My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP before!)

NeoRutty

Master Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
I'll take this bullet!

So I just got back from the New York premiere of MLP the movie. My wife was an associate producer on the flick so we got sent to the big show.

half this is humble brag, half this is "Yeah, so here's some thoughts on a franchise that has a notoriously weird side to it"

And I have experience with this... I edited and wrote on Thomas the Tank Engine for 4 years.

MLP has always been an odd thing for me cuz I am well aware of bronie culture, but a LOT of my friends work on it. I've known the director for years, and he'll fight you over slagging it. That show is his baby. It's hard to crap on it in front of him cuz he deeply cares about the movie and franchise... and I AM proud of him (and especially my wife!)

So when people heard I was going they were all "you must be excited!"... well... it's always cool to go to a premier.... but MLP?

I decided to go in with an open mind. I'm 41... I understand nerd culture. I'm going to watch and look out for all these references for adults that apparently puts this above being for kids.

I mean the GREAT PATTON OSWALT voices a character in the series.

Okay... so here are the TWO references for adults.

1. There's a pony superstar that's voiced and designed after Sia... her body guards are designed after Vince and Jules in Pulp Fiction (though they don't act like it).
2. A monster hears his parts may fall off and he grabs his junk in horror.

That's about it.

My main reason for having any excitement about going to this at all was that Zoe Saldana is a voice. If there was ANY chance I would meet GAMORA, I was in (I have not been shy about my love of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)

She was not there.

:cry

Anyway... the movie itself!

Okay so from the start I was actually impressed with the animation. The whole thing is done in "Harmony" - which is like a better version of flash. It looked A LOT better than I thought it would. By the first song though I was getting restless. I'm not really a kiddie movie kind of guy, and was waiting for the adult pop culture references to kick in... I was waiting most of the movie.

So basic premise is there are a bunch of colorful pony characters who are super sugary and love being friends. then an evil Storm King guy sends an evil pony to do some black magic so he can use a magic power crystal.

The main pony cast escape, make friends and save the day.

Oh and they sing.

So... that's about it, really. Micheal Pena voices some sort of pig character that got a few chuckles cuz I'm sure he improvised his lines.

Anyway, it was still fun to see how into the whole thing everyone was. There weren't any Adult fans... it was mostly kids.

I grabbed some shots of the event...

Tara Strong (Harley Quinn) was there... I didn't recognize her at first, but every kid surrounded her so I took a second look and realized. It was weird... she was like some crazy princess everyone worshiped.

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they had these giant pony costumes that were equally creepy and neat looking...

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The wife (Arlyn) got a title card credit... pretty sweet...

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Liev Schrieber was there... some girls next to me asked to take a pic and he kinda waved them off with "I'm with my kids"... the girls looked super awkward and I laughed.

But the actual fun highlight of the event was running into Jenny Nicholson on the way out. I had talked to her recently about possibly being in a short series I'm working on, so it was completely bizarre to just randomly run into her in New York.

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I'm a fan of her humor...cool to meet her in person.

Oh and we're holding the $150 dollar toys they were just handing out as freebies. Me, my wife and kid all grabbed one and gave them to our friend in NY's kids. Which was lucky for us they wanted them... they would have been a nightmare bringing on the plane back.

The last premier I was at we got a hot dog.

So anyway... it was a fun time... but as far as the movie? I dunno... your kids will love it... it's like they found a way to make a candy store into a movie. A candy store I fell asleep in with 20 minutes left.

But even going in, open mind, I can't see why a grown adult would get super into this.

But if you're a series fan, good on ya... I'm sure this is more of the same... it's the same talented crew as the series.
 
Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

Hey, Jenny! I like her. Even if she did sell out...
Ponies aren't my thing, but congrats to the wife.
 
Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

My main reason for having any excitement about going to this at all was that Zoe Saldana is a voice. If there was ANY chance I would meet GAMORA, I was in (I have not been shy about my love of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)

She was not there.

