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Reviews
My Little Pony: A New Generation (2021)
Stellar family fun from start to finish
Ever since the 80s, My Little Pony has had a rehaul every decade or so, the most famous being Friendship is Magic. But that era is over and it's time for a new generation with brand new ponies and a fresh animation style--this movie is the introduction to said generation. And how does it hold up?
Wonderfully, in my opinion. I have almost only positive things to say about this movie.
The character dynamics are excellent and it's great to see the mane 5 ponies band together under a common cause and slowly grow fond of each other. The managed to portray realistic character development and budding friendships in the short runtime they had. All of the songs are an entertaining addition and a delight to watch. The movie doesn't oversell its sadness to pull at your heart-strings--instead, the emotion feels very genuine. You really feel for these ponies and it's NOT because the plot forces you to feel sad by adding unnecessary sadness, like what the ending of Toy Story 4 did. The emotional bits are very natural.
I did notice two flaws. I think the ending could have had more to it and the aftermath explored more. Plus, I think Pipp had a lot of untapped potential as she was an underutilized character. Still, the characters are well-written and Hitch is definitely the most interesting and fun in my opinion. Sprout is a riot too, he really stole the show whenever he was on-screen!
The movie is full of fun dialogue, adorable animation, and gorgeous sets; I love the distinction between the different locations. But this is only the start of Generation 5 of My Little Pony, with a 44-minute special and later a series coming out next year. I think this movie did a VERY good job at setting up this new start of My Little Pony.
You might wonder how it compares to the 2017 My Little Pony Movie. Overall, they are completely unrelated, with G5 only having loose ties to G4. I'd say this movie is far superior--better dialogue, better humor, and more time spent developing the characters.
You might have heard about political messages in this movie. Yes, there are a lot of valuable underlying subtexts that older viewers may pick up on. Such as history being taught wrong to make other races seem inferior, and people in power conjuring fake problems to profit off of their proposed solutions. But it doesn't hinder the enjoyment of the movie for kids, who are the most important audience for this movie.
Overall this is a really sweet movie anyone in the family can enjoy, and won't regret watching one bit.
My Little Pony: The Movie (2017)
Great fun with glaring flaws
My Little Pony: The Movie is a fun, sweet, and rewarding watch. You will watch these cute ponies venture far outside their comfort zone both literally and metaphorically, to save their homeland from destruction. As they struggle through harsh lands and meet unfamiliar faces, the weight of their mission will weigh down on them and their willpower, patience, morals, and friendships will all be tested.
The movie's animation is gorgeous. The style is a really distinct, high-quality 2D look and the ponies appear soft and adorable. (Even cuter than they look in the Friendship is Magic TV series, in my opinion). Some angles and shots are truly gorgeous. The songs and background score are great. The idea for the plot is solid and overall easy to grasp.
But this movie has significant issues too.
The main cause is that there are too many characters. It is difficult to grow attached to any of the side characters when they each only appear for a short time and get a character arc that only lasts a few moments. You've got the Mane 6 ponies plus Spike the Dragon, three villains, Capper the cat, the Seapony queen and princess, Captain Celaeno and her whole crew, and a bunch of very minor characters. So you've got like 18 main characters and many hardly get a chance to grow on you.
Another flaw is the extended silence after very unfunny lines... It's there to give the audience time to laugh, but it's just awkward when those lines aren't even amusing enough to make anyone crack a smile. There are plenty of good jokes, but there are some misses as well.
I also feel as if most of the new characters do not look as if they fit well alongside the ponies. It almost looks like the characters came from totally different films and were all tossed together.
Even so, the movie is a delight to watch and I didn't really pay much heed to the problems until afterwards. The different locations the ponies visit creates visual interest, and there are some very sad, tender, and emotional moments. The stakes are high and the main character Twilight Sparkle is clearly impacted by the burden she carries.
Vivo (2021)
Incredibly catchy and surprisingly bittersweet
2021 is just full of great animated movies that happen to appeal greatly to my tastes--and Vivo is one of them. Although the main characters are super cute, the film knows how to send a mature, emotional message about dealing with grief and loss. It really struck a chord in me and I couldn't stop thinking about it for several days. The voice acting is utterly fantastic, the songs are unforgettable, and the style is really endearing. There are a bunch of funny lines too, and all the characters are easy to love. The only major problem I could see is that not many events occur throughout the story. It's just a straightforward story with one minor sideplot and I feel as if more could have happened. But other than that, I believe this movie is definitely worth viewing and one you will remember for a long time to come.
Wish Dragon (2021)
It will make you laugh and cry
I will admit that when I first saw the trailers, I did not think I would enjoy this movie very much. I still watched the movie for the sake of it, and I was blown away by how riveting it was and how many tears it made me shed. It has a great, engaging story full of memorable scenes, a couple of plot twists that make your heart drop, and emotional moments that pull on your heart-strings VERY hard! I love many of the jokes and there were several times where I burst out laughing, although the emotion stood out to me a lot more than the humor did. The film's entire storyline is a joy to venture through, and you gradually learn more about the characters as it goes on--There's more to them than what meets the eye. I don't think the trailers do this film justice whatsoever. Prepare yourself for an entertaining tale about true friendship, family, and the sacrifices you're willing to make for those you love.
