My Little Pony - The Movie - Bring it, Bronies

[Worgen]

I imagine this is like most other "TV Show Movie" thing where if you like the show in question, you will like the movie and if you don't like the show in question, you will not care for the movie.

Your review certainly seems to confirm that expectation; cool if you're a MLP fan but there's nothing here that will convince me to turn into a bronie. A movie for the fans and the fans alone.

Generally I thought that too but Tamara from Channel Awesome just did a vid on it and she hasn't seen the series and she ended up really liking it.

Eh, didn't care for the episode I saw [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.317866-Best-MLP-episode-for-converting-people#12946298] (how's that for a blast from the past?) and I'm not going to take the time to watch it just in case somehow everything I've seen from reviewers is wrong.

I'm glad you got a movie you liked out of it though.

Was that the sonic rainboom episode? I liked that episode but I'm not sure that is the best to get into the show. As I've said before, I didn't really like it the first few times I watched it either. In fact I had a hard time watching it till my friend was was like "lets watch this thing" when we were drinking. It wasn't instant either, I did end up finding a character I liked, Rarity. So we kept watching episodes when drink night was upon us. I got more and more into the show till by the end of season 2 and the lul between seasons I ended up getting that feeling of, you know when you finish reading a really good book and just want to go back in. It was like that. I still tend to only half watch new episodes while I'm playing smite or something then only fully watch them later with friends.

Another one of my friends who ended up being a fan but not a brony got into the show when he saw the episode Lesson Zero. He was working post grad at the time and Twilight's freak out really spoke to him. I'm really surprised he was able to like it at all since hes usually a hater.

 

[Hawki]

Also you are totally full of it if you think the earlier seasons are better than season 5, 6 and 7. Those are the best ones yet.

Season 6 was good? A.k.a. "the season that was meant to develop Starlight, but didn't, and gave us perhaps the most sacherine season finale the show has ever produced (and let's be honest, that's some pretty sacherine endings)?"

Season 5 and 7...well, they're better than Season 3 at least, and probably 1.

While I appreciate this comment section getting some traffic, hopping in just to antagonize someone isn't really a cool way to go about it. Keep the comments section more to the review than poking fun at your fellow forum users, if you'd please.

Um, I think Tanker was the one who came in first to antagonize...

 

[Worgen]

Also you are totally full of it if you think the earlier seasons are better than season 5, 6 and 7. Those are the best ones yet.

Season 6 was good? A.k.a. "the season that was meant to develop Starlight, but didn't, and gave us perhaps the most sacherine season finale the show has ever produced (and let's be honest, that's some pretty sacherine endings)?"

Season 5 and 7...well, they're better than Season 3 at least, and probably 1.

Oh dude, no way. Season 6 and 7 are better than season 1 and 3, and season 5 is better than even season 2. Season 5 had a really strong start and finish and with only a couple exceptions all the episodes in it are great.

Season 2 had a lot of great episodes in it also and a really really strong start, but it had more episodes that are kinda skip ones and the season final was just kinda meh. Despite how awesome the changeling designs were.

 

[American Tanker]

Um, I think Tanker was the one who came in first to antagonize...

I was just responding to Jacked Assassin with my own opinion.

 

[Hawki]

Oh dude, no way. Season 6 and 7 are better than season 1 and 3, and season 5 is better than even season 2. Season 5 had a really strong start and finish and with only a couple exceptions all the episodes in it are great.

This might run the risk of taking this topic off course, but...

Okay, I can buy season 5 being better than season 2. I might even be able to buy season 7 being better than season 1, because while I don't think 1 is the worst season, it's arguably "proto-MLP," in that it's easily the most twee season, whereas I feel the show really came into its own with season 2 (I have a theory it's because the creators took note of the adult fanbase, so spiced things up for the new audience). However, I can't put Season 6 in high standing in any sense. In that:

-Season 6 just doesn't seem to know what to do. There's no great shifts for the Mane 6 that I can recall. Not in the same vein as Twilight getting wings, or her losing her library, and I can't really recall any major events for the other characters (I think Rarity's established her fashion chain by now, Fluttershy has reached her emotional apex, Rainbow's a Wonderbolts member, when she's not regressing in 28 Pranks Later, etc.) There's also the sense that after season 5, there's not much else for the show to go. Not that it necessarily had to go anywhere per se, but with Twilight having become a princess at the end of season 3, and the CMC finally getting their marks in season 5, I didn't really get the sense that the show had to go on any further. All the characters have either progressed in their arcs/goals (Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow, Fluttershy), or were content with their lot in life from the outset (Applejack, Pinkie Pie).

