My Little Pony: Equestria Girls (2013) User Reviews

It wasn't that bad, but it was bad indeed

[YaroLord · 5/10 · 26 July 2013]

I despised the very idea of this movie existing, but after watching it... it turns out it wasn't that bad! But... that doesn't mean it was good.

I'll try to be as objective as possible, since some people here aren't reviewing... they're just spewing their hate.

STORY 1/10

It's pretty decent and acceptable... within the first 15 minutes. Then, something that had so much potential (a crown that could help you dominate the world) is all wasted... on a high-school. And instead of an epic fight or something of the sorts (in order to retrieve the crown)... we've got a high- school dance. It all goes downhill from this point. Clichés are everywhere, and of course, as you might expect, the villain steals the crown just in time, turning into a sort of demon who can mentally-control others... and yes, she wants to rule Equestria. How original.

However, I'm giving it 1/10 instead of 0/10 because of how good the adapting-to-the-human-world-and-tech thing was. It was pretty original and it made me chuckle plenty of times. Everything else was... shameful.

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CHARACTERS 4/10

Every pony in Ponyville has a mirror version in the "human" world (they even have the same name... how lazy you have to be to give them the same name, Hasbro), so personalities and character development are pretty much the same as the ones seen in the show. However, we've got an archetypical spiteful/bossy teenage girl as a villain (yay originality) and plenty of fan-service throughout the movie (4th-dimentional Pinkie, a "so awesome!" from Rainbow Dash and an extremely moe Fluttershy).

One thing I really disliked about the characters is how pretty everyone is. There are no short/fat/ugly people. Everyone's tall, with an athletic body (despite most of them not even practicing sports) and a gorgeous face (heck, even the nerds are gorgeous... they're just pretty people with ugly clothes), and the school's one and only bully is our villain: a teenage girl. Really?

And last but not least, the society-portrayal made when Sunset Shimmer turns into a demon was downright pathetic. Pretty much nobody panics after seeing a FRIGGIN' DEMON, and nobody else outside of the school seems to care about the intense and noisy beams of magic/explosions. It's like they're used to it. And what's worse: when Twilight and friends defeat Sunset Shimmer, the once spiteful/bossy/I'm-gonna-rule-Equestria villain is now a crybaby who just wanted friends. What. The. Stuff.

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ANIMATION 8/10

The animation was pretty good. No complaints at all. They did a really good job and the character design ended up being cute! That was a surprise.

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MUSIC 7/10

The soundtrack was good as well. The songs were cheesy, girly and catchy, just like you'd expect from a My Little Pony movie.

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BREAKDOWN - 5/10

Good animation/soundtrack but terrible plot and character development. It perpetuates a sexist view of both genres (boys play rock & roll, girls put on their make-up) and it was made to sell new merchandise, so yeah, not really a good movie, even though I love My Little Pony.

Don't give it a higher note just because it's for kids and don't give it a lower one because you were disappointed. There's a whole lot of masterpieces in the film history that were originally made for kids. Rate this with the same criteria that you'd rate a Pixar movie.

Not Magical. Wasted potential

[xamtaro · 6/10 · 4 July 2013]

For years, fans of the weirdly popular "My Little Pony Friendship is Magic" series have been flooding the Internet with fan art of the main characters in human form. In perhaps the biggest piece of fan service ever, the creators of the original TV series have produced a whole new movie with the very premise of your favorite characters in human form and going to high school. Yes, we all want to see our favorite characters go to high school (or turn human if they aren't already). Greek Legends go to high school in Class of the Titans, Rugrats go to school in All Grown Up,Transformers became humans at one point. Heck there was even a "Gotham High" cartoon series planned which recasts Batman and his villains as high school students..

Our story follows Twilight Sparkle as she pursues a previously unheard of rival named Sunset Shimmer through a magic portal in order to recover her magic crown that was stolen. Twilight ends up in another world where she is a human, there are human equivalents of every pony she has known in Ponyville and they all go to the same Canterlot High school. Once again the fish out of water, Twilight must start from scratch to try and fit in with this new world and make friends with these familiar characters all over again. Now here comes the stinker. Sunset shimmer has apparently been manipulating students against each other through social media. an embarrassing youtube video, photoshopped pictures and anonymous text messages are enough to break up a group of girls who have been best of friends since grade school. So Twilight would help to mend friendships that were torn because the most gullible girls in the world believed some fake phone messages over actually talking to each other and ascertaining the truth. Heck even the vice principle is fooled by some badly photocropped (as in physically cut and paste) pictures. Is this the most gullible school or what. fine. Now we have the big prom, which is one huge popularity contest. instead of showing twilight winning over the hearts and minds of her school mates through her honesty, sincerity and helpfulness, she wins them over through the magic of song and dance.

