See * for disclaimer

 

This is not the first My Little Pony theatrical release. It's the second one. The first was back in G1 with My Little Pony: The Movie. Fan reaction to this EqG film was mixed, but it pulled in a lot more money than Hasbro expected on it's own. According to some stockholder reports, the box office returns for Equestria Girls was *astonishingly* high given the strange specialty release to only select theatres. Supposedly, however, it did not do what they wanted in selling the tie-in toys.

 

There are things about this film that are odd. Not the film itself, although there are odd things in there to, but in the way the film was handled. It was very deliberately marketed to the tween and young teen market, not the child demographic that the main series is supposed to be marketed towards. Yet the actual movie presumes the viewer is already a fan of MLP:FiM, with knowledge gleaned from watching the main series. The distribution of the film was to select theatres, rather than using one of the standard distribution packages. For example, in Washington State, originally there was only going to be two or three theatres. None of which were in Seattle, the big population center. Eventually there was, but only because Bronies, and I mean very specifically *Bronies* arranged special viewings at other theaters that could be hired out for that purpose. I'm told this occurred in other places as well. This all seems to indicate that Hasbro had no idea what to do with this thing once they had it, and were relying on the DVD production company, Shout Factory, to tell them what to do, rather than going to one of the larger movie distribution companies that other Hasbro properties have gone through (like Lion's Gate), or even Discovery Communications that runs the Hub for them. I really have no idea why, but it's very weird.

 

Again, I'm not passing judgment on it's quality, I'm just pulling out bits of information useful to build up the setting. Most of my comments on the plot will be more trying to make sense of it as cultural touchstones. If the characters react such-and-such way, then what does that mean to the setting they come from, and so on.

 

Equestria Girls (Theatrical Release, June 16th 2013, 73 minutes)

 

Summary: The Element of Magic has been stolen, and Twilight must chase the thief into an alternate world where everything is the same, yet so very different.

 

Twilight is now officially at Princess Summit, previously mentioned in Keep Calm and Flutter On, which either means that they have these things extremely frequently, or that episode was a lot longer ago than it's position in the season indicates.

 

Heh. Transformer noises.

 

Twilight demonstrates that suddenly getting wings doesn't mean you suddenly know how to fly. Which is contrary to the ending of Magical Mystery Cure, but I can write that off as Twilight thinking about it too much now and not willing to rely on instinct.

 

Why one Guard (Flash Sentry) that is not a Crystal Pony? All the others are identical. Also Flash isn't using Canterlot Guard armor that makes them all white or gray. He's retaining in normal coat color.

 

Cadance implies that the coronation in Magical Mystery Cure was a relatively long time ago. Which maps to the time line of Princess Summit above, but is curious. How long has it been?

 

We get one of the few indications of relative sizes of all the ponies. Luna, and Celestia are not as tall as previously implied. Which may be again because they are constantly under some kind of transformational magic, and they simply don't want to be that much taller than Cadance and Twilight right now.

 

Twilight's crown is slightly different, mainly in that the 'arms' now go over the ears, rather than in front of them as it used to do. Otherwise, the only other differences can be written off as artistic license. I know, I'm jumping ahead in knowledge, as that could have been just Twilight's coronation crown, which *could* be different from the Element of Magic, but it gets confirmed later that it's one in the same thing.

 

Spike can balance on his tail. Has he done this before, I can't remember?

 

No comment. Really, no comment. I'm laughing so hard due to fannon concepts here that are completely inappropriate.

 

There is are a few subtle changes to the architecture in the Crystal Empire. The houses are still blocky and crystalline as they were before, but the profiles of the buildings are now more like typical modern subdivision housing.

 

Non-Crystal Pony Unicorn Guard, using the light from his horn as a directed flashlight. So another non-Crystal Pony in the Crystal Pony Guard, there must be some migration of population going on, which makes me wonder why no Crystal Ponies appear to have immigrated into Equestria proper? Unless because Celestia and Luna are there currently, their personal Guards have joined in on patrols?

 

No hesitation there. The thief goes directly to Twilight's room and switches the crown with a rougher-looking duplicate. So she knew exactly where the bearer of the Element of Magic would be, and exactly what it would look like. Despite Twilight being a guest that arrived only the evening before, and the Element of Magic being legendary until relatively recently. So the thief's been here prior and has been involved in the preparations for the Princess Summit without anyone noticing.

 

And the thief gets a name 'Sunset Shimmer', who was a former student of Celestia. Former enough that Twilight was unaware of her existance. Given the way Twilight behaves normally, that would mean that Sunset left Celestia's tutorage some time before Twilight started. Exactly how long before, you can't tell from this.

 

Celestia implies that she doesn't know the other side of the magic mirror. Actually, she specifically says that Twilight will soon know more about it than she does, which doesn't mean that she knows *nothing*, just that she expects Twilights knowledge to surpass hers fairly quickly. Which could just be a vote of confidence on Twilight's abilities to learn than an indication of Celestia's actual knowledge of the alternate world.

