MLP: A New Generation: Brony (MLP Forums) Reviews/Reactions/Discussion

[Misty Shadow 7,093]

I wrote up an extensive review for both my blog and my DeviantArt. 

https://www.deviantart.com/cloudmistdragon/art/My-Little-Pony-A-New-Generation-Movie-Review-893213800

Reason I'm posting links instead of the whole thing is because I mean it, it's extensive.  I do my best to avoid as many spoilers as I can though. 

 

[Steve Piranha 28,790]

I’ve noticed a brand of pegasi watches is called as the top Greek god: Zeus. As far as I know, he isn’t strongly associated with horses tho

[Stardust Balance 7,716]

11 minutes ago, Steve Piranha said:

I’ve noticed a brand of pegasi watches is called as the top Greek god: Zeus. As far as I know, he isn’t strongly associated with horses tho

No but doesn't he live on top of a mountain, just as the pegasi do? I think that's the reference.

[Steve Piranha 28,790]

1 hour ago, Stardust Balance said:

No but doesn't he live on top of a mountain, just as the pegasi do? I think that's the reference.

Yeah, makes sense in that regard. Still, if they are going to use god references, might as well use ones associated with horses 

[Pentium100 2,057]

I liked the "gonna be my day" song. The others - not so much. 

The main characters are likeable, but, unlike G4, there is no real favorite for me (yet), maybe the TV show will change that. Izzy is a definite improvement compared to Pinkie though.

The animation will take some getting used to, but I doubt that the TV show will look like this - the animation used for the movie has to be too expensive for a TV show.

Edited September 29, 2021 by Pentium100

[CorvetteZora 39]

 I was pretty busy last week so I had to wait a bit before seeing the movie. Avoiding spoilers is HELL. 

 

 

I am so happy to say that I was very impressed by this movie. All of the worries I had began to disappear when the first clip of Izzy at Sunny's house was released and went away for good once I saw the film. Tbh, the trailers do a pretty bad job of promoting the movie and make it seem like some cringey trolls clone for kids.  

First things first, I loved them giving the Mane 6 one last hurrah at the start of the film (including evil Rarity lol). Sunny is a very grounded protagonist who never feels like a Mary Sue. Izzy is soo adorable (and my favorite), and feels like a more toned down Pinkie with a bit of Sonata Dusk thrown in. Hitch is a well-rounded character who wasn't made too macho or too wimpy. Pipp and Zipp deserved a bit more screentime but were still great characters that had a nice 'royal family' dynamic with Queen Haven. 

Even though most people didn't like him that much, I would've actually liked to see more of 'Emperor Sprout', he could've actually been an intimidating villain if they made him a bit more serious. 

Compared to the G4 movie, this film may have actually had a better story, since it managed to introduce an entirely new generation of ponies. The old movie, in comparison, was more of a celebration of all things G4 and had tons of material to work with. I think I'm still a bit too biased to the G4 characters to say the new movie's better, but I think I'll like it even more once the show comes out. Regardless, this movie captured the same grand scope of storytelling that G4 was known for, and like the previous movie, was only held back by its length. Hopefully if there's another cinematic G5 film it'll be 2 hours long.There weren't really any dull moments, and that scene at the campfire was a real tearjerker.  

The songs were pretty good, I especially enjoyed Fit Right In and I'm Looking Out For You. The rest of the songs were good, but Danger Danger was a little too silly for me. 

As for Sunny becoming an alicorn, I never had a problem with the whole twilicorn issue and I don't really mind this either. I don't think the horn and wings are permanent but instead they'll be like the 'pony up' from Equestria Girls, except a bit more 'on demand'.

The movie was pretty political in the first few minutes but never too aggressive with its underlying message. Although the story was a bit predictable at times, and the pacing/ending was a bit rushed, I don't think it made enough of a difference to ruin the movie. I'd be willing to forgive the writers for not including what caused Equestria to fall apart as long as they cover it well in the tv show.

Overall, this movie was a solid 8.5/10. It was very well made and was only affected by a few minor issues. I cannot wait for the premiere special next year. 

[Pentium100 2,057]

Oh yeah, the movie managed to not annoy me with real life politics, which was my biggest concern about it. Some things that I noticed IMO apply to both sides and I did not look too deeply for it because I wanted to enjoy a movie about ponies, not politics. There is another TV show that managed to annoy me a bit with its "let's be really obvious with politics" episode after many good ones, though later episodes were OK too.

[Evil Pink One 13,020]

5 hours ago, Steve Piranha said:

Yeah, makes sense in that regard. Still, if they are going to use god references, might as well use ones associated with horses 

first of all... in Disney Zeus made pegasus for Hercules... originally Poseidon and Medusa are it's mother and father.....

pegasus was born from the blood that spilled from his mother.... materialized from it .....