Yes, the synopsis sure does sound shallow. Alas, the movie itself is shallow and that is its main sin here. But before harping on that, one must acknowledge how true to the original series this movie is. Other than cosmetic changes, all your favorite characters are exactly the same as they were when they were ponies. Fluttershy is still the little shrinking violet with an obsession for cute little animals, Applejack is still the country bumpkin, Rarity still the glamor queen, Pinky Pie still the wacko psycho and Rainbow Dash the tomboy sporty one. Their new designs as human beings take bit of getting used to with the whole quasi-Japanese-anime look with their oversized heads, tiny bodies and weird skin colour (including purple, green, pale blue etc) but once you do, they do have a certain adorable quality to them. The animation is smooth and surprisingly good considering it was animated in adobe flash. This pushes the envelope on what can be done with the over-the-counter animation software.

Now compliments aside, Equestria girls is still a disappointment because it has so much wasted potential. When twilight first steps into high school, her culture shock and the montage that accompanies the inner monologue song she sings seems to paint the premise as a clever metaphor for growing up and transitioning from the magical innocence of early years (ala ponyville where all kinds of wonders exist) to the harsher reality of school politics, competition and boy/girl relationships. That is never developed any further. Also as mentioned before, the story has many lessons to teach but glosses over them in the short 70 odd minutes run time. Trivial lessons at that. If you realise, all she did was bring the 5 main friends back together by showing them how stupid they've been in believing anonymous text messages instead of talking things out like sensible people. Or how Twilight won over Rainbow Dash by stroking her ego and losing in a soccer game.

A much greater impact would be felt if the main 5 friends were never friends to begin with and Twilight helped bring them together despite their differences (this is hinted in one of the songs where it speaks about how twilight sparkle helped them look deeper and find the qualities that united them instead of those that separated them). If it were not for the top notch voice acting, the characters would come across as bland and just, once again, shallow.

Thus, wasted potential all around. we get good animation likable characters who are easy to relate to, and catchy tunes by composer Daniel Ingram which hardens back to the best of Disney animated musicals but that's about it. the movie had so much potential yet ended up trivializing many potentially deep themes on growing up, making friends and settling differences. With an all new premise the creators do nothing new with the story.Here we have an opportunity to do something different, to take the franchise one step further. Sadly there is nothing other than the premise to justify a full length feature film. Other movies based on ongoing TV series feature pivotal moments in a character's journey or a irreversible change to the status quo of that show. Nothing changes here. If not for the fact that the ponies are now human, the story would serve well enough as a 3 episode arc in the TV series

The Movie MLP deserves

[joshfondren97 · 7/10 · 8 August 2013]

This movie was simply adorable. Though I have to say that many people are being unfair or unreasonable about it. Simply because the movie is not perfect does not mean it is terrible. I admit, it has flaws, but the show is not flawless either. I admit that this was cute and entertaining. I went in with high expectations and left satisfied. My complaints centered around a few scenes that were flat out pointless, which, luckily, are in short supply. Some of the new characters are not bad, but the film would do just fine without, and anyone who has seen the film will probably know what I am talking about.

I feel bad for Hasbro and DHX because so few people liked the look of the trailer and despised the idea despite how hard they worked on it. And now the companies are at risk of losing employees due to this reaction.

Good movie that makes me eager for season 4.

7.9/10

Surprisingly okay.

[SmallDog95 · 7/10 · 30 June 2013]

There's a lot of things you can say about this movie. Yes, it's corny. Yes, it panders to the fan-base. Yes, the concept is silly. Yes, it's basically an hour-long commercial for a new toy line. But that doesn't change the fact that My Little Pony: Equestria Girls is, honestly, pretty alright. No, it's not perfect, not by a long shot, but then, neither is the show (blasphemy, I know but it's true).

If you're a fan of the show and you take this movie for what it is: the pilot episode for what will hopefully be a decent cartoon and an advertisement for toys, then you'll probably enjoy it. Your kids, if you have any, will most likely enjoy it. If you're not a fan of the show, a kid, or both, then steer clear.

Take it for what it's worth, and you'll probably be pleasantly surprised.

[ToonFool · 7/10 · 6 July 2013]

I haven't been watching the series for that many months, but it left so much of a mark on me that I knew I had to go see this in theaters. And I have no regrets doing so. I mean, it's not one of the strongest things to come out of the MLP G4 franchise, but for what I could've gotten with this concept, which is... let's be fair, odd, a lot of things did exceed my expectations.

Let's start with the story execution. Aside from the whole "Twilight Sparkle is a high school human" dealie, there doesn't seem to be much to the premise, just sort-of a 'win your goal'-type plot. However, they manage to make it intriguing and very entertaining to watch with how character-driven they make the actual storytelling, especially with the characters they have to work with, but we'll get to that later. What's more is that despite there being a lot of small, extra scenes involving Twilight having to get accustomed to her new surroundings, they almost never forget the actual story; and even though the spotlight stays on Twilight like it should, at its core it is still about friendship, which is really what the show always was. Finally, it's just flat-out funny, from character reveals to series callbacks to simple but fitting character-based lines.

Next, the visuals. DHX really knows how to make flash animation look good, and this is among their best work. There are a huge variety of character movements (much less restricted than the pony figures), some really cool-looking effects, and surprisingly, I even found myself getting really accustomed to some of the human designs as well. Not all of them work (ex. Celestia, Luna, and Big Mac), but many of them actually blend with their pony counterparts pretty darn well (ex. Rarity, Fluttershy, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders). Even some of the backgrounds, like the Fall Formal and the Crystal Empire (which I'm usually not all that impressed by) managed to prove appealing as well.

