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Monthly Archives: December 2014

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews ~ Season Four, Episodes Twenty-Five and Twenty-Six: “Twilight’s Kingdom”

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by pcclsky in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Four, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Applejack, Discord, Fluttershy, Keys of Harmony, Lord Tirek, My Little Pony, Pinkie Pie, Princess Cadance, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess of Friendship, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Power, Rarity, review, Scorpan, Tartarus, Tirek, Twilight Sparkle, Twilight's Kingdom

Synopsis:

Following a summit where she found her only duty was unfurling a banner, Princess Twilight Sparkle is beginning to wonder why she’s a princess at all when she seems to be irrelevant to Equestria, and is despondent in spite of Celestia, Luna, and Cadance’s encouragement. That night, Princess Celestia has a vision of a shriveled, withered demon ambushing a unicorn and absorbing his magic, partially regenerating as a result. She calls the other princesses together and announces that this is “Lord Tirek”, a demon who came to Equestria with his brother Scorpan in search of magic power to devour and grow strong off of. Yet Scorpan ended up befriending the ponies and siding with them, helping Celestia and Luna strip Tirek of his power and lock him in Tartarus. However, he’s now escaped and regained enough power to start absorbing it from unicorns to rebuild his full strength. While Cadance suggests Twilight deal with it, Celestia disagrees and sends Discord, much to her shock as well as that of the Mane Six. Before leaving, Discord mentions the locked diamond chest and suggests they take a second look at the diary. On doing so, Twilight realizes all of the girls have experienced points where their “virtue” was put to the test, succeeded, demonstrated that to another, and received something in return (all the rainbow-shimmering objects). The girls take these objects to the chest and they turn into the Keys of Harmony, each one to a lock…but Twilight’s is still missing. Soon after, Celestia summons Twilight again, this time to Canterlot, and reveals that Tirek has appealed to Discord’s desire for the freedom to do as he pleases and has gotten him to renounce his new friendship and instead join him in becoming stronger so he can spread chaos once again over Equestria. Now Tirek is absorbing the power of pegasi and earth ponies as well so that only he’ll be able to control the weather and make things grow. Realizing all that’s left is to take alicorn magic and become all-powerful, the princesses announce they have to give it up.

While Twilight is ready to give up her power with the others, it turns out she’s the “ace in the hole” as Tirek isn’t aware of the existence of a fourth alicorn. The other princesses give up all their power to Twilight Sparkle and send her away. As Twilight struggles to gain control over the god-like power she now possesses, Tirek and Discord storm into Canterlot and, on being unable to absorb any alicorn magic from the three drained princesses, the former throws them into Tartarus as revenge. Soon after, Tirek presents Discord with a medallion from Scorpan as a symbol of their partnership and Tirek’s loyalty. As it turns out, Discord (still longing a bit for friendship) waited until he got such a sign before spilling his guts about the fourth alicorn princess. While Twilight is away practicing her new power, Discord returns to Ponyville and betrays the rest of the Mane Six, imprisoning them and having Tirek drain their power. Yet immediately after that, Tirek announces he’s strong enough to have no more use for Discord and drains his power as well, and the medallion he gave him was meaningless to him all along…causing Discord to finally feel the pain of being “betrayed by a friend” firsthand. Tirek soon tracks down Twilight and engages in a battle with her, destroying the treehouse library in the process, but, in spite of all the power he’s gained, Twilight’s combined alicorn power makes her an even match and the fight is a stalemate. Instead, Tirek offers Twilight’s friends’ lives in exchange for the alicorn magic. Twilight hesitates, but ends up agreeing on the condition he release “all” her friends…including Discord. The deal is made and Twilight loses all of her power while Tirek grows to monstrous size and begins to destroy Equestria. Discord sorrowfully apologizes to Fluttershy and the others, saying he was a fool for thinking Tirek could have offered him something “better than friendship”, and he gives the medallion to Twilight as a sign of his sincerity. Thinking this might be the final key, the group runs to the chest and uses it, and it works…opening the chest and transforming the Mane Six into their Rainbow Power forms. Tirek tries to destroy them only to discover even with his new power he can’t even leave a mark, and they, in turn, blast him with their combined strength to drain him of all the power he stole and seal him back in Tartarus. The god-like Mane Six travel through Equestria restoring everything Tirek absorbed before returning to Ponyville and reverting to their true forms, only to see the chest “plant itself” in the midst of Ponyville and grow into a castle “themed” like the Elements of Harmony. The three other princesses are freed from Tartarus and arrive, and announce that Princess Twilight Sparkle, as well as her friends, now have a “purpose”: Twilight is the Princess of Friendship and she and the girls are to spread it throughout Equestria. The girls enter their new “throne room” which bears six thrones of equal size and stature for each of them, Discord is fully welcomed as “part of the group” and even presents Celestia with a bouquet of flowers (with no tricks attached), and the season ends with the citizens of Ponyville rejoicing and a picture of the Mane Six taken.

Review:

I want to give this 5 stars out of 5. I really want to, especially after the second viewing. But…damnit, I can’t. The mistake is just too big to ignore.

Alright, let’s do this.

Before this episode, every time I saw that Megan McCarthy wrote a two-parter, I’d groan and do an eye-roll. “A Canterlot Wedding” was riddled with plot holes, “The Crystal Empire” was painfully dull, “Equestria Girls” was…better than I thought it would be but still not wonderful, and “Princess Twilight Sparkle” was just plain bad. So when I heard she was going to close out this otherwise very good season after how pathetic it had started…I was sick to my stomach.

Ms. McCarthy, if you’re out there, I take back everything I said about you. Because that was honestly the most epic two-parter since “The Return of Harmony”.

While it’s not “completely great”, this two-parter just has greatness after greatness. It’s been a while since the writers were able to convey a “sense of doom”…an episode where at parts, even knowing this is a kid’s show and everything always has to turn out alright, I, as an adult, sit there and ask myself: “…How can they get out of this?” This is the most “serious” the series has ever been. Even when the girls were dealing with Discord, their corruption was meant to be humorous. When fighting the Changeling swarm, there was plenty of humor on the side for comic relief. Parts started to try and get “purely serious” for the Crystal Empire…but it failed there. Here it “hits” and hits hard. Aside from Twilight’s few attempts to master her new power, and a couple comments by Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, there’s nothing “funny” about this episode.

I mentioned earlier in Season Three that the episodes “Magical Mystery Cure” and “Keep Calm and Flutter On” (and “Games Ponies Play”, to a lesser extent) were really the “true first episodes of Season Four”. And, in reality, they were. Twilight Sparkle ended the third season asking: “What now?”, and she didn’t get the answer. Princess Celestia told her it would come in time…and it came here, way at the end of Season Four.

It’s unfair to call Lord Tirek a “Knight of Cerberus” trope because the fact of the matter is Discord and Chrysalis were already that…but he takes things to a whole new level. Discord had lots of comic relief. Chrysalis…while pretty nasty when she revealed herself…was humorous at times when still impersonating Cadance. And Sombre? …I have a feeling Tirek is everything Sombre was supposed to be but never got expressed. Pretty much a villain with all the “shadow” that Sombre cast and all the “substance” Chrysalis had to make a villain who just plain stands out. For the most part, he’s still able to “fit”…but there’s a few parts of this episode where I sit there and wonder: “…Am I still watching ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’? Because this guy’s a bit too ‘heavy’ for it.” His design isn’t quite as “fearsome” as the chimera but there’s nothing “cartoony” about him. In terms of motivation and schtick…he’s really nothing new at all. Generic villain going around wanting ultimate power. Been there, done that. His methods, however, are a bit better. This is a Y-rated show so they aren’t going to be killing anybody, but the closest they can do…the closest they can come to conveying the idea that “this character is gone and can’t come back”…is what they ended up doing: having an opponent who can drain friends and loved ones and throw their bodies into Tartarus.

