I recently watched My Little Pony: The Movie. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is my favourite episodic cartoon, surpassed only by flowing epics like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
The characters are deep and complex, the setting is interesting, and the morals are—with the exception of some bad episodes—great. It’s no wonder the show has amassed such a following, spanning all demographics.
I’d even say, considering the morals the show is built upon, that its potential to do good is in the same league as that of The Lord of the Rings or Star Trek.
But what about the movie that just came out? Does it live up to the high standard of the show? What about the slightly different animation style? The tone? Well, I know what I think of it, so let us begin.
How It Compares
My Little Pony: The Movie shares its name with a film from the ‘80s, and I don’t think I’m spoiling anything when I say that My Little Pony: The Movie (2017) is better than the ‘80s one. But how much better?
A lot better, and it got even better as it went on, nearing its climax. Make no mistake, this film is not as amazing as the show’s best episodes; it’s not Hurricane Fluttershy, Flight to the Finish, or Twilight’s Kingdom. It’s not bad either, so don’t expect another The Cutie Pox or Putting Your Hoof Down. It’s way better than either of those.
My Little Pony: The Movie is certainly far, far better than a one-star, though even a one-star in My Little Pony is equivalent to a five-star in almost anything else. By the standards of Friendship is Magic, I think the movie is equivalent at least to a four-star episode of the show.
A Disney-esque Epic
The best I can describe it is by saying that it’s like a Disney movie—a great Disney movie, of course. From the story to the pacing to the songs to its animation style, everything about this movie looks and feels like a Disney film.
If you remember the sort of movie that would try and emulate the Disney formula (think Quest for Camelot or The Swan Princess), you’ll remember that they always failed to deliver. My Little Pony: The Movie actually succeeds in feeling like a good Disney movie.
Eventually one gets used to the Disney-like animation, too. This movie feels somewhere between Zootopia and a film from the Disney Renaissance—but with the great world-building you’d expect from Friendship is Magic.
The Animation
It there’s one thing wrong with the movie, it’s that the hyper-real quality of the animation can be distracting the first time you watch it. The animation style may be jarring for long-time fans. The detailed style and fluid motion only adds to the feeling of Disney that dominates the film.
The Tone
Other than the animation, the thing most likely to turn some viewers off is how dark the movie is. I’d have to say it’s probably the darkest My Little Pony has ever gotten. As for me, I love the tone of this film.
Characters are pushed to their limits, leading them to make desperate, flawed decisions. The main cast is complex, flawed, and they feel relatable and completely real. This film feels like a darker, more mature take on the Disney formula.
Darker Than Any Disney Film
But is My Little Pony: The Movie darker than Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame? Well, I know some of you are going to call me mad, but I think it might be.
This might just be because I’ve had longer to get to know them, but I feel like the characters in My Little Pony are more rounded—more flawed—than those of Disney’s The Hunchback.
Not only does My Little Pony not have those damned gargoyles, but—probably because it doesn’t—the comedy doesn’t ever break the dark tone. Everything here feels like it belongs in the movie.
There’s also the matter of the world the story takes place in. Whether it’s fully justified or not, people have come to expect a good deal of darkness from the Middle Ages. By contrast, seeing the kind and accepting land of Equestria and the ponies who inhabit it faced with the sort of terrifying evil that pervades this film is something that shakes you to your core.
I liked The Hunchback of Notre Dame despite some glaring flaws, but in my opinion, My Little Pony: The Movie is darker, more mature, more character driven, and just plain better than The Hunchback of Notre Dame in every way.
Other Elements
The Storm King was an alright villain, not great but not terrible either, although he did become somewhat intimidating in moments of intensity. He wasn’t Tirek, by any means, in spite of the physical resemblance.
The Songs were good but not as great as the best songs from the show. They were, however, way better than the Failure Song. Just don’t expect another Smile Song or You’ll Play Your Part.
Conflict
There wasn’t anything in particular the film did wrong. It was a great film. Indeed, there were plot elements that I was worried wouldn’t go anywhere interesting, and behold! They went someplace interesting.
I was worried, for example, that the ponies’ foolish actions would prove to be nothing more than a plot device to get from one set-piece to another, but luckily the writers are far better than that.
It actually led to some good conflict, driving Twilight to take measures she wouldn’t otherwise have taken. This led to perhaps the best scene of the film, leading to the best song of the film, sung by Emily Blunt.
And here Into the Woods had me thinking Blunt couldn’t act! (to be fair, though, not even Meryl Streep got through that stinker unscathed)
Commander Tempest Shadow
My Little Pony: The Movie does many, many things right that many other movies have done wrong.
A good example of this is Emily Blunt’s character Tempest Shadow, a unicorn who lost most of her horn as a filly and was ostracized.
She serves the Storm King in the hopes that he will one day restore her horn. Her character was interesting, intimidating, tragic, and she even got the best song in the film. This film doesn’t take the easy way out; the horrible things that happen—they’ve happened, and one just has to make the best of it.
A Great Movie
The writing is at the very least what you might expect from the average episode of this fantastic show. The animation, while different enough to be a bit jarring, was familiar enough that you should get used to it quickly.
The characters behave in flawed, completely believable ways, and the story is easily epic enough to warrant taking the form of a movie. As was the case with the Equestria Girls movies, I enjoyed it even more the second time I watched it.
The dark tone might be a turn-off for some, but I loved it. From the deep, flawed characters to the mature message about making the best of things, I consider this movie to be—by all normal standards—not just a good film, but a great one.