My Little Pony: The Movie
Director: Jayson Thiessen
Cast: Tara Strong, Andrea Libman, Tabitha St. Germain, Ashleigh Ball, Emily Blunt, Kristen Chenowith, Taye Diggs
A dark force threatens Equestria, and the Mane 6 - Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity - embark on an unforgettable adventure beyond Equestria where they meet new friends and exciting challenges on a quest to use the magic of friendship to save their home.
Friendship is a very powerful theme in this film and nowhere is it illustrated more perfectly than in the character of Princess Twilight, herself, as well as the friends she has made along her journey towards embracing her role as the Princess of Friendship. As Twilight embarks on this journey, her character is illustrated perfectly in her song. “I am the Princess of Friendship…that is more than just a crown…It’s a promise to bring friends together…To not let other ponies down.
Although Twilight has become the Princess of Friendship, when the story begins, one can see that this beautiful unicorn has not yet embraced her role as the Princess of Friendship. Although she is an Alicorn, and her magic is what makes her unique among her friends, Twilight does not consider herself to be equal to the other Princesses and she lacks the confidence to truly embrace her own identity and her magic. Up until this point, Twilight has always had the other Princesses, her friends, the Elements of Harmony, her magic, and her books to help her find her way out of trouble. While she has wrapped herself in these many layers of protection, it is only when all her protective layers are stripped away, and she is at the mercy of the malevolent villainess, Tempest Shadow (Emily Blunt), that Twilight understands and embraces her identity as the Princess of Friendship. When Tempest has Twilight held captive, she tells Twilight a story of how she was once a young unicorn who believed in friendship…until that belief in friendship cost her everything…her magic, her friends, her home, and most of all, her identity as a unicorn. Now she is alone, and her horn is shattered. In a way, she and Twilight are one and the same…both yearning for something just out of their reach.
The perfect irony of Twilight’s friendship dilemma is that while she, herself, is reluctant to trust both her friends and the new creatures the Mane 6 encounter beyond the borders of Equestria to help her, it is these same creatures – her friends, and Capper, the Pirates, and Princess Skystar, - who unite together when they are at their lowest point to rescue Twilight and Equestria during their final battle with the Storm King. When they escape from Canterlot, Twilight tells her friends they do not have to follow her on her quest to save their world… but, as always, her friends demonstrate their loyalty and unbreakable friendship to her by uniting with her to save Equestria. The creatures they meet on their journey chose to help the Mane 6 because they were each inspired by the small acts of friendship that the Mane 6 shared with them during their respective encounters.
When the Mane 6 encounter a suave and sassy cat named Capper (Taye Diggs) on their journey, Rarity restores Capper’s coat to thank him for helping her friends on their quest. Although Capper is baffled by Rarity’s generosity, he remembers it when he is asked by Tempest to betray the Mane 6…and this memory of Rarity’s kind gesture is what compels Capper to join the Mane 6’s cause. When the Mane 6 encounter the Pirates after stowing away in their airship to hide from Tempest, Rainbow Dash inspires Captain Celaeno and her motley crew to break the shackles of subjugation that has enslaved them to the Storm King’s service and go back to being awesome, bad-ass air pirates. When Tempest threatens the Pirates that she will destroy their ship if they do not relinquish the “Pony Princess”, once again, the Pirates remember Rainbow’s words…that they had a choice to make…and they chose to aid the Mane 6, rather than betray them to Tempest and they, too, join the fight. Finally, when the Mane 6 reaches Seaquestria (the Hippogriff’s kingdom) they try to persuade Queen Novo, the ruler of the Hippogriff’s, to give them her magic pearl. Although Queen Novo initially banishes the Mane 6 from her kingdom after discovering Twilight trying to steal the precious pearl, Pinkie Pie’s wisdom inspires Princess Skystar to give the ponies another chance and she, too, aids them on their quest. And it is ultimately when Twilight sees the seeds of friendship she has unknowingly sown come to full bloom that she truly embraces her role as the Princess of Friendship.
I will be honest and confess that when I first saw the trailer for this movie, I knew nothing about the show, and I was of the belief that no remake could better the original My Little Pony from the 80's. I will concede that My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has proven me wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The animation is gorgeous, the songs are very catchy, the casting is flawless (particularly for Tara Strong who plays Princess Twilight Sparkle and Emily Blunt who plays Tempest Shadow) and the message is one that both children and adults can appreciate. This is definitely a movie (and a series) that I would highly recommend.
