My reaction to G5.

[Peace Petal 9]

First of all, I’m just so happy there is news. Any news, good or bad, is better than no news. I was really getting a little worried that the movie would be postponed. The September 2021 release date was given way back before COVID-19 hit, and then there was nothing. I was afraid that they had fallen behind, and they were going to postpone the movie. So to get news at all is proof they are still working on it.

Kidscreen article

              Before I get on to the Hasbro Investor Event, let’s roll the clock back to the Kidscreen article. This article told us two things. The first was that G5 would take place in the same world as G4. This was great news to me. The Kidscreen article makes it clear they did this for the right reasons. It talked a lot about the expansive worldbuilding and lore of FiM, and it even talked about visiting “unexplored corners of Equestria.” Worldbuilding is kind of my thing, so I’d definitely say they made the right call for the right reasons.

              The other news from this article made a lot of bronies nervous, from what I can gather. “The introduction of new characters and a departure from designs featured in Friendship is Magic and Pony Life is intended to shift the brand’s focus to more modern themes like diversity and inclusion… The movie’s main character, for example, is an activist working to make the pony world a better place.” Those buzzwords, “diversity,” “inclusion,” and “activist,” made me worried. Too many times, I’ve seen a political agenda get in the way of good storytelling. Look at what’s happened to Star Wars and Doctor Who, for example. Especially since they gave us so little about the story in this article, I was afraid that the story would be sidelined to get the political message across.

              Looking at the synopsis we got on 25 Feb, I am now less worried. Like with setting G5 in the same world as G4, I’m now thinking that they decided to emphasize diversity and inclusion for the right reason: story. A political message can add to a story rather than hamper it, if done right. I’ll talk more about why I think they’re going in the right direction when I get to the synopsis.

Netflix

              But before that, we got news that the movie’s theatrical release was canceled, and instead it was heading straight to Netflix. I was very sad when I heard this. I didn’t become a brony until 2020, so I missed the 2017 movie in theaters. I was really looking forward to the experience of seeing ponies on the big screen. I was going to show up in that theater full of little girls and their parents, decked out in merch, proud to be there. I was going to cheer as the My Little Pony logo appeared on the screen accompanied by epic, cinematic music. I was so ready.

But whatever. I have Netflix, unlike some bronies, so I guess I shouldn’t complain. I might complain, however, about the release date being ambiguous now. They’re still saying “fall 2021,” but I can’t help but fear that it’ll be like November instead of September.

              I also want to point out that it’s interesting that they’re opening with a movie. I hope the movie will have the power to attract new fans. Movie releases usually have more viewers than series episodes, and especially with the 3D animation I think this movie could tap into the same market that’s made Disney so rich. So I’m excited to see MLP spike in popularity. But let’s get real: historically, MLP does not do as well with movie-length stories as episode-length stories. The Equestria Girls movies, the 2017 movie, even the 1986 movie, were just not all that great. The 2017 movie had its pluses, but it wasn’t up to the same level of writing as Friendship is Magic. So I guess what I’m saying is even if the 2021 movie isn’t all that good, I won’t throw out G5 because I wouldn’t be surprised if the show is better than the movie.

Bedsheet

              The next point on the timeline of MLP G5 was the bedsheet. The bedsheet that broke the internet. You know anticipation is HIGH when leaked merch that disappears after a day inspires hundreds of fan art pieces. I am so happy to see the brony community coming back together in anticipation for G5. Like the 2017 movie, I missed MLP:FiM’s explosion across the internet in 2010-2014. I wish I had been there, but if things keep up like this, maybe 2021 is the start of the Pony Restoration.

              The bedsheet character designs are in 2D, in contrast to the 3D character designs in the movie itself. Just in general, I personally prefer a 2D art style to a 3D art style, but these characters look good in both. The first thing I notice about the designs is the fetlocks around the hooves. I prefer visible hooves to the featureless legs of G4. I think the heads might be a little smaller and less round. Certainly the eyes are smaller and farther apart, and the nose is bigger, or at least wider. The G4 designs were a little too chibi for me. Certainly the character designs and the facial expressions were iconic, but I like the less cartoonish proportions of these new ponies. I’m worried that the faces look a little too human. I think it’s the eyebrows and the overall flatness of the faces. But I’m willing to accept the tradeoff. They wouldn’t have looked good in 3D if they were too similar to real horses. Overall, I think this new design is a good compromise between the cartoonish design of G4 and the more realistic look of G1 and G3. Actually, in my opinion they look a little like the G2 toys. But I like it.

