109 - My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

    Picking up at the end of the third season, Twilight Sparkle's crown is stolen on the night before her coronation, and she is sent into another reality to reclaim the crown from Sunset Shimmer.  Upon traveling to the other reality, she finds herself in a human form, and navigating a high school in her quest.
    The trailer for this was a real source of argument among the brony community.  There were a lot of things to be worried about.  It looked like they were transplanting the core characters into a high school setting, and giving them a normal teen comedy/romance story to work with.  There was the implied romantic interest between Twilight and some guy.  The re-design of the characters was also a bit annoying.  They looked like the Bratz equivalent of the ponies.
    Despite these problems, I'm pleased to say that it's actually a pretty good movie.  For a tie-in to a children's cartoon, it's well written, well animated, and it tells a satisfying story that is rewarding for fans of the show.  It's long enough that it doesn't skip over needed points, and short enough that it doesn't feel like they're just padding things out.
    I should address some of the points that fans were worried about.
    The high school style plot is fit over a normal MLP-style story.
    The character designs look much worse outside of the context of the movie.  They do look like they have absurdly skinny arms and legs, but it seems that everyone has them.  The lankiness of their design actually serves a purpose.  Also, the bizarre quality of the color schemes that the movie uses is amazing.  It actually makes it clear that this story does not take place in the real world.  There are people with green skin wandering the hallways.  Twilight's purple skin isn't out of place.
    The romantic subplot was pretty restrained.  It's mostly just clear that Twilight is attracted to this guy, and he seems a little into her.  There's no kiss.  This seems to be a way to introduce the guy into the pony universe.
    The songs are a little interesting.  They're more electronic, which I don't care for.  There are some interesting moments, particularly in the Equestria Girls song.  There's a tempo change that seemed like it would be pretty difficult, and the chord changes go in a direction I wasn't expecting.
    Cathy had felt pretty convinced that this wouldn't be good.  I was a little wary, but I still held out hope that the people working on the show know what makes it work.  She was pleased, and I was too.