-That doesn't bother me too much in of itself, because we have Starlight Glimmer now, who gave us a solid season 5 opener and closer. So if Twilight wants to be mentor (putting her own arc forward), and Starlight gets to get an arc of her own, then great. I said that Twilight becoming a mentor figure akin to Celestia would be the logical choice to push her arc forward, if the show was to go beyond season 5. Except that's not what happens. Oh sure, Starlight turns up every now and then, and there is the Trixie thing, but it's so inconsequential. I don't really get the sense of her undergoing any arc, so by the time we reach the ending, I don't get a sense of her arc having been 'earned,' so to speak.

-The finale. Oh God the finale. I know, this is subjective, but I find that each season finale and how I feel about it usually ties in with how I feel about the season as a whole, and for better or worse, it's what's going to stick out in my mind the most. So, this finale. The finale where Starlight goes back to her old village, and they're all hunky dory with her having lied to them. Yeah, she runs off, but hey, they're cool. And while I like the idea of the 'B team' saving the Mane 6 from changelings, and I like the idea of Thorax as an atypical changeling, Season 6 takes the whole idea of "friendship is magic" to a ludicrous level. Where an ENTIRE SPECIES decides "hey, we can get energy from being friends with ponies, not sapping their strength! Gee, how did we never think of this before?!" Yeah, Chrysalis bails, but while this is a setting where "the magic of friendship" is a literal force, it's still a setting where redemption had to be earned over a period of time (e.g. Luna, Discord), or in rare circumstances, was out of the question (e.g. Sombra and Tirek). But here...I'll be honest, this is without a doubt the show's jumping the shark moment. Season 7 came round and appologized to the shark, but it doesn't change the fact that the shark was jumped over in the first place. And remember what I said about redemption? Yeah. Starlight doesn't get it. Like everything else in the finale, the outcome feels unearned, which feeds into her lack of development in season 6. Like the writers wanted to do something with her (and by extension, Twilight), but didn't want the Mane 6 to become the Mane 7 or something. Season 7 has made Starlight a bit more bearable, but Season 6...yeah. I don't know if it's my least favorite season (it's either that or season 3), but, well, I'm not fond of it.

 

[RedRockRun]

So if the movie is for little girls and fans of MLP:FiM, why give it a 2/5, restating that it's only for little girls and fans of MLP:FiM? Are you saying that it does a good job of appealing to fans/the demographic or that the fans and demographic are tasteless and will scarf down anything MLP shown to them, regardless of quality?

This applies to all film criticism, really. Shouldn't the critic's job be to communicate whether or not the film was effective in its genre rather than judging it even more subjectively as though it exists in a vacuum or in comparison to all other films?

People who aren't fans of the show or in the targeted demographic won't see it. The movie isn't for them. Instead tell me if does a good job of what it set out to do. It's like how critics shit on action movies that are only trying to be action movie. I don't want to know if it's terrible when compared to Citizen Kane; tell me if it's terrible compared to Terminator 2.

 

[Worgen]

Oh dude, no way. Season 6 and 7 are better than season 1 and 3, and season 5 is better than even season 2. Season 5 had a really strong start and finish and with only a couple exceptions all the episodes in it are great.

This might run the risk of taking this topic off course, but...

