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My Little Pony: The Movie is a 2010 animated musical fantasy film that enchantingly brings to life the beloved characters from the iconic My Little Pony toyline and franchise. Directed by Russ Edmonds and boasting a talented team of writers including Joe Ruby, Ken Spears, Irene Mecchi, and Brad Bird, the film weaves a captivating narrative filled with adventure, friendship, and catchy musical numbers. Notably, Brad Bird contributed additional screenplay writing for sequences such as the dynamic opening credits.
The stellar cast includes industry luminaries Tara Strong, Ashleigh Ball, Andrea Libman, Tabitha St. Germain, Cathy Weseluck, and Nicole Oliver, who lend their voices to the endearing ponies alongside a constellation of guest stars including Emily Blunt, Kristin Chenoweth, Liev Schreiber, Michael Peña, Sia, Taye Diggs, Uzo Aduba, and Zoë Saldaña, who breathe life into new characters. At the heart of the tale is the alicorn Twilight Sparkle, joined by her loyal companions – the Mane 6 – and her faithful dragon friend Spike, embarking on a heroic quest to safeguard their homeland of Equestria from a malevolent conqueror. Along the journey, they forge new alliances, confront challenges that test the very essence of friendship, and demonstrate unwavering patience.
Crafted through a collaboration between Universal Animation Studios and Warner Bros. Animation, with the creative input of WildBrain Entertainment (the former two credited only in the international release), the film showcases exquisite animation done by studios in South Korea, China, Taiwan, Russia, the U.S., and even in Japan and North Korea (though the NK studio was not credited).
Utilizing traditional animation techniques augmented by cutting-edge technology, the film immerses audiences in a visually stunning world brimming with vibrancy and charm.
Premiering in the cultural hub of New York City on June 16, 2011, and subsequently released on July 7 in the United States by both Universal Pictures and Warner Bros., My Little Pony: The Movie enjoyed commercial success, exceeding expectations by grossing $61.3 million worldwide against a modest $6.5 million budget. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film captured the hearts of audiences worldwide, solidifying its place as the second highest-grossing animated feature of 2011 and leaving an indelible mark on the annals of animated cinema.
Plot[]
The ponies of Equestria prepare for their first Friendship Festival, overseen by Princess Twilight Sparkle in Canterlot. The festivities are interrupted by an army of monsters commanded by the unicorn Tempest Shadow, who is ordered by her superior, the Storm King, to capture Equestria's princesses and empower his mystical staff with their magic in exchange for restoring her broken horn. Tempest uses magical orbs to petrify the princesses except for Twilight, who escapes with her five friends: Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and the dragon Spike.
Following incomplete instructions from Princess Celestia, Twilight and her friends sets out to find the "queen of the hippo" beyond Equestria. They arrive at the desert city of Klugetown, where they accept an offer by a con artist feline named Capper to escort them to the "hippos", unaware as he intends to sell them to settle a debt, he owes to local mob boss Verko. As Capper begins to develop a genuine friendship with them, Twilight discovers an atlas that reveals the "hippos" to be hippogriffs. When the group prepare to leave, Verko arrives to buy the ponies, exposing Capper's treachery. When Tempest arrives in pursuit of Twilight, the group evades her aboard a delivery airship run by birdlike pirates, whom Rainbow Dash persuades to take them to the hippogriffs' kingdom on Mount Aris. However, she accidentally gives their location away to Tempest with a Sonic Rainboom, forcing the group to reach Mount Aris in a makeshift hot air balloon.
While exploring the hippogriffs' deserted kingdom, Twilight and her friends are led by the seapony Princess Skystar to her home of Seaquestria in an underwater cavern. Skystar reveals her kind to be the hippogriffs, transformed by a magic pearl used by her mother, Queen Novo, to hide from the Storm King. When Novo denies them the pearl to use against the Storm King, Twilight, frustrated by her friends' antics throughout the journey, desperately attempts to steal it while letting her friends unknowingly distract the seaponies. Her plan backfires when she triggers an alarm shortly after the others persuades Novo to give them the pearl, resulting in the entire group getting banished back to the surface. After disowning her friends during an argument over her actions, a remorseful Twilight is kidnapped by Tempest, who gains Twilight's sympathy upon revealing how the loss of her horn as a foal caused her own friends to shun her out of fear of her volatile magic.