[Steve Piranha 28,790]

This picture aged well 

Edited September 30, 2021 by Steve Piranha

[Evil Pink One 13,020]

btw BONELESS is on the movie too LOL  Yeay BONELESS!!!!

[Skylight Scintillate 1,853]

I thought the movie was pretty good.

Spoiler

Some of the things that annoyed me was that arts of it felt a bit rushed and the conclusion could have been better. In addition, the plot was a bit generic. Anyways, onto the things I liked. I think the mane five characters nailed it and the humor was on point. The animation style was pretty good, the I liked the songs. 

 

[Music Chart Fan 818]

Overall, I would say that the movie was decent. I didn't have particularly high expectations for it, but it turned out better than I thought, and I am interested enough to want to see the G5 show. The overall plot is fine, although I don't care for Sprout and his juvenile "mama's boy" behavior, and I found the way the movie handled him and Maretime Bay's fear of the other races to be a bit weird. The ending is also a little abrupt and clunky. I like some characters (such as Zipp) more than others, but many characters didn't get a whole lot of development, and I'm not sure how they'll be handled going forward, so I may have to reserve full judgement. Of course, I (and everyone else) have lots of questions about the world, the background and the lore, but I guess to some extent that fuels interest in the show. There's a lot to talk about, so I'll try to divide this post into sections.

-----

First, the new look of the movie isn't bad, but it would probably still take some getting used to for me. The fuzzy fur of the ponies can make them look like toys in my mind, so it can be difficult for me to register them as living, breathing beings. And I find that the hyper-realistic fuzzy fur and hair, when combined with the ponies' eyes and their face/body movements, can create an uncanny valley effect.

And the higher realism of the movie's world causes another thing to really stick out to me: the ponies' "magnetic hooves". I lost count of how many times objects would "stick" to characters' hooves in a physically unrealistic (or even impossible) way, because they can't grab or hold things the way that humans (or animals with manipulable digits) can. I'm sure this happened in G4 as well, but the more cartoony style of that world may have made it less noticeable, whereas the higher realism here makes it more obvious. It did grate on me a little every time I saw it, but I may just have to get used to it, because it probably isn't going away.

-----

Next, I'll give some brief thoughts about the new Mane Five.

To start, Zipp is my favorite of the Mane Five so far. I like that she's a princess, and next in line to be queen, but she's not pretentious about it. She doesn't care for what she sees as the pointless required customs of the royal family, so she only does them to the extent she has to. Instead, she's spent a lot of time studying and practicing flying (or gliding), showing a bit of her dual science and athleticism interests. She uses her position of authority to surreptitiously help her friends out. She can be sarcastic or supportive, depending on what the situation calls for. Plus, since Rainbow Dash was essentially my co-favorite of the Mane Six (along with Twilight), I think Zipp has a similar coolness factor.

Sunny is fine enough, but she does sometimes get preachy or bossy in a way that I find a little offputting. I also usually didn't find her motivational speeches to be particularly persuasive. However, I'm not sure how much of these things are just a function of the plot and events of the movie, rather than those being central character traits, so we'll have to see.

Hitch also seems okay, but I also feel unsure about his character traits or dynamic in the group. For about half of the movie, he was mostly speaking and acting from a position of (supposed) authority as sheriff, rather than as a true friend and peer. I also don't think that the concept of critters being drawn to him, despite no effort or desire on his part to do that, really amounted to much, at least so far. And the movie makes quite a few jokes at his expense. But, again, we'll have to see how much of this is carried forward into the show, rather than just being movie-specific.

It's probably little surprise that I'm not particularly a fan of Izzy. Her kind of hyper random extroverted character is close to the opposite of my personality, so my disagreeing with her actions and approach is almost inevitable. Especially near the beginning of the movie, she seems to be portrayed as an oblivious airhead, often not even realizing what's going on around her or paying any attention to what she's doing or where she's walking. Luckily, she's better in later scenes, and I'll admit that a few of her lines were entertaining. But overall, she's just not the character type that I tend to like, and that's fine.

Finally, as others have pointed out, Pipp is probably the least developed of the Mane 5 so far. She's a social media celebrity and singer/performer who seems pretty enamored of her stardom and eager to maintain it, even if that means living a lie, as Zipp puts it. She does join the Mane Five and help them escape, although at that point, she's on the run from being arrested herself. But maybe she will be more humble and grounded after the events of the movie and as she hangs out more with the Mane 5 - another case that we'll just have to see.

-----

Now I'll go through what I found the somewhat strange behavior of Sprout and Maretime Bay. On the one hand, it seems as though we're supposed to believe that the residents of Maretime Bay are legitimately scared of unicorns and pegasi invading the town and harming them. But, on the other hand, the actions they take about that, and the gadgets that are made and sold by Canterlogic to respond to that, are portrayed as goofy and incompetent.