 

Luna knows about the mechanics of the mirror, in that it opens once every 30 moons. Which could be two and a half years, or a little over half a year depending on exactly how long a moon is (referring to previous speculations about a moon = a month, which would make sense as that's what 'month' actually means, but technically it could also be a week, as in the span of time from one Moonday (Monday) to another.) Assuming that the broadcast dates of the episodes map in some vague way to when they occurred in Equestria, then the last time Sunset could have been in Equestria was about the same time the Elements of Harmony were discovered by the Mane 6, which would explain her knowledge of the Elements. However, that could not have been the time Sunset left Equestria originally, as Twilight would have known about her, so we're dealing with at least 2.5 more years earlier, or much longer ago. I've got a speculation on that, but I'll wait until it comes up in the film.

 

Why was it in the Throne Room in Canterlot Castle? And why send it to the Crystal Empire now? It seems odd to put this thing on display like that.

 

Luna believes that the Elements of Harmony can be used individually, and with ill intent. Or maybe she believes that it will simply because it's in an alternate dimension and will react differently than normal.

 

Celestia believes that there is a limit to how much material (or magic) can move between dimensions before things get *really* wacky. Especially if the rest bring their elements with them. This is actually a fairly common multi-dimensional theory, that objects can't pass between alternate dimensions without causing disruptions in the fabric of space-time, the more movement there is, the worse the disruptions get. With Sunset Shimmer and the Element of Magic already there, sending more than Twilight is exponentially more risky, not just to the alternate world but the 'void' where the missing objects used to be in Equestria is inviting damage to Equestria as well.

 

Luna implies that the gateway is open for part of a lunar cycle, with three days left before the full moon where the gateway closes. I wonder if it opened on the new moon? Which means the gateway is technically open for about fifteen days. Plenty of time for Sunset to learn about Twilight and current events if she's smart.

 

Spike is now a dog. Well, since he sleeps in a dog bed normally, I can see it.

 

Twilight doesn't know about humanity.

 

Given Twilight's clothing, I'm pegging this to be in the early 90's. Specifically, she's wearing what is either gaiters (similar to leg warmers from the eighties but meant to cover the top of the shoes as well like spats, which is a common style in horse-riding outfits or those wishing to imply that they are rich enough to ride horses for amusement.) but more likely knee-high socks thanks to the argyle pattern at the top, that are made to blouse over the top of the shoe (again a remnant of the leg warmer style). Plus the pleated miniskirt, blouse with puff upper arms, and floppy bow.

 

Watching the rest of the school, I'm not seeing anything that marks it as later than the early 90's. Skinny ties, cut-off shorts under skirts, ring-pull zippers on jackets. Hey, a punk, even. No goths so far though. Also, the guy with the knit cap. All it needs is a maple leaf on it, and I'd put this in Toronto.

 

Twilight and Sunset Shimmer are both failing to recognize each other in their alternate forms. Understandable as the forms are shaped quite different, even if the color schemes are identical.

 

That's an odd behavior of Twilight, stomping in greeting. She's not done that before to my knowledge, so this is new.

 

I discovered very rapidly that volunteering at the animal shelter was a really bad idea for me. I couldn't handle the number of animals that got there via seizure from abusive households, and the number of animals that had to be put down every day simply because there was no room to keep them all. We were getting about five animals *a day* showing up there, and only about one adoption a day. Not sustainable, no matter how many volunteers or donations there were. I was simply not emotionally capable of dealing with it.

 

Celestia seems to be saying that the crown is part of the existing regalia for the Princess of the Fall Formal. So the crown Sunset Shimmer switched with the Element of Magic, the relatively crude-looking thing, was the original crown of the Fall Formal.

 

The picture gallery implies that Sunset was the Princess of the Fall Formal the last three years running. Her attitude is quite different in each picture, showing a progress from relatively innocent surprise to straight-out megalomania. However, the crown is different in each one. So the crown that Celestia has claimed for the Princess of the Fall Formal must get made new every year. Which may mean that Sunset Shimmer had a hand in making it, so that it would be as close to the Element of Magic as she could get it, based on the descriptions she had gathered 30 moons ago when she was last in Equestria and the Elements were discovered.

 

Given that Sunset had to be in the universe long enough for Twilight to become Celestia's student, and graduate, but she's only been here for about four years in-context. That could mean that time runs a bit slower in this Humanize universe mapping to anywhere from 1:1 to 1:4 to Equestria.

 

What... exactly was in that fruit salad that *splashed*? That's a lot of liquid in that thing.

 

Wait, those pictures were of Sunset as Princess of the Spring Fling *and* Fall Formal? Those different crowns were the regalia of different seasonal events? Do they have one for every season, so Sunset has been here only for one year? That would mean the time difference between these two different dimensions are even more skewed, running from 1:4 to 1:12. So in that one year, somewhere around ten years have passed in Equestria, with the gateway opening up once a season in the Human world, and once every 2.5 years in Equestria.

 

The balloons on Pinkie Pie's skirt are actual balloons. Cute.

