I like My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. I think it is an entertaining program that doesn’t talk down to its audience. And then this comes along. I have mixed feelings about Equestria Girls, a film that actually saw a limited theatrical release. This doesn’t mean it’s a bad film, it is short (just over an hour) and feels like an experiment in side-story telling. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if this comes into play when “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” starts up its 4th season soon.
What follows in the next 2 paragraphs will contain some spoilers for season 3 finale of the television show as well as some mild spoilers for the movie. If you haven’t seen how season 3 ends, you should before watching Equestria Girls.
After the events of season 3 where Twilight Sparkle was crowned as a princess, we see her struggling with her new position. Where she used to be a student, her new position doesn’t come with an instruction manual. Adding to her fears of not being ready Twilight Sparkle’s crown is stolen. In the ensuing chase the thief and crown disappear through a portal to another world.
The portal leads to another world where the characters are human versions of Twilight Sparkle’s friends – and by entering the portal she herself is transformed. Not only does she need to figure out how to navigate this new world, but get her crown back before the portal closes.
Much of the story is the classic “fish out of water” as well as reinforcing the underlying theme of the television series about friendship. While it’s not much of a spoiler to say that the horse-based characters of My Little Pony appear as humans in this film, and this could be seen as an attempt to get more of an audience, but I think it’s just a way for the writers to explore different aspects of the characters.
My 8 year old daughter liked My Little Pony: Equestria because “it was kind of adventurous.” Did she like this story as much as the regular series? Yes and no. “It was almost like not part of the series.”
The DVD arrives with a few special features, most prominent of which is a “making of” featurette that runs a little over 20 minutes. Then there is a printable poster, a bit about fans doing some cosplay and karaoke songs.
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls my not be one of the essential pieces of the new generation of the franchise, but it’s a solid entry for fans and could provide a decent entry for new ones.