‘My Little Pony: The Movie’ Review: Friendship Is Magic, and So Is This Equestrian Adventure
Everything that makes the show so beloved by kids (and their parents) survives the jump to the big screen, bringing unbridled joy to all
Elizabeth Weitzman | October 5, 2017 @ 2:00 PM
Last Updated: October 5, 2017 @ 2:01 PM
Are the kids in your life too young to see “Wonder Woman”? No worries: now they’ve got Twilight Sparkle Princess Pony, instead.
Yes, “My Little Pony: The Movie,” like its television predecessor, is all dressed up in bubbles and cupcakes and rainbows. But it’s so jam-packed with rousing girl power, it passes the Bechdel Test with (literally) flying colors.
As fans already know, the animated TV series, “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic,” is no mere toy-seller. Granted, this movie may send the ponies back to the top of holiday wish lists, but at least these are characters worth wishing for, and learning from.
At the center of the story is the aforementioned Twilight Sparkle (voiced by Tara Strong), the youngest of several princesses ruling the magical land of Equestria. When the movie opens, a very nervous Twilight is planning a big party for all of Equestria, with help from her friends Rainbow Dash and Applejack (both voiced by Ashleigh Ball), Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy (Andrea Libman), Rarity (Tabitha St. Germain), and Spike (Cathy Weseluck).
In case you’re unfamiliar with the series but remain committed to reading a review of a movie titled “My Little Pony,” you should know that some of the above are indeed ponies, but the others are unicorns, alicorns, or pegasi. With the exception of Spike, who’s a baby dragon.
Still with us? Each of the animals has his or her own personality traits, which occasionally spark conflicts but more often unite them as a team. Rainbow Dash and Applejack, for example, are plain-speaking and practical. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are silly and sweet. Rarity is the fanciest, but still ready to help a filly out.
The ponies will have to work together after the villainous Tempest Shadow (Emily Blunt) crashes Twilight’s party, to kidnap Equestria’s princesses. She and her boss, the Storm King (Liev Schreiber), intend to steal their power for themselves. Twilight and her friends escape just in time, hoping to find Queen Novo (Uzo Aduba) and get help. But before they can reach her, their treacherous path will take them past a pirate captain (Zoe Saldana), a con-artist cat (Taye Diggs), and one very excitable mermaid seapony (Kristin Chenoweth).
So. Mermaids, pirates, ponies, and princesses? Nope, you haven’t just wandered into a depressingly generic, color-coded aisle at Toys “R” Us. The fierce pirates are girls and boys, the wise princesses save themselves and others, and everybody has a good time while learning some pretty awesome lessons.
Director Jayson Thiessen, co-screenwriter Meghan McCarthy, and the rest of the team behind the TV series (and this film) have long been upfront in their desire to upend gender norms. Both their goals and style have been carried over to the multiplex so faithfully, the movie mostly feels like an extended episode.
There are some decent songs — including one from Sia, who also plays a pony — but in general the formula stands. You’ll find the same unabashedly flat animation, gentle but genuine scares, and easy-to-understand humor (bumped up a notch by a funny Schreiber and Michael Peña’s hedgehog sidekick Grubber). You’ll also get clearly-drawn messages about friendship, responsibility, self-reliance, and kindness.
Together, it’s a blueprint that’s won millions of fans, not just among kids (and nostalgic former kids), but parents desperate for inspiring, child-friendly entertainment. So come for the glitter, but stay for the girl power.
Top 10 'My Little Pony' Episodes, Ranked (Photos)
So what's all the fuss about "My Little Pony"? With most other fantasy programs, like "Game of Thrones," relying on violence to tell a story, "My Little Pony" can feel like a peaceful reprieve. Or maybe it's the show's mystical focus on social anxiety, mythologizing our everyday struggles and allowing viewers to evaluate themselves.
Oct. 6 will see the release of "My Little Pony: The Movie," featuring the voices of Emily Blunt, Kristin Chenoweth, Taye Diggs, Sia and Uzo Aduba, to name just a few. But the many devotees of "My Little Pony" (guys are known as "bronies," while the girls are "pegasisters") and the show's 169-and-counting episodes (of the "Friendship Is Magic" iteration, which launched in 2010) might leave outsiders overwhelmed.
Here's a guide to the ponies' 10 greatest adventures for anyone looking to breeze into the equestrian world of "My Little Pony."
Lionsgate/Hasbro
10. "Keep Calm and Flutter On" (S3E11)
Princess Celestia (voiced by Nicole Oliver) liberates chaos spirit Discord (John de Lancie) and tasks demure pegasus Fluttershy (Andrea Libman) with the job of reforming him, beginning a companionship between Fluttershy and Discord whose ups and downs would play out over multiple seasons. (If Discord seems similar to Q on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," that's because both are played by de Lancie.) Fluttershy is forgiving but calculated in her rehabilitation methods, showing Discord that friendship may be magic, but it’s not necessarily unconditional.
Hasbro
9. "Simple Ways" (S4E13)
Hipster photojournalist Trenderhoof (Doron Bell) comes to town, and chic unicorn Rarity (Tabitha St. Germain) is desperate to impress. But instead of falling for Rarity’s high-end aesthetic, Trenderhoof finds himself head over heels for Applejack (Ashleigh Ball) and her rustic farm-pony vibe. Rarity responds by pivoting into bumpkin stereotypes, donning frayed overalls and a laughable Southern accent. It’s an acute episode that reflects on authenticity in a pony world that can be just as image-conscious as our own.