And that makes me wonder: do Phyllis and the Canterlogic employees genuinely believe that Maretime Bay is in danger from unicorns and pegasi invading the town? If so, then do they (or anyone else in Maretime Bay) realize that their gadgets are ineffective or useless? Or are Phyllis and the Canterlogic employees knowingly exaggerating or outright making up the threat to Maretime Bay in order to frighten the residents into trusting them and purchasing gadgets that Canterlogic knows are ineffective or useless?

And these unclear motivations extend to the subplot in which Sprout takes over as sheriff and, driven by escalating fear, pushes the town and Canterlogic employees into preparing for battle and allowing him to become "emperor" of the town. So, again, the residents of the town are seemingly legitimately scared into doing these things, but then they're ready to abandon the whole thing as soon as Hitch and Sunny say that unicorns and pegasi don't have magic, and none of them end up doing any fighting, leaving Sprout as the only one to fight. If the residents of Maretime Bay are convinced to stop that easily, then would they have really been so invested in giving Sprout power and doing whatever he commanded in the first place?

Plus there's the characterization of Sprout himself. He lets his power as sheriff, and then "emperor", go to his head, but at the same time, he's (again) portrayed and goofy and incompetent, particularly in his juvenile "mama's boy" behavior. This is the "leader" whom the residents of Maretime Bay listen to, give power to, and obey? Do they not see or realize his incompetence and unfitness to lead? Most people didn't seem to respect him or take him seriously before, so why do they so later, when he hasn't demonstrated any improved ability?

Finally, Sprout did destroy Sunny's lighthouse in his rampage, and put several people in danger of being seriously harmed or even killed. Plus, in building his robot, he seized control of Canterlogic and used its resources, arguably without the consent of Phyllis, the presumed property owner. Yet we don't see Sprout formally punished or made to pay restitution in any way. Will Sunny have to build or find a new place to live? That's another thing that we'll have to see later.

-----

Next, I'll go through some higher-level questions I had from the movie.

How old are the Mane Five and Sprout supposed to be? My impression is that they look and generally act like teenagers, perhaps the equivalent of high-schoolers. But Sunny appears to live by herself in the lighthouse; Hitch is the sheriff of Maretime Bay; and Sprout is the deputy, who later takes over as sheriff and declares himself "emperor". Do those things make sense for teenagers, the equivalent of high-schoolers, to be doing? Are the Mane Five and Sprout actually older than my impression of them? The ages of the Mane Six from G4 were never exactly specified, but I don't know, they seemed older to me than the Mane Five from G5. It could be argued that the Mane Six did mature significantly over the course of nine seasons, though.

Sprout's seizure of power also raises the question of what Maretime Bay's system of governance is. Does Maretime Bay have an executive or leader above the sheriff, such as a mayor? Do they have a city council or some other legislative body, and do they have any judicial system? It would seem strange to me if Hitch as sheriff is the highest political authority of Maretime Bay. When Sunny and Hitch return to town, one of the Canterlogic employees says that "we signed the Official Sprout Act". But who is "we", and what power do they have to make such acts into law? We also know essentially nothing about the organization of Bridlewood. The end of the movie sort of treats Phyllis, Alphabittle, and Queen Haven as the "representatives" of the three races, but I don't think there's any reason to believe that Phyllis or Alphabittle hold any positions of formal political authority.

I have a lot of similar background/lore questions that others have pointed out. What happened between G4 and G5 to make the world this way? What knowledge of G4 Equestria still exists? How/when/where did Argyle, Sunny's dad, acquire the artifacts in the lighthouse? What happened to Argyle in the off-screen transition? Where are most of the other parents of the Mane 5 and Sprout? Are Sunny's glowing transparent wings and horn just a temporary effect, or is she actually an alicorn now? I suppose these and many other questions will probably have to wait for the show to see whether they're answered.

One thing in that vein I noted is that Sunny's carved figures of the Mane Six show Twilight as an alicorn with the same body proportions as the others, before she developed her Celestia-like proportions, as seen in the last episode of G4. And Sunny's Spike doll also shows him in his usual short form, not his tall chunky form as seen in the last episode of G4. That's interesting, since Twilight presumably ruled Equestria for at least 15 years or so, if not much more, whereas Twilight may have only had her alicorn-but-not-Celestia-sized form for only a few years. And I suppose we don't know exactly when Spike had his growth spurt, but he may have lived a significant time in his fully-grown form. Is this because Argyle and Sunny were particularly (or solely) interested in the years when the Mane Six worked together, but before Twilight ascended to the throne? Are Argyle and Sunny aware of Twilight's ruling years, but aren't interested in them, or even want to forget them? This could all tie in to what happened between the end of G4 and now, but we don't know.

