Sulky baddies undermine Pony fun
Not to be confused with the 1986 movie of the same name that featured Rhea Perlman, Madeline Kahn, Tony Randall and Danny DeVito, this candy-coloured animated musical offers undemanding fare for under-sixes and bronies alike.
Events this time centre on Equestria’s Friendship Festival. It’s Princess Twilight Sparkle’s (Tara Strong) time to shine, yet she’s plagued by doubt. ‘‘What if no pony makes a new friend,’’ she frets, while also sweating on all the party preparations and the happiness of star guest Songbird Serenade (Sia).
However, those concerns become the least of her worries when their mountaintop kingdom is invaded by troops of Storm King (Liev Schreiber).
Led by disfigured and disaffected unicorn Tempest (Emily Blunt), they demand the ponies’ complete and total surrender. Their plan is to capture the four princesses and harness their power so the Storm King can rule with magic, as well as an iron fist.
But somehow, Twilight Sparkle and her squad manage to evade their grasp and, with the help of some new friends, seek to find a way to face down Tempest and the Storm King and defeat them.
A kind of reverse Smurfs (a matriarchal society with the token male – a faithful assistant dragon named Spike), the Ponies have been entertaining pre- and primary schoolers (as well as more than a few adult males) and pushing plastic toys for more than 35 years.
But after dominating the 1980s (when 150 million ponies were sold), times were tough for one of Hasbro’s mane attractions. Only the third attempted revival stuck, resulting in the 2010 series Friendship is Magic and now this movie.
As with other similar franchises, such as Disney’s Fairies, the story places a big emphasis on delivering life lessons (some twee, some more pertinent) in among the preppy pop tunes and knockabout action.
There are some gags for the grown-ups – look out for nods to The Exorcist and The Wizard of Oz – as well as some not-so-subtle Hasbro product placement: ‘‘Hungry? Hippos,’’ asks one pony of their new Hippogriff mates.
There’s also a healthy amount of cynicism (‘‘I hate epic adventures,’’ bemoans Spike, as the journey seems interminable) to dissipate a potential tidal wave of saccharine action.
However, your tolerance for nearly two hours of at times garish, throwback animation (there’s also a five-minute Hanazuki short) will also depend on how many empowering songs and equine wordplay you (and your kids) can handle in one sitting. – James Croot Sir David Attenborough narrates this new, seven-part follow-up to the 2001 series about our oceans. Filming took place over the course of more than four years, involving 125 expeditions across 39 countries. More than 6000 hours of underwater dive footage was captured. This week’s premiere episode ( One Ocean), takes us on a journey that includes the depths of New Zealand’s own waters, where false killer whales have a unique relationship with the bottleneck dolphins.
Trust Me, 8.45pm, Sunday, TVNZ1
New four-part UK drama in which a desperate former nurse ( Broadchurch‘ s Jodie Whittaker) steals the identity of her best friend, in order to begin a new life as a doctor. ‘‘As bogus doctor Cath Hardacre, Whittaker radiated the quality of tensile steel primed to snap,’’ wrote The Telegraph’s Ed Power.
Brian Johnson’s A Life on the Road, 8.35pm, Tuesday, Prime
The AC/DC frontman hosts this six-part series in which he talks about touring with some of music’s greatest ever rockers. Those featured include Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, The Police’s Sting, Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason, Led This 2016 BBC documentary, follows Chris Bavin, a greengrocer by trade and a carnivore by nature, who wants to know if he can keep meat in his diet and stay healthy. He teams up with top scientists to put meat under the microscope and examine it as never before. They follow 40 volunteers on a groundbreaking study to find out exactly how much meat is good for us, testing whether paying more for chicken makes it any better for us, discovering a way to dramatically reduce the health risks associated with processed meats and revealing an unlikely lean supermeat that won’t break the bank.
Vodafone Music Awards, 8.30pm, Thursday, Three
A performance by Kiwi music superstar Lorde is likely to be the highlight of this year’s edition of New Zealand music’s big awards night. Hosted by Jono Pryor and Ben Boyce, the show will also feature songs by SWIDT, Theia, Teeks and Devilskin.