S04:E03 - Castle Mane-ia

[roptiriolg 49]

Go to the original leaked video at dailmotion... HD and no commercials.

 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x17oq13_castle-mania-s4-e3-mlp-fim-hd_shortfilms

 

Seems to be max 480p but thanks.

 

 

Behold!  You'll have to change the quality in the Settings, but I think that this is what you're looking for.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st9NbTRqLRM

 

Perfect! Thanks!

 

 

Usually there are a lot more comments on the episodes and pages of the thread, for example the first two episodes of Season 4, this thread about 'Castle Mane-ia' seems a little too quiet.

 

I loved it! Although since some 7 years ago I am mostly interested in science fiction, before that I was just as much interested in fantasy, it seems I am still into fantasy. I really fancy the theme of this episode about castles, dungeons, magic, it's awesome! I've never seen or played 'Castlevania' but I've heard of this name, it's a famous title, where the episode title is clearly from.

 

I said I like the adventure episodes and after the first two of Season 4, this is another great episode. Expected to see some actual evil pony, either way it had very funny moments and if I compared it to some other episodes of previous seasons, I could say for me this is one of the best. The commercials were not cut on the YT video and I saw they have a new starting sequence/opening or rather - the same but modified with some clips of Twilight Sparkle as an alicorn and we can see Princess Luna and Celestia, never knew the opening has changed!

 

More episodes like this one!

Edited December 2, 2013 by ImtR

[Winged Dragon of Ra 55]

The ending with Pinkie Pie kind of reminded me of the Phantom of Opera

[Virulence 254]

I thought it was very good as well. To be honest it was a little scary. It was through the hallway of hooves. I was just all "Oh my gosh ahhh!" Anyway, I really like how all the mane 6 have roles. That's very cool. I especially love seeing Rarity more. Can't wait for next episode!

[Hdc 155]

This episode was pretty good. Of course there was no way it was going to be as interesting and epic as the season premiere, but there needs to be some nice slice of life breathing room after something like that.

 

That said, this episode was sort of semi-adventureish spliced with slice of life comedy. Touching on the mystery with the box at the beginning of the episode was a nice touch to really make it clear that this is a continuous story arc. However, it was a bit annoying that no progress was made regarding the mystery box during the episode after it was mentioned.

 

The animation is still great. This time around the cinematography really stood out, for example with the panning shots used to connect and switch between the different storylines.

 

Well written dialog between the characters, and nice use of duos. I want more character pairings like this in the future, to explore the different character dynamics.

 

Of course, the twist is extremely predictable, as are some other moments (like the ponies backing into each other). The whole Scooby Doo/haunted house premise is really old to begin with, but it was executed well in true MLP fashion.

 

 

Random thoughts:

 

Rainbow covering her face with her wings was just adorable. 

 

Nice detail to see that they added the monument that carried the elements at the beginning of season 1.

 

 

I actually like the continuous use of Spike-slapstick. Some people are saying it's too much, but I'm a slapstick fan so I like it.

 

And... *sigh* I gotta admit, something fluttered in my stomach at the "You don't need to put your hoof around me" line.     And after reading Meghan's tweet... AppleDash is now... vaguely semi-canon? 

 

Didn't even catch the moral lesson first time around 'cause it was so bland. Interesting to see how they deal with the diary writing in the future, though.

 

Also, is the actual Pony of Shadows that we saw at the end going to be important later? I hope so.

 

 

TL;DR:

In conclusion: pretty good. Nice comedy, dialog and character dynamics, but in the end there was no real depth or surprise anywhere in the story. A bit too lighthearted and by-the-book perhaps. 

[Stancet 674]

Castle Mane-ia definitely gets points for being a very original MLP episode, different from the usual formula the show usually follows. Immediately apparent is the dark and creepy setting which is made intentionally scary. Pairing off the Mane 6 and making them unaware of each other's presence makes it all the more funny when they spook the heck out of each other. Twilight and Spike, unfortunately, were a little downplayed when something could definitely have been made of them. However, I liked the feel-good nature of the ending; even when they didn't learn any real lessons. My only complaint is going to be if the Pony of Shadows is never expanded upon.

 

More episodes like this one!

I hear you. I want to see this same thing again soon enough.

 

@@Virulence,

I enjoyed how scary it was. I can't help it but I love scary kids shows, but they have to be intelligent on top of that. I'm always glad MLP delivers.

 

@,

Your analysis seems fair. I'm glad you liked the episode.