-----

Finally, here are my other miscellaneous observations:

As Sunny roller skates over the cobblestone and brick paths, we neither see nor hear any of the bumps and cracks I might expect.

Does Sprout feel entitled to just take and consume other ponies' food and drink because he's the deputy, or something?

Obviously the Earth Pony Balloon Escape Pack is a goofy joke product, like all the rest, but I still can't help thinking about how it works. It appears that all the ripcord does is open the flaps, and the balloons with the lifting power pop out and lift the pony away. So why don't the balloons - or, more specifically, the lighter-than-air gas inside them - lift the pony off the ground even before the flaps are opened?

Also, why is the demonstrator of the Escape Pack almost immediately sucked out the window? Is an active air stream going out the window? Is there that much of a pressure differential between the building and outside?

I didn't notice this at first, but Sunny's speech before she's launched out onto the runway all takes place behind the giant glass panes. Did Sunny know those were going to be there? They do serve to make her speech less effective, although it wasn't going to be convincing anyway.

Hitch is right that Sunny shouldn't expect to change people's minds with a single speech after storming the stage. The earth ponies have seemingly been propagandized for years, if not their whole lives, so Sunny needs some compelling evidence and arguments to even start to counter that, not just shallow emotional appeals.

I would think that the design of a manhole cover should prevent anybody from being able to just dive in.

It appears that Maretime Bay has a sort of '80s/'90s level of technology. For example, we see green screen computers, CRT televisions, and Sunny's house has a boombox that plays cassette tapes. By contrast, Zephyr Heights has modern technology like giant flat screens, smart phones, wi-fi, etc. The level of technology in Bridlewood is uncertain; the DDR-like dance game is powered by a mechanical running wheel, but Izzy does appear to have an electric projector, and there are microphones in the Crystal Tea Room.

Sunny needs to give Izzy (and, later, the pegasus guard) a chance to actually answer all of the questions she's rattling off one right after the other.

When I hear "luminescence", I can't help thinking of the PS1 game Brave Fencer Musashi, in which Musashi powers up Lumina, the sword of luminescence.

Does the glass Unicorn Crystal only fit into the projection of the Pegasus Crystal on the floor because light happens to be shining through the stained glass at the right angle? If so, then those two "fitting" together could essentially just be a coincidence, even though that ended up being true later.

Zipp had wires attached to her in order to "fly" down before Pipp's performance, but a short time later, she gets up immediately upon seeing the Pegasus Crystal and runs around the crowd trying to retrieve it. So did she detach her wires some time after she landed? Would the royal family not "fly" back up to leave? If so, then would Zipp have to re-attach the wires without anyone noticing? That seems a bit risky.

The behind-the-scenes operator of the lights/rigging/etc. could stand to be more professional, rather than yelling and freaking out and mashing a bunch of buttons and levers. I might think that he would have been told how important of a job this is, especially considering that the royal family was supposed to be arrested later when the secret got out.

Queen Haven is arrested and thrown in jail, and a warrant is out for the arrest and presumed jailing of Zipp and Pipp, because they...covered up and lied about their inability to fly? Is that necessarily a jailable offense? Did doing that violate anyone's rights, or put anyone in physical danger? I could see the residents of Zephyr Heights insisting on an explanation, and considering the royal family untrustworthy and unfit to be recognized as their rulers. However, later on, the guards who come to re-arrest Queen Haven (and perhaps arrest Zipp and Pipp as well) still refer to her as "Your (Criminal) Highness" and "our queen". So, she's supposed to be arrested and in jail, but she's still considered the ruler of Zephyr Heights?

How does Izzy chop the tree down to cross the ravine (where the bridge is out) in a matter of a few seconds, without magic? The tree is dead, but it doesn't look particularly rotted or cracked or on the verge of falling over. A human with a chainsaw couldn't cut that tree down that quickly.

Apparently ponies' striking their hooves together can create sparks, and enough to start a fire.

I find it hard to believe that Sunny suddenly got so good at the DDR-like game that she could beat Alphabittle in the last round, and all it apparently took was a few sentences of encouragement from Pipp.

Sprout's giant robot has what looks like a European Union license plate on it, although I don't know what the country code of "PN" is meant to stand for.

It seems a bit weird that, as the pegasi gain the ability to fly and unicorns gain the ability to cast magic using their horns, the earth ponies don't appear to gain any abilities or anything from magic being restored. They just seem to have to act happy for the unicorns and pegasi. I read that supposedly the glowing hoofprints of the earth pony kid at the very end of the movie represent earth pony magic, although what abilities earth pony magic imparts isn't obvious to me.

Finally, does the pegasi's regaining the ability to fly also magically give them the knowledge of how to use their wings to control their flight? It's reminiscent of how Twilight appeared to already know how to fly at the end of "Magical Mystery Cure", but then in "Princess Twilight Sparkle", she's actually still a novice and learning to fly from Rainbow Dash. It might have been a neat callback to have Zipp be able to fly better than the other pegasi, because she's been studying and practicing. Maybe that could be involved in the show later - Zipp could teach advanced flying techniques to other pegasi, and could even restart the Wonderbolts or something like that.

[Metemponychosis 1,236]

6 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

higher realism of the movie's world

What do you mean?

7 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Hitch also seems okay, but I also feel unsure about his character traits or dynamic in the group. For about half of the movie, he was mostly speaking and acting from a position of (supposed) authority as sheriff, rather than as a true friend and peer.

Hitch is the new Spike. A valuable and valued member of the group that is always ready to be the butt of the jokes. Just you wait for the series to start.

17 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Plus there's the characterization of Sprout himself. He lets his power as sheriff, and then "emperor", go to his head, but at the same time, he's (again) portrayed and goofy and incompetent, particularly in his juvenile "mama's boy" behavior. This is the "leader" whom the residents of Maretime Bay listen to, give power to, and obey? Do they not see or realize his incompetence and unfitness to lead? Most people didn't seem to respect him or take him seriously before, so why do they so later, when he hasn't demonstrated any improved ability?

This is a political message. Fear makes people let idiots who don't really know what they are doing lead them simply because they are the ones that talk the loudest.

19 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Does Sprout feel entitled to just take and consume other ponies' food and drink because he's the deputy, or something?

That is literally the joke. The idea is that he thinks he is above the common citizen because he's a deputy. It's 'the badge effect'. Izzy even comments on it with Hitch, saying that it was kind of good that he lost his badge because it was creating a toxic atmosphere.

22 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Hitch is right that Sunny shouldn't expect to change people's minds with a single speech after storming the stage. The earth ponies have seemingly been propagandized for years, if not their whole lives, so Sunny needs some compelling evidence and arguments to even start to counter that, not just shallow emotional appeals.

I was more disappointed that Sunny's activism seemed cheap. She and her father were the only ones that believed what they believed and for no reason other than her father had told her. I think the audience is expected to understand that because 'magic=friendship=good' from G4. But I feel like a overt demonstration that something wasn't well in the city was in order to give some weight to her believes. Because I legit believed that Canterlogic's products were serious inside the cartoon's logic and that Phyllis' efforts were genuine. Maybe it would've been better if thar cartoon showed other ponies that silently agreed with her because the factory consumed so many resources they were lacking in something. Or something of the sort.

26 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

It appears that Maretime Bay has a sort of '80s/'90s level of technology. For example, we see green screen computers, CRT televisions, and Sunny's house has a boombox that plays cassette tapes. By contrast, Zephyr Heights has modern technology like giant flat screens, smart phones, wi-fi, etc. The level of technology in Bridlewood is uncertain; the DDR-like dance game is powered by a mechanical running wheel, but Izzy does appear to have an electric projector, and there are microphones in the Crystal Tea Room.

I feel like more than a statement about technology levels, this was an argument about their different cultures. Which were really all the same, but quirky versions of it.

28 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

The behind-the-scenes operator of the lights/rigging/etc. could stand to be more professional, rather than yelling and freaking out and mashing a bunch of buttons and levers. I might think that he would have been told how important of a job this is, especially considering that the royal family was supposed to be arrested later when the secret got out.

That's called panic. 

29 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Queen Haven is arrested and thrown in jail, and a warrant is out for the arrest and presumed jailing of Zipp and Pipp, because they...covered up and lied about their inability to fly? Is that necessarily a jailable offense? Did doing that violate anyone's rights, or put anyone in physical danger? I could see the residents of Zephyr Heights insisting on an explanation, and considering the royal family untrustworthy and unfit to be recognized as their rulers. However, later on, the guards who come to re-arrest Queen Haven (and perhaps arrest Zipp and Pipp as well) still refer to her as "Your (Criminal) Highness" and "our queen". So, she's supposed to be arrested and in jail, but she's still considered the ruler of Zephyr Heights?

It should be. They lived in luxury due to being the royal family. They used resources. Also, it could be spun as identity fraud. If her title was inherited from her mother/father, she would never cease to be 'majesty'. It's the 'blue blood'. That is why regicide was a thing in our world. She might not be queen regnant, but she would still have status of royalty.

31 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

How does Izzy chop the tree down to cross the ravine (where the bridge is out) in a matter of a few seconds, without magic? The tree is dead, but it doesn't look particularly rotted or cracked or on the verge of falling over. A human with a chainsaw couldn't cut that tree down that quickly.

The rule of funny still reigns supreme in MLP.

32 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Apparently ponies' striking their hooves together can create sparks, and enough to start a fire.