© 2021 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved
Director: Jayson Thiessen
Cast: Tara Strong, Andrea Libman, Tabitha St. Germain, Ashleigh Ball, Emily Blunt, Kristen Chenowith, Taye Diggs
A dark force threatens Equestria, and the Mane 6 - Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity - embark on an unforgettable adventure beyond Equestria where they meet new friends and exciting challenges on a quest to use the magic of friendship to save their home.
Friendship is a very powerful theme in this film and nowhere is it illustrated more perfectly than in the character of Princess Twilight, herself, as well as the friends she has made along her journey towards embracing her role as the Princess of Friendship. As Twilight embarks on this journey, her character is illustrated perfectly in her song. “I am the Princess of Friendship…that is more than just a crown…It’s a promise to bring friends together…To not let other ponies down.
Although Twilight has become the Princess of Friendship, when the story begins, one can see that this beautiful unicorn has not yet embraced her role as the Princess of Friendship. Although she is an Alicorn, and her magic is what makes her unique among her friends, Twilight does not consider herself to be equal to the other Princesses and she lacks the confidence to truly embrace her own identity and her magic. Up until this point, Twilight has always had the other Princesses, her friends, the Elements of Harmony, her magic, and her books to help her find her way out of trouble. While she has wrapped herself in these many layers of protection, it is only when all her protective layers are stripped away, and she is at the mercy of the malevolent villainess, Tempest Shadow (Emily Blunt), that Twilight understands and embraces her identity as the Princess of Friendship. When Tempest has Twilight held captive, she tells Twilight a story of how she was once a young unicorn who believed in friendship…until that belief in friendship cost her everything…her magic, her friends, her home, and most of all, her identity as a unicorn. Now she is alone, and her horn is shattered. In a way, she and Twilight are one and the same…both yearning for something just out of their reach.
The perfect irony of Twilight’s friendship dilemma is that while she, herself, is reluctant to trust both her friends and the new creatures the Mane 6 encounter beyond the borders of Equestria to help her, it is these same creatures – her friends, and Capper, the Pirates, and Princess Skystar, - who unite together when they are at their lowest point to rescue Twilight and Equestria during their final battle with the Storm King. When they escape from Canterlot, Twilight tells her friends they do not have to follow her on her quest to save their world… but, as always, her friends demonstrate their loyalty and unbreakable friendship to her by uniting with her to save Equestria. The creatures they meet on their journey chose to help the Mane 6 because they were each inspired by the small acts of friendship that the Mane 6 shared with them during their respective encounters.
When the Mane 6 encounter a suave and sassy cat named Capper (Taye Diggs) on their journey, Rarity restores Capper’s coat to thank him for helping her friends on their quest. Although Capper is baffled by Rarity’s generosity, he remembers it when he is asked by Tempest to betray the Mane 6…and this memory of Rarity’s kind gesture is what compels Capper to join the Mane 6’s cause. When the Mane 6 encounter the Pirates after stowing away in their airship to hide from Tempest, Rainbow Dash inspires Captain Celaeno and her motley crew to break the shackles of subjugation that has enslaved them to the Storm King’s service and go back to being awesome, bad-ass air pirates. When Tempest threatens the Pirates that she will destroy their ship if they do not relinquish the “Pony Princess”, once again, the Pirates remember Rainbow’s words…that they had a choice to make…and they chose to aid the Mane 6, rather than betray them to Tempest and they, too, join the fight. Finally, when the Mane 6 reaches Seaquestria (the Hippogriff’s kingdom) they try to persuade Queen Novo, the ruler of the Hippogriff’s, to give them her magic pearl. Although Queen Novo initially banishes the Mane 6 from her kingdom after discovering Twilight trying to steal the precious pearl, Pinkie Pie’s wisdom inspires Princess Skystar to give the ponies another chance and she, too, aids them on their quest. And it is ultimately when Twilight sees the seeds of friendship she has unknowingly sown come to full bloom that she truly embraces her role as the Princess of Friendship.
I will be honest and confess that when I first saw the trailer for this movie, I knew nothing about the show, and I was of the belief that no remake could better the original My Little Pony from the 80's. I will concede that My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has proven me wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The animation is gorgeous, the songs are very catchy, the casting is flawless (particularly for Tara Strong who plays Princess Twilight Sparkle and Emily Blunt who plays Tempest Shadow) and the message is one that both children and adults can appreciate. This is definitely a movie (and a series) that I would highly recommend.
© 2021 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved