friendship games Why are these films so praised in spite of their horrifically poor writing?

[KatonRyu 1,026]

 

 

- Why do the people in this world feel nothing like legitimate human beings, acting entirely numb to the existence and presence of magic (with the exception of SciTwi)?

 

The people at CHS know the truth, and are savvy enough not to go around telling everyone of this.

 

 

 

- Why wasn't the existence of magic a massively reported news story? Why didn't anyone think there was anything strange about magical rainbows shooting up into the sky, or the any of the other unexplainable things that appear to happen near CHS?

 

For one thing, a lot of people are skeptical. If I saw bright flashes of light shooting up into the sky or whatever, I would not assume it was magic. It could be anything from fireworks to a thunderstorm and in today's society where bright lights and loud noises aren't very strange anymore I don't think a lot of people would think much of it.

 

As for the news...perhaps Celestia managed to convince eager reporters nothing strange happened and and that they had fireworks during the Fall Formal, which for high school is apparently quite the event. It's flimsy, yes, but without hard proof of magic it doesn't make much of a story. Same thing could be said for the Battle of the Bands.

 

 

 

- Why did the Crystal Prep students want Twilight to unleash her magic, despite having just escaped danger that was only caused when her magic got loose?

 

Cinch accused Celestia of having 'trained attack plants'. It's not hard to see her lying to her own students about CHS being the cause of the danger despite knowing full well Twilight's device did it. As for her own reasoning, I imagine she believed Twilight could control the magic and that she was just being reluctant.

 

 

 

- Why was Midnight Sparkle evil while "Daydream Shimmer" was good, despite having received a transformation from the exact same source of magic?

 

It was used in the wrong way. When Sunset used the crown for selfish gain, she became a demon. Twilight used the magic for selfish gain, so it warped her into Midnight Sparkle. Sunset used the magic of friendship, not for herself but for everyone, and thus was given access to the 'real' magic.

 

 

 

- Why and how was SciTwi able to create a device that can locate and extract magic, apparently without even knowing how it works?

 

Apparently Twilight measured the magic as just 'energy' at first, something that is possible to do even without fully understanding what you're measuring. Building a device that could contain it is certainly conceivable, although I agree its erratic behavior is a bit contrived, unless it was always meant to automatically absorb the 'energy'. Twilight's reaction to it suggests otherwise, though.

 

 

 

- Why was Cinch so devoid of human empathy, in spite of being an actual, full-blooded human?

 

Not all humans are nice. There are those who truly are devoid of empathy, usually known as sociopaths. Even then, the hardline coach/teacher of the rival school is a staple of high school sports movies and isn't really something I hold as a weakness to this film in particular.

 

All in all, these answers are of course nothing more than my opinion. I can certainly see why you might not like any of the EQG movies.

[Prince Firemane 309]

- Why do the people in this world feel nothing like legitimate human beings, acting entirely numb to the existence and presence of magic (with the exception of SciTwi)?

 

- Why wasn't the existence of magic a massively reported news story? Why didn't anyone think there was anything strange about magical rainbows shooting up into the sky, or the any of the other unexplainable things that appear to happen near CHS?

Well, maybe magic is a known phenomenon at this point. I don't buy the idea that everyone at Canterlot High is keeping the secret of magic's existence in spite of how publically flashy it's been. I figure that investigation has been done off-screen to keep from unnecessairy exposition in the films. I know it's a flimsy excuse of an explaination, but there you go. Besides, no one seems genuinely shocked at the existence of magic itself, just what it's capable of.

 

 

- Why did the Crystal Prep students want Twilight to unleash her magic, despite having just escaped danger that was only caused when her magic got loose?

All they've seen it do is give girls ears, longer hair and wings in some cases, with the unfortunate side-effect of "attack plants" coming out of unstable rifts in space. Granted, it is a real danger. However, Principal Cinch and the majority of studens at Crystal Prep are concerned with their reputation and winning the competition. In fact, at that point in the movie, the only ones at that school that seem capable of any kind of compassion were Twilight and Dean Cadance. These aren't nice people; they're mean, vengeful and arrogant. They want to do whatever they can to ensure that they're seen as the best around. They wanted Twilight to release the magic because they thought they were just gonna gain wings like the mane six did and if any unforseen consequences like attack plants showed up, they would be able to take care of it, or worse use them to their advantage. Not to mention they saw it as their right to use the magic to help them win because they thought the mane six did the same.

 

 

- Why was Midnight Sparkle evil while "Daydream Shimmer" was good, despite having received a transformation from the exact same source of magic?

