I don't consider myself a brony, even though I've seen some episodes of Friendship Is Magic. I haven't seen every episode, but I've seen enough from each season that I have a good idea of what the show is all about. I personally don't like the first few seasons but the series does get better as it goes along. Overall, it's fine. It's a fine show. It's not the most amazing thing ever like some would lead you to believe, and it's not cancer like others make it out to be. Considering it's a show aimed at 5-year-old girls, this is the best show aimed specifically at that demographic I've ever seen. The strongest aspects of the show are it's good voice acting, relatively complex plots for a little kids show, and character arcs that span multiple episodes. You can tell a lot of effort was put into it, the creators have respect for their audience, and it doesn't feel cynically pandering at all.
For this reason, I decided to give the first theatrical movie based on the series a chance.
So how does the movie hold up? Eh, it was okay I guess. The animation reminds me of the Spongebob Squarepants movies where it's a little different from the TV show, and the cinematography is more traditionally cinematic, but it still captures the same spirit of the show's universe. Out of the six new songs featured in the film, at least half of them advance the plot in one way or another, and aren't there just to pad things out. Yes, you guessed it, the lyrics of all the songs are about friendship. The female villain pony has a decent amount of depth to her character, although she does have the generic scar over one eye that every villain seems to have these days.
This seems to be a movie designed for people already familiar with the series since little is done to develop the main six or establish the world of Equestria. Imagine the show didn't exist. You'd know almost nothing about the main characters or the film's universe. None of the characters really have an arc. With the exception of one character, no one changes or learns anything that they didn't already know at the beginning.
The dialogue in the show was fairly timeless, but the dialogue in the film is more modernized, which felt a little weird since its directed by a guy who's directed a bunch of other MLP stuff, so you'd think they'd try to keep things consistent. The cat character felt like a Puss In Boots ripoff at first, that is until he opened his mouth. I can't say I was expecting that voice to come from that character. I know the FIM universe has other nations with species other than ponies, but this still felt like a move to appeal to the furry demographic as well as the bronies. Why did the bird pirates still have all their pirate stuff on board their airship? They presumably got employed and their ship would have to fit regulations, right? The movie ends Zootopia-style with a pop song no one's gonna remember.
Since I compared this to the Spongebob movie earlier, one point I wanna bring up is that this movie doesn't have much of an emotional center. Now you may be wondering "what emotional scenes were in the Spongebob movie?". Well you watch the scene where Spongebob and Patrick are "dying" on the drying table in Shell City and tell me you don't get at least a little teary eyed! The best family movies are the ones with a certain level of emotional maturity and treat their audience like thinking adults. Half the MLP fan base is 25-year-old males. You might as well give them something more.
If you or your children are die hard fans of the franchise, go knock yourselves out. If this was surprisingly great like the LEGO movie, I would have no problem recommending it. Unfortunately, My Little Pony: The Movie doesn't offer much to entice the average moviegoer.
For this reason, I decided to give the first theatrical movie based on the series a chance.
So how does the movie hold up? Eh, it was okay I guess. The animation reminds me of the Spongebob Squarepants movies where it's a little different from the TV show, and the cinematography is more traditionally cinematic, but it still captures the same spirit of the show's universe. Out of the six new songs featured in the film, at least half of them advance the plot in one way or another, and aren't there just to pad things out. Yes, you guessed it, the lyrics of all the songs are about friendship. The female villain pony has a decent amount of depth to her character, although she does have the generic scar over one eye that every villain seems to have these days.
This seems to be a movie designed for people already familiar with the series since little is done to develop the main six or establish the world of Equestria. Imagine the show didn't exist. You'd know almost nothing about the main characters or the film's universe. None of the characters really have an arc. With the exception of one character, no one changes or learns anything that they didn't already know at the beginning.
The dialogue in the show was fairly timeless, but the dialogue in the film is more modernized, which felt a little weird since its directed by a guy who's directed a bunch of other MLP stuff, so you'd think they'd try to keep things consistent. The cat character felt like a Puss In Boots ripoff at first, that is until he opened his mouth. I can't say I was expecting that voice to come from that character. I know the FIM universe has other nations with species other than ponies, but this still felt like a move to appeal to the furry demographic as well as the bronies. Why did the bird pirates still have all their pirate stuff on board their airship? They presumably got employed and their ship would have to fit regulations, right? The movie ends Zootopia-style with a pop song no one's gonna remember.
Since I compared this to the Spongebob movie earlier, one point I wanna bring up is that this movie doesn't have much of an emotional center. Now you may be wondering "what emotional scenes were in the Spongebob movie?". Well you watch the scene where Spongebob and Patrick are "dying" on the drying table in Shell City and tell me you don't get at least a little teary eyed! The best family movies are the ones with a certain level of emotional maturity and treat their audience like thinking adults. Half the MLP fan base is 25-year-old males. You might as well give them something more.
If you or your children are die hard fans of the franchise, go knock yourselves out. If this was surprisingly great like the LEGO movie, I would have no problem recommending it. Unfortunately, My Little Pony: The Movie doesn't offer much to entice the average moviegoer.