:cry

Soon as I started reading it was a premier I was already thinking of typing was Zoe there????? and then :( that would have been awesome

But Tara Strong is awesome as well heard her on a few podcast - she voices way more than you think
 
Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

Hey, Jenny! I like her. Even if she did sell out...
Ponies aren't my thing, but congrats to the wife.

Ya know, I was disappointed in Jenny and the Screen Junkies thing at first, but my views on both have changed over the last while.

With all the different nerd branded youtube series, I kinda mixed Screen Junkies and Collider together... one is definitely worse than the other (hint... it's Collider)

Screen Junkies "Honest Trailers" are usually pretty funny and spot on, and I ALWAYS watch movie fights....

Collider is just angering.

So yeah, Andy Signore I think is running a far better ship... and Jenny's show - which I hated at first - has definitely found it's legs... she's more comfortable and it's a lot funnier now.


That said her personal youtube is better.
 
Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

Soon as I started reading it was a premier I was already thinking of typing was Zoe there????? and then :( that would have been awesome

But Tara Strong is awesome as well heard her on a few podcast - she voices way more than you think


It was so hard to just casually stand around in the lobby with my drink, not going to my seat, just so I could accidentally run into Gamora... When the usher came through and started corralling us into the theater, I was like "Dammit! She didn't come" and then sulked to my seat.

It's sad cuz I'm NOT that guy who harrasses celebs for photos... it kinda weakens your ability to be taken seriously in the industry if you ever fawn over them...

But like I said... GAMORA!!!

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT CHEERS IS!"
 
Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

You don't look very impressed with the giant blue pony ;)
 
Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

After seeing that Bob's Burger Equestranaut episode I can never watch my Little Pony the same way again

YES!

There was none of that there... and a small part of me was disappointed in that.


It was mostly crew and their kids... and media who would praise it online.
 
Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

I only ever saw season one, but I get the appeal. What you call sugary is really not something that exists anymore. Even kids shows nowadays seem mildly dystopian.

If you want a good old shiny happy "the real magic is friendship!" Type of story it's mostly extinct in modern shows, except for thing like My Little Pony.
 
Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

I'm going with my kid and her friends on friday!
 
Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

I'm a brony, have been since the beginning of the second season. I've been more excited for this movie than any other coming out this year. Seeing it tomorrow night.

I only ever saw season one, but I get the appeal. What you call sugary is really not something that exists anymore. Even kids shows nowadays seem mildly dystopian.

If you want a good old shiny happy "the real magic is friendship!" Type of story it's mostly extinct in modern shows, except for thing like My Little Pony.
Definitely one of the reasons I like the show. In an unhappy world, it's nice to unwind with something that's so happy go lucky it never fails to stick a smile on my face. There's also something really unique about this show that is very rare in today's children focused media, let alone media in general. It shows that you don't need to have super powers or be inherently destined for greatness to succeed in life. All you need is to take the chances as they come at you, use your natural talents, and be determined to succeed. It's a great lesson for kids, especially at a time in cinema where superheroes and predestined heroes reign at the box office. It shows that you can do great things and achieve your dreams in life through hard work and perseverance. That you don't need to be born special, or be told you're special in order to actually BE special. That's a rarity in a society where self esteem usually comes from outer gratification rather than through one's own personal pride.
 
Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

A true, true friend is one of the greatest musical numbers ever.

Period

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Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

I'm a brony, have been since the beginning of the second
season. I've been more excited for this movie than any other coming out this year. Seeing it tomorrow night.

I have been wondering are the celebrity voices at all messing up the movie or are these new characters ? .....or does it even matter.

Have been wondering that since the trailer. I have never watched the show so don't know the characters, but I remember when Beavis and Butthead came the big screen it was a fight to keep Mike Judge doing the voices, they wanted celebrity's .

