S04:E12 - Pinkie Pride

[Radiance64 7,053]

So we all must have a favorite song from this episode, since there were a ton of them.

Mine was definitely Pinkie's Lament:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdi7WXkd5Qg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

It's gorgeous. Just gorgeous, probably the most beautiful singing that Shannon Chan-Kent has ever done as Pinkie Pie. I love how the song goes through the feelings of sadness, nostalgia, and determination so quickly and so well. I'm seriously smiling every time I hear this about as much as I would when hearing the Smile Song, which I think this just might be even better than. I really just adore it.

[Metemponychosis 1,261]

Rainbow's age: I get the feeling that the cake was the producers' way of telling us how old she is.

 

  21 candles that we can see.

+14 on the other side, obscured by the cake.

  35 years old.

 

Assuming that the candles we can see on the "edges" of the image are on the "side" and that there is an equal number of candles on the other side, corresponding to the ones we can see.

 

Personally, I go with 21. But I don't think that ponies would age the same way as humans. Granny Smith is at least 200 years old. Again, personally, I go with 21 until canon shows otherwise.

[Acchan 232]

@,

I think they'd also make an adorable couple.

But isn't Pinkie a teenager and Cheese Sandwhich an

Adult?   

Nope- we don't question these things in Pinkieland. Pinkie is whatever age she wishes to be.

[pinkieshyrose 58]

This is the absolute worst episode of Season 4 so far. It pretty much shows that Pinkie Pie NEEDS to be put in the asylum! Seriously, she's bucking ballistic when it came to parties that were a billion times better than what she throws. Also, Cheese Sandwich? I don't know what they were on when they were writing this character, and I don't wanna find out. Embarassing, mediocre and just not an enjoyable episode.

 

I suppose I've started a war now, have I?

... not a war but they weren't a million times better. This is Pinkies talent of course this would happen. Cheese sandwich relys on

bigness and cheese (both literal and metaphorical and eccentrics) for his party's. Pinkie eccentrics are not the main focus.

 

Pinkie rely's on the actual concept of the party. His might look better but he forgets the concept in the grand scheme of things.

They both have different styles. Its why there was a ice statue at dashies party...

 

Pinkies style: concept, imagination, childish, eccentric thrown in. Aesthetics. Specific style.

Cheeses: Random, absurd, personality connected. Cheesy. science in it or the ignorance in science. No concept. Big. Food oriented.

 

Pinkie thinks about the concept then apply her eccentrics to help the concept while cheese decides to just be him.

 

Pinkie is chaotic while cheese is random and a bit logical.

 

In myers briggs Pinkie would be ENFP while cheese is ENTP.

 

Pinkie is good for a continuous party's in one town while cheese in one town would just start to annoy people if he stayed for too long think of him handling a wedding or funeral party...

 

" start out fun, then whoopsie-daisy Everybody just gets crazy! Bored of snacks made by your mom? How about a giant party bomb? Huge piñatas filled with cake Or dive into my fruit punch lake!" Just let yourself go floppy, for now this is your chance Pretend you have no bones and do the rubber chicken dance! Think about that... Cheese is actually very different from Pinkie.

Edited February 2, 2014 by pinkieshyrose

[Singe 2,111]

Pinkie Pie always had the option to "cut the cheese." I fully support her choice to eliminate Mr. Sandwich with noxious fumes.

[Casbyness 48]

The only slight disappointment or missed trick that this episode featured was Pinkie being young in Cheese's flashback. I was expecting something more funny and random, like Pinkie either being exactly the same age as she currently is, or much older to imply time travel as a joke in the scene.

 

The goof off also could have been a bit more random and ridiculous. It was okay, but neither side did anything truly insane.

 

It was still awesome and fun though. Good to see pinkie's rainbow key is a rubber chicken

[Thaliel 116]

Party, woohoo!

 

lots of singing in this one, which truly added to the overall celebretional mood and theme

[pinkieshyrose 58]

O.k so I found this episode to be perfect! Best episode ever! Also did Cheese say swear on canon there.

 

But I think Cheese wasn't the only one that stole some songs from people. :

Pinkie you stole Twilight's songs!

 

Make a wish= love is in bloom.

Pinkie the party planner= morning in ponyville.

 

 

The tone is the same.

 

Also both Pinkie and cheese have had fezzes... Cheese, Pinkies is purple and has golden balloons.. tis better.

 

I really like the combined feeling of the episode.

It reminds me of this song.

 

I like how Cheese was shy before... it reminds  me of myself.

 

I love how she popped the balloon in a hug I mean its the most caring way to pop one.

 

I really like how they addressed her pride I was scared that she was going to be very antagonistic. 

 

I really don't like when people get swept away... though it happens so much to  some people and the ponys show us that.

Though I think this has been this seasons theme.

[Batbrony 16,055]

"Pinkie Pride"... so this episode was fun.   Welp that's it, review over...

 

 

Oh calm your shorts, I kid, I kid (and I also communicate with Internet gifs, so what does that say about me?  Can't be anything good).  Whatever, let's get this review going proper.

 

Do I even need to start by mentioning that the ungodly streak of hits DHX has been throwing our way ever since "Rarity Takes Manehattan" (and yes, I still consider "Rainbow Falls" to be among that group of elites despite the fact that it seems to have left a sour taste in the mouth of the majority of bronydom) continued yet again this week?  Honestly, it's getting tiring seeing this much awesome.  OK, not really, but you get my point that the amount of awesome we've had lately in the show is kinda overwhelming, and that was true yet again here.  It's getting to the point where I can't speak about every little thing that was right because there's just too much to count, it's true, there's just too much, both the big and little.  Well, let's try to do this episode justice anyways; as with previous recent reviews of mine, this review will largely cover characters in the episode, then conclude with more aesthetic elements.

