Today, in theaters around the world, fans will return to a revered, unforgettable universe that holds a special place in the hearts of millions—a visionary universe created in the early ’80s but brought back to the big screen today, facing at least some skepticism. Can a new, perhaps uncalled for, entry in the series live up to fans’ impossibly high expectations? Is it yet another in a never-ending line of nostalgia-powered cash grabs?
To find out, I took my four-year-old daughter to watch today’s other big new release, My Little Pony: The Movie. What follows is our conversation about the movie over a couple bowls of cereal.
Spoiler warning: Turns out children don’t understand the concept of spoilers, so tread cautiously if you don’t want to hear one key (though totally obvious if you’ve seen a trailer or have even the faintest familiarity with the world of Equestria) plot point from the final bit of the movie.
What was your favorite part of My Little Pony: The Movie?
Well... all of it.
Fair. Not sure what else I could have expected. Who was your favorite character?
All of the ponies. Oh! Except for Tempest… Except for Tempest. I only like the nice ponies. Tempest is a bad guy. She wants to take the good ponies' magic, but then she gets friendly by Twilight [as in Twilight Sparkle, the series' purple protagonist a.k.a. the Princess of Friendship] and Twilight teaches her a lesson.
Wow. Spoilers, kiddo.
What?
Never mind. So, Tempest Shadow is a new pony voiced by Emily Blunt. She’s cynical on the whole “friendship is magic” bit, which is basically the 24/7 focus for the Mane Six, the six key ponies of MLP. This, and the fact that she wants to steal the pony princesses’ powers for her own evil purposes, puts them at odds. The bulk of the story is Tempest pursuing Twilight and her friends, which results in some tense close calls. Did you think it was scary? Is it too scary for little kids?
No. It was so funny. I was just like staring at it.
You were entranced by the screen. I tried to give you some popcorn—I even put some in your hand--and you just let it fall out to the floor
I was like… I couldn’t see you. I didn’t want to miss any part—sorry. Maybe next time when we go to another Pony movie can you pleasssse give me popcorn and I promise I’ll remember to eat it?
To find out, I took my four-year-old daughter to watch today’s other big new release, My Little Pony: The Movie. What follows is our conversation about the movie over a couple bowls of cereal.
Spoiler warning: Turns out children don’t understand the concept of spoilers, so tread cautiously if you don’t want to hear one key (though totally obvious if you’ve seen a trailer or have even the faintest familiarity with the world of Equestria) plot point from the final bit of the movie.
What was your favorite part of My Little Pony: The Movie?
Well... all of it.
Fair. Not sure what else I could have expected. Who was your favorite character?
All of the ponies. Oh! Except for Tempest… Except for Tempest. I only like the nice ponies. Tempest is a bad guy. She wants to take the good ponies' magic, but then she gets friendly by Twilight [as in Twilight Sparkle, the series' purple protagonist a.k.a. the Princess of Friendship] and Twilight teaches her a lesson.
Wow. Spoilers, kiddo.
What?
Never mind. So, Tempest Shadow is a new pony voiced by Emily Blunt. She’s cynical on the whole “friendship is magic” bit, which is basically the 24/7 focus for the Mane Six, the six key ponies of MLP. This, and the fact that she wants to steal the pony princesses’ powers for her own evil purposes, puts them at odds. The bulk of the story is Tempest pursuing Twilight and her friends, which results in some tense close calls. Did you think it was scary? Is it too scary for little kids?
No. It was so funny. I was just like staring at it.
You were entranced by the screen. I tried to give you some popcorn—I even put some in your hand--and you just let it fall out to the floor
I was like… I couldn’t see you. I didn’t want to miss any part—sorry. Maybe next time when we go to another Pony movie can you pleasssse give me popcorn and I promise I’ll remember to eat it?
Sure. You think they’ll be another Pony movie?
Yes!
Can’t wait. But back to this one: What about the other new characters? Our core gang of ponies and little dragon fax machine Spike (the brave and glorious) meet a whole slew of new characters. What did you think of the other new bad guy, voiced by Liev Schreiber? What’s his name?
Wait until I’m done eating. [takes a bite of cereal] Somebody [pause for chewing] who is very bad: The Storm King. The Storm King made a storm come to the party. Then, Tempest almost fell, but Twilight saved her and she asked what it was about and said it was about the Princess of Friendship. And... what else do you want me to say?