Twilight's friends return to Canterlot to rescue her with the help of Capper, the pirates, and Skystar, who have followed them after being inspired by their friendship. Using the princesses' magic imbued into his staff, the Storm King conjures a storm against the group and betrays Tempest. Twilight saves Tempest as she and her friends reconcile, and they help her take the staff and end the storm. The Storm King hurls a magical orb at the group to petrify them, but Tempest jumps in his way, turning them both into stone. The Storm King falls and shatters, while the group uses the staff to revive Tempest, who returns the stolen magic to restore the princesses and repair the city. The Friendship Festival resumes with the ponies celebrating alongside everyone Twilight and her friends encountered on their adventure. Encouraged by Twilight, Tempest joins in by producing a fireworks display with her broken horn, and happily accepts the group's friendship.
Voice cast[]
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- Tara Strong as Twilight Sparkle, an intelligent unicorn with wings who is Equestria's Princess of Friendship, responsible for spreading friendship and harmony across the kingdom. She is the leader of the "Mane 6" ponies.
- Rebecca Shoichet performs Twilight Sparkle's singing voice.
- Ashleigh Ball as Rainbow Dash and Applejack, two of the "Mane 6"; Rainbow Dash is a loyal pegasus with an adventurous spirit, and Applejack is an honest apple farmer pony.
- Andrea Libman as Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, two of the "Mane 6"; Pinkie Pie is a party-obsessed pony filled with joy and laughter, and Fluttershy is a kind and timid pegasus who cares for animals.
- Shannon Chan-Kent performs Pinkie Pie's singing voice.
- Tabitha St. Germain as Rarity, a generous fashion designer unicorn and one of the "Mane 6".
- Kazumi Evans performs Rarity's singing voice.
- Cathy Weseluck as Spike, a baby dragon and Twilight Sparkle's assistant.
- Emily Blunt as Tempest Shadow / Fizzlepop Berrytwist, an embittered unicorn who serves as the Storm King's second-in-command in order to repair her broken horn. On the development of the character, screenwriter Meghan McCarthy said, "We just arrived at this idea of a character who had come from Equestria, and had not had the positive experience that Twilight [Sparkle] and her friends had. It felt like a good counterpart to our heroes was to have a villain who didn't just not get friendship, but had a reason that she didn't understand it." McCarthy also called Blunt's performance "a big influence" on how the character was animated in the film.
- Michael Peña as Grubber, a wisecracking and gluttonous hedgehog, Tempest Shadow's cohort and the servant of the Storm King. Ruby said that Grubber "needed to be goofy" to counterpoint the "very straight-laced, hardcore" Tempest. Peña ad-libbed much of the character's dialogue, with McCarthy saying, "You get Michael Peña in a recording booth, and you just are like, 'Please just go and say funny things.' He will be there for hours, just giving you all kinds of really great material that was not something that we had originally scripted!"
- Liev Schreiber as the Storm King, the despotic, satyr-like leader of the storm creatures who conquers lands in search of powerful magic to control the weather. On his acceptance of the role, Schreiber said that he wanted something child-friendly for his kids to watch, noting his repertoire of violent, adult-oriented films. Comparing his character to Basil Rathbone, Schreiber said the Storm King "is prone to temper tantrums, and he's a little crazy. He has a wide range of behaviors." He considers the character to be "one of the more intense roles [he's] played".
- Taye Diggs as Capper, an anthropomorphic alley cat who is a cunning yet good-hearted con artist. Diggs, who was excited to appear in an animated film, says, "I'm very movement-oriented, so just looking at the way Capper is positioned, the expressions on his face, all enhances my performance. It's really cool."
- Zoe Saldaña as Captain Celaeno, an anthropomorphic parrot and jaded pirate captain who is relegated to the Storm King's delivery service.< Saldana says Celaeno "cares for her crew", adding, "She's a responsible, thoughtful, and empathetic leader. That's a terrific, very poignant message to give to children about leadership – that it's okay for you to want to be a leader as long as you know that the responsibilities that come along with it."