Okay, I can buy season 5 being better than season 2. I might even be able to buy season 7 being better than season 1, because while I don't think 1 is the worst season, it's arguably "proto-MLP," in that it's easily the most twee season, whereas I feel the show really came into its own with season 2 (I have a theory it's because the creators took note of the adult fanbase, so spiced things up for the new audience). However, I can't put Season 6 in high standing in any sense. In that:

-Season 6 just doesn't seem to know what to do. There's no great shifts for the Mane 6 that I can recall. Not in the same vein as Twilight getting wings, or her losing her library, and I can't really recall any major events for the other characters (I think Rarity's established her fashion chain by now, Fluttershy has reached her emotional apex, Rainbow's a Wonderbolts member, when she's not regressing in 28 Pranks Later, etc.) There's also the sense that after season 5, there's not much else for the show to go. Not that it necessarily had to go anywhere per se, but with Twilight having become a princess at the end of season 3, and the CMC finally getting their marks in season 5, I didn't really get the sense that the show had to go on any further. All the characters have either progressed in their arcs/goals (Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow, Fluttershy), or were content with their lot in life from the outset (Applejack, Pinkie Pie).

-That doesn't bother me too much in of itself, because we have Starlight Glimmer now, who gave us a solid season 5 opener and closer. So if Twilight wants to be mentor (putting her own arc forward), and Starlight gets to get an arc of her own, then great. I said that Twilight becoming a mentor figure akin to Celestia would be the logical choice to push her arc forward, if the show was to go beyond season 5. Except that's not what happens. Oh sure, Starlight turns up every now and then, and there is the Trixie thing, but it's so inconsequential. I don't really get the sense of her undergoing any arc, so by the time we reach the ending, I don't get a sense of her arc having been 'earned,' so to speak.

-The finale. Oh God the finale. I know, this is subjective, but I find that each season finale and how I feel about it usually ties in with how I feel about the season as a whole, and for better or worse, it's what's going to stick out in my mind the most. So, this finale. The finale where Starlight goes back to her old village, and they're all hunky dory with her having lied to them. Yeah, she runs off, but hey, they're cool. And while I like the idea of the 'B team' saving the Mane 6 from changelings, and I like the idea of Thorax as an atypical changeling, Season 6 takes the whole idea of "friendship is magic" to a ludicrous level. Where an ENTIRE SPECIES decides "hey, we can get energy from being friends with ponies, not sapping their strength! Gee, how did we never think of this before?!" Yeah, Chrysalis bails, but while this is a setting where "the magic of friendship" is a literal force, it's still a setting where redemption had to be earned over a period of time (e.g. Luna, Discord), or in rare circumstances, was out of the question (e.g. Sombra and Tirek). But here...I'll be honest, this is without a doubt the show's jumping the shark moment. Season 7 came round and appologized to the shark, but it doesn't change the fact that the shark was jumped over in the first place. And remember what I said about redemption? Yeah. Starlight doesn't get it. Like everything else in the finale, the outcome feels unearned, which feeds into her lack of development in season 6. Like the writers wanted to do something with her (and by extension, Twilight), but didn't want the Mane 6 to become the Mane 7 or something. Season 7 has made Starlight a bit more bearable, but Season 6...yeah. I don't know if it's my least favorite season (it's either that or season 3), but, well, I'm not fond of it.

Frankly I liked what they did with Starlight, although it did take time for the writers to find their footing with her. Shes like Twilight except much more willing to just use magic to solve any issue she thinks there is.

You are right about there not being many huge mind blowing moments in season 6. But there are just too many great episodes in it for me to disregard it. The opening was decent, gift of Maud Pie was great, Gauntlet of Fire gave us some insight into the dragons that was a lot of fun, we got to see Starlight make friends with Trixie in no second prances, Getting to actually see Rainbow really deal with being the new pony in the wonderbolts was quite good. A Hearths Warming Tail was probably the best version of a christmas charol I've seen in awhile, even though its message was kinda weird.

There is barely a bad episode in the whole season, which the exception of the Thorax introduction and the CMC episode and I'm not sure I would really call them bad, just not something I really care about watching again. The final for season 6 was also really really fun, ignoring the odd change of all the changelings. But even with that it was still better put together than the canterlot wedding, which was just a hot mess.

 

[tippy2k2]

Was that the sonic rainboom episode?

Yes

 

[Jacked Assassin]

Um, I think Tanker was the one who came in first to antagonize...

I was just responding to Jacked Assassin with my own opinion.

The difference between MLP Fandom and Sonic Fandom (and why Sonic Fandom is worse).

MLP has 30 year old men trying to prove how feminine they are by liking MLP.