 

So let's start with our main character, Pinkie Pie, in her second starring role of the season (and first solo starring role seeing as she was more of a co-star with AJ in "Pinkie Apple Pie").  I'll just come out and say it, I thought this was Pinkie's best starring role since "A Friend in Deed".  I still consider that episode to be the quintessential Pinkie Pie episode (for more details on why, you can read my review of "A Friend in Deed" here: http://mlpforums.com/blog/1009/entry-8131-batbrony-reviews-s02e18-a-friend-in-deed/), but this episode was definitely its spiritual successor, for a number of reasons, some of which I'll get to later.  Perhaps the most obvious reason, however, is that, more than any Pinkie episode since "A Friend in Deed", this episode revolved around that which makes Pinkie tick, her unconditional, never-ending, sugar-and-joy-fueled mission to spread joy and happiness to as many ponies as possible through her talents for making ponies laugh and throwing parties.  This makes perfect sense seeing as it seems that each member of the Mane 6 is revisiting the elements they embody this season whenever they receive the "keys" (or whatever the buck those special items will be, kinda hard to imagine a rubber chicken being used as a key  ) in an episode and bolstering the fact that they embody those elements.  In Pinkie's case, it's laughter of course.  This episode would've been retread ground for Pinkie if not for the fact that it was executed in a far more original manner than any of the "key episodes" so far this season, namely in the way the lesson was delivered.  Pinkie, when her status as town party pony was threatened, fell victim to pride (a vice we'd normally see Rainbow Dash succumb to), and in her zeal to defend her title ended up threatening to ruin one of her best friend's birth-iversary party.  As soon as Pinkie realized this, she was immediately ashamed; it's not like she's a prideful pony, she just let her raw emotions get the better of her, but in doing so she compromised everything that she stands for.  She's a super-duper-party-pony not because she yearns for glory, nor because it brings her pride and satisfaction (not first and foremost at least), but ultimately because she just wants to make other ponies as happy as can be without getting anything in return.  Once she was reminded of that, that it's not the scale or size of the party, but really the selflessness of the act itself that spreads the joy to other ponies, Pinkie's head was set straight and she went about righting everything as best she could, in the process both making a new friend as well as throwing RD about the most epic party she could.  Pinkie done good, and she received both a good lesson as well as a rubber chicken for her efforts.

 

Besides the lesson learned, Pinkie Pie was just about as Pinkielicious as one could hope for here.  She went through a wide range of emotions, showed just how serious she can be even while remaining the silliest of ponies, sang, dance, spread the laughs, all that good Pinkie stuff.  Might've been her funniest episode since "Party of One", although in many ways I hesitate declaring it her funniest episode ever seeing as so much of the episode's humor relied off of Cheese Sandwich, and not solely Pinkie.  Still, all the same this was most definitely one of Pinkie's finest starring roles to date!

 

Pinkie... never stop being you.  You hear me?  NEVER STOP BEING YOU!!!

 

Next up, let's talk about the newest character of the show, Cheese Sandwich, voiced by none other than the most legendary parodist/musician/accordionist (yes that's actually a real word)/funny man of them all, Weird Al Yankovic.  This character was definitely one of the best supporting characters we've gotten in a LONG time, I'm talking dating all the way back to Season 2 even.  He's basically the closest we'll ever get to a Rule 63 Pinkie Pie, and it's very uncanny how a character who really does reflect his VA's typical humor so well is so very similar to Pinkie Pie herself.  Makes me almost wonder if Lauren Faust was partially inspired by Weird Al and possibly other similar nonsensical, absurdist comedians when she came up with Pinkie Pie's character?  Anyways, he was a blast; just as random, zany, whacky, and goofy as Pinkie Pie herself, and the first pony we've ever seen who loves throwing parties and making ponies laugh as much as she does.  Hearing him get to sing was probably what I appreciated the most about his appearance just because Weird Al really is an extremely talented singer and it was a joy getting to hear his vocals about as much as one could hope to in an episode.  But really, the best thing about his character was how sincere he felt; I honestly felt like I was watching Al himself here.  The guy strikes me as one of the most genuine celebrities out there, possibly the closest real-world equivalent to a Pinkie Pie even, a man who sincerely loves what he does and spreading as much laughter and joy as he can to others.  So this turned out to be what every person always hopes a celebrity guest appearance will be on a TV show, but more often than not they never turn out to be; instead of some cringe-inducing or pointless cameo, this was just legend, absolutely fantastic in every sense of the word.  Weird Al, from the bottom of my heart on behalf of every one of your fellow brony-brethren, thank you, thank you, thank you for this!  You're awesome, just plain awesome. 

 

OK, just to make sure everything's clear here, he's got a fish and an aviator hat on his head and a tuba-playing mouse on his tongue.  Makes perfect sense to me!

 

Next, let's talk the Mane 6.  Besides Rainbow Dash, none of them really stood out here seeing as the episode was so heavily dominated by Pinkie and Cheese.  Rainbow was quite cute on her birth-iversary, and never felt obnoxious at all.  I mean yeah, she was excited about it, but if you had her personality and you were celebrating a birth-iversary, wouldn't you be that excited as well?  But she had more to her character here than just excitement.  Heck, you could practically feel the sinking feeling of disappointment and anxiousness that she felt when she said "Heh... big, tense competition on my birth-iversary.  What could be better?", I mean really, I felt for her there, that and her look of sadness after the giant pinata fell on her (wow, that was weird to write) showed more than anything else just how wrong Pinkie's pride was.  It also showed once again just how patient she's gotten since the show began, seeing as the old Rainbow would've probably gotten angry almost immediately at Pinkie over something like this; but here, she didn't even get mad, in fact she was actually apologizing to Pinkie immediately after Pinkie apologized to her.  Our favorite cyan pegasus sure has grown up a lot since the show began, and I love it, not to mention that she definitely got the best party ever at the end there!  It was, wait for it... SO AWESOME! 