That is just dumb. And that is why I say that hitch, who was doing it the right way is the new Spike. I think that the intention was that they cooperated. As in Sunny struck the spark and Zipp fanned the flame... But it just came out as weird and mean-spirited towards Hitch.

33 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

I find it hard to believe that Sunny suddenly got so good at the DDR-like game that she could beat Alphabittle in the last round, and all it apparently took was a few sentences of encouragement from Pipp.

It should have been Pipp doing the dance. They I feel like someone decided they needed Sunny needed the Ma-Rey Sue treatment.

34 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Sprout's giant robot has what looks like a European Union license plate on it, although I don't know what the country code of "PN" is meant to stand for.

I think it's meant as PoNy.

36 minutes ago, Music Chart Fan said:

It seems a bit weird that, as the pegasi gain the ability to fly and unicorns gain the ability to cast magic using their horns, the earth ponies don't appear to gain any abilities or anything from magic being restored. They just seem to have to act happy for the unicorns and pegasi. I read that supposedly the glowing hoofprints of the earth pony kid at the very end of the movie represent earth pony magic, although what abilities earth pony magic imparts isn't obvious to me.

If anything they should be worried that the unicorns can now actually zap them with horn lasers and pegasi can sweep down from above... Earth pony magic has always been a point of contention. People say strength, others say their ability to farm. Others even say that it is their ingenuity. Honestly, the movie kind missed me on that because from my point of view, the ponies had that without magic...

 

Very thorough and insightful review.

[Evil Pink One 13,020]

wow that's long.....not gunna read through all of that 

[Twilight Luna 30,954]

I though that the movie was good but the ending seemed pretty rushed. All of a sudden, Sunny says that the crystals didn't need to be brought together, it was the different races in order to bring magic back. It's like this realization came out of nowhere. There was no build up to it or something that she remembered that her father said or something from her journal. That would have helped bring things together. The camp fire scene was really good when Izzy mentions that she found Sunny's message from years ago. It helped to tie them together as friends. Though I wonder what would have happened if she waited to show her the message at the end of the movie when Sunny had given up on everything.  

It didn't seem like Sunny went through any character growth during the movie. She had an obsession with joining the races together at the cost of her not having any other friends besides Hitch who to he that he was her last friend. She didn't have a flaw in her character that I could find. So I'm not sure what kind of character arc she will have in the new series.   

[azbat 301]

I was in the toy section at a local Wal-Mart yesterday when I overheard this girl. She was trying to explain the new ponies (G5) to her mom.

Girl: Mom, you know Rarity and Twilight and all of the other ponies from the show. They are just the Guardians of Friendship. These (gestures to G5 ponies on the self) are the real My Little Ponies.

[Metemponychosis 1,236]

1 minute ago, azbat said:

I was in the toy section at a local Wal-Mart yesterday when I overheard this girl. She was trying to explain the new ponies (G5) to her mom.

Girl: Mom, you know Rarity and Twilight and all of the other ponies from the show. They are just the Guardians of Friendship. These (gestures to G5 ponies on the self) are the real My Little Ponies.

The great schism of My Little Pony begins.

Actually, this is likely the fourth or so, but still...

[baba_booey 4,299]

19 minutes ago, azbat said:

I was in the toy section at a local Wal-Mart yesterday when I overheard this girl. She was trying to explain the new ponies (G5) to her mom.

Girl: Mom, you know Rarity and Twilight and all of the other ponies from the show. They are just the Guardians of Friendship. These (gestures to G5 ponies on the self) are the real My Little Ponies.

This must be how G1 fans feel lol

[StitchandMLPlover 930]

I saw some reviewers who are not Bronies calling G5 "woke" but despite the fact I have seen these racism tropes over and over again in media I do not find the movie woke minus the extended version of "Fit Right in" with the line on inclusion that throws the song off a bit maybe. 

[Metemponychosis 1,236]

29 minutes ago, StitchandMLPlover said:

I saw some reviewers who are not Bronies calling G5 "woke" but despite the fact I have seen these racism tropes over and over again in media I do not find the movie woke minus the extended version of "Fit Right in" with the line on inclusion that throws the song off a bit maybe. 

Can you link? I'm curious. Do they mean it "woke" in a good or bad way?

[Music Chart Fan 818]

2 hours ago, Metemponychosis said:

What do you mean?

Maybe realism isn't quite the right word. I guess I was thinking that this movie is more detailed than the relatively simpler style of G4, and thus, phenomena that defy the typical laws of physics are more easily identifiable; there's less leeway in the style of the movie to assume or imagine a solution to the "magnetic hooves" dilemma that we just can't see because of the drawing style or lack of detail or whatnot. In the movie, we can clearly see that characters' hooves are flat and essentially smooth, and so, for example, when Sprout waves his aviator sunglasses around and points them at Sunny and Hitch, while the sunglasses are only "stuck" to his hoof by the rim around the edge, that's more noticeable to me as defying the typical laws of physics.

