Jul 2, 2014 6:56 PM
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls
Overall: 8
Story: 4
Animation: 8
Sound: 8
Character: 8
Enjoyment: 9
Well, we've finally come to that point. It's MLP time. To those of you unaware, Equestria Girls is the first movie released for the series, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, in which the characters are portrayed in human form. If you didn't know that, it's probably in your best interest to leave now, actually. Now, I can't review the series itself as it is still ongoing, and I refuse to post a review of a series not yet complete. I can, however, review this movie... and the ultimate deciding factor was the mass of fan hate that the movie resulted in. If it's hated by both bronies AND anti-bronies, it's got to be worth a review, right? Well, I'm a hate kind of guy, so let's get this show on the road.
Let's get the worst out of the way first. The story. This is the one thing that nay-sayers (don't you dare make a pun) of this movie are constantly pointing fingers at--and for good reason. The story, for the most part, is the same rehashed High School Musical Disney Channel fare that's been seen a hundred million times over to date. Unpopular girl in high school challenges bitchy, self-righteous prom queen who rules the school to her title and wins by rallying all the underdogs in the school to gain the popular vote. A canned plot if ever there was one. This, of course, occupies the bulk of the movie--there is, however, some salvation in the beginning and the end of the movie. The set-up leading up to this plot-in-a-can is much more narrative and thespian, as is characteristic of MLP story arcs, introducing a new character to boot. The ending--believe it or not--marks the first time in the MLP continuity that the series crosses the Dragon Ball Z threshold. That's right. Flying around, firing energy blasts, creating giant craters in the ground--all present. You're likely asking, "How the hell did that come about from Disney high school princesses?" Truth is, it's hard to really say. But still, it did give the plot some amount of redemption towards the end of it all... and while the threshold was crossed once again (and much further) later on in the season 4 finale, it was still an impressive milestone.
Now that that's out of the way, let's address the visuals. The artwork is thoroughly consistent with the original series, despite the vastly different setting and character style. It's still low-budget and cartoony, but that's not really a flaw as much as a fun quirk of cartoon series. The artists put a lot of effort into creating characters that, despite being a completely different species, were still immediately recognizable in their new incarnations, as well as into the world in which the story took place. It's been noted how the studio struggled for a while trying to put everything into perspective, as they were used to drawing locations at a much smaller ratio (due to the pony-human height difference), but in the end the result is seamless. Nothing really to say about the animation itself--the movie still boasts the incredibly smooth, fluid, and intricate animation from one frame to the next that helped earn the series its popularity.
Then, there's sound... The voice acting, I'll mention, is perfectly up to standard with the series. Very smooth, very professional, and entirely in sync with the animation. No problems at all there. The music? ...ehhh... While not necessarily bad, it probably came out of the same can as the plot. It's much more tween pop-oriented than the more showtune-styled musicals of the original series up until this point. I'm sure all the little girls loved the Hannah Montana Disney Channel musical style, but obviously, those of us who knew better... weren't all so keen on the change. It's still fun to hear the characters sing (because in the end, that's what MLP is ultimately about--the characters, not the stories or the music), it's just a leap in style from what made the series great.
The movie, as a whole, maintains the same feel and style as the original cartoon. Maybe not in full, but even if there were no ponies involved from beginning to end, one would be able to identify it as an MLP-universe production. In that regard, I would call it successful. And personally? I still enjoyed the movie, despite the canned high school plot. I enjoyed seeing Twilight trying to rapidly adapt to her new body, I enjoyed seeing the others try to reconcile after losing their friendship, and I enjoyed all the cameos and recognizable characters portrayed in this totally new form dropped throughout the film. Because again, that's what MLP fans are ultimately drawn to--identifiable, relatable, all-around likeable, want-to-see-what-they-do-nextable characters. The showtunes and storylines are great at times, too, but they're not the reason that most people stuck around long enough to grow attached to the series. In that regard, I honestly think most nay-sayers (don't say it) are being swept away in a hype over a movie that they know they still enjoyed to some extent, even if it's not up to par with the original series.
Summation: It ain't great, but that doesn't mean it ain't good.
Existing fans of the show, I recommend watch it at least once through, as it does take place between seasons 3 and 4 of the show. First-time viewers? Well, for what my advice is worth, don't make this your introduction to the series. There are better ones out there, it could easily spoil a plot point, and it won't make much sense, to boot.
