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My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)
Somehow Overall It's Absolutely Outstanding & Original
Summary: If you are interested (if you're reading this you're most likely interested) 100% watch it but just know it starts out a bit shaky but gets a lot better. Review lacks a bit of detail because I really don't want to spoil anything, especially some of the little things that made me really fall for this show.
Ever since I heard whispers of this show being good I have wondered if it actually was anything at all or if it was just A bunch of crazy people freaking out over A series of 20 minute commercials. After 10 years or so, curiosity got the best of me and I ventured into My Little Pony Friendship is Magic with only hearing that the first 2 seasons were rough and that the music was good.
This show is freaking incredible and unlike anything I've ever seen before, I will admit that I almost gave up on it pretty early into season one but stuck it out and watched it blossom. For the most part I thoroughly enjoyed it through all the twists and different directions the show goes in throughout its nine seasons. I watched it quite slowly, taking almost one and A half years to finish it, which seemed appropriate as it aired over nine years.
Music - THE SONGS IN THIS ARE ARE UTTERLY FANTASTIC AND HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE THIS GOOD, I ADORE THEM. 90% of the songs in the show are great little knee slappers but there are some absolute bangers in here ("This Day Aria", "You'll Play Your Part", "Find The Music in You", "A Kirin Tale" and many many more). The background music didn't stand out all too much but the "Tirek Battle Suite" and "Love Conquers All" tracks should not be overlooked as they are fantastic. Each of the "Mane Six" has their own kind of instruments and music styles that accompany them which was A nice touch. My biggest complaint is that around season 5 they stopped putting the songs out on albums so finding a good version of A song from after season 5 can be a bit of A pain. Also the Christmas album should not be overlooked.
Animation - Definitely the part of the show that was lacking in quality, it gets better as the show goes on but there are still some little errors even in the later seasons and there are some major ones early on. It's pretty average for the most part, it increases in quality with significance of what's going on. The part of the animation I despise the most are the Timberwolves, idk what was going through the animators heads but they are 3D CG models running around on 2D background, they look utterly atrocious, thankfully this kind of stuff is in maybe 10 of the episodes for A couple seconds. (kind of A joke spoiler, don't read if you're gonna watch the show) Despite the mostly average animation I was delightfully surprised to see one or two cutaway gags to live action, They were A really nice surprise and quite memorable in addition to this there is A one off stop motion segment early on and I would have loved to see more stuff like this in the show.
Lore - This show about colourful horses has an extensive amount of lore and mythology, that for the most part remains consistent and is adhered to. The history of the characters and land of Equestria really adds A lot to the show, giving it miles more depth than I ever thought it would have.
Characters - There are so many fantastic characters in this from the hero's to the villains and even the background ponies.
The Mane six - These six go together brilliantly as A group and as pairs, their flaws, strengths and quirks all go together so well. The personal journeys each of the characters go on throughout the seasons and the journey they go on together makes every little inch of growth impactful on the character and the characters around them. They are all basically in their early twenties, they all pretty much have jobs and responsibilities making them quite relatable to the older viewers.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders - The first few episodes featuring the CMC's had me questioning if watching My Little Pony was A good decision, but I warmed up to them and ended up appreciating the more simplistic problems they face, especially in the later seasons when the problems facing the Mane Six actually have some pretty high stakes.
Villains - There are quite A few villains in the show, they are all quite unique and have their own little things going for them, they are one of the best parts of the show and are responsible for some of the best and most impactful moments. I won't say too much or anything at all, go see them for yourself.
Background Ponies - The background ponies in the show are one of the most notable parts, you have these standout characters going about their business in the background and as the episodes go on they are all subtly built upon, all given their own little personalities without them uttering a word and just being in the background.
A Show For Little Girls... Surprisingly Not - Maybe early on but overall this is 100% an animated show for all ages, the groundwork laid out by Lauren Faust instantly propelled the show away from being something about tea parties and dresses, into being about adventure, growth and comradery. There are also some quite dark moments and themes in the show. The show on paper is essentially A commercial to sell toys, but at no point in the show did it feel like it was.