Yet “having a really cool villain” is just part of this episode. While Twilight Sparkle is still the main focus and, once again, the rest of the Mane Six is mostly a “unit”, it does have that point in the first half where it recalls what the girls did in previous episodes to try and “remind” the audience that each of them have had their chance to shine. In a sense, that reminds you this may be the season finale, but it’s also a “Key of Harmony” episode…meaning Twilight should be the one “shining” in this one.

And on that note…Discord.

As I mentioned earlier, fans were very “split” over “Keep Calm and Flutter On”. The ones who hated it didn’t buy it one bit. The ones who liked it thought it seemed a bit “rushed” and “forced”. There was a descrepency that Discord hadn’t really “reformed” or, if he had, to what extent, but people did wish that episode had taken more time. Many fans commented while they didn’t believe him at all in that episode.

However…most fans did believe him here, even ones who hated “Keep Calm and Flutter On”. I’m not sure if they had this episode in mind all along or if this was just a master-stroke of writing…but few people “doubt” Discord in this episode. Speaking personally, on the second watch of this episode, seeing how he acted in the first parts…I wanted to say: “I’m not going to believe him later. Not after all he’s done.” And then came the part toward the end and…yeah, I “bought it”. I really did. In spite of the fact that he betrayed Fluttershy completely and did the equivalent of spitting in her face…I believed he was truly, genuinely sorry.

Now…I didn’t feel bad for him at all, because this was pain he not only deserved to feel but needed to feel. Discord is still treating friendship and the feelings of others like a game. He’s still a “spoiled child” who thinks there’s no real consequences to anything other than his own happiness or unhappiness. And, ironically, he needed a villain like Tirek and a situation that happened in this episode. The fact is Discord had enough “experience” with friendship now that he wasn’t siding with Tirek simply for freedom…he was doing it because he thought he could “replace” Fluttershy’s friendship with his. He still thought friendship was some sort of “physical commodity” with which you could do stuff like that. Yet when Tirek turned on him, he learned what it meant to have someone you thought was a friend backstab you. He realized what it meant not only to have none of the power he prided himself so much on…but to have his feelings “stomped on”. And my guess is he not only saw in that moment not only that he had done the same thing to the Mane Six…but possibly every event of chaos he had ever done, even what it must have meant way back in the Season Two opener when he corrupted the Mane Six into turning on each other. He finally learned something that’s the biggest component of friendship: empathy. The ability to actually care about how other individuals feel besides himself.

Yet Twilight does one better. The single biggest part of this episode, to me…and the reason Twilight embodies and exemplifies magic (because, remember, as in the title…friendship IS magic), is when Tirek frees Spike and the girls…and she says: “ALL my friends.” She shows to Discord and the audience that friendship is neither something that can be thrown away and lost like an object cast in the ocean, nor is it something that can form an unbreakable contract and obligation that nothing can budge…but a choice. Tirek was right; she “owed” Discord nothing whatsover…but she chose to forgive him regardless because “that’s what friends do”. And so, as a result, in an ironic twist that I certainly didn’t see coming and I don’t think many did either, Twilight was the one who “taught Discord the value of friendship”. And now…I think most fans will say: “Yeah…he’s really ‘reformed’.”

I question this decision a bit because it was supposed to be Fluttershy-Discord who had the relationship. Twilight pretty much is always annoyed at Discord and gritting her teeth around him and his trolling. But…well, first of all, there’s enough Fluttershy-Discord moments in this episode for me to feel that dynamic was never “lost”. Second…that might be the point.

“You’re annoying, a troll, obnoxious, and you drive me nuts sometimes…but you’re still my friend.”

Like I said before…I REALLY want to give this episode 5 for 5, but…

The first song is worthless. It shouldn’t even be in the episode. The lyrics are the laziest things I’ve ever heard come out of the show. All of those lines could have been spoken. Seriously, compare this song to “Winter Wrap Up”, “The Super Speedy Cider Squeezie 6000”, and “This Day Aria”…then look me in the eye and tell me Ingram was “trying” with that one as opposed to making something to pad the first part of the episode (which is sad because, really, this episode is pretty jam-packed and runs at a good pace and doesn’t seem stretched in any other spot). The second song is…better, but it’s something we’ve heard before. Pretty much all songs that “end an episode” since the Season Two finale sound identical. I wouldn’t mind an ending similar to “The Return of Harmony” or even “Friendship is Magic” for a change.

Second…sigh…the entire “midpoint conflict” is contrived. No other way to put it. Celestia goes on and on about the need to keep it a secret that Twilight Sparkle even exists, let alone has the alicorn magic…when she knows Discord is helping Tirek. Discord knows about Twilight…so…plot point useless. Worse yet is that dialog indicates Twilight Sparkle relayed what Tirek was doing with Discord (hence the boarding-up of Ponyville)…and she didn’t tell them Discord had betrayed them. Good lord…how thick can you get?! And I’m sorry…that plot hole is one of the worst ever conceived on the show. I get the sensation McCarthy knew about it all along, realized it while crafting the overall (and otherwise fantastic) plot, saw no way around it, and then hoped people “wouldn’t notice”. And truth be told…I was so engaged in the plot the first time I didn’t notice…but now that I’ve seen it I can’t “stop noticing” it. And considering how much of the plot hinged on Celestia making that rather derp “flub”…I’m sorry, it’s unforgivable.

It’s so bad that even if you don’t buy into “Trollestia” at this point Celestia is looking like an “epic fail” as a princess. I’d actually love nothing more in Season Five than an episode where she does “save the day”. I don’t care if it’s a regular episode, a flashback…just something to give everyone in Equestria (and the audience) an answer to: “Why do we follow this moron again?”

The only other thing to say is I hate the Rainbow Power Forms. Considering the great artwork and design in this season…WTF? They’re gaudy and ugly. And the fact that all of their manes grew huge, both in length as well as volume, actually makes them look like weird fillies…

But that aside…fantastic character, fantastic villain, fantastic morals, fantastic action, and…pretty great story. No wonder this is now an episode that tops the “best” list. Whereas before in Season Three’s finale I and the rest of the fans felt in “limbo” and that the future of the show was in jeopardy and doubt…I ended this season saying to myself the same thing Twilight Sparkle did in Season Three:

“Everything’s going to be just fine.”

Fun Facts:

Flash Sentry appears in this episode and actually has lines this time, although he has no other importance.

In this episode, the two dignitary ponies from the last episode are revealed to be the Duke and Duchess of Maretonia.

Oh joy…another “Twilight is unhappy” song. Those go over so well with fans. This song is thoroughly, thoroughly “phoned-in” and irrelevant except to pad the episode…but I’ll give it credit for the first time Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have sung.

Tirek is only the second G1 character ever to appear on the show (Spike being the first). He’s known as quite possibly the most “out of place villain” of all time for the original series. In a cartoon known for ponies laughing and playing and such, he was a genuine monster. His modus operandi in his original form was actually similar to Nightmare Moon, while his method of working was corruption. He had actually killed characters, including Spike’s parents. Scorpan (who is only mentioned in the episode and seen in artwork) in G1 was a prince he had corrupted into a servant. Strange as it may seem, the MLP:FIM version of Tirek is somewhat tamer. At any rate, Tirek in both versions is a bona-fide demon, combining centaur-like aspects with a demon goat.

Tirek’s new incarnation (possibly as a result of McCarthy’s seeming-otaku-influence) also shares a bit in common with “Dragonball Z” villains Cell and Majin Buu, not just due to the infamous “fight sequence” but also due to the fact that, like Cell and Buu, he has the ability to absorb the powers of others to add to his own power and attains “new forms” the stronger he gets. I personally think of him more as Cell in actions and personality…but more like Buu in appearance (especially the eyes).

Finally, Tirek’s final form bears a great deal of resemblance to the cartoon version of Trigon, one of the main villains from “Teen Titans”. In that series, Trigon was the archnemesis and father of Raven…who was voiced by Tara Strong, the same voice actor for Twilight Sparkle.

The “young pony wizard” Scorpan befriends in the pictures was Starswirl the Bearded.

Celestia mentions that Tirek escaped when Cerberus temporarily left the gates of Tartarus. First of all, Tartarus was the place for the worst offenders in Greek Mythology. Calling it “Hell” would be a bit of a stretch, but not much of one. Second…this event took place all the way back in Season Two’s “It’s About Time”; 44 episodes ago. I guess future Twilight did have something important to tell past Twilight that she ended up missing anyway. 😛

When Discord appears, he’s imitating Mary Poppins. Soon after, he imitates General Patton.

Although Discord “turns evil again” in this episode…ironically he also helps save the day not just because of the key but also by bookmarking the pages of the diary referring to the first five keys.

When Discord opens the “door in reality”, the other side is padded, implying a rubber room (insanity).

When Tirek tries blasting Discord in the head, it separates to dodge and then reforms, similar to the T-1000 from “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”.

When Discord “hauls in” a group of earth ponies, he has the likeness of the shark hunter in “Jaws”.

On the stained glass picture that Discord is messing with, he’s changed the three generic ponies on it into Celestia, Luna, and Cadance.

I made fun of the fact earlier that Tirek could negate the power of the Crystal Heart, but…actually, I realize on the second viewing that claim is never put to the test. He never goes to the Crystal Empire or after crystal ponies. It potentially could have worked.

After Discord himself gets betrayed, Applejack throws his own words back in his face: “Surely you saw this was coming?” My guess is these lines were probably originally supposed to be more “biting” and “sardonic”…but either the director or the voice actor decided to play things “softer”.

I’m not sure if it was intentional, especially since McCarthy seems to be heavily anime-inspired…but the comments started rolling in immediately that the fight (and yes…a real actually-epic fight on a Y-rated show that barely skimmed around the censors…) reminded people of “Dragonball Z”. The biggest part is the “beam struggles”…but it’s really all over the place with either opponent smashing each other into and through landscape, leaving huge rifts on the ground just from throwing their weight around, and even “painting the sky red” through the chaos. It even “ends” similar to the Cell Game fight from “Dragonball Z”, as Gohan has to get a near-critical injury jumping in to save Vegeta, who was never really a “friend” to begin with. To top it off…the Rainbow Power forms of the Mane Six remind one of Super Saiyan-Jin 3, especially the blond streaks in the manes and the increase in mane size.

At one point, the storyboards for this episode (which are available in “The Art of Equestria”) reveal Twilight Sparkle was supposed to punch Tirek in the face.

The second episode this season that didn’t end with the normal ending song.

Rating:

4.5 Stars out of 5

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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews ~ Season Four, Episode Twenty-Four: “Equestria Games”

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by pcclsky in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Four, Uncategorized

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Tags

Apple Bloom, Applejack, CMCs, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Equestria Games, Fluttershy, My Little Pony, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Pinkie Pie, Princess Cadance, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Scootaloo, Spike, Sweetie Belle, Twilight Sparkle

Synopsis:

It’s finally time for the Equestria Games. The Cutie Mark Crusaders get to carry the flag for Ponyville, Rainbow Dash’s team gets the silver in the Aerial Relay, and Princess Twilight Sparkle is a bit upset that she’s expected to sit in the “royalty box” instead of alongside the girls. As for Spike, the Crystal Empire praises him as a hero now for his contribution to the defeat of King Sombra and wants him to light the torch at the opening ceremonies. Unfortunately, Spike gets stage fright and chokes (literally), requiring Twilight to bail him out with a spell. On learning that, Spike tries to do something amazing for himself by singing the anthem for Ponyville at the Aerial Relay. But as Cloudsdale won the gold, he soon embarrasses himself as he doesn’t know the words to the song and confines himself to the hotel room the rest of the games. Twilight finally forces him to come out for the final competition, Ice Archery, and when one of the competitors accidentally freezes a cloud that threatens to cause injury on crashing into the stadium, Spike uses his fire breath to melt the cloud. Yet even though he did something “praiseworthy”, he still feels bad. Twilight suggests to him the only person who actually thinks of him as a failure is himself, and that he should look to improving his own self esteem. Spike decides to take that to heart and writes in the diary about it before setting off the fireworks for the closing ceremonies with his fire breath, not choking this time, and Ponyville takes home the highest medal count.

Review:

Well…it’s alright as Spike episodes go. But in terms of a “muddled moral”, this is by far the worst one yet. It has the feel of an episode where the background situation wasn’t good enough to be an episode on its own and so, instead, it acts as a wrapper around the actual plot. A lot of the concepts and bits with the Equestria Games are nice, and it’s good to see a lot of nods back to earlier parts of this season and even Season Three. But that said, Spike’s part of the story (which is really the bulk of the story) is a mess.

It never made much sense to begin with that Spike got praised for the incident with the Crystal Empire. As I mentioned in the Season Three opener, that victory was still mostly Twilight Sparkle’s and Princess Cadance’s. The only thing Spike did was carry the Crystal Heart about 100 feet and then dropped it. Not exactly the stuff of legend, even by “hobbit standards”. His real contribution in that situation was indirectly helping Twilight out long enough to get the heart. But even that is much better than his contribution this time. Cadance actually says the line that he “saved the Crystal Empire twice”…when the fact of the matter is he melted a cloud that would have injured a few ponies at best. Heroic, yes, but why do I get the feeling the script originally called for that cloud to be a heck of a lot bigger and then the director realized it wouldn’t work for Spike’s tiny flame to get rid of it?

As for the take-home message, it’s all over the place. It makes sense Spike would be embarrassed at first, but the fact of the matter is that if this was any other episode, he probably would have been a laughingstock after his flub of the Cloudsdale anthem and he did have a big reason to be embarrassed. It’s not until the last couple minutes that we really hit on the point that Spike’s depression seems to be purely internal. But even if that’s the case…what then?

There are a lot of morals that are pertinent to adults that just won’t work on a kid’s show and this is one of them. It looks like the issue is low self-esteem or depression. If so, it’s done weak at best. “Low self-esteem” has been a side-effect in numerous episodes as a result of a screw-up. It’s never been the major issue, especially since Spike has little reason to feel low self-esteem. So that makes it like depression, but depressed about what? It’s not like Spike is at that time of his life or anything. And was it even resolved? Spike agreed to do the fireworks but would he have refused to do them otherwise? I’m not even sure this episode has a lesson or moral to it.

Spike’s story is probably the worst part of this episode. Looking at the situation…noticing how Twilight is getting unhappy that she can’t sit with her friends due to her new status…the outcome of the Aerial Relay…the games themselves and the characters flooding this episode…heck, even Derpy just being there…all of it is more interesting and seems to even have more of a point than Spike’s story. Two Spike episodes in a row is highly unusual, but this one is just so messed up that it’s one of the more poorly constructed plots since “A Canterlot Wedding”.

It almost makes me think it was put in to give Spike more of a contribution to the end of the season, as he’s not going to play that much of a part in the finale…

Fun Facts:

The resolution to a plot that started all the way back in Season Three’s “Just for Sidekicks”. In terms of airing order, that was 28 episodes ago.

As noted in Season Three, the Equestria Games are clearly a takeoff of the Olympic Games. Interestingly enough, each city in Equestria seems to be represented along with a single non-pony race: griffons.

Almost every competitor for Ponyville is a pegasus, indicating the whole idea that pegasi are their best athletes naturally. However, the few non-pegasi are earth ponies. Part of that reason is that unicorns can’t use magic in events, but it appears unicorns are also naturally unathletic.

“Great and Honorable Spike, the Brave and Glorious”… He tripped trying to bring the Crystal Heart to Cadance, people!

Poor Derpy. The show creators can’t even let her give a “yay” going through the hoop because of the PC crowd… 😦

In the “royalty box”, we see a character we haven’t seen in a while: Prince Blueblood. There are also two who, based on their shapes, are from Saddle Arabia. There’s also one who looks “African” and one wearing a headdress resembling the shape of South American ancient empires, although the next episode reveals they’re actually from the same place.