 

As for the rest, they all had bits here and there.  Rarity and AJ had a few one-liners together (and AJ even broke the fourth wall at one point), Twilight was her fun, bookish self, and Fluttershy actually had the funniest line of the episode ("Oh no, not a goof-off!" "What's a goof-off?" "I have no idea", my gosh, the delivery on that line was fantastic and seriously the funniest single line in the episode!   Props Andrea, props!!!).  I'm not mad at any of them for embracing Cheese as quickly as they did (even if RD's line about Pinkie's parties not being epic was kind of unnecessarily cruel, especially when she knew Pinkie was right there), and I'm not just excusing it on account of plot convenience.  I think it's perfectly believable that anyone would take up someone's offer to throw a party for them if that someone was an insanely talented party planner who was offering to throw the most epic party possible for free.  They just got caught up in the excitement is all and they admitted as much to Pinkie at the end.  Heck, even Cheese got caught up in trying to impress his fillyhood idol; my guess is that he actually wanted to repay Pinkie more than anything by taking the load off her shoulders.  He certainly wasn't mean-spirited in his agenda, though he may have let pride blind him a bit just as it blinded Pinkie Pie.  But whatever, back to the Mane 6, long story short they were perfectly fine here, especially RD with her RDness and Fluttershy with her hilarious line delivery, not to mention AJ, Rarity, and Twi rocked their groove-things in "Make a Wish" along with Pinkie Pie.

 

Now to cover the final character of this episode: Ponyville.  What do I mean by that?  Well, for me, the best episodes are those in which the town of Ponyville itself is practically a character, the seventh member of the Mane 6 even if you will.  Highlights of this sort include "Lesson Zero", "Hurricane Fluttershy", and "A Friend in Deed", among many others.  For this to happen, you need a lot of background ponies to show up, you need them to show up consistently, and you need there to be at least a few memorable cameos.  Did we have that here?  Oh me oh my we most certainly did!  This is another big reason that I consider this episode to be the spiritual successor to "A Friend in Deed"; at least in the "Smile" song, the entire town of Ponyville was simply alive, a character in its own right alongside Pinkie Pie, and the same can be said here.  Just about every major background pony resident of Ponyville showed up, including Cloud Kicker, Lyra, Bon Bon, Carrot Top, Berry Punch, Cherry Berry, Colgate, Caramel, Raindrops, Dinky Doo, Roseluck, Daisy, Lily, Amethyst Star/Sparkler, Mr. and Mrs. Cake along with Pound and Pumpkin Cake (yes I know they're more supporting characters than background), Diamond Tiara in a singing role of all things (which was even more strangely actually enjoyable, seriously, what the buck, a Diamond Tiara appearance that I actually liked?!), Cheerilee, Doctor Whooves, Filly Cloudchaser and Flitter (seriously, I don't think they were there in the present but they definitely showed up as fillies in Cheese's flashback), Twinkleshine, Sea Swirl, Lemon Hearts, Rainbowshine, Sassaflash, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and basically every resident of Ponyville you could imagine.  Oh yeah, and Derpy was back in yet another cameo role, I loved it very, very much (duh); it wasn't quite as epic as the supporting role she got in "Rainbow Falls", much more similar to her Season 1 and Season 2 cameos, but she was still there plenty and had some awesome, adorable bits (most notably her munching on that chocolate-fondue fountain (come on, you all know you'd do that to if it was right there in front of you  ) and Filly Derpy's first official canon appearance (and no, her appearance in "The Cutie Pox" doesn't count, that was in the present and, ergo, not actually Derpy, even if it was still awesome).

 

THAT'S BUCKING ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Anyways, like I said, the town of Ponyville, as it has often been in the past, was here again practically a character in and of itself, and the episodes in which that happens generally turn out to be some of my favorite of the series, and "Pinkie Pride" was no exception.  Love it when these characters get to be characters, and I wish it happened in the show more often (though it does make the rare times that it does even more special, to be honest).

 

Alright, onto the aesthetic elements of the episode, starting with music.  This was the first "musical" episode we've had in the show since "Magical Mystery Cure" last season, and in my opinion the musical format worked even better here than it did in that episode.  I can't possibly go into great depth on each song, so I'll start with a quick summary of each one and then share my thoughts on the music as a whole.  We had "Pinkie the Party Planner" (based quite obviously off of "Belle" from "Beauty and the Beast", and a lovely tune to start the episode off), "The Super Duper Party Pony" (based off of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from "Mary Poppins" and Weird Al's MLP musical debut, complete with accordion instrumentals and everything, though strangely enough not the first polka piece we've gotten in this show despite it's extensive use of the accordion, that honor goes to Pinkie's parasprite song from way back in Season 1), "Pinkie's Lament" (based off of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from "Evita", and Pinkie's most somber musical solo to date), "The Goof Off" (based off of "Together (Wherever We Go)" from "The Brady Bunch", a zany compilation of original pieces, polka songs (including the Beer Barrel Polka, otherwise known as Roll Out the Barrel, which I myself had the pleasure to sing with the entire crowd at Lambeau Field just this past December, as is tradition at Green Bay Packers games in the 4th quarter ), a Spanish piece of all things, and even a brief "Smile" song rendition as sung by Weird Al himself, definitely the craziest song of the bunch in this episode), "Cheese Confesses" (a slowed down reprise of "The Super Duper Party Pony" that was honestly genuinely touching in a number of parts, especially in just how sincere and heartfelt Cheese's admission of the effect Pinkie had on his life felt), and "Make a Wish" (based off of P!nk's "Raise Your Glass", and in many ways a spiritual successor, I felt, to "Love is in Bloom" from Season 2, even if it sounded a bit more like "This is Our Big Night" from "Equestria Girls", I'm not counting that one just because that entire movie had a feel of its own very much removed in many aspects from that of MLP).