              I like the individual character designs as well. Their colors are good; cool, muted tone, not too brash. Izzy’s mane is fantastically luscious, and her horn looks surprisingly large and sharp. Pipp’s wings are certainly interesting. Are all the pegasi like that, or is there something special about her?

              The bedsheet was certainly interesting, but I wasn’t sure if it was for real until the first screenshot came out on 24 Feb.

First screenshot

              Speaking of the screenshot, WOW. Just WOW. I know I wasn’t the only brony blown away by this. Sunny in this screenshot is detailed, cute, and charming. This is high-level animation, and, as we found out later, it also looks really good moving. My only reservation is that it looks a little too much like Disney. Disney didn’t invent animation, but the synopsis also has a few Disney-esque details, so I have some reason to be nervous. I don’t want MLP to copy Disney. I don’t even like Disney!

              Looking at the screenshot more closely, there are some fun tidbits to find here. We’ve got the Mane 6 toys, the cutie mark pins, the Rainbow Dash banner, and the Celestia banner. So… she’s a pegasister. I like her already. I’m also happy to have an earth pony protagonist in G5. Unicorns were always overrepresented in G4, and earth ponies were sadly sidelined despite Ponyville being founded by them.

The lamp and the piano caught my eyes. These are… hoof-friendly technology! It was always so cute in FiM when an earth pony had to pick something up with their teeth. But it was never consistent, and it always ticked me when they used hooves like hands in ways that are clearly impossible. This hoof-friendly technology tells me the animators are going to be more consistent about what hooves can and can’t do, and they’ve thought about worldbuilding. Speaking of worldbuilding, I see a digital alarm clock. This whole bedroom is very modern-looking, which is not really a surprise. I’m willing to accept more advanced technology in Equestria, but I hope tablets, apps, and viral videos don’t take a frontline role like they did in Pony Life. Either way, it got me thinking about how far in Equestria’s future G5 will be set…

Synopsis

              The synopsis gives some clues about this. I’m a writer, so I’ll spend more time looking at this than anything else. “The pony world of Equestria has lost its magic. (GASP!) Friendship and Harmony have been replaced by paranoia and mistrust, and Ponies now live separated by species.” Whoa, hold up! There’s a lot to talk about already.

              For things to have gone so wrong, I can only believe that Twilight Sparkle is no longer ruling Equestria. I’m not sure if she really is meant to live way longer like Celestia and Luna. I think we’re at least eighty years or so after FiM, beyond the natural lifespan of the Mane 6. Maybe longer if Twilight outlives them. Personally, I suspect we’ve gone several centuries in the future. As for the loss of magic, I think that line just refers to the loss of the magic of friendship. I imagine there are still magical creatures, unicorn magic, flying pegasi, etc. I also think the characters have their cutie marks, but only on one side. In the gif they released, you can see Sunny’s cutie mark as she walks towards the center of the screen before shoving Hitch. But if magic is still functioning, what happened to the Windigos? Why hasn’t Equestria frozen over? Well… we haven’t seen outdoors. Maybe the world is frozen over. But I think it’s more likely that Twilight destroyed or banished them before she died. Maybe she even died doing it.

“Sunny – a feisty and idealistic young earth pony – is convinced there’s still hope for this divided world… but her slightly misguided and often hilarious efforts to change hearts and minds have led to her being branded a misfit.” So, this is part of what makes me think that diversity and inclusion are going to add to the story rather than subtract from it. I was afraid our “activist main character” would get preachy, but instead she’s “slightly misguided and often hilarious.” So, the activist has to learn and grow like everypony else. That’s good! She—and the writers and their political agendas—won’t be obnoxious and take the moral high ground like the Thirteenth Doctor, for example. Separating the species also makes me feel better about this. I wouldn’t want an activist complaining about nothing, but we have a real problem in this world. There’s a lot of opportunity for lore and history here. Admittedly, it’s a little sad that the Mane 6’s efforts didn’t make a difference in the long run, but I suppose that’s real life. Racism never goes away.

“When Sunny befriends a lost Unicorn named Izzy, who wanders innocently into the earth pony town of Maretime Bay, the town has had enough.” So, wait, do the Earth Ponies form a mob and chase them out of town? Dude… that’s dark. Obviously G5 is still pastel-colored ponies. The animation is cute and bright, and the rest of the synopsis sounds a lot more lighthearted. But I’m thinking by MLP standards, G5 is essentially the dark reboot. They’re going to make us deal with some heavy emotional, social, and societal stuff.

