Some Thoughts on Equestria Girls

I've seen a lot of negative response online for the new Equestria Girls movie, and I'll admit it...when I first saw the promo pictures and trailers on the movie, I was a bit skeptical myself.  Like I said in the post where I first mentioned Equestria Girls, I loved that My Little Pony was just about ponies and not another group of skinny high school girls in short skirts.

After getting a chance to watch the movie, however, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.  In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I actually ordered the movie through Amazon. :}

I know that many parents (myself included) have had some definite concerns with EG, so I thought I'd try to address some of those.  As has been discussed before, the characters are all skinny and wear little mini skirts.  It would have been nice if they would have chosen a more realistic body type.  Then again, the fact that the students have green or purple skin shows that they weren't exactly going for realism anyway. ;)  Because of this, the skinny factor didn't bother me as much as it would in, say, a live action film.  The whole thing is very obviously stylized and pretend from the get-go.  I wish they'd been dressed a bit more modestly, for sure. And let's be honest...would any of you have pictured a little mini skirt as a human Rainbow Dash's clothing of choice?  I would think she'd be more of a shorts or pants girl, myself.  And surely Applejack would be just as happy in a pair of blue jeans or cords or something.  I doubt that the type of work she'd have to do at Sweet Apple Acres would be easy to do in a mini skirt.  ;)

With a high school film, there is usually high school drama and romance involved.  And it's true, Twilight's quest to retrieve her stolen crown ends up turning into a quest to become princess of the fall formal (her crown is the prize).  There are some typical attitude issues and conflicts between students, but through it all, Twilight keeps going and stands up for others. Twilight does end up with a bit of a romantic interest as well.  Here's the exciting part, though.  It remains no more than an innocent little crush, where Twilight blushes every time he talks to her.  She is asked to the dance, and the couple share a dance that has no physical contact whatsoever.  (This is basically due to the fact that Twilight is comically dancing like a pony would, and in a sweet moment, he joins her, even though the dance is a bit odd from a human perspective.)  They bump into each other a couple of times, they touch hands when trying to pick up the same item, he offers her his arm once, and I believe she gives him a rather impulsive hug at one point.  But that's pretty much it.  No kissing, no overly romanticized plot line, no hanging all over each other.  In fact, the whole high school student body seems to be this way.  I remember one quick clip of a couple holding hands.  Romance is definitely not the focus.  

Even better, the boy Twilight befriends is a sweet, thoughtful gentleman (though for some reason, some fans seem to find him "boring"...I beg to differ).  When Twilight is falsely accused of something, he figures out what really happens and stands up for her (in a rather quick and far-too-easy-to-solve manner, but hey, it is a kid's show). ;)  He treats Twilight with kindness even when she does things that are awkward or different due to her difficulty adjusting to the human world.  And there's also a fun bonus to the character that I won't mention specifically because I don't want to spoil it for all of you. ;)

Many have been concerned that the six friends have been turned into cookie-cutter images of one another, losing their unique personalities, but I think this is a misconception due to the marketing.  The girls retain their pony personalities, but are at odds with one another.  Through Twilight's friendship and insight, they repair their damaged relationships, all of which were due to misunderstandings and deception from another student.

And just like the TV series, friendship truly is the theme of this show.  The high school has the typical "groups" of students (jocks, nerds, musicians, etc.).  Twilight wonders why they're all separated.  Through Twilight's influence, the students come together through their differences and work towards a common goal, a refreshing message for any age group.  Twilight and the human counterparts of her pony friends ultimately save the day through their friendship for each other.  And after all is said and done, they extend the hand of friendship to the villain of the piece after she apologizes.

Of course, this story is not without a few flaws.  There is much of the arguing and yelling typical of MLP at the beginning of the movie which might discourage some parents.  I know my girls tend to get snippy with each other when they've watched too many of the argumentative MLP episodes. :}

The music is also a bit rocky for my taste, and at least one of the songs features the girls shaking their hips back and forth.  It's not overly suggestive, but I wanted to mention it since that is a sensitive issue.

There is also, as usual, a bit of magic involved in the plotline (pretty necessary in a movie with portals and talking ponies). ;)  The "magic of friendship" is used to defeat the villain.

And speaking of the villain, she undergoes a pretty creepy transformation towards the end of the film which might be a little too intense for some younger viewers (including my younger girls).  I would say it's about the same scary-wise as Queen Chrysalis in "A Canterlot Wedding", maybe slightly worse.  She also hypnotizes the entire student body (aside from the "Mane 6") so they will serve her, but Twilight and her friends stop her before the students do anything.

Overall, though, I found myself enjoying this movie much more than I thought I would.  It was fun watching Twilight try to adjust to all of the changes of a human world.  Even more fun was seeing all of the human versions of ponies in the alternate world...there were a few hilarious cameos (watch for Big McIntosh, Granny Smith, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Vinyl Scratch (or DJ Pon3, to use her official name) and Trixie Lulamoon especially). ;)

I think what impressed me the most, aside from the important themes of friendship, working together, and forgiveness, was the overall story arch that fit right into the regular TV series.  The movie starts shortly after Season 3 left off, with Twilight trying to adjust to the changes and responsibilities of her new role as a princess, and feeling unsure and inadequate.  Through the lessons and experiences she encounters in the human world, she gains confidence in her ability to lead and inspire others.  And after dealing with human legs and arms, her new wings, which have been driving her crazy, aren't such a huge obstacle anymore. 

There's just enough in Equestria Girls that I probably won't show the whole thing to my daughters for a while, and it's not the most profound movie ever made, but I thoroughly enjoyed it for myself.  Do I still prefer the original to the spin-off?  Of course!  I'll most likely always prefer the actual My Little Pony episodes for the reasons I covered in the post I linked above.  Still, I thought that Equestria Girls was a fun little movie and has some merit of its own.  If it ends up being made into a TV spin-off series, I'd just have to take it episode by episode to decide whether or not I enjoyed the series as much as the introductory movie.

In keeping with the Equestria Girls theme, I'll be reviewing two of the dolls later this week, so come back soon! :)

Have any of you had a chance to see the movie yet?  What were your thoughts?