 

I don't have a single favorite out of all of these songs, unlike "A True, True Friend" in "Magical Mystery Cure", for one big reason: this episode was even more of a musical than that one was.  The music in "Magical Mystery Cure" is wonderful, but it is also quite obviously a device utilized to move the episode along quicker.  Here, that was not the case; each song felt natural, a logical successor to the previous number.  The polka strung the middle pieces together very nicely, and even the pieces that most deviated from the others (i.e. "Make a Wish") musically still felt like they belonged with the group as a whole.  Basically, I can't imagine this episode without any of these songs; they did each other justice so well, and the greater whole that they made was far more impressive than any effect left by any individual piece alone.   Definitely one of Daniel Ingram's most impressive accomplishments yet, only further amplified by the legendary Weird Al's vocals where he contributed them, and by far the musical highlight of the season thus far for an episode as a whole (even if "Apples to the Core" is still my favorite individual piece of the season so far).

 

Oh, and if you don't believe me about that "Roll Out the Barrel" thing, take a gander at this then listen to Pinkie's bit right after Cheese sings "Smile" in "The Goof Off".  Besides, what's not to love about a little polka?  :comeatus:  

 

 

 

The animation here was stupendous as usual, probably the most gorgeous we've ever seen in any Pinkie episode.  The variety in the faces that both Pinkie and Cheese made was simply unreal at times (definitely one of the animation highlights of this whole season so far), the scale that some of the ludicrous stunts that Pinkie and Cheese pulled was appropriately enormous, it was great getting to see an entire episode centered around Ponyville (the first we've actually had set entirely in Ponyville this season if I'm not mistaken), and everything just looked stunning from beginning to end.  Major props to Sibsy and the animation team as usual.

 

Finally, the comedy was, to say the least, through the roof.  I didn't think it'd be possible for one to make an episode funnier than "Three's a Crowd" after last week, especially in the very next episode, but by gosh DHX bucking did it!  Pinkie was hilarious, Cheese was hilarious, the sight gags, the lines, and the music were all hilarious.  A couple highlights for me include Boneless the chicken, the cheesehead that Cheese stuck on RD during "The Goof Off" (c'mon, I'm a Packer backer and bonified cheesehead, how could I not love that?), and, as I mentioned earlier, Fluttershy's "I have no idea" line.  But perhaps my favorite running gag in this entire episode would have to be the Western references.  Some were obvious, others not so much, but they were there all right, and seeing as I spent my entire final semester of college just last spring studying Western films for my senior thesis, and falling in love with the genre in the process, I was delighted by them.  We had (1) a Clint Eastwood reference to his Man With No Name character from Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy" in the hat and poncho donned by Cheese throughout the episode, not to mention his serious demeanor which he assumed when doing so, (2) a reference to "High Noon", legendary Western starring Gary Cooper, when Pinkie announced that they would hold their goof off at high noon originally, (3) the reference to the classic "3:10 to Yuma" when Pinkie declared that the goof off would be at "3:10 to goof off" instead (which I have not actually seen, the 1950s original I mean, not the 2000s remake), and finally, (4) the start of the goof off itself, which basically referenced every single Western stand off ever.  For this guy, those Western references were an unexpected delight, and I really have to wonder who came up with them seeing as so many involved Cheese; while I could easily see the writers coming up with them on their own, I can't help but wonder if Weird Al is a big Western fan and if he might've had some creative input into not only his character but also comedic bits throughout the episode.  Hard to say, hard to say, but definitely plausible.  In any case, the humor was on here and absolutely a delight.

 

 

That's my pony.

 

Just a few more notes before I wrap this review up.  It was fun getting to briefly see Appleloosa at the start of the episode.  The Equestrian map that comes up when you look it up on Google images is apparently canon now seeing as it was displayed during one of Cheese's songs, so that's cool.  I was admittedly a bit disappointed that Cranky Doodle Donkey didn't show up yet again even though his special somedonkey Matilda did (seriously, I miss that guy, he was awesome!).  Overall, however, this episode was everything that I could've hoped it would be and so much more.  It is legend, it really, truly is, and it will forever hold a special place in the annals of MLP's canon as one of the finest episodes I've ever seen on this show.

 

Oh yeah, and I'm totally shipping these two.  :comeatus: 

 

Edited February 2, 2014 by Batbrony

[Sparkshower 103]

 

 

Oh yeah, and I'm totally shipping these two.     

yes yes yes YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS they are my otp

[spezzzzzhdafuigb 49]

I honestly didn't even know Weird Al was still alive until this episode!

[Nylon 158]

The VERY ONLY problem I have with the episode is the name they gave Weird Al's character.

 

I mean "Cheese Sandwich"?! Are you serious!? If you ask me, ANY name would have been better for the guy, especially if it's a reference to Weird Al like "Twinkie Weiner Sandwich" or "Polka Pants".

[Sobori 46]

The references 3:10 to Yuma multiple times and don't forget Cow and Chicken's cousin Boneless Chicken. Not sure how many people thought that. Not to mention the fake squee. So this episode is a total 9/10 in my book.

[pinkieshyrose 58]

Wait a minute! Boneless was just returned to Pinkie it was already Pinkies. 0.o From her first party...

He simply gave it back to her... not much a gift. Cheese is still a major Pinkie fan boy though...

[Shine 166]

 

Hoooooo boy. Time to sink my teeth into why this is my favourite episode ever. (That's right - better than TMPP)

 

(I also posted this further down the thread ^.^)

 

---

 

100/100, no question. From the sterling music, to the fantastic premise, to the quotables, to the character exploration and development... this episode ticked all the boxes and went even further. (Can you put five ticks in a single box? Eh, I'll find out later.)

 

Let me talk about how incredible the writing was. Start to end, it was stuffed with pure skill in characterisation, pace and continuity. The introduction to Cheese Sandwich was bang-on (I'll talk about my own love for Cheese Sandwich in a moment... CD isn't the only one!) in that it was concise, atmospheric and set up the premise for the whole episode spectacularly. I loved the inclusion of the buffaloes, showcasing how, like any good animation studio does, they keep elements from former episodes to demonstrate their care for world building. The idea of Cheese and Pinkie being connected through the similarity of their senses (also fit into the introductory scene, quite skilfully) left me perching upon my chair in anticipation.