The music takes a different style from that of the series, going more pop-ish and overall more fitting of the high school environment. While I don't think the score is bad per say, it does prove to be a little on the generic side. The same can be said for the musical numbers themselves, and while I didn't hate any of them, the only one I truly remember is "Helping Twilight Win the Crown", which will leave you humming afterward.

Now onto the characters, starting with the main cast. Twilight is just as lovably nerdy but still admirable as ever, even further strengthened by the support from Spike, who's a dog here. Yeah, don't worry, they manage to work that out okay. The human counterparts of her friends are obviously faithful to their originals, but what makes them work particularly well here is that each of them get their own time to shine that never feel out of place, and at least most of them get something new added to their roles as well to fit the setting, which I thought was a really nice touch and it made them all the more interesting to watch in an alternate reality.

For the secondary characters, they weren't as nice. I mean, you've got those that are pretty much just cameos or throwaway jokes, such as Trixie and Vinyl Scratch, which can be fun to watch as little as they add, but you've also got some others that are put in a role that just don't fit, such as Celestia & Luna being the principals and Snips & Snails being the henchmen to the antagonist, Sunset Shimmer. Speaking of Sunset, I find her a decent antagonist with her menacing appearance, reputation, and ultimate goal, but with the bits of backstory they give her and her competence in Equestria, you really wish there were more of those. But instead, it's traded for little more than just menacing attributes and a pointless twist at the climax. The other new character is the love interest Flash Sentry, and even though he isn't a useless character, both him and the romance angle are just weak. If they really wanted this to work, they seriously needed to put much more passion and effort into it, because they really treaded some dangerous waters with this.

Of course, all this is not to say I'm supporting the high school idea in the first place. As well as they handle it, it's so bizarre merely in its existence. I mean, the film was obviously made for marketing purposes (just Hasbro doing their business), but I don't even know what the mindset was with them making the toys in the first place. What did they intend to accomplish with this exactly? Well, for me, it'll probably remain a mystery.

All in all, on its own, Equestria Girls isn't really a good movie, but if you take it as a TV movie like it was originally intended to be, as well as one made for marketing at that, you'll probably find at least something to like about it, even if the movie as a whole doesn't manage to satisfy you. I personally managed to find a lot more to enjoy. If you aren't a fan of the series, you probably won't get into it here. If you are, you should probably give it at least a chance, and be sure to take it for what it's worth.

A pleasantly surprising movie

[brony-pony · 6/10 · 25 June 2013]

I found this movie to be surprising, but in a good way. I enjoyed it way more than I initially thought i would, and had an overall good time watching this movie. When Equestria Girls was first announced, I was really apprehensive as to weather or not I was going to see it and I know I was not the only brony out there who had the same feelings towards it.

The few things I did dislike about the movie is the fact that all the characters did indeed look like Bratz dolls and that they were still all different colours. From the trailer, you would assume that the entirety of the cast goes with Twilight, as you see human versions of all of them, unfortunately, this is not the case. The sad truth is that they are all indeed 'humanized' versions of the cast of My Little Pony; Friendship is Magic, which, although are technically the same character, are also completely different characters at the same time. Another thing is that the story didn't quite line up perfectly with the plot of the TV show, but that was almost to be expected.

For what I did like, I enjoyed just about every other aspect of this movie. I had a few good laughs, and there were times I was hanging on the edge of my seat. The animation was excellent, as we have come to expect from Hasbro Studios. and the story writing, although could have been tied in with Friendship is Magic a little more, was still fairly decent.

I was not expecting this movie to be a musical, so when the first song started, I was pretty surprised. For the music side of it, I think that the songs tie in well with the story of the movie, and also the characters.

I gave this movie a 6/10 because I felt, although the movie was enjoyable, it didn't quite live up to my expectations in the story side of things. I also felt the voice acting was below par.

Thankyou for taking the time to read my review.

This is not what lured millions to MIP:FIM

[lx-sosna · 4/10 · 1 July 2013]

First off, I enjoyed the beginning of the movie where they're still ponies. I like how it picks up right after season 3 ended. Its a great set up but then it shows its true colors, and that would be a movie designed to rival with the Bratz Monster High doll collection. The legs are three-fourths of their body. They ALL wear short skirts and knee-high hooker boots. It only worked for Apple Jack because she would wear cowgirl boots but a skirt? No she'd wear denim shorts or jeans. Rainbow Dash especially was reduced to playing soccer in a skirt. We get it Hasbro, they're girls but they don't all have to dress that way. The skin doesn't bother me just because it eliminates racist thoughts. In Equestria, fur color was never meant to show race. They're all different colors. However, Rarity and Sweetie-Bell look like corpses. I liked seeing all the ponies from the show shown as humans, even though their design overall was done in a much more mediocre way than what I've seen from the fandom. Other issues that really bothered me was the cliché high school drama, which is what turned me off in the first place. The antagonist uses cell phones to cyber bully Twilight, which is far from what I expect from this show. The love-at first sight had my eyes rolling like many other things. Some of the characters don't seem to be "in-character" such as Fluttershy. There's no ways she would break out into song in front of the entire school. I had to skip through some of the songs, which I've never had to do for the TV show. The big turn off was Sunset Shimmer setting out to rule the high school. Really, being princess of the high school, that's just lame! Like it or not this movie was made to sell creepy humanized pony dolls, which will fail in my opinion. Hopefully season four of the show will get it back on the horse.