“Equestria, we have a problem” is obviously a takeoff of “Houston, we have a problem”, the big tagline from “Apollo 13”.

Spike tries to use himself as a lighter, similar to an earlier episode where Applejack did the same.

The security guard of Sapphire Shores is now working stadium security. The disabling spell was apparently put in effect after the opening ceremonies. So…either someone tried to cheat the first day, or they found out Twilight lit the torch and that was somehow…wrong. On that note, since they obviously made Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance take the same spell, none of those four were trusted enough not to cheat. …Really?

When Spike finishes, um, “singing” the Cloudsdale anthem, Pinkie yells: “Nailed it!” Not helping, Pinkie.

Shazam! When Twilight goes to get Spike to watch the last event, it’s gone from night to day.

TWILIGHT: “I’ve totally let ponies down!” Um…no, no you haven’t. You really haven’t. Ever.

Spike pulls his umbrella apparently out of the same bag Deadpool gets all his stuff. 😛

TWILIGHT: “You saved the Crystal Empire…twice!” …Headdesk.

Rating:

2.5 Stars out of 5

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews ~ Season Four, Episode Twenty-Three: “Inspiration Manifestation”

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by pcclsky in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Four, Uncategorized

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Tags

Inspiration Manifestation, My Little Pony, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Rarity, review, Spike, Twilight Sparkle

Synopsis:

Rarity is again throwing one of her “drama queen fits” after her contribution to the Fillies and Foals Festival, a new puppet booth for a local puppeteer, ended up not being what he wanted. To try and cheer her up, Spike ends up raiding the Castle of the Two Sisters and finds a forbidden book called “Inspiration Manifestation” that holds a spell with the power to turn imagination into reality. Rarity tries it out on herself and soon everything she thinks of instantly comes into reality. At first she uses it to instantly make a better puppet booth and new dresses, but on seeing her new power she soon decides to go about “beautifying” Ponyville, and Spike, wanting to make Rarity feel good, supports and praises each change. But although she changes it to suit her imagination and tastes, Rarity progressively grows more corrupt and it actually begins ruining the town. Spike soon notices but says nothing as Rarity seems to now hang on his support and validation, fearful of getting her angry at him and rejecting him as a friend. With Owluiscious’ help, he manages to get the book from Rarity and devour it, only to discover the power it held is now innate to Rarity, and her growing corruption now wants her to remake all of Equestria in her image. On hearing that, Spike finally puts his foot down and tells her what she’s doing is wrong, regardless of the consequences to him. However, as it turns out, the spell could only be broken when Spike told the truth about what he felt of Rarity’s changes, and saying this removes Rarity’s power and restores her to her old personality. Spike writes in the diary about the importance of being truthful with your friends even when it’s difficult, and a sore Princess Twilight Sparkle (tired from cleaning up the city-wide mess) orders him never to take a book from the castle again.

Review:

The moral to this episode isn’t necessarily new, even to this season, although it’s a bit different. “It Ain’t Easy Being Breezies” was all about expressing tough love, and this one is too. But whereas the first was about breaking codependency through tough love, this one is more about saying something to a friend that needs to be said even if the results might be painful.

The main conflict is somewhat forced. The spell Inspiration Manifestation seemed perfectly suited to Spike’s situation rather than simply being a “bad” spell with corrupting consequences. The fact that the spell could only be broken by someone telling the caster the truth about the consequences of the spell indicates that whoever wrote it intended it to be a spell someone would use to try and make someone happy and then would praise them for using it…in other words the exact situation Rarity and Spike find themselves in. That seemed a bit too convenient but I don’t know any way to make it less convenient without changing the plot of the episode…which might not have necessarily been a bad thing. There are lots of situations where someone can persist in doing something stupid or destructive provided they keep getting support from a friend or loved one, and the friend or loved one should call them out on it rather than worry about hurting feelings. It doesn’t have to be a result of an evil spell. The fact that it was sort of makes the focus mostly on the corrupting spell in this episode rather than on Spike’s dilemma.

Another detail is that Spike’s dilemma would have had more punch if it appeared Rarity was returning his affections, but, once again, to Rarity Spike is simply in the “friend zone”. I’m not saying they should have changed it just for that, but it ruined the potential impact a bit.

That said, I think it’s another above average episode. While Spike does something for most of it that’s not terribly positive, it’s not overwhelmingly negative either, and as a “Spike episode” it does better than a lot. We hadn’t had a “Spikeity” episode this season yet, and this one did pretty decent.

Fun Facts:

Although all members of the Mane Six appear and have lines in this episode, it’s essentially just Rarity (maybe a little Twilight Sparkle).

In a rare appearance, Rarity and Sweetie Belle’s parents are in the opening…which may have been last-minute. In “For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils”, it looks practically like Rarity had the same relation to Sweetie Belle as Applejack, with Sweetie Belle not only living with her but seemingly being raised by her. This might be a reminder: “Yeah, she has parents.”

The return of Rarity’s fainting couch. It’s also the return of a “Spike/Rarity” episode and Rarity’s signature drama queen bits. This one features her gorging herself on tubs of ice cream. Vanilla Oat Swirl, to be precise. 😛

By this point, Owlusicious is kind of Spike’s “voice(er, hooting?) of reason” in episodes like this…like Spike does something that won’t work out and he calmly tries to point out what’s wrong but never listens. That said…the “who” jokes are a bit stale after four seasons. 😦

Why in the world didn’t Celestia or Luna destroy that book rather than leave it guarded by a single easy-to-remove padlock?

Rarity’s attraction to the Inspiration Manifestation book as well as its corrupting influence is similar to the One Ring and Gollum from “Lord of the Rings”, especially how she starts referring to the book as an individual.

The part that really “gets me” about this episode was the part where Rarity turns the mariachi band into a chamber orchestra…clearly switching genders of one of them in the process (namely turning him into the popular background pony Octavia). That…always seemed real weird to me.

Rarity, at one point, turns the streets of Ponyville into gold. The expression: “You’d think the streets are paved with gold” is used to refer to a situation where someone boasts so much about a place that it’s impossible to believe.

At the end, Twilight mentions that Cadance and Luna have better things to do than help clean up the mess Rarity left. A. No they don’t. Well…maybe Luna. B. Celestia is missing from that statement. Sigh…another “Trollestia” moment…

Rating:

3 Stars out of 5

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews ~ Season Four, Episode Twenty-Two: “Trade Ya”

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by pcclsky in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Four, Uncategorized

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Applejack, Fluttershy, My Little Pony, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, review, Stellar Eclipse, Trade Ya, Trader's Exchange, Twilight Sparkle

Synopsis:

This episode is really three smaller subplots revolving around the Rainbow Falls trader’s exchange:

– Twilight Sparkle is trading a bunch of old books she doesn’t need anymore to make more room in her library. Pinkie Pie decides to use her status as Princess as well as the fact they came from Princess Celestia to “sell” them as the most valuable item at the meet, but overdoes it and soon makes everyone think they’re too valuable. However, it works out as it also helps Twilight see how valuable they are for sentimental reasons and decides not to trade anyway.

– Applejack and Rarity elect to pool their resources to get what they want as they figure even if a trader doesn’t want what one has, they’ll want what the other has. Unfortunately, both individuals find an item they really want but is worthless to the other that will only be theirs if they give up all of their own goods. Both argue and attempt to be the “better friend” by forfeiting their right, yet neither comes to an agreement. In the end, however, both end up trading their own half of the stash for less-valuable items for each other, but they still have value as they are symbols of their friend giving up their happiness for their sake.