 

The songs themselves (I'll talk about them too, because they made up 80% of the episode!) were just fantastic. It felt like Fantasia, or at the very least distinctly like Disney. And what I love is how it's not a musical for the sake of a musical; Cheese Sandwich and Pinkie Pie are both extremely musical to begin with. I mean, Weird Al is voicing Cheese. Weird Al does music; by not passing up the chance to launch into numbers like that, they've really done well! The opening song, as I've said, had a brilliant tint of A Friend in Deed, and did its job perfectly in furthering the premise of the episode by showing Pinkie's role as a party planner in comparison with Cheese's role as a prospective party planner in the introduction. That's what I mean by brilliant pacing. It also doesn't hurt that Pinkie was as cute, charming, adorable, friendly and as heartwarming a singer as she always has been <33 And then the Cheese numbers! Did anyone notice how well some of these songs worked transitionally? Each song was there for a reason; to encompass a chunk of the episode as it moved along. Speaking of which...

 

I will now dedicate a paragraph to the Goof Off song. Oh, this song just makes me so happy. It's better than the Smile song... it's ten times better! =D This song was wild, fearless, completely zany (just how I love it) and filled with so many antics that I'm sure I'm still recounting them with each watch. (I've watched it about 20 times already!) The real-life footage, because it does need a mention - what a touch! Raw fourth-wall adventurousness, with no restraints, done in the best context possible. The back-and-forth between Cheese and Pinkie, in turn with their next goofy endeavour, felt like the world's best duel, kinda like the boss fight from Guitar Hero III ^^ In fact, like I've said, it's so overflowing with brilliant little details that I'll never fit them all into this paragraph. All I know is that I could watch that number endlessly. Hot dang.

 

And then there's Cheese Sandwich. My word, what a sensational character. Best stallion for sure; second favourite pony next to Pinkie Pie. Thanks to Weird Al's injection of fantabulousness into Cheese, we have the best complement to any main character in the show; one that means well, bears a connection to Pinkie, and is full to the brim with his own quirks and traits that make him so distinct and lovable. What I love even more is his tale; I feel that it's an analogy for our fandom. Let me explain how:

 

Do I speak for most of us when I say that we felt sans identity before we joined the Brony fandom? I know I certainly did; I stumbled across this fandom by chance and it lit up the happiness inside me. It's this fandom that distinguishes itself by being fun-loving, generally optimistic (...feel free to dispute that, but I love the spirit of this fandom) and a place for those wanderers to be taken in, loved, and tolerated... It was just like Cheese, feeling lost about his life, stumbling across the party and it occurring to him what life is all about; happiness, and enjoying yourself. And in further analogy, Cheese set out to try and give something back to the thing that turned his life around for the better; a wild party. Does that sound familiar? I'm thinking duty-bound Bronies who want to give back to the fandom that has helped them so much in the form of creative content. I saw all of this in Cheese Sandwich, and it's revitalised my ceaseless love.

 

The sensation of this occurring to me upon Cheese revealing this in the final scene was like no other. Spectacular, truly spectacular.

 

But how would this be a review if I didn't talk about Best Pony? Pinkie's characterisation was flawless. I mean flawless. They revisited Pinkie's best traits, and worst traits, in fine, intelligent, comedic and ultimately very moving detail. I love how Pinkie's initial reaction to Cheese Sandwich was offering him a place alongside her in planning Dashie's party; they didn't forget her motive from Over A Barrel. I loved even more the fact that her A Friend In Deed personality was revisited; it's one of the deeper aspects to her personality, and by going further into it, the writers have proven their opportunism. In fact, within this whole episode, we've seen Pinkie Pie go through her existing traits with this type of expertise as well as introductions to completely new sides; like her pride. I was so moved by that further detail in Pinkie's character; not only does she love hosting parties and winning the hearts of Ponyville, but she finds that affirmation in it too, and never once has she let it swallow her up in thick competition instead of remorseful contemplation, which outlined how much of a free spirit she is; again, expertly written. This is the best episode I've seen her in.

 

Never has an episode appealed to me so much on an emotional, humorous, and even personal level as Pinkie Pride has done. Being able to dig right into it in this review has, no joke, almost made me shed a tear from the joy. I don't even care what the rest of the season is like at this point, because Pinkie Pride truly has it all.

 

Oh, Amy Keating Rogers, Andrea Libman, Al Yankovic, Daniel Ingram, hell, everyone who's made this possible, I am in permanent debt.

 

 

You just pretty much took all the thoughts in my head and turned them into real words so that people can actually understand them.  Thanks.  xP

 

 

This episode is definitely my favourite of the entire series so far.  It even slightly outdoes "Suited For Success," which was previously my favourite.

 

My favourite things about the episode:

• Weird Al is a pony.  (Duh.)
• This episode is about my original best pony and introduces a new best pony.  That's like twice as much best pony!
• Ermagerd, the live-action scenes!  *dies of awesome-induced heart attack and resurrects as a party zombie*
• "all the songs"  Okay, let me clarify this.  The reason I used quotation marks for "all the songs" is because I feel that this episode truly only has one song.  The song, a duet between Best Pony 1 and Best Pony 2, is divided up into parts throughout the episode, and, despite its seeming "randomness," it actually tells a story about the journey from aloneness to togetherness.  It's really quite genius.
• The ending was really super emotional.  I loved getting Cheese's real backstory, and the fact that he had been basically looking forward to returning to Ponyville to see Pinkie again...  gah!  It struck my heart!  Of course, I was expecting him to turn out to be some long-lost relative or something, but what we got instead was almost 100% better.  Plus, I like the fact that Pinkie and Cheese both made mistakes, but they both realize what they've done and feel sorry for it.  Cartoons generally don't do a good job of resolving these types of conflicts (they usually show one character as wrong and the other right, and the problem isn't solved until the bad one apologizes, and the good one stands triumphant), but this episode actually portrayed that situation in a pretty realistic manner, or at least as realistic as you can get in a fantasy world where talking ponies learn daily lessons about friendship.  lawl
• oh yeah, and did I mention that one of my greatest childhood heroes, WEIRD AL, IS A PONY?!?  o3o

So yeah...  that's pretty much why this episode is now the best one ever.