 

Pinkie is implying that Twilight *does* have a counterpart in the universe, but she hasn't moved to this school district the way that Twilight moved to Ponyville in the main series. Possibly because Sunset Shimmer changed over to this universe and disrupted the order of events. Basically filling the Twilight Sparkle 'space' that the Humanized Twilight would have occupied.

 

Despite the bizarre scrawl, Sunset can read 'Twilight Sparkle' in that.

 

And here's the first thing that marks it as truly modern, the smartphones Snips and Snails have. And the monitors on the computer terminals.

 

In the main series, there are only two things that look like computing devices, Twilight's heavy iron she used when trying to analyize Pinkie Sense, and the video game cabinets seen in the Hearts and Hooves Day episode. Twilight's machine is more along the lines of ENIAC and EDSAC, programmed via cables and switches, so she wouldn't recognize a terminal. It's the video game cabinet that throws this for a loop, but we don't get to see the screen in that episode. It's entirely possible it's an electro-mechanical game like Periscope or Crown Soccer, not what we would recognize as a computer-driven video game. For these reasons, Twilight's confusion with the computer terminal is understandable.

 

I've seen people at work type like that, with their fists. Usually in frustration, but I work for an IT company. Frustrated workers are expected.

 

I've also seen people accidentally photocopy their face as well, hitting the button at the wrong time and blinding themselves. It's pretty amusing.

 

New dress... complete with wig? What?

 

More indication of full modernity, we're dealing with kids more connected through email and texts than face-to-face communication.

 

As I've mentioned elsewhere, the competition with Rainbow Dash wasn't intended to test Twilight's sporting abilities. Rainbow was testing to see if Twilight would give up or worse, not even try.

 

And the song that basically makes this film. When I was in high school, if a bunch of cheerleaders started singing and dancing in the cafeteria, and blatantly flirting with everyone no matter which clique they were in, pretty much everyone in the school would vote whatever way they said. So this is, as far as I could tell, the most realistic part of this film.

 

Personal note, I dislike the models they used for Celestia and Luna. There's something odd in the way they've drawn the adult characters that is distracting to me.

 

What, no photoshop? Literal cut and paste is a bit primitive relative to the technology they've already displayed in the film.

 

It is highly unlikely any school board would let two sisters be principal and vice principal of the same school. This would mean the system there is quite different. It brings up the possibility that none of this is 'real'. Meaning what Twilight (and Sunset) is experiencing is so very alien that their minds are constructing this simulacrum of Equestria as a coping mechanism. If this is true, then it seems that Twilight is acting as the driver, as most of the simulacra characters are being pulled from her own mind, and not Sunset's.

 

And Pinkie proves that she has some bizarre connection to her counterpart, pulling the exact scenario out of the air.

 

One thing that other people keep telling me that it's unrealistic that Twilight can show up at this school, not go to class, and enter the Fall Formal competition, without being a student at the school. Honestly, given how bureaucracies work, it would have taken the staff at the high school I went to at least a week or more before they questioned an extra student with no paperwork explaining their presence. And Twilight was only there for three days, so this doesn't bother me at all. And given the 'lets rebuild the gym' scene, it doesn't seem like any of these students spend a lot of time in class.

 

Okay, here's another odd thing. Rarity has a collection of jewelry that just coincidentally matches the pony cutie-marks the same way the various Elements of Harmony does. Are these actually the Elements of Harmony of this universe?

 

Twilight has what's called 'invisible heels'. A style of high heel shoe which was fashionable in about 2008-2009. It didn't catch on past that point as the sole of the shoe has to be dead hard to carry it off with no support, requiring the wearer to basically concentrate constantly on ballerina pointing the entire time wearing them.

 

Is that a cartoony representation of a 2008 Dodge Challenger? The front's not quite right, but the I can see the resemblance.

 

There's this one background character with badger-like stripes in his hair that is a bit distracting. I swear I've seen that design decades ago in some kind of Scooby Do knock-off, but I can't find it. The best I can do is a blending of Alexandria and Alexander Cabot from Josie and the Pussycats, but that's not what I'm remembering.

 

Sunset is pretty obviously threatening to break the frame of the portal, as she's not actually standing near enough to hit the center of the portal. No guarantee that would actually do anything to the portal itself, but if the statue collapses, it might block the portal long enough to prevent Twilight going through it. That's the best I can do to figure out why this is considered a valid threat.

 

And suddenly we're in a different movie. The hell? Has the Element of Magic always been able to do this?

 

I get the feeling Sunset is making stuff up as she goes along now. This cannot have been her original plan. This is a *stupid* plan. If this is the kind of power only available because the Element of Magic is not in Equestria, then going back through the portal will end Sunset's ability to do this. Her mind must be being scrambled by this transformation.

 

I... what? This... what?

 

Okay, Twilight is pulling the magic out of the Element of Magic without being in contact with it.

 

The humans are very quickly accepting of these anthros, magic being thrown around, demonic entities, etc. I get the feeling this isn't *that* unusual for them. It may be legendary, but I bet they've seen this kind thing before.

 

And Pony Pinkie demonstrates that she's just as connected to her Humanized counterpart, with the ability to guess exactly what occurred in the alternate reality.