-

Sonic has 30 year old men trying to prove how masculine they are by liking Sonic. There are other franchises out there for a 13 and older audience that are actually masculine. And they chose Sonic which is aimed at a 9 and younger audience.

Sonic Fandom has never really gotten over the fact that Sega dropped out. And have in the past tried to have their vindication by proving Sonic can beat Mario. Mario being a different franchise aimed at a 9 and younger crowd.

Having All "Furries" being labeled as Sonic Fans. Or worse, assume that Sonic created Furry Fandom. Both of those things should be considered false. But have had people label them as fact.

 

[Cowabungaa]

for reasons that will never be fully understood by humanity, was embraced by older males in their 20s and 30s

How is that hard to get? It pandered to them pretty heavily from the get-go. It ain't the first time a show for kids sneaks in stuff that speaks to a different demographic. Shit man the 90's was full of it. And considering times back then were filled with "gritty badass" stuff it made a pretty strong cocktail for people wanting something different. I don't care for it any more but I get why I used to like it.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

You can like what you like but just don't tell me that the show isn't for little girls. Or that it's full of this supposedly great writing. It succeeds in entertaining little girls and delivering simple moral lessons. And that's cool because that's the target demographic. So in that, it's good.

Compared to adult-aimed writing in general? No, sorry. And I'm not saying that adult writing needs to be grimdark and brooding all the time. FFS I really didn't like The Last of Us because it was too much. But you get what I mean.

 

[Hawki]

MLP has 30 year old men trying to prove how feminine they are by liking MLP.

-

Sonic has 30 year old men trying to prove how masculine they are by liking Sonic. There are other franchises out there for a 13 and older audience that are actually masculine. And they chose Sonic which is aimed at a 9 and younger audience.

Sonic Fandom has never really gotten over the fact that Sega dropped out. And have in the past tried to have their vindication by proving Sonic can beat Mario. Mario being a different franchise aimed at a 9 and younger crowd.

...the fuck?

Okay, I don't know where this came from, but I've never seen any 30+ male use MLP as a crux for showing how feminine they are, at least as the core trait. I mean, the person who has a Rainbow Dash tattoo isn't doing that to show how feminine they are - the simple answer is that like most tattoos, it's a case of "I like X, so therefore I have a tattoo of X, to show everyone that I like X" (if the tattoo comes from a setting/franchise). The closest it comes to making a statement is subverting the assumption that a show targeted at one gender can't be enjoyed by the opposite gender. Which, as far as statements go, is pretty benign. Frankly it's one I can get behind, since there's no reason a girl shouldn't be able to enjoy media targeted at males, and vice versa. And even within the show itself, I can't really think of it as traditionally feminine. It hasn't been its main focus since season 1.

Then there's Sonic, and...the heck? Okay, again, I've never seen anyone tie in Sonic with masculinity before, nor have I seen anyone tie in their like of the franchise with masculinity. Sonic isn't even a particuarly masculine character, because if masculinity is seen as having virtues like strength, chivilry, virtue, etc., then Sonic doesn't embody those traits very well. He's fast rather than strong, he's a wisecracking smartass, he's quick-witted but a bit of a doofus, etc. Sonic's personality differs by media to some extent, but at his core, he's not a terribly masculine character. And right now it feels weird to even be considering it, because I've never seen anyone up till now even bring masculinity into an STH topic.

Likewise, I've rarely seen any comments about Sonic 'beating' Mario in the fandom today, considering that the 16 bit console wars ended roughly two decades ago. And as for age groups...yeah, okay, of course Sonic and Mario are aimed at youngish audiences, I just don't know why that even matters. I thought we were well past this kind of insecurity, but shows what I know.

You can like what you like but just don't tell me that the show isn't for little girls. Or that it's full of this supposedly great writing. It succeeds in entertaining little girls and delivering simple moral lessons. And that's cool because that's the target demographic. So in that, it's good.

Compared to adult-aimed writing in general? No, sorry. And I'm not saying that adult writing needs to be grimdark and brooding all the time. FFS I really didn't like The Last of Us because it was too much. But you get what I mean.

Don't know if this is the "royal you" or a "specific you," but in this, I more or less agree. Young girls are the target audience. I'd call the writing "good," overall, if not "great," and you're going to get more complex writing from adult shows (which I have - I certainly don't watch MLP for intricate plots or overly-complex characters).