The magic reflected their emotions and desires and brought them alive. Midnight Sparkle wasn't evil, she was amoral. Twilight was desparate and alone, and she just wanted to learn. The magic reflected that and took away her inhibitions and fears, driving her out of control. She wasn't out to directly cause harm, her goal was to understand and know everything there is to know about magic. She just didn't care about whatever stood in her way, be it a handful of students or the fabric of reality itself. As for "Daydream Shimmer", the same forces apply. She wanted nothing more than to protect her friends and help Twilight. The magic gave her the ability to do so.

 

 

- Why and how was SciTwi able to create a device that can locate and extract magic, apparently without even knowing how it works?

She knew how she built it to work, she built her device to track and analyze EM frequencies ((because apparently magic registers as electromagnitism...?)) with the express goal of extrapolating their point of origin. As she directly told Pinkie Pie, it was also built with the intent of capturing anomalous energy signatures. Where her confusion came into play was when the device started activating and behaving on its own, first by capturing in the anomalous energy signatures without her intervention and later by literally dragging her to another source of energy.

 

 

- Why was Cinch so devoid of human empathy, in spite of being an actual, full-blooded human?

She's a bitch, plain and simple. She's so focused on maintaining her reputation that she was willing to blackmail and shame a student in order to do so. I've had teachers in high school that were just like her, so her lack of empathy isn't surprising to me.

[Castle Bleck 19,167]

She's a bitch, plain and simple. She's so focused on maintaining her reputation that she was willing to blackmail and shame a student in order to do so. I've had teachers in high school that were just like her, so her lack of empathy isn't surprising to me.

 

There's kind of an official term for that.

 

It starts with an "s" and ends with an "ociopath."

[Cleverclover 1,525]

I figure that investigation has been done off-screen to keep from unnecessairy exposition in the films.

 

Doubtful. 

 

 

 

They wanted Twilight to release the magic because they thought they were just gonna gain wings like the mane six did and if any unforseen consequences like attack plants showed up, they would be able to take care of it, or worse use them to their advantage.

 

They had no reason to expect that. Really, they had no reason to expect anything. I feel that they should have had far more reason to want absolutely nothing to do with magic. 

 

There's really another answer obvious answer here: why not redo the last event and actually have a race that isn't being overrun by killer plants? Why they even allowed the previous race to count is beyond me. You'd think that they would call it off at once and focus on getting everyone to safety, right? 

 

This is exactly why I can't care about these people. They don't care about themselves. They'd rather subject themselves to possible danger than seek out more reasonable and rational solutions. 

 

 

 

Midnight Sparkle wasn't evil, she was amoral.

 

Nah, she was evil. She clearly had no empathy whatsoever for anyone around her. So unless her goal of understanding magic involved disregarding anyone and everyone's safety to do so, and even placing them directly in harm's way, it still doesn't make sense.

 

I'll give you Sunset's transformation, though I still can't comprehend why transformations seem to be the default effect of any magic in this world. 

 

 

 

Where her confusion came into play was when the device started activating and behaving on its own, first by capturing in the anomalous energy signatures without her intervention and later by literally dragging her to another source of energy.

 

 

That's something that really should not have been able to happen if she did not specifically program it to do that. Man-made devices simply do not gain autonomy on a whim (except in science fiction). Either she programmed it to be autonomous or she didn't, but either way, she shouldn't have expressed utter shock and acted like she had no idea what it was doing. 

 

 

 

I've had teachers in high school that were just like her,

 

I sincerely doubt it. And "bitch" is nowhere near enough to describe her anyway. 

Edited November 3, 2015 by Cleverclover

[Ziltoid the Omniscient 286]

I dont think 'praised' is the preffered nomenclature for the EqG movies. jus saiyan.

[cider float 2,535]

Bronies were supposed to be folks that could see why MLP G4 was better written than the other generations of MLP. But now it's just become a cult following. They stand by the "you must like whatever material DHX studios spits out or you're just a hater." Criticisms be damned. It's just about making each other feel good.

Edited November 4, 2015 by cider float

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

Does a movie/tv show really has to make sense?

Yes.

1. Films like Snow White have plenty of cartoon logic, but they're still grounded to some level of reality. Details like Sleepy's half-closed eyes, the custom beds, and Grumpy's temper give the world plenty of shape due to real-life connotations.
2. Why are the jokes in Looney Tunes funny? Because the jokes make sense. The audience laughed at the villains' comeuppance because they got what they deserved.
3. Why does the "TIMBER!" joke when the tree smashes through Spike the bulldog work in the Avery cartoons? Because no sense of danger existed. If Spike had a feeling he would've been hurt or killed by the tree landing on him, no one would laugh. But that never happened, and the audience knew it.