The only complaint I have with this movie is that many of the backgrounds appear dull and bland. I noticed this when I just watched the trailers as well. But the characters are lively and nicely animated at least.
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)
Full of feels and fun--At least, on the first viewing
As the first live action movie for Pokemon, the highest grossing property in the world and one of the most well-known franchises of all time, this movie is decent--but made a lot of peculiar creative choices that I believe hindered the movie in the long run. For one thing, it is loosely based on a somewhat forgotten spin-off game instead of relating to any of the mainline games, anime, or manga. Secondly, the murky city color palette does not mesh well with the whimsical concept of these cute companions existing in the real world. Thirdly, while the witty, coffee-consuming persona of Pikachu is an amusing novelty for older fans, I feel as if it alienates what the main target demographic should have been: kids. As such, it is hard to determine whom this movie should appeal to aside from a handful of Pokemon fans.
The other problems are that they brought so many Pokemon to life in this movie, but most of them have little to no importance and it's disappointing. It would have been nice if more Pokemon species got a fair amount of screentime. There is an Eevee in the movie that appears for a second, evolves into a Flareon, and walks away one more second later. And the biggest flaw in my opinion is the poor acting and uninteresting personality of the character Lucy. I really did not care about that character at all and I was surprised by how awkward her acting was.
The things I do love about the film are the gorgeous instrumental score and the deep level of emotion. Even if I lost interest in most other aspects of the movie, it still manages to make me cry. The bond between family is really sweet, and the Pikachu is irresistibly cute. He looks perfect and exactly how a Pikachu would look in real life. Some of the Pokemon 3D designs look uncanny--including Aipom and Jigglypuff--but the majority look great and boast an impressive level of detail. My favorite track in the score is definitely "Epiphany".
There were a lot of funny jokes and quips, though I feel as if it tried to hard to appeal to Ryan Renolds fans or adults in general. I had a blast watching the movie the first time, but I realized it was difficult to sit through on the second viewing and beyond. This is because it is a mystery movie which happens to rely too heavily on the shock of the twist to impress the audience. Additionally, the vague flashbacks and slow gathering of clues take up too much time and are boring to watch after the first viewing.
I do not think this is a bad film by any means and like I said before, I loved it on my first viewing--I would have rated it 8/10 minutes after my first time watching it. But it has flaws that keep it from entertaining me again and again. Still, I don't regret watching it, and there were plenty of jokes, heart-warming moments, and memorable lines that really stuck with me. Overall it is a competent product with an ideal plot and great individual scenes, but other pieces of the puzzle just aren't up to par.
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Hilarious and the ultimate family movie
I spent a while debating whether I should give this film 9 or 10 stars. In the end, I decided to give it a perfect score, and here is the main reason why. I had an absolute blast throughout the entirety of the movie, and there was nothing that had me feeling disappointed or wishing a scene was over. It pulls you right in with a riveting pace and hilarious humor, and the entire movie is loaded to the brim with jokes that had myself and the whole audience laughing. I know everyone has a different sense of humor, but for me, it had me laughing until I was crying!
That is not the film's only good point, though. The action is fun to watch and never even begins to get boring. It doesn't take up an excessive portion of the movie, but the action scenes ARE creative and entrancing to watch. Some of my favorite scenes were getting a POV of Sonic running, and any scene in which the world was in slow motion while Sonic was at top speed.
There is some emotion to the movie and and a theme anyone can relate to: Loneliness, being an outcast, and fear of abandonment. Oddly the movie didn't make me cry, only shed a tiny tear, despite me being easily moved by fiction. But I do admit a few scenes were very touching and I felt my heartstrings being tugged at very strongly.
A lot of people say Jim Carrey stole the show but Sonic himself was the most fun to watch on screen in my opinion.
People are going to compare this to Detective Pikachu. Though I loved that movie, I have no doubt that Sonic is the superior movie. I could rewatch Sonic again and again because it doesn't rely on twists. Detective Pikachu was boring to me on the second watch. Also, the human characters in Sonic are far more appealing and have way better acting.
A few more thoughts. I was happy to see that the humans don't take the spotlight away from Sonic the Hedgehog. Even with small roles, most of them were enjoyable characters. You shouldn't expect any twists or a complicated plot in the movie; the fun and thrill of what's going on more than makes up for it. It is pure fun and can appeal to anyone and sometimes that's all a family film needs to be in order to be its best.
Kids will love it. Sonic fans will love it. Everyone else should have a great time, ESPECIALLY if you're a child at heart. It put me in an amazing mood that I'm sure will last with me for a while. Go watch the movie expecting nothing more than to have a BLAST and laugh, and you won't be disappointed. Depending on who you are, the movie will likely exceed those expectations too. :)