On the other hand, MLP seems to be in a weird state considering how other cartoons have played out. Something that comes to mind is Adventure Time, which has been similarly praised for "great characters" and "complex writing" and various other acolades, and is also enjoyed by people of age above the target demographic. Personally, I find Adventure Time to be absolutely rancid (well, season 1 at least, season 2 scrapes by into "bearable" territory), but I'm well aware that many people love the show, and more power to them. Far as I can tell, in this day and age, MLP is an oddity in that people appear to have an insecurity about people liking MLP when they aren't the target demographic, but give other cartoons a free pass. And if we're talking about the fanbase, at least in personal experience, it seems pretty benign, especially since this is a world where the Steven Universe fan artist 'controversy' occurred.

 

[Saelune]

So if the movie is for little girls and fans of MLP:FiM, why give it a 2/5, restating that it's only for little girls and fans of MLP:FiM? Are you saying that it does a good job of appealing to fans/the demographic or that the fans and demographic are tasteless and will scarf down anything MLP shown to them, regardless of quality?

This applies to all film criticism, really. Shouldn't the critic's job be to communicate whether or not the film was effective in its genre rather than judging it even more subjectively as though it exists in a vacuum or in comparison to all other films?

People who aren't fans of the show or in the targeted demographic won't see it. The movie isn't for them. Instead tell me if does a good job of what it set out to do. It's like how critics shit on action movies that are only trying to be action movie. I don't want to know if it's terrible when compared to Citizen Kane; tell me if it's terrible compared to Terminator 2.

If you arent a fan of MLP, this movie is a 2 star. This was not a fan review written for fans. It was an outsider's review, written for outsiders, fully acknowledging it was by and for outsiders.

How can Marter review it 'as a fan' if he isnt one?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I'm convinced the fandom is one big joke that simply got out of hand.
That was my honest first impression circa 2010 and here we are now.

 

[Worgen]

You can like what you like but just don't tell me that the show isn't for little girls. Or that it's full of this supposedly great writing. It succeeds in entertaining little girls and delivering simple moral lessons. And that's cool because that's the target demographic. So in that, it's good.

Compared to adult-aimed writing in general? No, sorry. And I'm not saying that adult writing needs to be grimdark and brooding all the time. FFS I really didn't like The Last of Us because it was too much. But you get what I mean.

Don't know if this is the "royal you" or a "specific you," but in this, I more or less agree. Young girls are the target audience. I'd call the writing "good," overall, if not "great," and you're going to get more complex writing from adult shows (which I have - I certainly don't watch MLP for intricate plots or overly-complex characters).

On the other hand, MLP seems to be in a weird state considering how other cartoons have played out. Something that comes to mind is Adventure Time, which has been similarly praised for "great characters" and "complex writing" and various other acolades, and is also enjoyed by people of age above the target demographic. Personally, I find Adventure Time to be absolutely rancid (well, season 1 at least, season 2 scrapes by into "bearable" territory), but I'm well aware that many people love the show, and more power to them. Far as I can tell, in this day and age, MLP is an oddity in that people appear to have an insecurity about people liking MLP when they aren't the target demographic, but give other cartoons a free pass. And if we're talking about the fanbase, at least in personal experience, it seems pretty benign, especially since this is a world where the Steven Universe fan artist 'controversy' occurred.

Oh, I can tell you exactly why MLP is the odd cartoon out. Its not cause the target audience is kids, if that was the case then transformers would never have gotten a movie. Its because the target is females and everyone knows anything females like is bad. Obvious sarcasm. But think about it, what media that is aimed at females isn't demonized. Pretty much the only one that comes to mind is hunger games and I'm not sure you can really say its aimed at females. The media has to pretty much prove that it's not just "chick stuff" to get any kind of a pass. And since MLP has those candy colored miniature equines, the first reaction will always "girls ewwwwwwww."

 

[RedRockRun]

If you arent a fan of MLP, this movie is a 2 star. This was not a fan review written for fans. It was an outsider's review, written for outsiders, fully acknowledging it was by and for outsiders.

How can Marter review it 'as a fan' if he isnt one?