Hasbro
8. "The Times They Are a Changeling" (S6E16)
The changelings, a race of shapeshifting insects, were depicted as monolithically villainous in earlier appearances, so it was almost necessary for a storyline where not all changelings are dangerous. Timid changeling Thorax (Kyle Rideout) makes unlikely friends with pony cohort Spike the dragon (Cathy Weseluck), but Thorax struggles to adjust to an allegedly friendlier culture. Spike’s “A Changeling Can Change” song is a little corny, but it’s worth it to see ponies look a little harder at their prejudice.
Hasbro
7. "The Last Roundup" (S2E14)
This episode shares its name with a mournful country-western tune about a cowboy’s departure to heaven, and escape is also the subject matter here. Country mare Applejack heads to the Equestria Rodeo to win money for a new town hall, then disappears for reasons obvious to anyone but her pony friends. While many episodes concern horses nervous about an upcoming event, "The Last Roundup" is about coping when you think you’ve failed.
Hasbro
6. "The Cutie Map," Parts 1 & 2 (S5E1-2)
Who would’ve thought a two-part "My Little Pony" episode would resemble "1984"? Fascist unicorn Starlight Glimmer (Kelly Sheridan) uses the Staff of Sameness to convert ponies’ cutie marks (the symbols on their sides) into drab equal signs in the name of “equality.” It’s up to the main six ponies to embolden free will in this Hugo Award–nominated tale. The moral? Working together in friendship doesn’t mean that everybody can’t be themselves.
Hasbro
5. "My Little Pony: The Movie" (1984), aka "Rescue at Midnight Castle"
"My Little Pony"'s 1984 TV debut is the only entry on this list not from the newer "Friendship" is Magic series, but it makes the cut thanks to its influential rainbows-in-darkness storyline. It features debut appearances from popular ponies like Applejack (voiced here by Sandy Duncan) and Twilight Sparkle (Laura Dean), and the redemption of the gargoyle Scorpan (Ron Taylor) is perhaps the root of one of the series' most recurring messages: Some enemies are just friends you haven't made yet.
Sunbow/Marvel/Hasbro
4. "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" (S1E23)
A must-see starting point for anyone new to the world of "Pony." This episode connects the radix of the ponies' cutie marks with an efficacy surpassing many superhero origin movies -- and it's only 22 minutes long. "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" is the moment when "Pony" asserted itself, establishing the world of Equestria as a rich, self-aware fantasy landscape meant for more than just a toy line.
Hasbro
3. "Sonic Rainboom" (S1E16)
Most episodes of "Friendship is Magic" are plunges into social anxiety, but "Sonic Rainboom" takes its unease to an edgy limit. Speedster pegasus Rainbow Dash (Ashleigh Ball) starts off nervous about a flying competition; by episode's end, she's trembling in the fetal position. We also get insight into the aerial Pegasus city Cloudsdale, and the story finishes with an explosive rescue that earned Rainbow Dash respect from cartoon nerds across the spectrum of the internet.
Hasbro
2. "A Friend in Deed" (S2E18)
Cranky Doodle Donkey (Richard Newman) moves to Ponyville, and bouncy Pinkie Pie (Andrea Libman) is desperate to cheer him up. Sounds like light stuff, but this cartoon has pathos. Pinkie’s meddling drags Cranky’s grizzled loneliness into the spotlight, and his profound pain (and some plot twists) makes the inevitable happy ending surprising. We also get the ceaseless joy of Pinkie’s “Smile Song,” which recalls outsider songwriters like Daniel Johnston or the Polyphonic Spree. A singular, timeless slice of "Pony."
Hasbro
1. "Twilight's Kingdom," Parts 1 & 2 (S4E25-26)
The ponies take on omnipotent centaur Lord Tirek (Mark Acheson) in a blaze of camaraderie, grace, and resplendent multi-colored manes! Masterfully wrapping up interwoven plot lines from season 4 and beyond, "Twilight’s Kingdom" draws on lore from the earliest days of "My Little Pony"; don't watch this two-parter by itself. Closing song “Let the Rainbow Remind You” delivers perhaps the most concise explanation of Pony philosophy: Together we will always shine.
Hasbro
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Before “My Little Pony: The Movie” hits theaters Oct. 6, enjoy the unbridled delight of the show’s best moments
So what's all the fuss about "My Little Pony"? With most other fantasy programs, like "Game of Thrones," relying on violence to tell a story, "My Little Pony" can feel like a peaceful reprieve. Or maybe it's the show's mystical focus on social anxiety, mythologizing our everyday struggles and allowing viewers to evaluate themselves.
Oct. 6 will see the release of "My Little Pony: The Movie," featuring the voices of Emily Blunt, Kristin Chenoweth, Taye Diggs, Sia and Uzo Aduba, to name just a few. But the many devotees of "My Little Pony" (guys are known as "bronies," while the girls are "pegasisters") and the show's 169-and-counting episodes (of the "Friendship Is Magic" iteration, which launched in 2010) might leave outsiders overwhelmed.
Here's a guide to the ponies' 10 greatest adventures for anyone looking to breeze into the equestrian world of "My Little Pony."
Lionsgate/Hasbro
Hasbro