“Izzy and Sunny must embark on an epic adventure that will include a daring jewel heist, outrageous conspiracy theories, elaborate musical numbers, and the world’s cutest flying Pomeranian.” MUSICAL NUMBERS!! No incarnation of MLP is complete without musical numbers. This is good news. But “the world’s cutest flying Pomeranian” makes me nervous. That sounds like one of those kids’ movie gimmicks where they’re trying too hard and it’s only funny to the kids, like the minions in Despicable Me or the rooster and pig in Moana. There couldn’t be anything more Disney-esque than an animal sidekick, and guess what? An animal sidekick is super redundant in a movie about ANTROPOMORPHIZED ANIMALS. Of all the news we’ve gotten on G5 so far, this is the thing that makes me the most worried. I’m on board with almost everything else, but please, please, please, we don’t need the world’s cutest flying Pomeranian in a movie about cute ponies, many of which can fly.

“Their adventures will take them to faraway lands and force them to challenge the status quo by facing their fears and making new friends out of old enemies.” I know a lot of fans thought of Tirek, Cozy Glow, and Chrysalis at this line, but I don’t think that’s what this means. I think G4 and G5 are going to be more loosely connected than that. If you start a reboot by bringing back three antagonists from the show’s previous incarnation, you’re just going to alienate new viewers. More likely, this refers to old enemies in the personal lives of the main characters, or old enemies in the sense that the pony species having been antagonistic towards each other for a long time.

“The world Sunny has dreamed of her entire life could finally become a reality as Sunny and her newfound friends fight to prove that even little ponies can make a big difference.” CUTE! Did you see what they did there, with the “little” ponies? Chortle… “In the computer-animated series, the adventures of Sunny Starscout and her friends will continue.” Computer-animated is often synonymous with 3D. So, is the series animation style the same as the movie? That’s not was I was expecting… Like I said, I prefer a 2D style, and it’d certainly be easier for them. I hope this doesn’t mean the show has a shorter running time per season. But the 3D style in the screenshots is really good, so I guess I’m willing to accept it.

That’s about all I have on the synopsis. Again, as a writer, I was very interested in dissecting this thing. I have all sorts of theories I didn’t put here, but I covered all my most important first impressions. Overall, I’m very excited!

Second screenshot

              Of course I have to talk about the second screenshot with the already iconic tennis ball. What a way to introduce a new character to the fandom! We can only guess what the tennis ball is for, but it’s helped propel Izzy to undisputed best pony status. (Hitch is my personal favorite pony, but I know when I’ve been outvoted.) My theory on the tennis ball has to do with the pegasus guards. There’s obviously mistrust between the species. I think they put the tennis ball there as a safety precaution. Probably Izzy and Sunny are on their way to meet some high-up pegasus. Certainly the tennis ball would protect anypony from Izzy’s incredibly sharp horn. I’m not sure if it would do anything to negate her magic. Probably not. Maybe I’m wrong and there really is no magic in Equestria now. But whatever it’s there for, it’s adorable and I love Izzy.

              That’s not all there is to talk about in this screenshot. Sunny seems to be a bookworm. Are you sure about this? I don’t want her to be too similar to Twilight. The background is once again worth picking apart. The guards’ armor is FINE and sleek. The shiny, white and gold look of wherever we are is interesting. I don’t know what the symbol on the door represents, but I’m excited to find out. There are clouds in the windows. It seems there is an elevator panel behind them with a lot of buttons. So we seem to be in a gigantic tower, perhaps a skyscraper.

              This all makes me even more excited. This whole shot has a really neat aesthetic, different from both our own world and the Equestria we’re familiar with. I am once again convinced that they’re doing real worldbuilding for this movie. I cannot wait to visit this brand new, unexplored Equestria.

Gif, names, and character speculation

              Feb 25 broke my brain again when we got a short animation of the characters. The 3D animation looks as good in motion as it did in the screenshots. Of course, the big reveal with the gif was the existence of a stallion mane character! Yes, yes, YES! LET’S GO!! “Diversity and inclusion” usually means female dominance at the cost of the males. But this is real diversity here! It was a logical move to have all females in G4—it’s a show for little girls—but in 2021 girls can watch boys onscreen and boys can watch girls.

Izzy’s cute as ever in the gif. We don’t know a lot about the stallion, but I think he’s a cousin to Sunny. Their shoving horseplay (sEe WhAt I dId ThErE?) seems like a family dynamic sort of thing, their color schemes are similar, and they’re both earth ponies. They even have a common thread in their names: “Scout” and “Trailblazer.” But since their last names are different, I don’t think they’re siblings.

I like the new names. I raised an eyebrow at Izzy. Almost all pony names are words describing actual things. Izzy is not. But the last names are all pretty consistent with the G4 style. And who says things can’t change over time?