Much better then it's reported to be.

[nlusareta · 10/10 · 6 August 2013]

To me, this just seems like one big episode of the show, not really a movie. But that doesn't matter. The Show MLP: FiM started out as a children's show, (ages 6-11 or so) never mind the fan base, it should be treated as such. If you compare Equestria Girls to any other modern kids show made into a movie, it will be obvious the Equestria Girls raises the bar for animation, voice acting, song writing, and overall quality of the show. The songs are amazing, the voice acting is incredible, and the animation is better than any I've ever seen.

I strongly recommend this movie to families, bronies, and children. That's who it was made for.

10/10 - Fantastic movie.

An alright movie

[user-723-190169 · 7/10 · 27 June 2013]

The movie was surprisingly alright, from pony to human is not that bad, throughout the movie I almsot forgot this is an MLP movie though, anyway, it's not as bad as many people thought. But of course there are down sides sadly. Many parts of the movie were quite dumb:

Sure Twilight going to the other world to get a piece of Elements of Harmony back from someone who stole it, makes sense yes. The friends from the human world doesn't feel weird when she told the truth where she came from, okay? Twilight having crush on someone that just popped up randomly ...It's unnecessary Hasbro. At the end, the "Principal" Celestia and lots of other people don't feel scared/call the police/panic much when they saw a flying Satan like creature in the sky destroying things, uh... Yeah that doesn't make sense.

But again, we're talking about a child movie here, it's meant for children, so don't yell about it, calm down.

Conclusion, the movie is alright to child or adults. I personally like the music a lot, especially the intro remix and the "Help Twilight Sparkle Win the Crown" song, even though some people say it sucks, still think it's pretty nice, nice job Danial Ingram.

A blatant marketing movie that undermines the show...

[elsol-3 · 4/10 · 24 June 2013]

For a start... it definitely did not warrant a theatre release.

No additional effort was put into the animation beyond the TV series other than the opening credits animation, at all. Would have been a nice two-parter to link the existing My Little Pony seasons 3 and 4 together.

Two, it's so obvious the entire movie is a giant advertisement for Hasbro to sell anthro-based dolls based on popular characters. The way the characters are introduced and stylised, it's just glaring and grating.

The basic story? As predictable as ever, even for a MLP episode. Which is fine for a MLP episode, but not for a movie, hence back to my original belief it didn't warrant a theatre release. The fact that it's set in such a tedious and over-used setting as a school formal? Awful. So much opportunity for this to have been done better was wasted on a cliché. The ponies are regressed to teenage years when in Ponyville they are already mares, ie mature. The movie should have reflected this, and used it to encourage girls (and guys) in a more positive direction than what it does.

The writing was about as standard as the series, but I'm disappointed with the whole image of the movie. Everyone is thin and anaemic, with the exception of Snails, and lo and behold, the unpopular "bad guy henchman" is fat. The ONLY fat person in the entire movie. In the series, all the ponies are rounded, or at least full-bodied; all this movie does is perpetuate the stick-insect mentality of fashion that girls are now being encouraged to pursue. Which leads to...

Concepts of friendship are nice to see in this movie, and I'm glad they are there. But the series does a much better job of teaching those concepts in a manner that isn't muddied by imagery that is counter-productive to many children's' self-esteem. This movie is a step backwards for the quality of the show, not a step forwards.

So, overall? Poor. It *could* have been so much more. Instead, we got dreck. It's 4, perhaps a 5 out of 10. For the absolute littlies only, and I say that with hesitation given the body-image impressions it's setting up for them.

I hope this stays a one-off, and is never attempted again.

Why's everyone so hard on this?

[jwwalrath-227-85487 · 8/10 · 20 February 2018]

Yes, it isn't quite as good as the show. Still, that shouldn't be held against the movie. This spinoff still maintains the MLP franchise's tendency to go beyond the stereotypicalness and obviousness of other girls shows and films.

Yeah, the high school format is predictable, but there is something about a pony in a human's body and a battle with a monster at the end that shakes things up some. Dialogue is on point and there are some funny bits.

The songs are all forgettable though, I'll give you that.

So Awesome!!!

[smittyt1122 · 7/10 · 28 June 2013]

The concept was well thought out which is something to expect from Meghan McCarthy and the songs were extremely catchy. Though the amount of flirting was a bit off, I recommend everyone to go see it, even if you aren't a brony or pegasister, you will love it. There were a lot of parts that made the movie funny and happy, while still keeping a somewhat serious tone. To anyone who doesn't know this, the movie will not be a factoring part in season 4 to either the happiness or sadness of some viewers. I also like how they incorporated background characters into the storyline, including DERPY :) All in all great movie and I highly recommend it to any and all movie lovers.