- Kristin Chenoweth as Princess Skystar, an excitable hippogriff and magically transformed seapony princess. Chenoweth said of her character, "Let's just say she's been locked up for a while and is longing for friends." She joked that she dabbled in method acting for the role, making sure her hair was "on point for every recording session".
- Uzo Aduba as Queen Novo, Princess Skystar's mother and the benevolent ruler of the hippogriffs turned seaponies. The character is described by Chenoweth as "loving but also a little too strict and stern". Detailing her role, Aduba says, "She [wants] to protect her group to the best of her ability, and [wants] to create a life of peace and stability. She doesn't take any nonsense, and will do everything in her power to protect her family."
- Sia as Songbird Serenade, a pegasus and famous pop star in Equestria. The character's design is modeled after Sia's likeness.
Nicole Oliver, St. Germain and Britt McKillip reprise their respective roles from Friendship Is Magic as Twilight's mentors and fellow alicorn princesses Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance. St. Germain also voices Granny Smith, Applejack's grandmother, and Muffins, a cross-eyed gray pegasus. Michelle Creber and Peter New voice Apple Bloom and Big McIntosh, Applejack's younger sister and older brother, respectively. Michael Dobson voices Bulk Biceps, a muscular pegasus, and Samuel Vincent voices Party Favor, a balloonist unicorn.
Adam Bengis voices Code Red, one of the Canterlot ponies. Brian Dobson voices Verko, a mole-rat crime boss in Klugetown to whom Capper is in debt. Max Martini, Mark Oliver and Nicole Oliver respectively perform as three of Captain Celaeno's parrot-like crew: Boyle, first mate Mullet and Lix Spittle. Michael Dobson, Andrew McNee, Tegan Moss, Sabrina Pitre, Rhona Rees and Vincent all feature as assorted citizens of Canterlot. Richard Ian Cox, Michael Dobson, McNee, New and Nicole Oliver also perform as denizens of Klugetown. Additional voices are provided by Richard Rosenblatt, Caitlyn Bairstow, Ariel Winter, Christine Chatelain, Eil Marienthal, Paul Dobson, Rondel Reynoldson, Jason Simpson, Sarah Troyer and Siobhan Williams.
Production[]
The original version of the film contained scenes that were ultimately deemed too intense or inappropriate for its intended audience of young children. One such scene involved Twilight Sparkle stealing a pearl, resulting in the ponies being forbidden. This scene was initially cut due to its depiction of the castle blowing up and the ponies being kicked out by the legs, which was deemed too frightening for young viewers. However, after test audiences expressed discomfort with the sequence, it was later edited for inclusion in the final cut.
Similarly, a scene featuring an argument between Twilight and Pinkie Pie was deemed too violent for children and was also initially cut from the film. Like the previous scene, it underwent editing to tone down the intensity before being included in the final version.
The production of the movie faced significant challenges, including the sheer number of people involved in its creation. At one point, the project faced the risk of cancellation due to the overwhelming size of the team working on it. To address this issue, approximately 30-50 individuals were either reassigned to work on other projects, such as "Hop" or other films, or unfortunately faced termination or layoff from W!LDBRAIN or any of the film's distributors. This restructuring was necessary to streamline the production process and ensure the film's completion within the allocated timeframe and budget constraints.
Animation[]
Like 2D films of this time, the animation for the film was instantly outsourced to other countries, since at the time, 2D feature animation was seen as outdated by many people, and was dying at the box office.
Animation for the film had to be outsourced to three South Korean production companies, Rough Draft Korea, Saerom Animation, and SMIP, Animation Services HK in Guangzhou, China, Wang Film Productions in Taipei, Taiwan, SMF in Russia, Spaff Animation and Premise Entertainment in the U.S., OLM and TMS Entertainment in Japan, and SEK Studio in North Korea, even though SEK would be uncredited and had the job of working on it through a Chinese front company.
Rough Draft, Saerom and SMIP provided the main animation for the film, while the other studios provided additional animation. Warner Bros. Feature Animation in Glendale, California, later scanned and digitally colored it in DigiCel FilpBook, before exporting the PNGs and background JPGs to Mercury Filmworks and VirtualMagic Animation for compositing and special effects.