I have some speculation about what our characters will be like. We already got a description of Sunny’s personality. I’d add that I suspect she is a bookworm and a history buff. She’s obsessed with the heroes of the past, and she probably has an idealistic and optimistic outlook, maybe to the point of being a little blind to reality.

Izzy is an adorable goofball. I’m a little afraid of her because she reminds me of Pinkie Pie, but she’s a unicorn. Pinkie Pie has enough crazy powers as is. Adding unicorn powers to that would be havoc.

We have less on Hitch, but I have some theories. I don’t know what the symbol on his belt is, but I see a carabiner. With that and his name, I think he’s some kind of scout/outdoors/wilderness guy. He’s probably very fit, and maybe he sometimes underestimates his own strength, as seen in the gif. If he is Sunny’s cousin, then when the earth ponies kick her out (:o), he decides to go with her. Probably he thinks she’s a bit of a misfit, too, but he goes out of loyalty. He might be a more moderate voice contrasting Sunny’s activism. He’ll probably voice the more traditional, racists attitudes of the city they come from, but he’ll overcome that weakness in time. But of course I’m just speculating at this point.

Conclusion

              Overall, I am STOKED. I am HYPED. I wasn’t sure how they would proceed with G5, and I had my worries. I was afraid of them making G5 too similar to G4. They had lightning in a bottle, why change the formula? But I ask why have a reboot if you’re just repeating the same thing? You’re not creating anything new; you’re just leeching off someone else’s brilliant idea. Have you ever looked at a theater’s listing of movies and realized that most of them trace their origins to the 1980s or earlier? It drives me crazy. A reboot is only justified in my eyes if it has enough new ideas that it’s contributing something original, like Lauren Faust did in 2010.

              On the other hand, I was worried about G5 departing too much from G4. What especially scared me was if they tried appealing to an older audience. FiM was plenty appealing to older viewers, but not because it was planned that way. It was made for little girls, but it was good enough that anyone could watch it. If G5 was marketed for older audiences, it would lose some of its magic and charm. It might be a good show, but it wouldn’t be My Little Pony. My worst nightmare was if they made it “adult” by including sex, cussing, and other filth that sells well. It was never very likely, but it scared me anyway.

              What we have of G5 looks like the perfect compromise between the two extremes. They’ve obviously departed from G4 quite a bit. The animation and art style are different, the screenshots show a world with a very different feel, and the story revealed by the synopsis is in a way surprisingly dark. But they’ve also preserved the charm of MLP. The characters are cute and quirky, the colors are bright, and that same story sounds like a lot of fun even as it tackles tough topics. I couldn’t have imagined this turning out better than it is. If I had written a synopsis of everything I wanted the movie to, it couldn’t have been more interesting than what they’ve actually given us.

              My only reservation is the flying Pomeranian. In all that time before we started getting official information on the movie, I envisioned a lot of ways G5 could go wrong. The only one that hasn’t been ruled out yet is Disney parody. I’m still worried that the movie could be formulaic and predictable. I’m still worried they’ll add twist villains, preachy messages, and annoying side characters because that’s what’s worked for Disney.

              But it’s way too early to judge G5. As I’ve worked on this reaction, I’ve surprised myself with how many theories and thoughts I have. But really we still have very little information. Even a trailer isn’t enough, in my opinion, to really judge whether or not a movie will be good. For me even watching the movie won’t be enough to confidently say how good G5 will be. I’m withholding a definitive judgement of MLP G5 until the entire first season of the show is out. But in the meantime it’s fun to speculate and geek out. And my speculation for now is that G5 is going to be as good as G4. I couldn’t offer higher praise.

[Truffles 2,033]

17 minutes ago, Thunderhead said:

Sunny seems to be a bookworm. Are you sure about this? I don’t want her to be too similar to Twilight.

It's not hard to believe someone who has spent a lot of time studying her idol would take on some of that idol's habits and favorite pastimes. The more she learned about Twilight, the more she got into reading books.

In short, Twilight is to Sunny what Starswirl the Bearded was to Twilight.

Sunny probably even dresses up like Twilight on Nightmare Night, presuming that holiday is still a thing.

I think Sunny is more pro-active than Twilight, however - at least that's the impression I got from the press release. While Twilight could be pro-active when a situation presented itself that lent itself to her talents, she didn't really want to put herself out there in the spotlight if it could be avoided. Conversely, I feel like Sunny is a bit more like Scootaloo (yes beyond her color scheme, lol) and it more likely to throw caution to the wind and that's a good part of why her hometown has labeled her a misfit.