Hasbro, I Hate You!

[bonniejoy-978-68763 · 1/10 · 28 May 2014]

Toys! Toys! Toys! That's all Hasbro cares about, who cares if it ruins a show people love! Hooray! Equestria Girls was Awful! There was no effort whatsoever - except in the animation; THAT'S IT!

In case you don't know what it's about, Princess Twilight goes into the human world because Celestia's former student, Sunset Shimmer, steals her crown and takes it to the human world. There Twilight is sent to high school and goes through all the high school clichés you could possibly imagine: outcast, bullied, friends with outcast, becomes popular, gets a boyfriend - the bully's ex-boyfriend (does that sound familiar?), and being Fall Formal Princess.

It is the clichés that ruin the whole story. At least with Mean Girls, they developed a better storyline - even if it was exaggerated; the same could be said for High School Musical, which is less annoying compared to this. The story could have been great, but it is horrible! For starters, the clichés, solving problems in the blink of an eye, and more. I've gone through the clichés in the previous paragraph, here's problem solving: The five friends (who are humans) Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack hate each other, but then a few words from Twilight and they're friends again! That's not how you mend a friendship! Like for example if you know Applejack and Rainbow Dash, you know they are highly competitive against each other, so when they're attempting to mend their friendship on the distant soccer fields we see them hug! Did I forget to mention that they are highly competitive and demand an apology from each other for whatever unexplained reason, and just because Twilight says to talk it out they instantly solve it in a second? That's not how fixing a broken relationship works! What I hate even worse was that while the story was trying to be original it ended up being more clichéd than original, I'm specifically talking about the cafeteria song. Oh I want to bang my head against the wall just hearing that song! Sunset Shimmer is the most popular girl in the high school, and Twilight needs to desperately win the crown back for the Fall Formal. So how do they get this brand new girl who never registered for class to be even more popular? By putting on a flashmob in the cafeteria and singing how differences are awesome, and how Twilight's differences outshine Sunset Shimmer. If someone sang that to you, would you even buy that and vote for them just because someone sang to you how differences make you ten times better than someone you've already known? It doesn't work like that! Even as a non realistic film it makes no sense. Also when Twilight reveals to her friends that she's a pony in human form and they're instantly cool with it! If your closest friend told you he/she was a pony in human form, is that how you would react? It's too weird to think about, but the story must rush; no time to have any real developed reactions! Even if a movie was 90 minutes long, it would be enough time to go into real character development and emotions. That's what I hate about this film: how rushed everything is, there's no time to enjoy anything, and it is just another excuse for Hasbro to make more toys out of My Little Pony!

However, to be fair, the only thing I really enjoy is the animation. It still looks beautiful, even the designs of the mane six looks great. Aside from that, there is nothing valuable to enjoy. Don't throw in the "It's a kid's film" line, because whether it was made for kids or adults, this film has no excuse for how bad and pointless it is!

Not as bad as everyone says it is. It's great.

[j-jessie-weaver · 7/10 · 2 September 2013]

I first saw this movie on YouTube and I was really impressed. And, you know what? I still am! The story, animation, songs and characters are great, especially their human counterpart designs. It's too bad this has very mixed reviews, but, hey, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. The movie is a treat to watch, however, I don't get why it was released to theaters in June 2013 when it clearly feels like a made-for-television film. It doesn't matter, this is such a wonderful piece following "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic," regardless if it's a theatrical feature that's like a TV presentation.

In conclusion, "Equestria Girls" is an absolutely fantastic movie. I highly recommend it to everybody!

One of those films where you have to be a fan to enjoy

[Terryfan · 7/10 · 15 December 2015]

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls is one of those films that fans will have to agree to disagree on it's just how it is with this film.

Being this is the first film of the new series it was bound to get the fans talking plus having a different theme with the new series

But the film does something to make it worth a watch if you're curious about it or want a family film or just a fan in general

The plot centers around Twilight Sparkle must travel to a alternate reality in order to gain back a crowd stolen by Sunset Shimmer

As the plot goes on you'll learn more about Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle in this film

The animation in the film is pretty good with some good work on the visual effects as well they did time the animation to make it a enjoyable animated film

The voice acting is good as well with a good cast though some of the writing in this film kind of felt out of wax but with the cast being Tara Strong,Ashleigh Ball, Andrea Libman, Cathy Weseluck, Tabitha St.Germain,Rebecca Schoichet, and others they did some good work with their performances but I have to get this one to Tara and Rebecca as Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer they gave the best out of the cast for their performances

Music in the film goes up and down as we also get original songs for this film

The cons mostly for this film: Some of the writing does feel out of wax also some moments in the film just make you want to shake your head

Then again this film was targeted for a specific audience so need to keep that in mind

But fans might enjoy it or animation fans in general it just one of those films that is going to be a opinion one way or the other

I give My Little Pony: Equestria Girls an 7 out of 10

I loved it!