Yet I can go to /mlp/ and get reviews of the movie from fans of the series who both liked it, didn't like it, and give reasons why.

Simply put how can Marter it 'as a fan' if he isn't one? Simple: he shouldn't review it at all out of journalistic integrity. The title of the article contains, "Bring it, Bronies." It's a polemic before word one, little more than a stinkpiece aimed at an easy target.

Again, believe it or not, there are fans of the show who don't like everything about it, and those are the opinions I want.

 

[RaikuFA]

Also, hi tanker, here is your forum mandated pony.

inb4 Ameri- dangit.

You're pretty quick to step into threads discussing stuff you dislike

@American Tanker: Be careful what you wish for...mwahahhahahaa

While I appreciate this comment section getting some traffic, hopping in just to antagonize someone isn't really a cool way to go about it. Keep the comments section more to the review than poking fun at your fellow forum users, if you'd please.

And yet you say nothing to Tanker who could have not posted at all in this thread.

And people wonder why others left.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

I was really with the whole Brony subculture back in '11-'12 because I took it as a sign that nerds on the internet would finally start embracing positivity and innocent, wholesome fun a bit more. As it turned out, rather than embracing these things they just started corrupting the show itself and making it weirdly sexual in many cases while at the same time applying the same elitism and pointless, self conratulatory sense of exclusivity to it, that they apply to everything else they get excited about. And, reasonably, that's what I should have expected but being a lot more optimistic than would have been reasonable I thought that noone would seriously treat fandom of a show about ponies as serious business.

I was wrong and the fanbase of MLP ended up just as much of a mess as every other reasonably large fanbase but by the point it happened I was very well aware that I should have seen it coming.

I've seen this movie for old times sake and... eh, it was nothing special, even by the shows standards. It was always at its best when it does character driven sitcom plots and at its worst when it does adventure. The movie was watchable but sure as hell not memorable. Also, the artstyle is slightly off. I dunno why but the faces are just a bit more human looking which pushes them right into the uncanny valley.

 

[Saelune]

If you arent a fan of MLP, this movie is a 2 star. This was not a fan review written for fans. It was an outsider's review, written for outsiders, fully acknowledging it was by and for outsiders.

How can Marter review it 'as a fan' if he isnt one?

Yet I can go to /mlp/ and get reviews of the movie from fans of the series who both liked it, didn't like it, and give reasons why.

Simply put how can Marter it 'as a fan' if he isn't one? Simple: he shouldn't review it at all out of journalistic integrity. The title of the article contains, "Bring it, Bronies." It's a polemic before word one, little more than a stinkpiece aimed at an easy target.

Again, believe it or not, there are fans of the show who don't like everything about it, and those are the opinions I want.

You do not understand what reviews even are for then if you think this. Reviews arent there to suck up to fans. Reviews are there to express opinions in ways to help others pre-form an opinion.

 

[madwarper]

Again, believe it or not, there are fans of the show who don't like everything about it, and those are the opinions I want.

Then, I have an opinion for you! It was... okay. Not great. Just okay.

I really did not care for the cat character. He and his music number could have been cut from the movie and nothing of value would have been lost.

They kept jumping from new location to new location (lizard/fish town, parrot/pirate ship, hippogriff town), that the movie feels unfocused. If they had chosen only one of those locations and explored it more in depth, the movie would have been better. Or, if they felt the need to jump around from place to place, I would have preferred they choose locales that were already visited by the show.

Also, since when was MLP about gathering an army together? But, if that's the direction they choose to go in, why not send Pinky Pie to gather some Yaks, Rainbow Dash to gather some Griffons, Spike to gather some Dragons, Twilight to gather some Changelings, Fluttershy to get Discord. They've spent seasons building these relationships with the various other factions. If there was a time to cash in those chips, this is the time.

hopping in just to antagonize someone isn't really a cool way to go about it. Keep the comments section more to the review than poking fun at your fellow forum users, if you'd please.

There's a proverb that if you save someone's life, they become your responsibility.

There's only one poster in this thread that has been off topic, and that the one that YOU mods unbanned. So, his actions are YOUR responsibility. Either make sure that he stays out of Pony threads if he can't play nice with others, or show him back to the door.