 

Also, who else noticed Derpy Hooves sticking her face in the chocolate fountain?  xP

[Jammo 986]

My biggest fear turned out to be for naught.

I was worried Cheese Sandwich would just be Al as a pony. Often when Al lends his voice to cartoons I can't separate the performer from his character. But this show did a fantastic job of highlighting the strengths of his acting and singing while writing Cheese Sandwich as a great character who stands on his own. Bravo. First time I've said that about any Weird Al acting performance. Good job. A new favourite of mine. Both as an Al fan and a brony.

[Shine 166]

The VERY ONLY problem I have with the episode is the name they gave Weird Al's character.

 

I mean "Cheese Sandwich"?! Are you serious!? If you ask me, ANY name would have been better for the guy, especially if it's a reference to Weird Al like "Twinkie Weiner Sandwich" or "Polka Pants".

 

When I heard that his name was going to be Cheese Sandwich, my first thought was "I bet they let him pick his own name.  Of course Weird Al would pick a weird name like Cheese Sandwich!"  xD

[Sarah The Pegasister 22]

Some people dislike the rainbow motif going on in season 4, but I personally love it so this episode is an awesome one for me! =D

Weird Al, of course, served as a really good opposite but equal to Pinkie, and the dynamic is really awesome. This also opens up room for some Pinkie x Cheese shipping =P

[BrilliantVenture 334]

Waoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow...

 

Really...I just can't explain how much I enjoyed this episode!...Like, I really can't...

 

..but I'll try!

 

Okay...so let me start with my first impressions...

 

The Writing/Guest Star

 

I was worried about this.

Yes. I was worried about this.

Not much mind you, but a little bit.

Let me start out by saying I LOVE Amy Keating Rogers...

She's my absolute favourite writer on the show, and I always feel as if

The stories she writes are amazingly intelligent, and full of heart.

She truly captures what I and most others consider, to be the true spirit of MLP FIM.

We also have Weird Al. I love his work, and the dude's been a legend for years!

But to bring him into the show?...that's what scared me.

You see, there's this thing I call "Adam Sandler Syndrome." 

Where basically EVERY movie he's in, you're not watching the character,

you're watching Adam Sandler be Adam Sandler...

And I was like, "Wow...I haven't really heard Weird Al act in anything other than his parodies!

What if he just ends up sounding like himself, and his character feels too distanced and out of place?"

But BOY WAS I WRONG!

Weird Al was FANTASTIC!...and that's where I believe Amy Keating Rogers came into play a bit...

She wrote some great stuff that covered many sides to his character...and to hear him be serious at some points?

And do it well?...WOW...great teamwork between them both (Even if they never actually got to meet in person...which is kinda sad)

I also LOVED the fact that there was a twist ending that I didn't expect...AKR is great at this! In episodes like "A Friend in Deed" or "Mmmmystery on the Friendship Express" you never quite knew how they were going to end...and that's the mark of a great writer!

I didn't see the ending of this coming...and I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet. But this was the perfect finish to a wonderful episode! Also, another thing I love about Amy's work, is her ability to update old concepts and show them off in a brand new way! This plotline has been done in other shows, but she made it stand apart in its own special way! She did the same thing, with stories like the "last roundup" and "A friend in deed." We've all seen these concepts done before...but the way she writes them, breathes such new life and vision, and makes you go, "Wow...that was really something!"

 

The Musical Score/Aspect

 

I gotta give a BIG shout to Mr. Daniel Ingram for an EP's worth of FANTASTIC collaborative music in this episode.

Pinkie's songs were top notch, and weird al's somehow blended perfectly between a balance of the show's signature style, and Weird Al's signature sound. First time I shed a tear in a while too, during the sad and emotional "Pinkie's Lament." Beautifully written song.. The other songs were fantastic too! And the pace of some of them (Like "The Super Duper Party Pony") was so neckbrakingly fast, it was amazing they pulled it off so well! Fast songs with lyrics are challenging to do correctly, especially when trying to convey a point in an intelligent way. Most people either get lost completely, or miss out on the "full impact potential" of the original intent, because there's too much being thrown at them at once...But this one handeled it somehow perfectly, and my goodness was it worth it!

I will point out that the ending song "Make a Wish" is basically a sped up version of "This is our Big Night" from Equestria Girls...only this time with better lyrics, and a beat that DOESN'T sample/ripoff deadmau5's "Not Exactly." So thank you Daniel for some wonderful new material for my musical listening devices, it is greatly appreciated.

 

The Acting/Emotion/Performance

 

The acting was REALLY on par in this episode...you felt for who you were meant to feel for, you laughed when you were

meant to laugh...it was truly a "Real" episode, and I feel the acting/performances given really reflected that. Libman killed it again, and alongside Weird Al, they played off eachother's performances perfectly. Everything hit where it needed to.

 

Final thoughts/ratings

 

Pinkie Pride is by far the strongest episode in the season so far. (IMO)

It's got everything I hoped for, and nothing I didn't...

The story was strong, the characters were strong, and it left me feeling very satisfied.

 

I give this one a 9.5 out of 10.

 

Yes...it almost tied with "A Canterlot Wedding"

To me, it's that good...

 

I'd really love to see more from Amy Keating Rogers in this season,

and I can't wait to see where the show goes next!

For sure, this episode made me smile, and gave me a little more faith that this season's going to turn out great!