[InsomniaQueen · 6/10 · 24 June 2013]

First of all, this review is copied from my DeviantART page-- so it may not sound too professional so to speak. Additionally, this review has a few very MINOR spoilers. But there's nothing that would ruin the movie for you.

I thought the movie was great! Despite what a few people are saying about the "robotic animation," I thought the animation was fantastic. The characters all moved smoothly and the facial expressions and such had the same variety as on the TV series. I loved the character designs as well. People complain that the girls all had the same body type and all that. But I don't agree with that complaint. I mean, don't most of the female characters have the same body type in the TV show too? People also complain about how skinny they were, but I think they just want something to complain about. It's a cartoon, people! Who cares if the characters are skinny or not?!

Judging by the trailer, I was fairly skeptical about the whole love scenario with Twilight's romance with Flash. But it turned out the movie didn't stress this too much, and it stuck to the point of the magic of friendship. So don't worry, Twilight's relationship with Flash was just a tiny part of the plot line. But a little thing that bothered me was that Flash didn't really have that much of a personality. But I have to say, him and Twilight did have some adorable moments.

The villain, Sunset Shimmers was pretty awesome. I really liked her. She was quite evil and not just a mean high school girl who wanted to be popular. Her goal was actually to take the crown so she could rule the world-- not just because she wanted everyone to like her.

The comedy in this movie is great. It's still very slapstick and has a lot of jokes. The characters also still have the same personalities in the human world. Pinkie Pie is still just as hyper, and IMO she has some of the best jokes in the film. Applejack is still the honest country girl and is still the most mature. Rarity is still just as proper and obsessed with fashion. Fluttershy still loves animals, in the human world, to the point of which she sneaks her pets to school in her backpack because she doesn't want to leave them at home. And of course, Rainbow Dash is still awesome, athletic, and tomboyish. So the characters don't change. The songs were really good as well. They were very catchy and the movements and dances to them were really nice.

I'm not a huge fan of Spike. But in the movie I really liked how loyal he was to Twilight, to the point of which he jumped into the portal after her-- even though Celestia had told them that Twilight was to go alone. Plus, he really helps her throughout the movie, and is there for her the whole time. Who cares if he's a dog!?

Another thing I really liked was the opening theme. It was just really awesome and well made, even though I could barley hear it (due to me watching the film on YouTube.) Also, in the credits, there is a big surprise at the end. *cough* Derpy. So that was pretty awesome. I also really enjoyed seeing characters like Trixie, Big Macintosh, Berry Punch, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Photo Finish all having small roles throughout the movie.

There were a few things I didn't like though. They were very small and really didn't matter, but I'll point them out anyways. First of all, Vice Principal Luna did not look a thing like her pony counterpart. Her hair looked totally different, and her and Principal Celestia's clothes did not match the characters at all. Also, as I mentioned earlier, Flash doesn't seem to have that much of a personality. But he is shown very little in the film anyways, so it didn't really hurt the movie any. Another thing was that they were in high school and not young adults like they are in the show. But this didn't bother or confuse me that much. It was just a bit strange to me.

Over all, the movie was great. I would give it a 9.5/10.

The Phantom Menace of My Little Pony

[David-RD1233 · 4/10 · 27 July 2013]

Some shows fit as movies, like Firefly. Some shows on the other hand will never make good movies… unless it deviates from the show entirely. Because some of them are too complex and convoluted, like Game of Thrones, while other are the exact opposite: simple shows, which you do not watch for the plot.

That is where we encounter the first hurdle. Equestria Girls does not deviate from the show. It looks and feels like a bad pilot episode of a bad show… and they generally do not premiere in cinemas.

Equestria Girls disregards the strengths of the show: humans instead of ponies, generic high school setting instead of an interesting magical pony land and a bitch that is mean to everyone but obviously will be put back in line by Twilight Sparkle… instead of having none of that. The movie is so predictable, it hurts.

Apropos generic: Twilight Sparkle meets a boy who wears a black sports jacket, is athletic and plays the electric guitar like Jimi Henrix and is the antagonist's ex. And that is that.

There are a few songs featured in Equestria Girls, not unlike the show. These songs are quite different though. Techno and Pop has taken a hold of the score and it sounds like generic radio music. While the songs in "Friendship is Magic" were a part of an actual scene, they now seem randomly placed, just for the sake of it.

Friendship is Magic is animated with Flash and so is this movie. Unfortunately the humans look very stiff and unnatural. The movement of the humans appears choppy, almost as if they skipped frames, which would not surprise me. Lauren Faust's style of the show doesn't fit humans, and they look awkward. Probably, because no humans where originally planned.

One thing that bothered me from day one was the human counterparts of the ponies. It is as if someone (who never even watched "Friendship is Magic") designed them over a weekend, and a colorblind person at that who had no idea how to blend and mix colors. Color theory, what sorcery is this?