Story: 4
Animation: 8
Sound: 8
Character: 8
Enjoyment: 9
Well, we've finally come to that point. It's MLP time. To those of you unaware, Equestria Girls is the first movie released for the series, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, in which the characters are portrayed in human form. If you didn't know that, it's probably in your best interest to leave now, actually. Now, I can't review the series itself as it is still ongoing, and I refuse to post a review of a series not yet complete. I can, however, review this movie... and the ultimate deciding factor was the mass of fan hate that the movie resulted in. If it's hated by both bronies AND anti-bronies, it's got to be worth a review, right? Well, I'm a hate kind of guy, so let's get this show on the road.
Let's get the worst out of the way first. The story. This is the one thing that nay-sayers (don't you dare make a pun) of this movie are constantly pointing fingers at--and for good reason. The story, for the most part, is the same rehashed High School Musical Disney Channel fare that's been seen a hundred million times over to date. Unpopular girl in high school challenges bitchy, self-righteous prom queen who rules the school to her title and wins by rallying all the underdogs in the school to gain the popular vote. A canned plot if ever there was one. This, of course, occupies the bulk of the movie--there is, however, some salvation in the beginning and the end of the movie. The set-up leading up to this plot-in-a-can is much more narrative and thespian, as is characteristic of MLP story arcs, introducing a new character to boot. The ending--believe it or not--marks the first time in the MLP continuity that the series crosses the Dragon Ball Z threshold. That's right. Flying around, firing energy blasts, creating giant craters in the ground--all present. You're likely asking, "How the hell did that come about from Disney high school princesses?" Truth is, it's hard to really say. But still, it did give the plot some amount of redemption towards the end of it all... and while the threshold was crossed once again (and much further) later on in the season 4 finale, it was still an impressive milestone.
Now that that's out of the way, let's address the visuals. The artwork is thoroughly consistent with the original series, despite the vastly different setting and character style. It's still low-budget and cartoony, but that's not really a flaw as much as a fun quirk of cartoon series. The artists put a lot of effort into creating characters that, despite being a completely different species, were still immediately recognizable in their new incarnations, as well as into the world in which the story took place. It's been noted how the studio struggled for a while trying to put everything into perspective, as they were used to drawing locations at a much smaller ratio (due to the pony-human height difference), but in the end the result is seamless. Nothing really to say about the animation itself--the movie still boasts the incredibly smooth, fluid, and intricate animation from one frame to the next that helped earn the series its popularity.
Then, there's sound... The voice acting, I'll mention, is perfectly up to standard with the series. Very smooth, very professional, and entirely in sync with the animation. No problems at all there. The music? ...ehhh... While not necessarily bad, it probably came out of the same can as the plot. It's much more tween pop-oriented than the more showtune-styled musicals of the original series up until this point. I'm sure all the little girls loved the Hannah Montana Disney Channel musical style, but obviously, those of us who knew better... weren't all so keen on the change. It's still fun to hear the characters sing (because in the end, that's what MLP is ultimately about--the characters, not the stories or the music), it's just a leap in style from what made the series great.
The movie, as a whole, maintains the same feel and style as the original cartoon. Maybe not in full, but even if there were no ponies involved from beginning to end, one would be able to identify it as an MLP-universe production. In that regard, I would call it successful. And personally? I still enjoyed the movie, despite the canned high school plot. I enjoyed seeing Twilight trying to rapidly adapt to her new body, I enjoyed seeing the others try to reconcile after losing their friendship, and I enjoyed all the cameos and recognizable characters portrayed in this totally new form dropped throughout the film. Because again, that's what MLP fans are ultimately drawn to--identifiable, relatable, all-around likeable, want-to-see-what-they-do-nextable characters. The showtunes and storylines are great at times, too, but they're not the reason that most people stuck around long enough to grow attached to the series. In that regard, I honestly think most nay-sayers (don't say it) are being swept away in a hype over a movie that they know they still enjoyed to some extent, even if it's not up to par with the original series.
Summation: It ain't great, but that doesn't mean it ain't good.
Existing fans of the show, I recommend watch it at least once through, as it does take place between seasons 3 and 4 of the show. First-time viewers? Well, for what my advice is worth, don't make this your introduction to the series. There are better ones out there, it could easily spoil a plot point, and it won't make much sense, to boot.
Posted by
XTApocalypse
| Jul 2, 2014 6:56 PM |
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