Review: "My Little Pony - The Movie"

“I am so over the whole cute pony thing!” exclaims the Storm King, the antagonist of the story.

Some parents in the audience might feel the same way. But if there is one thing that sets Lauren Faust’s version of the My Little Pony franchise apart, it is self-awareness. This movie knows exactly how cheesy it is, and goes ahead anyway.

What the more cynical viewers might see as cheesiness is, actually, a deliberate moral message. The full title of the popular TV series, now in its seventh season, is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. This means that the heroine, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and her five best friends can always find a peaceful solution to their problems, whether it’s a squabble between co-workers or an unleashed god of chaos.

In this movie, the characters’ values of trust, empathy and teamwork are put to the test like never before.

It begins when a flying warship crashes the ponies’ national holiday, and its commander, Tempest, demands their unconditional surrender.

“I’m sure we can talk this out,” says Twilight.

Tempest responds by setting an army loose on the city.

Having barely escaped, Twilight and her friends embark on a dangerous mission to find the Hippogriffs, a distantly related tribe they believe might help them. They quickly discover just how dangerous the world is outside their happy homeland of Equestria. Asking for help earns contempt, trusting a stranger leads them into a trap, and showing off their skills to impress a potential ally only draws the enemy soldiers’ attention. If doing the right thing doesn’t work, doing the wrong thing might be the only option.

“This isn’t Equestria,” an anxious Twilight snaps. “You can’t expect everything to work out!”

The question this movie asks is, do the ends justify the means? Is it all right to compromise your principles in order to survive a national crisis? Or should you hold on to them more than ever?

The Mane Six are not the only ones with ethical challenges to deal with. The Storm King, self-proclaimed “super-powerful bad guy”, may be a disappointingly flat character, but the effect he has on his subjects is surprisingly realistic for a children’s movie.

The various groups of characters the heroines run into represent the ways people cope with living in a dictatorship. Commander Tempest follows the Storm King to gain power and to channel a private anger. A flock of pirate parrots turned cargo haulers obey in order to survive. Still others, such as a charming feline con artist, are driven to crime by the harshness of their lives. 

Can a group of naïve young mares win the allegiance of creatures who gave up hope a long time ago?

In a time where each remake of a popular movie seems to be darker than the last, My Little Pony’s unashamed idealism makes for a refreshing change.