Firstly, they deiced to color the skin of the humans like the coat of the ponies. Twilight Sparkle has purple skin, Pinkie Pie is pink and Rainbow Dash is blue. It works for the ponies, but not for the humans. The colors clash like the titans did 1981 and it is not a pretty sight. But how else should we know what human is representing what pony, right…?

There are also small things like every one of the six girls are basically wearing the same things: knee high boots and skirts. Someone truly did an amazing copy paste job, efficiency at its best. Or an insult to Lauren Faust's original and varied design of the ponies. Like the show, the movie was made for girls, but the quality is lacking. It is a badly written mess with lackluster animation quality and laughable design. Equestria Girls is without a doubt the Phantom Menace of My Little Pony. AVOID

good but!

[drozdikmatejyt · 9/10 · 8 July 2019]

Good but title is pony but in this movie we have humans

simmer down

[stlgrl25 · 7/10 · 19 August 2013]

I had to laugh at the majority of reviews written for this film and will simply say this: this is a film that is intended for little girls. My daughters love mlp and were so excited to see their favorite ponies as humans.The plot change was a fun twist and despite the horrible soundtrack it was a sweet little movie that continued to focus on the magic of friendship. For those of you that are so repulsed by this movie you need to just accept and get over the fact that this is a movie that is meant for little kids to enjoy, not for 18-40 yr olds to obsess over.I'm not going to sit here and make fun of bronies because that has been done 1,000 times already, but I will say to some of you, please stop demanding this show have a more adult theme to it and please stop running out and grabbing up every new mlp toy that comes out so that you can do god knows what with it. I never thought I would see the day where my daughters would have to compete with grown up men for a my little pony toy. smh

A toy commercial that SOMEHOW is tolerable

[joebrian55 · 4/10 · 5 August 2013]

Last night, I watched Equestria Girls... Yeah, yeah, I'm a brony, don't judge me.

On to the review: I don't like the concept because, well, let me put it this way: I enjoy MLP:FiM not only as a good, heartfelt and often humorous cartoon, but as a refreshing escape from reality... which is why I feel humans shouldn't have anything to do this with show.

I understand the concept of "trying to fit in" and "friendship is everywhere", but it could just as easily have been applied in a setting where humans don't exist.

I also feel it's just Hasbro's attempt to cash in on the "high-school-girl" bandwagon for obvious reasons and that the conflict of winning the title at the prom dance... is so tired and cliché that your better off watching a half-baked teen drama from last decade. If you want a good MODERN high school dramedy film, watch Easy A because it has more believable characters and shout-outs to classic films of that type.

Another point that annoys me is Spike as a dog... and on top of that, he STILL loves Rarity (as a human) in the human world... I don't like this because it's more creepy than charming in that it seems to promote bestiality, and for a movie aimed at kids, this is beyond disgraceful.

Which brings me to my next point, the film makes a point of saying that people should judge Twilight Sparkle by what she DOES instead of how she LOOKS, which wouldn't be a bad moral if all but one of the "humans" in this film weren't drawn with a thin physique and the girls wearing short, low-cut clothes. MLP:FiM would never teach kids that body shape and choice of clothes matter, they would teach you what's on the inside does, but this film's attempt at teaching you "it's what's on the inside that counts" is contradictory, to say the least.

On a side note, why are the Cutie Mark Crusaders bumped up to early high school age? On the show, they're like the equivalent of 8-10 year olds, so why are they like 14-15 years old here? Are the people at Hasbro a bunch of pedophiles or something? And unlike the show itself, the use of modern technology and even vague product placement for YouTube will just make it more dated as time goes by... I won't act like the show itself isn't "modern", but it'll be timeless compared to this.

But, to be fair, there WERE some good jokes at some points, the film DOES actually teach you about the true meaning of friendship and unlike the show itself, I actually came close to LIKING a couple of the songs in this film.

For me, the concept didn't work and clearly reeks of focus groups and bias in regards to its target audience. But somehow, some good writing, humour and toe-tapping music left a light at the end of the tunnel. I just don't think modernization is necessary for MLP:FiM, because of the aforementioned "escape from reality" bit. But at least it was better written than "Magical Mystery Cure" (a REAL MLP:FiM travesty).

Granted, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, but this isn't a film I would've paid $10 for when it was in theatres. I just hope that Hasbro doesn't strike out again... And now, I'll wait patiently for Season 4 this fall.

Way Way Above Expectations, Excellent Addition

[HeroOfTheDay666 · 9/10 · 16 June 2013]

Like any brony, I was nervous about Equestria Girls. It appeared that the show had sunk to an all time low, simply because it was now taking place in high school. After seeing EG for myself, I can say without a doubt in my mind that this movie is excellent. It actually is one of my favorite offerings from the show recently. Other bronies in the theater seemed to agree with me, as therfe was much applause at the end.

In case you're unfamiliar with premise, a rogue student of Celestia's, Sunset Shimmer, has stolen Twilight's crown. Since the elements of harmony are useless without it, Twilight must retrieve it from where it has been taken: the human world. Here we see her struggle to adopt human customs, as well as reuniting with the human counterparts of her Equestrian Friends.