– Rainbow Dash wants a signed copy of a first edition of “Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue” to complete her collection and Fluttershy offers to help. After many mishaps and trades, they finally manage to get the owner an orthros she wanted, but she changes her mind and thinks the two-headed beast is so savage that she only agrees if Fluttershy is part of the deal to train it to be a house pet, which Fluttershy reluctantly consents to in order to make Rainbow Dash happy. Yet on realizing she’s giving up Fluttershy for an indefinite length of time for the book, Rainbow Dash gets Princess Twilight Sparkle to declare the trade “unfair” (a dear friend for a book) and therefore invalid. Rainbow trades the orthros for a bird call whistle Fluttershy wanted, and Twilight gives Rainbow her own original paperback copy of “Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue” instead.

Review:

A nice little episode with one of the most clear examples of “fanservice” ever. For the fanservice, check out the “Fun Facts” section.

Really, this episode is very nice. It’s not “ground-breaking” or “really hits you in the feels” like some episodes…but it’s very good. The humor is nice, the character interactions are nice, the animation is nice, the plotline is…mostly nice, and the whole dynamic of telling three little “vignettes” is nice. It shows some real intelligence. I have a feeling this episode might have originally been supposed to be just Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy’s story, but that it wasn’t “enough” to make a whole episode without some songs and that characteristic “padding” I complained about back in Season One. So instead, they whipped up two smaller subplots for Twilight Sparkle/Pinkie Pie and Applejack/Rarity…and I think it worked pretty well.

Rainbow Dash/Fluttershy’s plot is definitely the “biggest” highlight, and it’s a lot of humor with some minor feels toward the end. The nice thing about Rainbow Dash is she’s exuberant and yet believable about everything she does, including when she breaks down and weeps.

Applejack/Rarity’s plot may not have been terribly “exciting”…so much that the viewer can literally get distracted and watch Rainbow Dash/Fluttershy’s plot in the background, but unlike “Look Before You Sleep”, the writers seemed to realize this was one of the episode’s “lower points” and so keeps it brief and concise. It doesn’t seem padded at all. It seems “just right”, and it also gets a bit of an “aw” at how it ends up.

The weakest plotline is Twilight Sparkle/Pinkie Pie’s. I compliment this episode on beginning to “set up” things for the season finale. Something that I pointed out in “Twilight Time” that they really never really got into was the fact Twilight Sparkle doesn’t really care for the “royal treatment” she gets, especially when she doesn’t feel terribly royal in spite of her numerous times she’s “saved the day”. Yet the few times Twilight has shown up in public, it seems the writers have forgotten about that element and she’s still treated more or less like the unicorn she once was. It never really becomes a factor unless it’s made explicit, sort of like in this episode. But as the season finale was nearing, it needed to become more “pronounced”, and in this and “Equestria Games”, it would be. Yet Pinkie…just isn’t really that entertaining. She has some moments with the filly who tries to trade a broken quill, but her whole carnival barker bit isn’t as good. Still, it’s not “terrible” either.

So, all in all…a pretty good episode that might not be monumental but still hits all the points it should with nothing to frown at. And that’s a good trade in my book.

Fun Facts:

Second appearance of the town Rainbow Falls. It seems the main “utility” of this town is a large fairgrounds, which enables them to do things such as the Trader’s Exchange and the Qualification Trials for the Equestria Games.

Crystal ponies are “mingled in” with the crowd. It’s not usually that a non-Crystal Empire episode features all “four” races.

“Discord Lamps” from “Keep Calm and Flutter On” apparently became a trend. 😛

Another fantasy creature in this one: an orthros. Not to be confused with Cerberus, a three-headed dog as opposed to a two-headed one. It may not be as “intimidating” as the chimera was, but that’s not necessary here as it’s essentially just a big goofy dog with two heads instead of one.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy’s “plot” resembles one of those trading games in “The Legend of Zelda” series that started with “Link’s Awakening”.

The lamp trader is rather unique: he’s a pony paralyzed from the waist down. This is actually a bit more “special” than just a random new character. That pony, Stellar Eclipse, is actually the “pony-fied” version of Sylvain Lavasseur Portelance, who also provided the voice. He has a degenerative spinal disease, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted his wish by making him a character in Equestria for this episode. Great job. 🙂

Similar to “Leap of Faith”, they obviously didn’t want to create any more new ponies and so they have “the Dude” selling oatburgers (apparently distinct from hayburgers…maybe they’re the “chicken sandwiches” or “McRibs” of this world).

I think the fact the crystal chalice that Rainbow Dash got broke on touching it means that’s an “unfair trade” they need to consult Princess Twilight about. 😛

Fluttershy is the only one of the Mane Six who gets exactly what she came to the Trader’s Exchange for.

Rating:

3.5 Stars out of 5

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews ~ Season Four, Episode Twenty-One: “Testing Testing 1, 2, 3”

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by pcclsky in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Four, Uncategorized

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Applejack, Fluttershy, My Little Pony, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, review, Testing Testing 1 2 3, Twilight Sparkle, Wonderbolts

Synopsis:

The Wonderbolts have formed a new accessory group, the Wonderbolts Reserve, and Rainbow Dash is set to join them…provided she can pass an exam on the history of the Wonderbolts. She blows off the test at first, until Twilight finds out about it and insists on helping her study. Soon after, Rainbow realizes that she knows absolutely nothing about the history of the Wonderbolts and has no chance of passing the exam, causing her to start to panic. Things get worse when all of the Mane Six struggle to help her with different study/learning techniques, and none of them do anything for her, causing her to think of herself as stupider than the others and fly off in depression. Twilight attempts to fly after her to get her to try again and, as a result, learns Rainbow Dash subconsciously absorbs information from all around her while flying. Getting an idea from that, Twilight rallies the girls with a plan. Later, she invites Rainbow Dash for another flight to try and get her out of her depression and it seems to do nothing, until at the end of the flight she’s shocked to realize she’s somehow learned the history of the Wonderbolts. It turns out while she was flying, the whole town was “acting out the history” under her flight path and she subconsciously committed their actions to memory without even realizing it. Rainbow Dash aces her exam, and Twilight writes about how just because someone doesn’t learn the same way you do doesn’t mean they’re a fool.

Review:

Again, this is an episode dealing with a rather “modern” theme and does it pretty well, especially in USA culture. I don’t think this would translate very well across cultures in, say, Japan where there’s a different way education is approached, and this episode does have quite a bit wrong with it even if the “central message” is pretty solid.

Starting with the “good” for once… I was exposed to the public school system better than most because I had a stint in college where I tried to get my Teacher’s Certification to teach Biology. A lot of effort was devoted to cases like Rainbow Dash. Although it’s never directly “stated”, it’s implied pretty heavily Rainbow Dash has a learning disability or, at minimum, she has an alternate mental makeup that keeps her from absorbing information the same way as everyone else. The fact is a lot of people in school have that. The media and society likes to dismiss ADD and ADHD, for example, as “myths”…but the fact of the matter is there are students in the US school system who were told for 10-15 years essentially “get used to being a poor student”, then they become diagnosed with ADD/ADHD and receive treatment, and soon they’re becoming great students. That’s the most “textbook” example, but students with dyslexia, illiteracy, or other physical impairments suffer from the same problem and, due to lifetimes of embarrassment or simply not knowing any better, commit themselves to underachieving in school without even knowing about it. And, much like Rainbow Dash’s case, someone who appears to be a “slacker” or disinterested in learning is only that way because methods used to teach students don’t ever “impact” them, and so they learn to shut them out because it’s all just “boredom and white noise” to them. It actually makes the fact that Rainbow Dash dropped out of Flight School years ago…a bit tragic. Like she could have been a great student if the teachers had been able to “reach” her. I thought it was a good moral to do in an episode, and the two best characters of the Mane Six to handle it were Twilight Sparkle (the ace student) and Rainbow Dash (the chronic slacker).

That said…I don’t think it was handled quite as well as it could have been.

The last two thirds of the episode are pretty solid and even a bit endearing, but the first third, considering how many times we’ve heard Rainbow Dash rant about how boring she thinks learning is and how she runs off whenever “education” is brought up and the fact that she really does “goof off” for most of it…it makes Rainbow Dash appear in a more negative light. While in the latter two-thirds it’s clear Rainbow Dash is trying but not succeeding, in the first third it looks like she’s just blowing things off. It’s not until the “pop quiz” that Rainbow Dash starts not only accepting that she has to learn this stuff but, more importantly, realizing she’s not learning it.

The fact that Rainbow Dash had to learn so much also makes me eye roll a bit. Rainbow Dash is a total Wonderbolts “fangirl”. In “Sweet and Elite”, it was alluded to that she knows pretty much everything about the modern team. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never become a rabid fan of anything without learning a great deal of their background and intricacies in the process. That Rainbow Dash wouldn’t know anything about their history, especially since in “Read It and Weep” and “Daring Don’t” it’s been demonstrated that once she gets into something she learns all about it and not just “whatever’s current”, is a bit hard to swallow. Even more so when, at the bare minimum, she should know about the Celestia/Luna rift considering she’s a part of that history. Seriously, that’s like asking General “Stonewall” Jackson about the Battle of Antietam and he answers: “The what now?”

And of course, the biggest glaring problem…Rainbow Dash is still “jumping through hoops” just to get in the Wonderbolt Reserve. For crying out loud! The CMC Cutie Mark subplot has gotten old by now, but at the bare minimum the writers know not to “draw attention” to it anymore. This, on the other hand…it’s starting to feel like a slap-in-the-face or insult to audience intelligence. It’s bad enough that comments in “Rainbow Falls” made it seem like the whole “Wonderbolts Academy” episode ended up being little more than a glorified “summer camp” for pegasi to “play Wonderbolt for a week” rather than something that would actually get Rainbow Dash into the group, but…ugh…

In Season Five, they need to either resolve this plotline or the Cutie Mark subplot. Seriously.

Other than that…I’m going to go ahead and let my “schoolyard bias” impact my rating of this episode, because even if this is something people don’t have a personal interest in, they should.

Fun Facts:

RAINBOW: “Your freak-outs are so epic, you sing whole ‘freak-out arias’ about freaking out.” …It’s true. 😛

When Twilight drops the book on Rainbow’s desk, she’s wearing sunglasses and then looks distracted. My guess is that means she was napping and hiding the fact her eyes were closed.

I think Rainbow Dash’s complaint on why she has to even know the history in the first place is actually a fairly good point. Somehow I doubt from what we’ve seen of the Wonderbolts so far that they really worry about being “good representatives”… More like they’re just obsessed with being the best fliers, and Rainbow Dash has fit that bill about 10 times over.

Most would agree the highlight of this episode is where Pinkie Pie seems to warp reality (yet again) and suddenly teleport herself to a late-80s, early-90s rap out of nowhere. Vinyl Scratch/DJ-Pon-3 cameos in it.

All of the study techniques displayed in the episode are ones used by teachers to try and educate students. Twilight Sparkle’s methods are ones that are more “traditional”, based on enhancing literacy, and designed to give the most content knowledge. Fluttershy’s is more of an “enhancement tool”; showing related media to either spark interest or reinforce learned material. Pinkie Pie uses mnemonics; tying things to be learned into something more catchy or “memory-lodging” content. Rarity uses a field trip/museum approach, a technique used with history to make it seem less abstract and more “real” to students. Applejack’s “method” may seem like just a throwaway joke…but pretty much is “learn by experience”, which most would agree is the best way to retain knowledge. How Rainbow Dash actually ends up learning, however, is somewhat more analogous to a “savant” or stereotypically “autistic” approach, by exploiting aspects of her mental framework that just “absorb” information subconsciously without filtering or processing.

RAINBOW: “Ah! Pinkie, you’re real!” …I’m sorry, I have to bust out at that one.

Twilight’s “Commander Easyglider” uniform is similar to that worn by General Douglas MacArthur in World War II.

One of the “more serious” parts that I think flies over a lot of viewers heads takes place during Twilight and Rainbow’s first discussion while in flight after she flies off. Students with learning disabilities often get the idea that they’re “naturally stupid” and that they should “get used to being underachievers”, which is a real tragedy. Rainbow Dash was naturally feeling that way too as she wasn’t able to learn anything through any technique that worked fine for the girls. Twilight Sparkle was pointing out that she’s obviously not stupid because she reads books all the time and is often clever and inventive. Good teachers have to do that, or at least “look for it”, to demonstrate how “underachieving” students are actually as smart as the rest of the class.

The episode uses a “rewind view” that appeared on VHS tapes twice, when going back over the “flights” of Twilight and Rainbow.

In the sequence happening on the ground, Rarity plays Princess Luna…who are both done by the same voice actor. “Meta”, no?

I think the “cleverest” joke in the episode is when the CMCs shout: “E.! U.! P.!” and then Big Macintosh springs up underneath them and goes: “Eeyup!” …Get it? EUP? :3

It’s kind of weird the girls managed to get the whole town in on the “history lesson”…but also kind of touching too.

I wish they had that pegasus at the end grading my old tests. I could have just taken a Scantron exam and it still would have been three days before I saw the results…

Rating:

3.5 Stars out of 5

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews ~ Season Four, Episode Twenty: “Leap of Faith”

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by pcclsky in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Four, Uncategorized

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Apple Bloom, Applejack, Big Macintosh, Flim-Flam Brothers, Granny Smith, Leap of Faith, My Little Pony, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, review, Silver Shill

Synopsis:

The Flim Flam Brothers are back in town, this time selling a “miracle tonic” they advertise will cure any problem. Granny Smith ends up buying a bottle and, soon after, is claiming she feels better than ever; enough to actually take up swimming again after an accident she suffered as a younger mare high-diving ruined her career of being a champion “aquapony”. Applejack is suspicious and soon discovers that somepony seemingly “cured” during the sales demonstration, a pony named Silver Shill, was actually part of the act and faking being infirn in the first place. Yet when she confronts the Flim Flam Brothers, they point out that even if the tonic does nothing, Granny thinks it does and feels better as a result, and telling her the truth might make her go back to feeling terrible again. As a result, Applejack decides to keep her mouth shut about the tonic and even publicly says: “it seems to work for Granny”. Yet she soon regrets that as her reputation of being the most honest pony in Ponyville causes the Flim Flam Brothers to use that statement to sell even more tonic as her “seal of approval”, and ponies are soon buying it due to trusting Applejack’s word. What’s worse is Silver Shill uses her action as a “pass” to start selling the tonic directly himself even though he knows its fake. Finally, Granny, thinking the tonic is actually making her better, guzzles a bottle of it and attempts to go back to high-diving and nearly seriously injures herself before Applejack stops her. Finally realizing the error she’s made, Applejack publicly admits to lying about the tonic working and attributes Granny’s apparent “cure” to being getting over psychosomatic symptoms. On seeing Applejack come clean, Silver backs up her story of the tonic being fake and quits working for the Flim Flam Brothers. As a way of saying thank you to Applejack, he gives her the one and only bit he scammed off of a pony by selling him fake tonic on the promise that he’ll track down the pony and give him a bit back. Applejack writes in the diary that even if you think telling the truth will hurt someone, it’s important to be honest when it looks like someone will act on belief in a lie. She doesn’t notice Silver’s bit gives off a rainbow shimmer…

Review:

This was the last “Key of Harmony” episode although we didn’t know it at the time. Twilight still had to get hers, but that would happen as part of the season finale and the actual opening of the chest would follow soon after.

And after all of the generally-great Key of Harmony episodes that had been seen so far…the conclusion was rather “underwhelming”. I know I’ve said it a couple times now, but…damn…Applejack episodes! Why? Why can’t they ‘work’?!

There’s little doubt this is the “weakest” out of all of the Key of Harmony episodes, which is surprising because it brought back some of the most charismatic “villains” to help liven things up with another number. And it was written by the same person who did “Castle Mane-Ia” and “Simple Ways” as well. But that being said, this episode is still better than both of those, so…in a way, it’s actually an improvement.