Good work in FIM runs the same way.

1. Each of the three main races have some level of magic. Earth ponies' are extremely subtle. Pegasi's magic via their wings. Unicorns via the horn, like a wand.
2. Moondancer is extremely relatable because so many bronies understand her pain. Her reasons for rejecting friendship are very plausible. The first time she even tried, Twilight didn't show up and didn't say goodbye.
3. Luna's cause to self-harm and late reveal make sense. Everypony else forgave her, except herself. One of the biggest reasons a lot of cutters hide their scars is because they feel dragging others into the problem will only make things worse. Luna was co-leading a kingdom, and she didn't want to be seen as weak.
4. Pinkie's insanity during Party of One makes sense. She's the Bearer of Laughter and relies a lot on others' happiness; when they're happy, she's happy. When her friends acted suspicious and hid from Pinkie, she had every reason to assume they wanted nothing to do with her anymore.

And when it doesn't make sense, the story quality plummets:

1. In Friendship Games, the Mane Six had to learn motocross on the fly. Motocross is very dangerous. You must train for it, and you need a license to even drive an off-road bike. No sensible parent nor school would've attempted this contest. It was only there because it looks cool.
2. The interrogation scene between VP Luna and Twilight in EQG1 makes no sense. One: Sunset Shimmer's acting was bad. Two: VP Luna was convinced Twilight did it simply by having pictures of Twilight cut out and glued on a background. Most paper is thick, especially photo paper, and you can easily feel the layers. The only way for SS's plan to work is to dumb down Luna's character.
3. Going back to the example of Spike and the tree, an earlier scene of Apploosa's Most Wanted had the characters running for cover when the pyramid of hay collapsed. Most of the episode portrayed Troubleshoes as a criminal who intentionally caused trouble. This leads to a lot of drama in the town and overall narrative. Then in the climax, TS wants to be taken seriously, and the clowns run for cover. But the climax was trying to turn the rodeo into a comedy; the pyramid collapsing was supposed to make us laugh. How the hell was the audience supposed to laugh at the falling pyramid and chaos when the story can't even get its self-contained continuity right? When the story makes no sense, the jokes make no sense, and nobody will laugh.
4. Why did so many people criticize the rushed ending of Princesses Dream? Because the method was garbage. Luna's guilt climaxed, and in one minute, the audience was supposed to believe she feels all better? Grief and depression don't work that way. It takes a long time for people to recover from self-guilt; sometimes they don't.

Edited November 4, 2015 by Dark Qiviut

[Prince Firemane 309]

Doubtful. 

Well, there's a certain grain of salt that has to be taken. Let's be honest, the most likely reason it was never addressed is because not only would it serve no purpose to the narrative, but I'm sure they assumed the target audience wouldn't really care about formal inquaries. I really hate to use the target audience as a reasoning for inconsistencies and plot holes as it seems like a cop-out, but there are moments where we just have to assume it so, especially when they're such minor details.

 

 

They had no reason to expect that. Really, they had no reason to expect anything. I feel that they should have had far more reason to want absolutely nothing to do with magic. 

Why not? They saw it happen to Rainbow and Applejack. It's very basic human deduction to assume that if it happens a certain way more than once, it'll most likely happen that way again. Sure, it's an exceptionally flawed system, but it's still how we think.

 

 

There's really another answer obvious answer here: why not redo the last event and actually have a race that isn't being overrun by killer plants? Why they even allowed the previous race to count is beyond me. You'd think that they would call it off at once and focus on getting everyone to safety, right? 

 

This is exactly why I can't care about these people. They don't care about themselves. They'd rather subject themselves to possible danger than seek out more reasonable and rational solutions. 

You have to remember, Celestia is much more familiar with magic than Cinch is, she also has seen the mane six handle much more dangerous magical situations. Is it really so hard to believe that she'd trust them to be able to handle it? After all, that's exactly what her counterpart in Equestria does.

 

And you have to remember, Celestia did want to call the whole thing off at once and focus on everyone's safety. Cinch demanded that the games go on and I believe the only reason Celestia relented was because she trusted the mane six to handle whatever magic may pop up later.