The best part of this move is the humor and nods to the fans. The writers really did a great job in this area, evident by the laugh riots that arose multiple times. The shows sense of humor is definitely here, so rest easy. There are also plenty of nods to the supporting cast and background ponies, and it's a blast looking for them all.

The only problem to me was the songs. I enjoy the songs usually, but here there were quite a few, mostly towards the end, and they're more poppy than the shows usual style.

Other than that, I am very pleased with EG. The humor is great, seeing the ponies in a different setting is amusing, and is just a lot of fun if you're open to it. Also, stay for the end of the credits for a little surprise any fan will appreciate.

my little pony i wonder if my hammer could break it

[superkazabro · 6/10 · 5 February 2014]

my little pony is a good cartoon which bits i not liked aka twlights wings but when i heard a movie was coming out i tough ney but i gave it a look and i was kind of meh about it some parts which i though were stupid or just pointless sometimes some parts i wish they made a little bit better but anyways the story was done well (except the ending) and the acting was good excpet when pinkie pie knows whats happening which i tough was just bad and pointless i love some easter eggs like the cutie mark crusaders song on youtube called bad which i think connects with the fans people say it sets a bad example for real girls and teens like saying is just stereotyping i think not but i tough its just a fun movie to give a watch at least once hope you enjoy the movie

This is so bad, it's absurd.

[service-juridique · 1/10 · 18 June 2013]

I'm sorry, I hate writing this kind of review but that's essential.

It's depressing to admit that a good franchise, an awesome work from Lauren Faust, Sabrina Alberghetti and Daniel Ingram have been reduced to this. With all the respect I have towards these creative geniuses, why did you let Hasbro, the main company hack your creation into this?

The singing sequences are irritating. The character design is creepy and just... awful. I do believe it's a parody of MLPFIM. Some little girls and teens disliked it obviously, for; the only good moments on the movie were on the beginning, and the ending when they're what they are: horses. (Do you imagine any Disney or a Bugs Bunny movie where Bugs becomes human?) It's genuinely terrible. Dialogs are pointless, puns are bad and overdone.

On the writing, plot's nonsensical. Other characters supposed to be the protagonist's friends are not there, inexistent. Existing characters who were good ponies in the series are now evil. Forced memes and more stupid dancing, with a very bad, glitches and bugs in the animation. Speaking of, I think the bad animation played a very high part into making this "movie" like some kind of parody or something. if it was a TV show i'd laugh my ass off, but there, I know people paid to watch this.

80% of the movie or more is about "dancing" on silly dance music. once it's okay, but having 3. 4. and another one, you really want to leave.

I was staring at the green sign that says "emergency exit" glowing on the darkness of the theater. one family left because their daughter and son wanted to leave. they had enough of this silly cartoon, but I ain't no kid, I made it until the end, where Twilight comes back to normal with her crown! that was but a nightmare !

They tried to make it funny, which was even worse if not embarrassing and that day I really wanted, if not needed to watch something funny.

To sum up : it seems that Hasbro has found back through MLP a very huge and important audience, so they put the maximum to extract what they could from this audience. This has nothing to do with MLPFIM. This is just an incredibly bad "movie".

Sorry again for rating this as awful, but that's all I can give. It was an error from DHX and we all have to learn from our errors. (That quote's from an MLPFIM episode that was the radical opposite of everything on this movie BTW. )

A generic story told in a not-so-generic way.

[RamblingPony · 7/10 · 3 July 2013]

Surprisingly not terrible, but I wouldn't call it great either. Most of the story is very generic and exactly what you'd expect from a movie like this, but with just oh so slightly more effort put into it. The best part of the film by a landslide was the comedy, but about half of it was nods to brony (adult MLP fans) in-jokes and the like anyway.

In conclusion, bronies will probably enjoy the movie at least a little (We've certainly had to put up with worse *looks at Mare-Do-Well*), your daughter will probably have fun and would be better off seeing this than a Barbie/Bratz/e.c.t. high school movie, and everyone else should stay far away from this one, or at least watch the first 3 seasons of the show (Friendship is Magic) first.

Fan service TV-special

[mtnarwe_6 · 7/10 · 1 July 2013]

STORY There's many things in this movie that would have worked perfectly if it got more time, like the explanation of where twilight really. Just think, if one of her friends have thought "no, i just can't accept this" and the group got broken by the truth and then they understand the magic of friendship in other way, not just in a random hug. That would have been fantastic. But there are too many limits in a one-hour movie.

SONGS I don't know why everyone says ALL the songs are awful. Actually, there's one that (for me) it's perfect: "Get up, get down". It looks planed in the story and helps to tell it. It's catchy and got the best animation (because the rest of the movie it's too mechanical). Just imagine if that happens in your school, God, that should be epic. The other songs sound too slow and simple for MLP:FIM style.

OPINION This movie isn't good enough. It tries to be enjoyable but it's just entertained in the minimum sense. And i strongly feel it was made as a fan-service TV-special and that's pretty bad for a theater movie. It's like Iron Man 3 as a direct-to-DVD and Rise of Technovore as the theater movie. It could be the greatest in another field.