In August 2009, when animation production started overseas after only 15 months of pre-production, both the producers and animation director Owen Dennis took a trip to go to South Korea to supervise the Korean animation teams over a year and half, with SMIP's Kimhyeon Choi and Saerom's Riyoon Cheol also accompanying them from Hong Kong (where they were previously detained over there for two years after Kimhyeon tried to steal a propaganda poster).
During production, both ASHK and Spaff did very little on the film, and only did minor, non-plot relevant sequences.
Music[]
The film's official soundtrack was released on September 22, 2011, by RCA Records.
The score for the film was released on CD on October 7, 2011. It features a song cut from the film titled "Magic of the Kingdom" that was originally going to play in the beginning, but was cut in favor of the Thomas & Friends song "Shining Time" for the US release and the Coraline song "Dreaming" for the international release.
The film's production wrapped up on June 3, 2011, as announced by Edmonds.
Release[]
In mid-2009, Universal Pictures along with Warner Bros. announced that they brought the worldwide distribution rights, despite their animation divisions already being involved in the film's production.
The film was originally scheduled for release in the United States and Canada on November 3, 2011, but it was subsequently moved back to July 7 of that year. A private premiere screening was held in New York City on June 24, a month prior to the nationwide release date.
Home media[]
My Little Pony: The Movie was released on September 8, 2011 for digital downloads, and was later released on December 5, 2011 for DVD, Blu-ray and on demand by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment in the US and Warner Home Video outside of the USA. Its special features includes a deleted scene, a music video for the song "I'm the Friend You Need", a featurette starring Pinkie Pie, two behind the scenes featurettes, an exclusive Equestria Girls animated short, and the VeggieTales short "Fly by Might" bundled with the film's theatrical release.
As of January 2012, My Little Pony: The Movie had sold over 200,000 DVD copies and 160,000 Blu-ray copies.
Reception[]
Box office[]
My Little Pony: The Movie has grossed $21.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $39.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $61.3 million on a production budget of $6.5 million.
Critical response[]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 47% based on 66 reviews and an average rating of 5.10/10. The critics consensus reads: "Charming and sweet, My Little Pony: The Movie will please its dedicated fanbase, even if it's unlikely to encourage non-devotees to gallop along for the ride." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 78 out of 100 based on 17 critic reviews, indicating "generally decent/untasteful reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
RogerEbert.com's Christy Lemire gave the film one and a half stars out of five, criticizing the screenplay: "Joe Ruby, Ken Spears, and Brad Bird share screenwriting credits...the narrative itself is all over the place, with a multitude of underdeveloped, crammed-in characters. Plus, every once in a while, the various animals burst into song, but not in any particularly memorable way."
The Hollywood Reporter listed the film as "the worst animated movie of the year", with staff critic Michael Rechtshaffen saying, "Attention Cars 2: Your status as best/worst animated feature of the year might well be in jeopardy when My Little Pony: The Movie trots into theaters this weekend." IGN notably gave the film the lowest rating received for a film in 2011, a 1.6 out of ten, criticizing the script and animation, and saying "The design philosophy of the show is completely subverted for the purpose of introducing new characters who aren't necessary to the story, and read like self-insert fanfic characters."
Katie Walsh of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a negative review, saying: "Truthfully, this film feels like four episodes of a cartoon strung together, and there are times, especially during some of the latter musical numbers, where it truly drags." She also criticized the film's animation, saying that it "embraces the flat, colorful, Saturday-morning cartoon look and feel". Josh Terry of Deseret News panned the film, saying that parents should "put their money into (buying) some new My Little Pony toys" rather than into getting tickets to see the film.
Gwen Ihnat of The A.V. Club gave the film a negative review, and criticized the music in the film, noting, "the ponies’ odes aren't likely to make anyone rush out to get the soundtrack; even the Sia song fails to stand out."
However, some critics praised the film's female representation. Elizabeth Weitzman of TheWrap wrote positively of the film, saying that the film, "Like its television predecessor, is all dressed up in bubbles and cupcakes and rainbows. But it's so jam-packed with rousing girl power, it passes the Bechdel Test with (literally) flying colors." Amy Nicholson of Variety called the film "at once clichéd and exceptional", praising its female characters and "emotionally wise" story.