Setting - The land of Equestria and all the subsections within it are the settings of the show. All the major locations are really unique and memorable and all have their own history, design theme and unique inhabitants. Within Equestria you've got an Amazonian Aztech jungle, Egyptian desert, Greek inspired city it the clouds that moves around Equestria, heavenly castle city built on the side of A mountain, New York, A crystal city in the middle of an icy wasteland, A small dreary village inhabited by A brainwashing cult, A fairytale forest filled with monstrous flora and fauna and many many many more places that all make for some fantastic adventures. The world of Equestria is built up with the show starting out mainly exploring Ponyville and its surrounding locations and going further and further out as the seasons progress whilst also continuing to revisit previously visited places to further explore them and their characters.
Comedy - There is quite A variety of jokes from simplest of horse puns to absurdist insanity. The jokes are hilarious and I loved them, the overuse of puns for naming locations was quite A bit much at first but is just a nice quirk of the show and adds to its flavour. The show is also able to make fun of itself and also makes fun of the shows it is trying to distance itself from. The show overall was really funny, the humour shouldn't be overlooked.
Design of Stuff - The design of some of the things in this show is utterly brilliant. I was infatuated with some of the clothes the various characters are adorned with throughout the show, some of the outfits are utterly divine works of art. The architecture in all the different settings is also really fantastic, and really makes locations stand out. The designs of the monsters/creatures are all really great; they are still decently fierce but still fit into the aesthetic of the world. There are also some little things that just really stand out from the interior of the Canterlot throne room, the sky yachts, posters in the background, logos, plants and all sorts of things just look really fantastic and add so much to the world.
Over its nine seasons My Little Pony Friendship is Magic has put my jaw on the floor, tears in my eyes and A song in my step. It's able to be cute and heart-warming whilst also managing to be grand and epic. There were so many moments whilst watching the show that I was just utterly blown away by what I was witnessing. There were some mis-steps along the way but the good episodes far outweigh the mediocre or bad ones. One moment it can be an endearing "friendship lesson" about moral or personal growth and the next Twilights Sparkle will be getting thrown through mountains whilst fighting a soul sucking demon to save Equestria. It gets the big moments right but also the little ones and that I think is what makes it so fantastic.
Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, this show is fantastic and there is no other piece of media quite like My Little Pony Friendship is Magic.
My Little Pony: Rainbow Roadtrip (2019)
Cheap, Boring and Mind-numbingly Simplistic
This was just so bland and boring, it's so slow and mind-numbingly simple. The 2 songs in this were just utter garbage, I can't believe Daniel Ingram's name is attached to them. The "movie style" animation feels so out of place in this and is ultimately uncanny with the backgrounds being much more 2D. The animation is also super cheap feeling, with all the background ponies being recolours of super recognisable characters, you got A blue Big Mac walking around with 100 recoloured Lyras' and Bon-Bons'. This could have easily been just a standard episode it didn't need to drag on for an entire hour and the pacing is just so unbelievably slow making it feel like 2 hours. Some of the voice acting is a bit off as well like it was spliced together from different takes and it's really distracting.
If you want to watch it, I'd say just watch it but you'd be way better off spending an hour watching any three FIM episodes.
My Little Pony: The Movie (2017)
Not as bad as I was told it was
I went into this thing expecting the worst but with A bit of hope that it would be good. Overall it's just an extra long very basic double episode with some very out of character moments from the Mane Six with two or three good songs and some upgraded animation. Some parts I enjoyed, some parts I did not enjoy, if you've come to the end of season seven I'd say just give it A watch, it's flawed but it's not A war crime.
Songs
In total its got 5 songs not counting Rainbow by Sia. Two songs are rather drab but passable, two songs are above average when ranked amongst the songs from the show and Time To Be Awesome is A banger but is still overshadowed by the best songs from the show. Most of the songs just happen and the movie is very much aware of this and even makes A joke about it. The BGM is alright nothing really stood out however the title card music is one of the most hype things to ever accompany A title and that leads into a nice quick and simple intro song.