And I know if say when Cowboy Bebop did there movie they had Tom Arnold and Ryan Gosling voicing them instead of the usual voice actors I would have been huffy !

Just wondered if it hurt , helped or made no difference in this instance ?
 
Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

I have been wondering are the celebrity voices at all messing up the movie or are these new characters ? .....or does it even matter.

Have been wondering that since the trailer. I have never watched the show so don't know the characters, but I remember when Beavis and Butthead came the big screen it was a fight to keep Mike Judge doing the voices, they wanted celebrity's .

And I know if say when Cowboy Bebop did there movie they had Tom Arnold and Ryan Gosling voicing them instead of the usual voice actors I would have been huffy !

Just wondered if it hurt , helped or made no difference in this instance ?


Same usual Pony voices... The guest stars were the new friends/new villains (or in the case of Sia, new celebrity singing Pony)

As I mentioned above, even the crew making the flick was the same (DHX)... same director, Jayson Thiessen

Anyway, I saw it again in town (Vancouver) at the official studio screening...

The one thing I took away... they all walk so chill. Never in a rush. Just... slowly... walk... everywhere.

Apparently friendship is a casual stroll.

WATCH! even the opening shot, ponies all walking super slow towards the castle... walking slowly around the party... just lazing about.
 
Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

You don't look very impressed with the giant blue pony ;)

I was actually quite impressed with the costumes.

Overall it's a neat design to the flick...

But my exposure to Ponies went from 0 - 100 pretty fast... I think I've had enough.

Cleanse my palate watching a Nightmare on Elm Street Marathon or something....
 
Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor



My friend Jayson at 4:28 not getting that Jenny Nicholson is being facetious.
 
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Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

I saw it tonight.

It was a lot darker than I expected. The villains came out of nowhere and just took names

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Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

I saw it tonight.

It was a lot darker than I expected. The villains came out of nowhere and just took names

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Yeah, I was not expecting it to go bad and stay bad so quickly. I was sure there would be a lot more levity in it seeing as it's, well, ponies, but the movie conveys the direness of the situation very well to the audience.

Though, once again Celestia and Luna are completely useless. I wish we'd get to see them put up more of a fight once in awhile. In the end, the movie's good, if a tad repetitive in plot. It is definitely not anything award winning. Fans will enjoy it, but it probably won't persuade any prospective fans too strongly. It's cute, funny, sweet, and that's all that I'd really expect of it.

Oh, and two other more "adult" moments in the movie not mentioned by the OP:
-Spike sets a bunch of the bad guy minions on fire. They are not shown ever putting themselves out so I assume they kinda burned to death.
-"The Girl From Ipanema" was playing in the background at Capper's home. Seeing as it's an oldies jazz song, I don't think kids would recognize it, though some adults would.
 
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Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

Yeah, I was not expecting it to go bad and stay bad so quickly. I was sure there would be a lot more levity in it seeing as it's, well, ponies, but the movie conveys the direness of the situation very well to the audience.

Though, once again Celestia and Luna are completely useless. I wish we'd get to see them put up more of a fight once in awhile. In the end, the movie's good, if a tad repetitive in plot. It is definitely not anything award winning. Fans will enjoy it, but it probably won't persuade any prospective fans too strongly. It's cute, funny, sweet, and that's all that I'd really expect of it.

Oh, and two other more "adult" moments in the movie not mentioned by the OP:
-Spike sets a bunch of the bad guy minions on fire. They are not shown ever putting themselves out so I assume they kinda burned to death.
-"The Girl From Ipanema" was playing in the background at Capper's home. Seeing as it's an oldies jazz song, I don't think kids would recognize it, though some adults would.
Yeah, it really went dark, and then stayed that way until the end. It was a bit unrelenting

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Re: My Little Pony - THE MOVIE! (From the point of a guy who has never seen MLP befor

Yay, Kristen Chenoweth! She's one of my favorite people.

 
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