It’s still quite “decent”. This may not be a “great” episode, but it’s certainly not a poor one either. It does a good job with the moral and following the “Key of Harmony formula”. Applejack gets her honesty put to the test when it looks like it’s preferable to tell a “little white lie” to keep from making a loved one feel bad, but comes to regret it when her lie expands out of control. While the Flim Flam Brothers song in the episode isn’t as great as the one in the cider episode and it seems, in a way, to be trying to rip off of that one at a few points, it’s still catchy and entertaining. Silver Shill is definitely the most “mundane” out of the various ponies that learned a lesson in the Key of Harmony episodes and didn’t become anyone’s favorite, but he still does the job.  And considering the other episodes Josh Haber has done, I don’t really blame any “lack of skill” on his part for this episode not being better as this episode, in my opinion, was a vast improvement over his previous two. It’s just…dealing with Applejack, and Applejack never really comes across as terribly “interesting” and there’s not really much in this episode to write home about.

We all knew at this point that each girl would need a Key of Harmony episode, including Applejack, and this one manages to just barely rise above “phoned in”…which is probably as good as we can hope for.

Fun Facts:

Again, Applejack is the only member of the Mane Six who appears in the episode.

Another episode featuring a flashback to Granny Smith as a younger mare, as well as footage done in “black and white” like an old film reel, similar to “Family Appreciation Day”. The flashback itself is an allusion to an event called “horse diving”, an old Atlantic City show event that was popular in the 1880s up until World War II.

One of the sick background ponies is interesting…it’s “Donnie” from “The Cutie Pox”. Apparently the creators didn’t want to make any more ponies and finally decided to use the ones for that inside joke.

The fact that the Flim Flam Brothers are throwing another “stage showtune” along with selling a “snake oil” tonic, not to mention using a conartist to pretend to be sick, is all reminiscent of a similar sequence in Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon”.

The second appearance of the Flim Flam Brothers from Season Two. As I noted in “The Super Speedy Cider Squeezie 6000”, it’s not until this episode that they actually become con men.

“Granny Smith tested and Applejack approved” is a knockoff of the famous tagline for Kix breakfast cereal: “Kid tested, mother approved”.

Rating:

2.5 Stars out of 5

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews ~ Season Four, Episode Nineteen: “For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils”

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by pcclsky in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Four

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Apple Bloom, CMCs, Cutie Mark Crusaders, For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils, My Little Pony, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Princess Luna, Rarity, review, Sapphire Shores, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle

Synopsis:

Sweetie Belle and the CMCs are putting on a school play that Sweetie is seeing as her chance for success, as everything about the show is her production except for one thing…the costumes, which she took to Rarity to check out but, in between her rush to complete the newest costumes for her best client Sapphire Shores, ended up remaking them into much more attractive dresses. However, after the show is done, Sweetie Belle’s own poor production is upstaged by Rarity’s costumes, making Sweetie angry at what she considers the latest in a chain of events featuring her being “overshadowed” by Rarity and jealous of her own success and skill. As revenge, she sabotages the headdress Rarity made for Sapphire Shores to humiliate Rarity and then goes to sleep. That night, she has a nightmare about being an award-winning playwright/director/producer, but having a Rarity-shaped cloud ruin it. However, the cloud is dispelled by Princess Luna who shows Sweetie Belle a series of visions. The first is of her fifth birthday party where she thought Rarity “stole the show” with her party favors and cake, but in reality only brought them out because the guests were getting impatient waiting for Sweetie Belle to show up and she was trying to keep them from leaving. The second shows Rarity frazzled, tired, and anxious from working hard on Sapphire Shores’ costumes, especially after having to have devoted time to redoing Sweetie Belle’s costumes. Finally, the third vision shows the consequences of Sweetie Belle’s cruel act…Rarity gets fired by Sapphire Shores, publicly humiliated by the diva, and gives up dressmaking to become a crazed recluse. Now deeply regretting her actions, Sweetie Belle wakes up only to find Rarity is already gone. With the help of the CMCs, she rushes to where Sapphire Shores is trying on Rarity’s new costumes and steals the headdress before Rarity can unveil it. She confesses her jealousy to Rarity and apologizes, the sisters reconcile, and (with Luna’s help) Sweetie makes an improvement to the headdress that Sapphire Shores loves more than before: placing a dolphin in the stitching (Luna knew she’d like it because she dreams about dolphins).

Review:

The original episode that debuted Princess Luna’s “role” in Equestria, “Sleepless in Ponyville”, was written by Season Three newcomer Corey Powell. This episode was written by another Season Three newcomer, Dave Polsky, who, in my opinion, alternates between great episodes and “meh”. This one might not be “Sleepless in Ponyville”…but it’s still a great in my opinion. Maybe because it combines two of my favorite characters: Rarity and Princess Luna.

Sweetie Belle unfortunately still suffers from a lack of character. Pretty much the biggest character trait she’s shone so far is an eagerness to please and a belief in her own ability to excel at everything she attempts, usually ending very badly. That said, for the first time she’s “headlined” an episode…she did very well. I thought her anger was a little excessive toward Rarity and ultimately culminated in something rather mean, but…that was kind of the point of the whole episode. And once Luna showed her the consequences of her thoughtless cruelty, she quickly repented of it.

Again, Luna is fantastic in this episode. Just as in “Sleepless in Ponyville”, she conveys a sense of mystery and power, definitely something greater and more terrible than the “mortal” characters, and yet is still someone approachable and a source of comfort and order. In other words, she’s exactly what a goddess should convey. Episodes like this hammer home how Luna gives the idea of being both a god of Equestria as well as a princess interested in assisting her subjects far better than Celestia…who has been almost entirely absent this entire season. Even the sequence is marvelously well done. The dream is some of the most imaginative artwork seen on the show so far, and it does its purpose very well. Parts of it are intimidating and frightening…but they were supposed to be as the dream was supposed to “scare Sweetie Belle straight”. Luna seems cold and aloof at points…but only when she’s trying to show her disapproval in Sweetie’s actions. At the end of the episode she’s warm and friendly again. As the icing on the cake, Luna takes the opportunity to show her personal stake in helping Sweetie Belle with her problem: how she too once let her jealousy of her more talented sister get the better of her and eventually drove her to do very horrible and senseless things out of envy, and how she doesn’t want anypony else to ever succumb to the same jealousy.

All in all, it was great. I can’t really find anything bad about this episode and, with Luna along, it’s a recipe for fantastic.

Fun Facts:

This is pretty much the first episode to focus on Sweetie Belle after almost four seasons. Although she was “half the equation” in “Sisterhooves Social” back in Season Two, and she seemed to be the dominant character in “Twilight Time”, this really is the first one that has her headline solo.

This episode shares a lot in common with “A Christmas Carol”…which is actually rather interesting. It’s not set at Christmas (or Hearth’s Warming Eve) and it’s not the exact same thing, but the dynamic and plot device is similar: Princess Luna acting as a “spirit” to show Sweetie Belle the truth about events in the past, how Rarity isn’t always as perfect as she assumed she was in the present, and showing her the future outcome of her selfish act of malice to get her to give up her jealousy of Rarity.

The award show in Sweetie’s first dream plays out like the Oscars with the four different faces on one screen.

I’m not sure Luna actually showed Sweetie the real future or if she hammed it up a bit in order to make a point, although I can totally see Rarity overreacting like that.

First appearance of Sapphire Shores since “A Dog and Pony Show”, all the way back in Season One. I don’t know about most fans, but I had forgotten she even existed.

How did Scootaloo and Apple Bloom get past the security guard to get to the door Sweetie Belle opens?

