the window. Go see My Little Pony: The Movie. It's a real crowdpleaser and should be enjoyable to most.
Submitted October 07, 2017 at 08:08PM by Bronyficent http://ift.tt/2y2pMKz
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