 

 

Nah, she was evil. She clearly had no empathy whatsoever for anyone around her. So unless her goal of understanding magic involved disregarding anyone and everyone's safety to do so, and even placing them directly in harm's way, it still doesn't make sense.

 

I'll give you Sunset's transformation, though I still can't comprehend why transformations seem to be the default effect of any magic in this world. 

That's exactly what her goal involved. All she wanted was to understand magic and didn't give a shit about who or what got in the way. Like I said, she didn't intend to harm anyone, but she didn't care if they did get harmed. She was being amoral, not evil.

 

Transformations seem to be default here because they're brought over from Equestria and the infusion of that magic makes them closer to their pony counterparts, hence the wings and ears. But when it comes to an enormous influx of magic, transformation is also the default in Equestria, so it's just following the trend.

 

 

 

That's something that really should not have been able to happen if she did not specifically program it to do that. Man-made devices simply do not gain autonomy on a whim (except in science fiction). Either she programmed it to be autonomous or she didn't, but either way, she shouldn't have expressed utter shock and acted like she had no idea what it was doing. 

So you accept sudden autonomy on a whim in science fiction, but not in a cartoon about magical girls? What's really the difference here? Is it really so hard to believe that an energy form that can transform six girls into pony hybrids can also have other effects like expanding a machine's programming?

[Venomous 18,813]

I was never a fan of any if thse movies.

Not just because of the writing, but because the stories are just ridiculous and the designs are horrible to look at.

[Cavatina Operetta 3]

Mr. Bean sums it all up for ya

[MermaidPony 8]

I guess there are a lot of plot holes, but I do think Rainbow Rocks is the best. Maybe it's because of the catchy songs, maybe it's because people are excited to see the idea of 'ponies as humans'. 

[cider float 2,535]

I guess it's because some people are more easily amused than others. Sometimes I wish I was like that again.

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

But now it's just become a cult following. They stand by the "you must like whatever material DHX studios spits out or you're just a hater."

You're objectively wrong. Brony has remained being a fan of FIM. Bronydom has nothing to do with judgment of quality. Many bronies do, but plenty also love it because the show is able to make them feel good. No two reasons are ever the same. To say that bronydom is about sucking up to anything FIM-related is a major red herring.

 

Even despite being a brony, FIM has always had average and bad work across multiple media. Equestria Girls is no exception. If it's good, I'll praise it. Amending Fences, the three shorts following Rainbow Rocks, Crusaders of the Lost Mark, and The Cutie Re-Mark are good, so they'll be praised. If it's average, then they'll be called out as such with explanations why. If the work is bad and even awful, then there's no excuse for not calling it out as such. If any brony doesn't like me giving an EQG film or episode the harsh flak it deserves, that's their problem, not mine.

Edited December 1, 2015 by Dark Qiviut

[cider float 2,535]

You're objectively wrong. Brony has remained being a fan of FIM. Bronydom has nothing to do with judgment of quality. Many bronies do, but plenty also love it because the show is able to make them feel good. No two reasons are ever the same. To say that bronydom is about sucking up to anything FIM-related is a major red herring.

 

Even despite being a brony, FIM has always had average and bad work across multiple media. Equestria Girls is no exception. If it's good, I'll praise it. Amending Fences, the three shorts following Rainbow Rocks, Crusaders of the Lost Mark, and The Cutie Re-Mark are good, so they'll be praised. If it's average, then they'll be called out as such with explanations why. If the work is bad and even awful, then there's no excuse for not calling it out as such. If any brony doesn't like me giving an EQG film or episode the harsh flak it deserves, that's their problem, not mine.

You say bronydom is not about a judgment of quality and then go onto being a critique of them? That's contradictory.

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

You say bronydom is not about a judgment of quality and then go onto being a critique of them? That's contradictory.

No, it's not. You claim that bronydom is about judging quality when it's a massive generalization. Not every brony is out there to judge writing quality. Some bronies love the show because of its optimistic tone. Some love it because it makes them feel good. Reasons vary. You claim bronydom is nothing more than a cult when it's completely false.

[cider float 2,535]

No, it's not. You claim that bronydom is about judging quality when it's a massive generalization. Not every brony is out there to judge writing quality. Some bronies love the show because of its optimistic tone. Some love it because it makes them feel good. Reasons vary. You claim bronydom is nothing more than a cult when it's completely false.

To want to keep watching a show is based on your judgment, some are just more vocal than others. It just feels like bronies aren't as specific on what they like or dislike it just feels like it's yes or no which sounds automatic and lifeless.

Edited December 6, 2015 by cider float