 

So Until Next Episode,

Stay Brony My friends!

[Life Giver 1,063]

I really like this episode... sadly it reminded me of the last episode of season three... but song were great.

[Crystal Peppermint 1,108]

I can´t believe i say this, but this episode is better then Apples to the core.

[Acchan 232]

This is how strongly the episode affected me- I don't have an OTP. I usually don't ship ponies. However, Pinkie Pride has given me an OTP- CheesePie.

[Guest90210 3,568]

Brohoof'd because you contributed to the discussion and put new ideas out there.

 

One of the biggest contributing factors to the obnoxiousness of the episode is how often Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich feel the need to stroke their own egos and incessantly proclaim the greatness of themselves and their parties, and how everyone else does the same for the both of them. Superlatives are thrown around so often, yet they have essentially no meaning. By what standard is everyone judging Pinkie's or Cheese Sandwich's parties to be the funnest, most fabulous, etc.? Without explaining or showing why they think so, I don't see why I should believe them.

 

I see what you mean, but it didn't really come off as "ego stroking" to me. It just seemed like they were being competitive.

 

 

When I've seen Pinkie's parties on previous episodes, they didn't blow me away with their awesomeness, and I'm not sure how much fun I would actually have at one of them. For example, Pinkie's parties often have a lot of decorations (streamers, confetti, party hats, etc.), but I don't really care about decorations, and if anything, seeing so many of them would make me feel bad about all of the mostly wasted money and effort put into them. Pinkie's parties often have a lot of bodies there, but I would probably be happier and more comfortable at a party with a lot fewer people whom I know better and could spend more time with. Pinkie's and Cheese Sandwich's ideas of what constitutes fun and a good party are not necessarily the same as mine or everyone else's, so it was a bit peeving to see everyone universally proclaiming their greatness.

 

Another thing this episode served to highlight is that it's unclear how Pinkie's party planning works. Is Pinkie ever paid for her party planning? If and when she isn't, does Pinkie buy all the materials for her parties herself? If so, how does Pinkie make that kind of money? When Pinkie is going around gathering party supplies, we don't see her paying the merchants for streamers, paint, banners, etc., so does she have a contract with them? Or do these merchants simply give away their wares to Pinkie so that she can plan her parties? When Pinkie makes her "guarantee" to Rainbow Dash, what does that mean? What happens if Rainbow Dash (or any other recipient of a party to whom Pinkie made such a guarantee) is NOT satisfied with Pinkie's party?

 

Finally, while there were, of course, lots of nonsensical things and events in the episode, a couple stuck out to me in particular. One was the scene where Pinkie is getting paint during the first song. Of course, it makes no sense for Pinkie to transport a bunch of paint by just having it slosh around in her bag. But what I don't understand is how the different colors of paint are separate when the merchant pours them in a single stream into Pinkie's bag, then they mix into a brown mess once they're all in the bag (which is what we would expect), but then when she's painting the banner, the colors are all separate again. The other one I'll point out is the fruit punch pool with floating food in it, which is Cheese Sandwich's idea. I would think that that would be a lot more sticky and nasty than fun. 

 

You know, I was actually thinking the same thing while watching the episode. I like finding silly errors and gaps of logic in shows as well. The way I see it though, is that you need to suspend reality to an extent when watching something like MLP. Every cartoon has something like this (i,e, Spongebob is full of stuff like this). So i let certain things pass. As long as it isn't a glaring inconsistency that makes the episode less enjoyable or creates an obvious plot hole then I'm willing to look past it.

 

 

Cheese Sandwich arrives, and a few minutes and a song later, the rest of the Mane Six and the rest of Ponyville start extolling him and his parties while leaving Pinkie behind, even though the only basis for their praise is a few minutes worth of what Cheese Sandwich said. Why do all of them just believe him so readily without any proof? What made them so quickly think that Cheese Sandwich is better than Pinkie at planning the party and allow him to take charge? How is Cheese Sandwich's party planning actually better than Pinkie's? Doesn't Pinkie's friendship and track record of throwing parties for them mean anything? Why wouldn't Pinkie, being Rainbow Dash's close friend and well-known in Ponyville, know more about what Rainbow Dash and everyone else would like in a party and hence be the better party planner?

 

Of course, Pinkie is saddened by this sudden turn of events, but seemingly just as much or more so because she's not "the best", rather than because her best friends and the rest of Ponyville turned away from her on a dime for an unproven total stranger who just showed up a few minutes ago. Then, in song, she laments about how she just wanted to make her friends smile, and about how maybe she shouldn't plan parties at all. And during the song, she's shown failing at other jobs. I'm not sure what the message of all of this is supposed to be. Does not being "the best" at something make it not worth doing at all? Is being "the best" really a worthy life goal? Does Pinkie need to be the one to make her friends smile and laugh in order to her to be happy herself? Is planning parties supposed to be the only thing that Pinkie is good at doing?

 

You have a point. It was strange that everyone bought Cheese's shtick of being the best Party Pony around. But to be fair, what he was showing in the song made his parties seem pretty crazy and awesome. I suppose everyone jumped on the bandwaggon, which does happen in real life quite often.

 

Pinkie is pretty much the only "Party Pony" in Ponyville. If someone comes along and "steals her spot", no ones going to want her to throw their parties and Pinkie won't be able to do what is most important to her: Make other ponies smile. That's why she was so saddened. Pinkie isn't "only good" at parties, her element is laughter. That's what she's best at. Whatever a ponies cutie mark is, that's what they're best at and that's practically their meaning in life.