Miscellaneous Positives
The start of the movie is pretty good with tons of nods to characters from the show, it's got some very feel good vibes and feels very My Little Pony. The exploration of settings outside Equestria was pretty good and made the movie feel A bit more significant, these new places are pretty average but do feel very different from any of the other locations seen in the show as of Season 7. The animation looks great although it does get A bit janky when it's mashed with CG environments in some scenes.
Villains
The villains are probably the film's greatest flaw. Tempest is alright but her backstory is lazy and uninteresting, it would have been much better if it was left alone. Storm king's henchmen look pretty interesting but do nothing but stand around. Storm King himself is just utter garbage, the hostile winds surrounding the Crystal Empire are A better villain than him. He is shown very little, shoots lightning at A wall and falls over. Overall the militaristic appearance of the villains is intriguing but is not utilised at all resulting in them feeling like the least threatening and most underwhelming villains in the series. They are treated like the greatest threat to ever face Equestria which feels very forced, I believe they had the potential to be A great threat and A movie worthy set of villains but they weren't properly developed.
New Characters And The Mane Six
New characters aren't given enough time to be made memorable and they don't do much in the grand scheme of things, they feel more like scenery and don't really serve much of A purpose. The Mane Six have some pretty out of character moments and in some scenes are treated like they are much younger than they are in the show, the conflict that arises among them feels very forced, has very little significance and is resolved very quickly.
The Plot
The plot is very standard. Bad guy comes, bad guy wants power, bad guy gets 75% of the power, bad guy hunts remaining 25% of power as that power flees. The climax is very basic and proves that the entire journey the Mane Six go was entirely unnecessary and pointless.
I'd probably watch it again tho, I'd rate it A 6.5 if I could. Flawed but not A war crime.
My Little Pony: The Movie (2017)
Not as bad as I was told it was
I went into this thing expecting the worst but with A bit of hope that it would be good. Overall it's just an extra long very basic double episode with some very out of character moments from the Mane Six with two or three good songs and some upgraded animation. Some parts I enjoyed, some parts I did not enjoy, if you've come to the end of season seven I'd say just give it A watch, it's flawed but it's not A war crime.
Songs
In total its got 5 songs not counting Rainbow by Sia. Two songs are rather drab but passable, two songs are above average when ranked amongst the songs from the show and Time To Be Awesome is A banger but is still overshadowed by the best songs from the show. Most of the songs just happen and the movie is very much aware of this and even makes A joke about it. The BGM is alright nothing really stood out however the title card music is one of the most hype things to ever accompany A title and that leads into a nice quick and simple intro song.
Miscellaneous Positives
The start of the movie is pretty good with tons of nods to characters from the show, it's got some very feel good vibes and feels very My Little Pony. The exploration of settings outside Equestria was pretty good and made the movie feel A bit more significant, these new places are pretty average but do feel very different from any of the other locations seen in the show as of Season 7. The animation looks great although it does get A bit janky when it's mashed with CG environments in some scenes.
Villains
The villains are probably the film's greatest flaw. Tempest is alright but her backstory is lazy and uninteresting, it would have been much better if it was left alone. Storm king's henchmen look pretty interesting but do nothing but stand around. Storm King himself is just utter garbage, the hostile winds surrounding the Crystal Empire are A better villain than him. He is shown very little, shoots lightning at A wall and falls over. Overall the militaristic appearance of the villains is intriguing but is not utilised at all resulting in them feeling like the least threatening and most underwhelming villains in the series. They are treated like the greatest threat to ever face Equestria which feels very forced, I believe they had the potential to be A great threat and A movie worthy set of villains but they weren't properly developed.
New Characters And The Mane Six
New characters aren't given enough time to be made memorable and they don't do much in the grand scheme of things, they feel more like scenery and don't really serve much of A purpose. The Mane Six have some pretty out of character moments and in some scenes are treated like they are much younger than they are in the show, the conflict that arises among them feels very forced, has very little significance and is resolved very quickly.
The Plot
The plot is very standard. Bad guy comes, bad guy wants power, bad guy gets 75% of the power, bad guy hunts remaining 25% of power as that power flees. The climax is very basic and proves that the entire journey the Mane Six go was entirely unnecessary and pointless.
I'd probably watch it again tho, I'd rate it A 6.5 if I could. Flawed but not A war crime.