Edited December 3, 2013 by Stancet

[Cantankerous 106]

Upon a subsequent viewing I've decided to amend my previous score of six out of ten to a seven. Despite its lack of ambition it had confidence and gusto, and a lot of fun moments. I really like seeing AJ behaving so silly, showing she has a playful side that fits organically into and helps round out her character, as well as seeing her and RD's friendship play out very naturally. Pinkie Pie was also a lot of fun, definitely one of the high points of the episode. I love the line, "Did you all know I can play the organ? Because I didn't!" Josh Haber really demonstrated an ability to write these characters. Castle Mane-ia is by no stretch of the imagination a great episode, but it is good.  

Edited December 3, 2013 by ByTheTides

[JonPear 209]

Some have suggested that this drawing from August 2012:

 

http://obsequiosity.deviantart.com/art/Pinkie-of-the-Opera-in-Color-322069154

 

. . . was the inspiration for Pinkie's appearance in the Castle Mane-ia episode

[Cantankerous 106]

Oh, something else I liked about this episode; it's explained in the Royal Sister's diary that all these "traps" and hidden passages aren't there for secrecy or to hurt anyone, they're there because the Royal Sisters found a castle filled with such gimmickry fun (as does the audience). That was a great touch.

 

Incidentally, BronyCurious has an exceptionally well reasoned and comprehensive review of this episode that's worth checking out. 

Edited December 3, 2013 by ByTheTides

[Winona the Dog 1,981]

Oh, something else I liked about this episode; it's explained in the Royal Sister's diary that all these "traps" and hidden passages aren't there for secrecy or to hurt anyone, they're there because the Royal Sisters found a castle filled with such gimmickry fun (as does the audience). That was a great touch.

 

Incidentally, BronyCurious has an exceptionally well reasoned and comprehensive review of this episode that's worth checking out. 

I think the traps pretty much  proved  that Celestia  and Luna were trolls in their  early  years

[WWAPD 126]

I liked this episode a lot. I feel like this episode is a slightly different style from what the episodes are normally like. It's kind of unusual for all the members of the mane six to get equal coverage in an episode that isn't a finale/primer.

 

Call me crazy, but I think season 4 is going to start drifting from the slice-of-life format and start turning into a season-long plot-arc kind of show. The premier got rid of the elements and introduced a mysterious box, and straight away in the next episode their still focusing on the box. It's and interesting development and I'm interested to see where the writers take it.

[Troblems 5,609]

I was unimpressed with this episode. It had some funny moments, as well as some good rivalries. It was visually stunning, and nice to see an Angelbunny that people *shouldn't* hate as much. However, the story was...well... overdone and translucent. I thought the use of the journal was a very cool idea. My biggest question was though...

Why did nobody know where this monster castle in the forest was before this season?!

Edited December 3, 2013 by Troblems

[Party Cannon 874]

I caught it Friday. The pre-release reminded me of the situation with Wonderbolts Academy back in Season 3.

 

Anyways...

 

It was better than the (at least to me) disappointing premiere. With that said, I found it to be quite lame. The concept was cool and reminded me of a free comic I got from a student in which the six go to a castle to fight Chrysalis. However, the comic was infinitely more entertaining and better executed.

 

This is all I thought of during the episode:

 

 

The original Scooby Doo to my tastes is dull and repetitive. So was this episode.

 

I go in and out of hating Twilight's wings. S3 finale I hated them, Equestria Girls I was fine with them, and with the S4 premiere they were annoying. The moment in this episode where the animators gratuitously made her float about the library had not purpose. I actually laughed at it. I GET IT. SHE. HAS. WINGS.

 

Overall, not a bad episode, however it is unfortunately very forgettable.

 

Counting down to Pinkie's musical episode!

[BalanceBrony 259]

I only have netflix no actual TV so I cant watch season 4 unless I catch it someplace else. I havnt seen it yet but it looks AMAZING!

Episode 1 & 2:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5Amvg_dKc4

 

Episode 3:

 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x17oq13_castle-mania-s4-e3-mlp-fim-hd_shortfilms

 

Hope this helps!

[joecal97 340]

Go twilight for being the only one to remain calm.

To be fair, that's was my only problem with the episode, the rest of the mane 6 seem helpless now without twi there to help them, in earlier episodes they've been scared but still come together to fight together, whereas in this episode that all hid behind her!

I know she's a princess now but that doesn't mean she suddenly gets braver than the rest, especially RD and AJ.

Basically all I'm saying is they shouldn't make twi any stronger/braver than the rest, because the whole point of their friendship is they are stronger together, rather than cowering behind twi!

Come on guys, am I the only one who's annoyed by that?

