My Little Pony: The Movie
The streets of pony wonderland Equestria are oddly poopfree, and almost impossibly festive.
But as we’ve learned in “Trolls,” the Smurfs franchise and “The Three Amigos,” there is bound to be conflict when you build a society where there is no defense spending and 98 percent of your budget goes to party planning.
“My Little Pony: The Movie” creates a rainbow-hued sparkle-encrusted equine world, then surrounds it with a predictable story and low production values. Putting the words “The Movie” in the title turns out to be a necessary reminder. The film looks like the cable network cartoon, simply expanded to larger physical dimensions for the big screen.
This is not to take away the fun of anyone, young or old, already invested in the “My Little Pony” world. Fly your Brony flag proudly, stop reading reviews of this film, and don’t let any haters ruin your good time.
But “My Little Pony: The Movie” is not a film for the uninitiated. It’s filled with simple animation, characters that are hard to distinguish from each other and songs that are defined by their forgettability. There’s a solid half hour of entertainment here, stretched mercilessly into 1 hour and 39 minutes.
Describing the movie’s plot feels like ordering in bulk from a candy store. Unicorn friendship princess Twilight Sparkle must join her pony friends including Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Applejack to fight off the dark forces of unicorngone-bad Tempest Shadow and the demon Storm King. (The last two voiced, respectively, by Emily Blunt and Liev Schreiber.)
There are positive messages here about camaraderie, and the cynicism-free vibe is refreshing. Equestria is a rainbowand glitter-filled wonderland, as if a Pride parade float ran into a fireworks truck on a cloudless 74-degree day.
But most of the key filmmakers are involved with the popular TV show “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,” and the movie seems like more of a continuation than an upgrade. The jokes are often weak, and the dialogue by squeaky-voiced actors is frequently cringe-inducing for any uninvested adults in the audience. (“We just got our cupcakes handed to us by the worst party crashers ever!”)
The sole aspect of “My Little Pony: The Movie” that feels extra mild is the voice casting of secondary characters, including Blunt, Schreiber, Zoe Saldana as a pirate captain, Kristin Chenoweth as a manic seahorse and Sia as a pony pop star. And bless them all — every one commits to the performance.
Some people clearly had a good time making this film. Whether you have a good time watching it depends almost entirely on your Pony love walking in.