3 hours ago, Metemponychosis said:

Hitch is the new Spike. A valuable and valued member of the group that is always ready to be the butt of the jokes. Just you wait for the series to start.

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. I hope that doesn't happen, but there's a significant chance that it will.

3 hours ago, Metemponychosis said:

She and her father were the only ones that believed what they believed and for no reason other than her father had told her.

Argyle says to Phyllis that his (and Sunny's) "nonsense" is "called research". So it seems we're meant to believe that Argyle has historical sources for at least the factual claims that they believe. But yeah, there is a value judgement in jumping from "this is the way things used to be (according to historical sources)" to "the way things used to be was better, and we should do that now". You make a good point that the movie could have used more tangible demonstration or evidence that the status quo is bad, and restoring magic and/or connections between the pony races would be better (and worth the risk).

3 hours ago, Metemponychosis said:

It should be. They lived in luxury due to being the royal family. They used resources. Also, it could be spun as identity fraud.

I suppose I was going by the jokey newscast that stated "This just in – Queen Haven has been arrested for being a phony pony full of baloney". There's no further explanation given, but you're right that there's probably more to it than just that. Queen Haven says to Zipp that "we have a duty to protect our citizens. Pegasi are happy enough knowing that we royals can fly" and "It makes them feel safe". So is that the basis of the royal family's political authority - that their ability to fly enables them to protect their citizens and make them feel safe? And therefore, the revelation that the royal family lied about their ability to fly invalidates their political authority because they no longer have the unique capability of protecting their citizens?

I guess it depends on what the citizens of Zephyr Heights believe is the basis of the royal family's right to rule, and therefore, whether the citizens believe that the royal family's lying about their ability to fly makes their previous actions criminal and punishable by imprisonment.

4 hours ago, Metemponychosis said:

Very thorough and insightful review.

Thanks, I really appreciate that!

[Them's Seeing Ponies 282]

3 hours ago, Metemponychosis said:

The great schism of My Little Pony begins.

Actually, this is likely the fourth or so, but still...

Oh, it's definitely happened before. The G1/G2 schism, based on accounts I've heard, was actually far more intense and vicious than this one. Comparatively, users both on here and a number of other, more multi-generational MLP forums I've visited have generally received G5 positively; I assume that FiM/G4's radical departures from the format of G3 (thereby creating a publicized 'schism' between itself and, for better or for worse, the perceived 'rest' of the brand (regardless of the extent to which these incarnations shared the faults of G3 at its worst, or, for that matter, the stereotypes that had encrusted around perceptions of MLP for decades), thus catalyzing FiM's popularity further during the Faust/Renzetti seasons) probably eased the extent to which fans can accommodate G5 as an entity distinct from its predecessors.

[Evil Pink One 13,020]

4 hours ago, Twilight Luna said:

I though that the movie was good but the ending seemed pretty rushed. All of a sudden, Sunny says that the crystals didn't need to be brought together, it was the different races in order to bring magic back. It's like this realization came out of nowhere. There was no build up to it or something that she remembered that her father said or something from her journal. That would have helped bring things together. The camp fire scene was really good when Izzy mentions that she found Sunny's message from years ago. It helped to tie them together as friends. Though I wonder what would have happened if she waited to show her the message at the end of the movie when Sunny had given up on everything.  

It didn't seem like Sunny went through any character growth during the movie. She had an obsession with joining the races together at the cost of her not having any other friends besides Hitch who to he that he was her last friend. She didn't have a flaw in her character that I could find. So I'm not sure what kind of character arc she will have in the new series.   

no not really I think she said we don't need to bring back magic... it's us.

she saw this when everyone was in panic and everyone was helping each other. and her travels showed that everyone was   thinking wrong. to me it's not that rushed.... the execution just needs a lot; f improvement.... like starlight's redemption arc... it was good.. but the execution....

[chirox the pony 1,334]

I will preface this with a spoiler alert. If you do not wish to be spoiled as to the events of the film, then do not read this post.

 

Coming into this film I had a mix of feelings towards it. Something of disappointment due to the drastic changes seen during its production from its' initial pitch as the programme Lauren Faust always wanted to make, and somewhat interested due to its' unique set up and world. Having seen the film I come out on the more disappointed end of the spectrum. When considering my opinion towards this film one should note that my opinions of FIM are that it was only good during seasons 1 through 4. Everything MLP related before and after those four seasons is really not to my interest. And to add to that I am generally on the side of Martin Scorsese when he said Marvel films are not cinema. I have noticed this trend since the early 2010s and my opinions towards the state of the film industry, the animated film industry in particular, have not budged. The animation is fairly well done and has a very illumination feel to it. Very fluid although cheap. I liked the angry mob song for its' catchy beat. And that's really the end of my praise for this film.