[Noodles 109]

To be fair, that's was my only problem with the episode, the rest of the mane 6 seem helpless now without twi there to help them, in earlier episodes they've been scared but still come together to fight together, whereas in this episode that all hid behind her! I know she's a princess now but that doesn't mean she suddenly gets braver than the rest, especially RD and AJ. Basically all I'm saying is they shouldn't make twi any stronger/braver than the rest, because the whole point of their friendship is they are stronger together, rather than cowering behind twi! Come on guys, am I the only one who's annoyed by that?

a they scared themselves if it was important they would have pulled to gather as always.

as for twilight being "braver" than the rest. face it she was reading a book she tends to zone everything else out when she reads.

[joecal97 340]

a they scared themselves if it was important they would have pulled to gather as always.

as for twilight being "braver" than the rest. face it she was reading a book she tends to zone everything else out when she reads.

I'm talking about when they find pinkie, not the scaring themselves bit, everyone else hides around the corner while twi walks over and shows no fear!

I doubt that would have happened in se1-3

[Renon Strike 67]

Also the book

 

 

face it she was reading a book

 

Had a lot of information about the design of the castle...they were not designed to be horror scary but similarly to a carnival fun  castle, lots of fun  traps that are more like pranks that the young Luna and Celestia enjoyed

[King 5,625]

CD hit the nail on the head with the Scooby Doo reference. I was coming in here to make it myself when I read that he already did xD
Still a great episode as always though and it WAS kinda funny watching Rarity sob under a blanket xD

[Luffyiscool 397]

Castle Mane-ia is by no stretch of the imagination a great episode, but it is good.  

I disagree, i do in fact consider this a great one.

Well used characters, great interactions, great setting, great writing (for a first timer), great slapstick, etc. A lot of things jumped out as "great" for me in this episode.

Some people complain about the predictability and the lack of a real plot, but i say those people have lost sight of what most cartoons are truly about. Entertainment.

Now i'm not saying that this episode is objectively entertaining, i'm just saying that the INTENTION of the episode was to be a light-hearted romp through a creepy castle.

Giving it negative points for doing the very thing it set out to do seems incredibly bizzare to me.

 

If i were to compare it to other cliché-but-good episodes, there are several that come to mind.

 

For example, the Look Before You Sleep cliché was a sleepover between two ponies that didn't see eye to eye. A concept even simpler than this one.

It was funny and delivered with good dialogue though, so they got away with it.

Baby Cakes was the cliché of an out-of-her-depth babysitter trying to handle two rowdy toddlers. But it was highly entertaining, so they got away with it.

 

Boast Busters cliché = A false braggart comes to town and gets outshone by the main character when shit hits the fan.

It's About Time cliché = The self-fulfilling time paradox of warning yourself not to worry about the future.

 

And many many more.

 

My point is, MLP often takes cartoon clichés for its episode concepts. It's nothing new at all.

And that's why it shouldn't be a problem with this episode.

When they want to use a familiar concept, the only thing that's required of them is to make it engaging and entertaining. IMO, they did exactly that.

They've certainly come ahead leaps and bounds from the repeated Benny Hill chases of season 1.

Edited December 3, 2013 by Prince Dan

[. eris . 1,661]

They've certainly come ahead leaps and bounds from the repeated Benny Hill chases of season 1.

Aww...am I the only person who actually really liked those Benny Hill chase scenes? :3   

[Luffyiscool 397]

Aww...am I the only person who actually really liked those Benny Hill chase scenes? :3   

I liked them as well.

Just saying that i appreciate them upping the ante when it comes to thinking of entertaining sequences.

[Lightning Bliss 1,674]

Ain't nothing wrong with entertaining sequences, like this episode I enjoyed the animation and the creativity to see what that old castle looked like too hehe.

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,671]

Can anypony tell me why this castle looks so creepy compared to Canterlot Castle?

Look at Canterlot castle, it has so many pale and light colors. Just a little bit or moonlight would light the place up. Here the walls are all dark and what's with the disembodied hooves holding up torches? Were the sisters in their goth phases when the castle was getting designed? XD

Edited December 3, 2013 by SunBurn

[Frosty Flurry 173]

Meh not the best episode of mlp I wanted more pinkie!!

Hall of hoooves? what the buck did celestia and Luna do to the ponies that came to the castle?

*shudder*

Here comes a creepypasta (does anyone read those?)

[Sectus 246]

Can anypony tell me why this castle looks so creepy compared to Canterlot Castle?

Look at Canterlot castle, it has so many pale and light colors. Just a little bit or moonlight would light the place up. Here the walls are all dark and what's with the disembodied hooves holding up torches? Were the sisters in their goth phases when the castle was getting designed? XD

 

I'd assume it looked different due to the older era they lived in. It's similar to the change in design of Victorian era castles. It was just a different aesthetic appeal back in those days.