Back when the Brony craze was trending in 2010-2013, I had no idea what the appeal to the show was. I haven't watched it, sure, but seeing clips of MLP on YouTube made me come to the conclusion that it was just like any other colorful kids show. I still saw this movie in the hopes that my narrow-minded theories of MLP were proved false, however. So once the movie ended...
I still had no idea what the appeal was. There were enjoyable parts, yes, but it wasn't anything truly memorable or engaging.
The animation is genuinely good, though. Some of the backgrounds were rich and detailed, the colors are saturated yet pleasant, the movements were energetic but not lazily so. Outside of some wonky CGI, it's a pretty film to look at. The ending was sweet and delivered it's message admirably, some of the characters (like Capper and The Storm King) are charming in their own unique way. A few of the jokes made me smile, and the songs (yes, there are songs) are serviceable at best. In my eyes, it's a watchable film that's not too obnoxious to make a parent squirm in their seat.
But that doesn't mean it's very good either. The story often felt like a checklist of your average Pony episode stretched into 90 minutes (Danger happens, villain backstory, get to the queen of Hippogriffs, yada yada yada). The main pony characters don't have a lot of chemistry due to the fact that their relationships aren't focused for very long. The majority of the songs are forgettable and feel like nothing but filler (there's a song about a Hippogriff that's happy to have a friend). It suffers from clichéd, cutesy claptrap at times, especially with the Pinky Pie character. The villains are one-note and not very menacing (one has a broken horn. Take a wild guess why she's a villain!). There's nothing truly TERRIBLE in these ponies' adventure, but it all feels very bland, unexciting, and predictable most of the time.
To sum it all up, My Little Pony: The Movie (2017) is perfectly average. There are far worse, more soulless products out there (like that horrifically joyless Emoji movie), but it never rises above the question of whether this was necessary. It's safe, forgettable, mildly- entertaining, colorful, and a serviceable afternoon-watch for the family without being much else. It has its charms, but it's nothing you haven't seen before. I think fans of the show will like it just fine, but if you're an outsider, well... just see the new Blade Runner movie instead.
GRADE: 5/10
I still had no idea what the appeal was. There were enjoyable parts, yes, but it wasn't anything truly memorable or engaging.
The animation is genuinely good, though. Some of the backgrounds were rich and detailed, the colors are saturated yet pleasant, the movements were energetic but not lazily so. Outside of some wonky CGI, it's a pretty film to look at. The ending was sweet and delivered it's message admirably, some of the characters (like Capper and The Storm King) are charming in their own unique way. A few of the jokes made me smile, and the songs (yes, there are songs) are serviceable at best. In my eyes, it's a watchable film that's not too obnoxious to make a parent squirm in their seat.
But that doesn't mean it's very good either. The story often felt like a checklist of your average Pony episode stretched into 90 minutes (Danger happens, villain backstory, get to the queen of Hippogriffs, yada yada yada). The main pony characters don't have a lot of chemistry due to the fact that their relationships aren't focused for very long. The majority of the songs are forgettable and feel like nothing but filler (there's a song about a Hippogriff that's happy to have a friend). It suffers from clichéd, cutesy claptrap at times, especially with the Pinky Pie character. The villains are one-note and not very menacing (one has a broken horn. Take a wild guess why she's a villain!). There's nothing truly TERRIBLE in these ponies' adventure, but it all feels very bland, unexciting, and predictable most of the time.
To sum it all up, My Little Pony: The Movie (2017) is perfectly average. There are far worse, more soulless products out there (like that horrifically joyless Emoji movie), but it never rises above the question of whether this was necessary. It's safe, forgettable, mildly- entertaining, colorful, and a serviceable afternoon-watch for the family without being much else. It has its charms, but it's nothing you haven't seen before. I think fans of the show will like it just fine, but if you're an outsider, well... just see the new Blade Runner movie instead.
GRADE: 5/10