 

 

Finally, while there were, of course, lots of nonsensical things and events in the episode, a couple stuck out to me in particular. One was the scene where Pinkie is getting paint during the first song. Of course, it makes no sense for Pinkie to transport a bunch of paint by just having it slosh around in her bag. But what I don't understand is how the different colors of paint are separate when the merchant pours them in a single stream into Pinkie's bag, then they mix into a brown mess once they're all in the bag (which is what we would expect), but then when she's painting the banner, the colors are all separate again. The other one I'll point out is the fruit punch pool with floating food in it, which is Cheese Sandwich's idea. I would think that that would be a lot more sticky and nasty than fun

 

The whole scene with the "goof off" was particularly obnoxious, and the whole thing seemed unnecessary and nonsensical. How is a "goof off" a good way of proving who "the best" party planner is and which one of them (and only one of them) should throw Rainbow Dash's party? Why does the "goof off" have to be an ultimatum? Both Pinkie's and Cheese Sandwich's shticks and singing were annoying from start to finish. If I were in Rainbow Dash's place, I certainly wouldn't be smiling (not that Rainbow Dash was particularly enthusiastic); I would be telling them to get off me and to just stop. 

 

Again it's one of those "cartoon" moments that I'm willing to look past as it doesn't bother me and it doesn't make the episode worse. I loved that song. It was fun to watch and I was entertained throughout.

 

 

If Cheese Sandwich's purpose in going to Ponyville and volunteering to help plan Rainbow Dash's party was to show Pinkie how great of a party pony he is, and how she was an inspiration to him, then why didn't he tell her that before? Why did he allow everyone to leave Pinkie behind when he "showed her up"? Why did he go through all of the party planning and not even talk to Pinkie while she moped alone at Sugarcube Corner? Why did he agree to the "goof off", which might have made Pinkie look bad or made him look bad and stopped him from planning the party and proving himself to Pinkie? His actions throughout the episode often seem inconsistent with his stated goal and supposed admiration for Pinkie. 

 

True, he probably should have said something before, Maybe he got caught up in planning the party and wanted to see if he could surpass his idol (which who wouldn't want to become greater than their biggest idol?). In the end though he did admit it and shared the party with Pinkie.

[dekutree64 713]

Another thing this episode served to highlight is that it's unclear how Pinkie's party planning works. Is Pinkie ever paid for her party planning? If and when she isn't, does Pinkie buy all the materials for her parties herself? If so, how does Pinkie make that kind of money? When Pinkie is going around gathering party supplies, we don't see her paying the merchants for streamers, paint, banners, etc., so does she have a contract with them? Or do these merchants simply give away their wares to Pinkie so that she can plan her parties? When Pinkie makes her "guarantee" to Rainbow Dash, what does that mean? What happens if Rainbow Dash (or any other recipient of a party to whom Pinkie made such a guarantee) is NOT satisfied with Pinkie's party?

This is an interesting point, and one I've thought about before (and part of why I see Pinkie as a fairly tragic character). I always assumed she lives meagerly and spends all of her paycheck that doesn't go toward rent/food on party supplies. And yeah, she probably has some kind of payment system set up with them to speed up the party preparation process.

 

And we saw exactly what happens if she breaks the party guarantee... she leaves town.

 

If Cheese Sandwich's purpose in going to Ponyville and volunteering to help plan Rainbow Dash's party was to show Pinkie how great of a party pony he is, and how she was an inspiration to him, then why didn't he tell her that before? Why did he allow everyone to leave Pinkie behind when he "showed her up"? Why did he go through all of the party planning and not even talk to Pinkie while she moped alone at Sugarcube Corner? Why did he agree to the "goof off", which might have made Pinkie look bad or made him look bad and stopped him from planning the party and proving himself to Pinkie? His actions throughout the episode often seem inconsistent with his stated goal and supposed admiration for Pinkie.

I got the impression he was ashamed of his past, and lied to make himself seem more like his perfect image of Pinkie. And Pinkie getting left behind was more her own fault for faking a smile until she could escape unnoticed. And going so far into the party setup makes some sense considering that Rainbow did stay with him, and he didn't want to disappoint her by leaving to search for Pinkie (especially if he was aware that Twilight was going to check on her). But accepting the challenge really doesn't make sense... at least until she called him boneless, which I assume is a Back to the Future reference (Marty doing stupid things when anyone calls him chicken). I guess before then it could have been his own pride, wanting to show off to Pinkie. But it just doesn't seem right that he keeps his game face on even after she adds the victory condition.

 

Finally, while there were, of course, lots of nonsensical things and events in the episode, a couple stuck out to me in particular. One was the scene where Pinkie is getting paint during the first song. Of course, it makes no sense for Pinkie to transport a bunch of paint by just having it slosh around in her bag. But what I don't understand is how the different colors of paint are separate when the merchant pours them in a single stream into Pinkie's bag, then they mix into a brown mess once they're all in the bag (which is what we would expect), but then when she's painting the banner, the colors are all separate again. The other one I'll point out is the fruit punch pool with floating food in it, which is Cheese Sandwich's idea. I would think that that would be a lot more sticky and nasty than fun.

This show does have liquid rainbows that stay separated, so extending that to paint isn't too crazy (and turning brown in the bag was pretty funny ). I was wondering if that punch pool was sugar-free, or if everyone came out a horrible sticky mess But actually it's probably just water with a little color in it, and food shaped inflatables.

 

I LOVED THE EPISODE BUT THERE WERE NO SPOONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well Silver Spoon was present at least I wish she'd gotten a line in the song. But she still got a little character development, showing that she's not entirely subservient to Diamond Tiara by taking the milkshake back when she was distracted.

 

Another funny (and slightly unsettling) thing I noticed on second viewing is that just before the real-life Gummy shot, Pinkie says he's "tastier than cake" A reference to this, perhaps?

 

And Rainbow really does deserve the title of iron pony, because her head must be made of it:

[raspymanic 36]

Loved it soooo much was going on in each scene, they really stepped up the animation for this episode, also you could tell the animators had alot of fun with this episode so many expressions. Cheese sandwich was everything i could of asked for, Weird Al is a legend. Goof off and Derpy chocolate drinking were my favourite parts 10/10