So, it's a funny thing--I've been a huge Pony fan for years now, and the franchise is extremely important to me, and yet, I find myself dreading most new episodes, as well as the movie.  I just...tend to expect the worst these days, and I'm not entirely sure why.  The show has proven that it still has the right stuff, but I guess it has been rockier the past couple of seasons, with more ups and downs.  A casual observer would think I'm nuts, and ask why the hell I stick around if I dread new episodes.  I probably am nuts.  It doesn't make much sense, does it?  Why continue to be so involved in this if I don't seem to get much enjoyment from it?  Well, I still do get an enormous amount of enjoyment from the good episodes.  I stick around for the Perfect Pears.  That made me cry.  I still love these characters and their world so much that I want to stick around, even if I don't enjoy all of it.  I also love the community and fan-content aspect.  It's a weird thing, and it's probably impossible to explain to someone who doesn't get it.  Maybe it only makes sense to an autistic nutcase like me.

I almost decided not to see the movie because I was so horrified by the animation change.  I'm not going to re-explain my thoughts on that.  If you're interested in hearing the details, check out my Stop & Talk blog entry entitled, "Why I Might Not See the Movie".  Obviously, I ultimately decided to see it for one simple reason: I had worked very hard to make a highly accurate Equestria Girls Rainbow Dash cosplay to wear to the movie, and I felt I owed it to myself to see that through and wear it.  I did, and I enjoyed that part.

Onto the actual movie.  Alright, so....as usual, my opinion is going to be an extremely unpopular one.  When I expressed my thoughts about the animation change, it became horrifying clear to me that I would be all alone in my opinions about the movie.  Why should this bother me?  Well, I don't know.  It shouldn't.  I have problems.  Honestly, though, I can't help but feel very alone and a bit....well....betrayed by my fellow fans.  This entirely on me, of course.  It's wrong of me to implicate anyone else like that.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and it would be wrong of me to take out my frustration on anyone else for not sharing mine.  I still can't help feeling the way I feel, and I'm sorry.  I'm also sorry for my harsh opinion, and I'm sorry if it offends or upsets anyone.  So, I thought the movie was absolutely horrible.  Abysmal.  I cannot believe what I just watched.  It was unspeakably, shockingly bad.  And I feel even more shocked that I seem to be the only one to feel this way.

I knew it was going to be bad, but I never knew it was going to be that bad.  I cannot find one good thing to say about the movie, and I consider myself to be a very fair reviewer.  I actually consider myself one of the more tame and charitable reviewers of the show.  There wasn't a single redeeming factor about the movie.  Terrible plot, terrible acting, terrible music, and (yes, I still think so) terrible animation.  I felt like the movie was a complete insult, a betrayal to everything Pony.  It's like they jettisoned everything that made the show great.  They just took all of the magic of the show and blew it out the airlock.  I know I have a very biased and unpopular view regarding the animation change (they just don't look like our ponies at all), but disregarding that, everything about the movie was still garbage.  The story was completely goofy--just one ridiculous, over-the-top, stupid, themed adventure after another, with no real depth or development.  The characters felt like overly silly caricatures of themselves, lacking any and all of the dynamic and realistic depth from the show.  It was a non-stop string of cringeworthy jokes and stupid gags with one predictable, idiotic song after another.

I absolutely abhorred the decision to make the movie essentially a standalone feature, excluding and disregarding most of the lore and continuity from the show.  I do, however, understand why they did this.  I assume they wanted to make something that someone who's not a fan or follower of the show could watch, and still enjoy.  This makes sense from a marketing standpoint, and I guess from a critic standpoint as well.  I still hated it.  They've made a rich and detailed lore, and it felt like they just threw it away.  I predicted that Starlight wouldn't even make an appearance, and I was right.  Terrible decision.  (Perhaps I missed her in a cameo.  I saw Trixie.)  I know it needed to be mane 6 focused, but there should have been other characters in there, too.  Starlight should have had a scene or two, and the CMC should have a line or two.  A least a brief, throwaway line.  SOMETHING.  I was shocked and appalled that they didn't even show Ponyville or Twilight's castle ONCE.  No Boutique, no Sweet Apple Acres, no Sugarcube Corner, nothing.  I realize they went for world building, but they should have at least had an exposition scene in Ponyville for Celestia's sake.  No mention of Rarity's fashion empire, no mention of Ranbow being a Wonderbolt.  (Twilight, why were you looking at Rainbow when you said you had ordered clear skies?  That's not her job anymore, remember?  She's a Wonderbolt, now!)  I know the movie was supposed to be fantasy and adventure focused, but I really think there should have been some effort to at least briefly incorporate the professional lives they've all built.  I knew that movie was going to basically jettison the developments and continuity of the show, and...well, I'm not at all happy about it.

But worse than all that stuff, the movie just didn't even feel like FIM.  It didn't even feel like the same franchise.  It was so dopey, and nothing fit in the FIM world.  It was just: "let's see how many old Disney movies we can cram in."  Seriously, we had Aladdin, Peter Pan, and The Little Mermaid, and, I guess, f*ckin Aristocats or something?  Seriously, what the hell was that bipedal, humanoid, smooth talking, like, f*ckin 1920's New York jazz hole cat?  What the HELL was that?!  He didn't belong in the FIM universe at all.  I can't believe they invented all of these new, underdeveloped characters to help stop the villains when they already have an array of fantastic characters with enormous potential to draw from.  Instead of alley cat, pirate birds, and sea ponies, why couldn't they have had, oh, I don't know, let's say, Ember lead the dragons to Canterlot, Thorax lead the changelings to Canterlot, Gilda lead the Griffons to Canterlot, maybe even Prince Rutherford lead the yaks to Canterlot, and then they all charge the Storm King?  (The dopey, stupid, and completely idiotic Storm King...)  Why not give some big screen time to some of the great characters they've developed throughout the show?!  Why not further develop these great characters instead of cramming in these weird, Disney-esque idiots?  Now, I love Disney, but that doesn't mean you can cram it into FIM and expect it to work.

I could go on and on, but there's no point.  I'm sure I've lost all readers by now, anyway.  I really love Pony, but I cannot express enough how much I hated this movie.  I waited so long, and I can't believe that this is what we got.  Even my mom was squirming in the theater seat, thinking, "Oh my god, how long is the piece of crap?!" and she's a much more casual and less critical fan than I am.  This wasn't Pony.  This was an abomination.  Absolute trash.

I apologize again for my unpopular opinion, and my harshness.  I understand how frustrating it can feel when someone hates and dumps on something you love.  I don't wish to upset anyone.  I'm sure most of you will think I'm completely warped and gone right out of my head.  I probably shouldn't have written this.  I probably should have observed the old rule of "if you don't have anything nice say, don't say anything at all."  My only defense is that, for some reason, it makes me feel mildly better to get my opinion out there, probably because I feel betrayed by the writers and filmmakers, and it's therapeutic to vent.  I am entitled to express my opinion, after all.  I'm sorry if it's bothers anyone.

I guess that about wraps it up.  Before I go, I need to do one last thing, and I apologize profusely in advance for this.  Please don't take this too seriously, and if you don't agree, please just ignore me and my extremist fringe opinion.  I just need to do this.  I have to get it out of my system once and for all.

*Catches breath*.  *Ahem*.  Sorry.  Uh...sorry.  Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.  This was my first and last word on the movie.  I won't subject anyone to any more of my opinions.  I'll just go on from here as if the movie doesn't exist.

Alrighty, folks; I'll see you later on.  Stay pony, my friends.

Until next time.