The other characters?
The Storm King. Tempest. And I don’t know that little pokey guy… let me show you who I’m talking about.
I know who you mean—the one who likes pie, voiced by Michael Peña. He was pretty funny.
You know, I’m not talking about... [picking up a book] I don’t know who this person is [pointing to her My Little Pony: The Movie: The Book]. Can you look it up really quick?
Yeah… [picks up phone, Googles “My Little Pony Movie cast”] Grubber. What about the cat, voiced by Taye Diggs?
Capper. Capper. He was, he was great. And the sky pirates. I like them! And the girl one was beeeeautiful. I liked all of them. They go… hippo! They’re looking for Hippogriffs. And seaponies. The seaponies...
Ah, ah! I’m going to stop you there. Let’s leave some plot points uncovered.
[Distracted, looking down at her book] This girl got out of the water! How can she not swim unless she only has water?
Huh?
Can I have some milk? I’m going to pour some milk in here. I’m thirsty.
Go for it. What else did you like about this movie? I discovered I'm a big fan of Pinkie Pie, the sugared-up goofball party animal of the gang. I thought I was more of a Rainbow Dash guy, but...
I like Twilight because she can fly. When Twilight was a mermaid, I wonder if she had a horn. [pauses to flip through her book of the movie] She does still have a horn when she’s a seapony. See! And Rarity does! That’s so funny. Hahah!
How about the music? I thought along with the more colorful visuals and big-name supporting cast (which also includes Sia, Zoe Saldana, and Kristin Chenoweth), the biggest improvement over the show was the music. What did you think of the music?
It was lovely.
There you have it. Final question. Should people go see My Little Pony: The Movie?
Yes! It’s amazing, and it’s so fun. And I want to bring this along next time. [holding up her book] I want to go see it again, and I want to bring this too. Only if I don’t lose it.
-Eric Pulsifer (and Daughter)
Yes!
Can’t wait. But back to this one: What about the other new characters? Our core gang of ponies and little dragon fax machine Spike (the brave and glorious) meet a whole slew of new characters. What did you think of the other new bad guy, voiced by Liev Schreiber? What’s his name?
Wait until I’m done eating. [takes a bite of cereal] Somebody [pause for chewing] who is very bad: The Storm King. The Storm King made a storm come to the party. Then, Tempest almost fell, but Twilight saved her and she asked what it was about and said it was about the Princess of Friendship. And... what else do you want me to say?
The other characters?
The Storm King. Tempest. And I don’t know that little pokey guy… let me show you who I’m talking about.
I know who you mean—the one who likes pie, voiced by Michael Peña. He was pretty funny.
You know, I’m not talking about... [picking up a book] I don’t know who this person is [pointing to her My Little Pony: The Movie: The Book]. Can you look it up really quick?
Yeah… [picks up phone, Googles “My Little Pony Movie cast”] Grubber. What about the cat, voiced by Taye Diggs?
Capper. Capper. He was, he was great. And the sky pirates. I like them! And the girl one was beeeeautiful. I liked all of them. They go… hippo! They’re looking for Hippogriffs. And seaponies. The seaponies...
Ah, ah! I’m going to stop you there. Let’s leave some plot points uncovered.
[Distracted, looking down at her book] This girl got out of the water! How can she not swim unless she only has water?
Huh?
Can I have some milk? I’m going to pour some milk in here. I’m thirsty.
Go for it. What else did you like about this movie? I discovered I'm a big fan of Pinkie Pie, the sugared-up goofball party animal of the gang. I thought I was more of a Rainbow Dash guy, but...
I like Twilight because she can fly. When Twilight was a mermaid, I wonder if she had a horn. [pauses to flip through her book of the movie] She does still have a horn when she’s a seapony. See! And Rarity does! That’s so funny. Hahah!
How about the music? I thought along with the more colorful visuals and big-name supporting cast (which also includes Sia, Zoe Saldana, and Kristin Chenoweth), the biggest improvement over the show was the music. What did you think of the music?
It was lovely.
There you have it. Final question. Should people go see My Little Pony: The Movie?
Yes! It’s amazing, and it’s so fun. And I want to bring this along next time. [holding up her book] I want to go see it again, and I want to bring this too. Only if I don’t lose it.
-Eric Pulsifer (and Daughter)
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