 

This film to me shows many signs of a very troubled production process. The awkward pacing and rushed payoff all seem to me to be prime examples of this. Somewhere out there is likely a cut of this film that is much longer. It has a very slow start followed by a very quick middle and ending act. The whole thing can be at times hard to follow as a result which is an especially bad thing when you consider the demographic this film is aimed at. Exposition and action sequences are strictly divided and as such creates a very ebb and flow feel for the film. In fact I would argue a lot of the scenes from this film could be cut and it would not have any impact on the final outcome. The whole thing feels to me like it could have been done in well.... 44 minutes. It's very clear to me that the people making this are television writers and producers who are clearly not that good at cinema. Which is a very common problem with films of this type. Many sequences to me feel like they were added with the sole intention of padding out the film. Many of the song sequences do not seem to advance the plot and seem to be there just to extend the length of the film. Most notably the whole Pipp song sequence feels to me like it was meant to do this. I could go on about the actual structure of the film but I think you get the point.

 

The world that's been built is not very interesting. Initially I was somewhat interested in the move to a more urban setting but the main problem is that there just isn't much to set the locations apart. Maretime bay and Zephyr heights are only really separated in the way a town and city are but do not provide much of a sense of difference in terms of culture. Ponyville, Canterlot, and the Crystal empire may have been in the same world but had enough clearly distinctive landmarks and aesthetics to make them interesting. Zephyr Heights to Maretime Bay on the other hand does not feature this. And Bridlewood just feels underdeveloped. It really has no landmarks and is basically just a park with a few huts and a tavern. Not a lot of imagination seemed to be going into that place. This makes for a very bland and forgettable world. There just isn't enough creativity to make it work.

 

But I think the main problem with this film is the characters themselves. Sunny Starscout particuarly. My main gripe with her being that she's a Mary Sue. I know saying that will get people's backs up but that is unfortunately all I can see in the character. A Mary Sue is at its' core a character who is not challenged by the narrative of whatever story they are in. As far as I;m concerned this matches Sunny to a T. She starts out a borderline messianic child who is in effect the the exact same person as an adult. She is immediately loved by all the main characters in the film. The only ones who don't like her are all villains. When she is imprisoned she is given a seven star hotel style set up and is near immediately released due to how much Zipp instantly likes her. And to top it off, she does not develop as a character. The only time she is remotely challenged during the story is when the crystal fails to bring back magic, and even then the reason behind that is due to the lack of friendship among the other ponies. In other words she is an already perfect character and remains so throughout the film. Compare that to Twilight Sparkle who is at first a highly dismissive and anti-social character who is very much challenged throughout the first episode of FIM and throughout the next few seasons. She was a real character with real flaws. Sunny on the other hand is pure perfection from the get go. I don't know any other phrase to describe that besides Mary Sue. Izzy Moonbow is just a watered down version of Pinkie Pie without the characteristics that made Pinkie Pie a grounded character despite her literally bouncing off the walls in FIM. Pinkie was shown as somewhat insensitive at times, and could indeed fall prey to overly panicked behaviour as well as happy to a detriment. Izzy on the other hand removes all of that in favour of another unchallenged character without any real flaws outside of maybe being a bit of a clutz. Zipp and Pipp are in effect secondary characters and barely have any time on screen. There just isn't enough going for them to even comment on. All I will say is that I expect to have Pipp's social media use challenged at some point in the series. And Hitch is just.... confusing. His motivations throughout the film are unclear. At first showing empathy to Sunny, then hating her, then siding with her later in the story. Hitch's motivations are shown as pure and yet he seems to take an almost pleasure in the thought of arresting what you think is his friend. He's a very underdeveloped character. Sprout and his Mum are just generic, slightly comedic villains and I don't feel I have anything to say on them.

 

There are other problems such as the blatant cop out of Hitch saying Mayonnaise in order to get out of a fight with the unicorns but I'll leave it there for now. These are the major problems with G5 as it stands and my hopes have certainly been diminished. That being said I won't close the book on this yet. I will give the actual series a chance and decide a final opinion of it from there.

[AlbaTross 1,581]

Well, it seems I've done quite the 180 on my thoughts on the movie being tied into FiM, as you might have seen in one of my posts in another discussion.  I actually think this movie would have been stronger without that connection, and in retrospect, while comparisons to FiM would have been inevitable either way, having the film actively remind viewers about FiM just makes it even more difficult to ignore.  I have my doubts about this setting and characters sustaining an entire series, but it works just fine as a film.  Hasbro should have just let it be its own movie.  It would have still been the exact same movie, just without the Mane Six dolls and that opening scene (as much as I enjoyed hearing the Mane Six VAs again).