Rating:

4 Stars out of 5

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews ~ Season Four, Episode Eighteen: “Maud Pie”

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by pcclsky in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Four, Uncategorized

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Tags

Applejack, Boulder, Fluttershy, Maud Pie, My Little Pony, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, review, Twilight Sparkle

Synopsis:

Pinkie Pie’s sister, Maud Pie, is visiting Ponyville for a week before she goes to get her “Rock-torate” in Rock Science, and Pinkie is obsessed with them all becoming best friends so she can share in the rock candy necklace making tradition she and Maud have had since they were fillies. While she says Maud is interested in everything the girls are interested in, they’re soon in for a shock on meeting Maud face to face and find her to be Pinkie’s polar opposite. Maud is the most deadpan, emotionless, quiet, unenthusiastic, and boring pony imaginable. She has no sense of humor, her interests are completely mild and unconventional, she takes everything literally, and her only love seems to be rocks…and she doesn’t seem to be too “crazy” about those. The girls utterly fail to find common ground and confess the same to Pinkie, who, in a desperate attempt to bring them all together, creates a psychotic obstacle course “combining all their interests”. Yet when she demonstrates a test run, she ends up getting pinned on the “rock slide” and nearly crushed by a boulder…until Maud jumps in moving like a bullet and demolishes the boulder with her bare hooves. Realizing the fact she and the girls aren’t “hitting it off” is making Pinkie unhappy, she aborts her visit early to Ponyville to keep from upsetting Pinkie any more, causing the latter to escort her back home to their rock farm. The girls realize what Maud has done as well as the fact that she clearly loves Pinkie dearly even if she doesn’t “show it off”, and they end up beating the two girls back to the farm with the rock candy and say that their mutual affection for Pinkie Pie is something in common they all share, and Maud agrees and (sort of) makes up with them. A few days later when Maud is getting ready to leave, she and Pinkie swap rock candy necklaces as always, only for Twilight to discover she’s never eaten any of them as she dislikes candy. However…she’s kept every last one in a special box out of love for Pinkie Pie.

Review:

This episode instantly became one of the favorites not only of Season Four but of the entire series. It’s very highly rated on IMDb, even more than other episodes like “A Canterlot Wedding” and “The Return of Harmony”. As for my opinion?

(Gets the same face the girls do when trying to confess to Pinkie Pie they haven’t hit it off with Maud) Er…well…um…

I give this episode a lot of credit. I really do. I was looking forward to this episode because I thought it would be cool to see one of the sisters from the flashback at long last as an adult mare. And it had the virtue of doing something with the show that works great but hasn’t yet been explored: what does a show about friendship do when faced with someone who’s very difficult to make friends with?

And Maud Pie definitely is the highlight of this episode…by being remarkably uninteresting, quiet, and not a highlight. The show is full of wonderful characters, but this is the first one who really doesn’t have anything to her…which ironically makes her a great character. Her constant, incessant lack of enthusiasm, bland responses, and just the way she does things in a very dry and monotone manner is ironically one of the craziest things done on the show so far. If they had a lot of characters like her this wouldn’t work, but having just the one in a show full of animated characters…acting rather like how an adult would react to everything if seeing the show for the first time…it’s interesting and still entertaining. Maud ended up becoming not only a fan favorite for this season…but likely the favorite new character of this season overall. Enough to where she got a cameo appearance in “Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks”.

Still…the episode has one or two flaws. The single biggest one I can’t overlook is during the big scene where Pinkie gets caught in the rock slide. I know the whole purpose of that scene was to have Maud “leap into the fray” and rescue her…but come on. Twilight has magic that could have lifted the boulder. Rainbow Dash is the fastest in Equestria. The others would have at least made a move. But no…no one does anything except gape at the situation motionlessly. I felt like shouting: “Don’t just do something! STAND THERE!”

And while Maud is a nice, interesting character…she doesn’t really give anything to write home about. Her main character trait is supposed to be her lack of character traits. That makes her a bit intriguing and amusing, but…it doesn’t give a whole lot to make this episode intriguing or interesting. And the ending seems a bit weak as well. The girls still aren’t really “friends” with Maud so much as they realize they have a common ground in their friendship with Pinkie Pie. It may have ended up being a bit more corny, but…I would have liked it a bit more if they learned to at least “tolerate” her a bit better.

I rate this episode high, but…not as high as everyone else does.

Fun Facts:

Pinkie Pie is apparently drawing her cartoon flashback as she presents it.

Maud Pie has one of the voices “you swear you’ve heard before”, but, in reality, the voice actor Ingrid Nilson has appeared in very few other productions so far, like most of the “guest voice actors”.

When Fluttershy is trying to guess what kind of pet Maud has, Angel Bunny visibly gets more jealous with each new name.

The “cutaway” to the next scene in this episode is a rock avalanche.

I think it’s a nice “touch” where they do a close up on Maud’s face when she says: “They’re all about rocks.”…taking something mundane and making it into living torture. 😀

It’s a bit funny to me that what really “turns Rainbow Dash off to Maud” is only when she says: “I’m not really into winning.”

Again, Pinkie Pie’s mane deflates. It goes farther than it did in “Pinkie Pride”, but not as flat as “Party of One”.

The…I don’t remember the exact name of it…Big Obstacle Course Pinkie Pie makes up is similar to the Obstacle Course in “Double Dare”, a kid’s game show from the early 90s. Fluttershy’s segment is a knockoff of the iconic “Dogs Playing Poker” artwork series by C.M. Coolidge.

Pinkie is right…when Maud says: “Sure.” in response to the girls, her voice is very slightly more “upturned” than it has been for the rest of the episode.

The first non-flashback appearance of Pinkie Pie’s family’s rock farm. Also, the train station there resembles the buildings in “The Flintstones”, which were always made of rocks.

A trait that’s hinted at is that Maud is abnormally strong, even for an earth pony. She doesn’t even react to eating a rock during the picnic, she throws a boulder with the force of a nuclear blast, she’s as fast as Rainbow Dash and tunnels through rocks with her bare hooves, and when Rainbow Dash gives her her own rock candy necklace that is so heavy it drags on the ground, she doesn’t even shift weight when it’s placed over her neck.

Rating:

3.5 Stars out of 5

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews ~ Season Four, Episode Seventeen: “Somepony to Watch Over Me”

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by pcclsky in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Four, Uncategorized

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Tags

Apple Bloom, Applejack, chimera, CMCs, Cutie Mark Crusaders, My Little Pony, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, review, Scootaloo, Somepony to Watch Over Me, Sweetie Belle

Synopsis:

Granny Smith is headed out of town for a visit, and both Big Macintosh and Applejack need to make deliveries to distant (and dangerous) locations, meaning they have no choice but to let Apple Bloom be home alone and take care of things on the farm for the first time. Apple Bloom does fine, but Applejack doesn’t get too far before she suffers a panic attack worrying about her and goes home to check on her, and soon overreacts to a mess she made as a result of Applejack bursting in the house and scaring her. It’s not long before Applejack is “baby-proofing” everywhere and being horrendously overprotective, frustrating Apple Bloom to no end. To prove she’s old enough to handle herself, she decides to deliver the pies Applejack failed to deliver herself, while Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle “stand-in” for her and pretend to be napping. Unfortunately, the delivery site is so dangerous that it would be a life-or-death risk to Applejack, let alone Apple Bloom. She ends up having to take the pies through Flaming Geyser Swamp and encounters a hungry chimera who wants to eat both her and her pies. Although she manages to hide the pies and wagon from the chimera, she herself gets cornered, but Applejack (having discovered the ruse) breaks in and saves her just in time. On discovering that Apple Bloom only did this to prove she could take care of herself and that in spite of the situation she managed to save the cart and the pies, Applejack realizes she can take care of herself and, while she still vows to ground her, agrees to let Apple Bloom stay home alone from now on, and both sisters deliver the pies to their intended recipients.

Review:

Talk about getting a “base hit” with one strike left to go.

Going OOC in order to make a plot work is never a “good thing”, even if only just a little as in this episode, but the fact is, at best, this is “a side of Applejack we’ve never seen”. Her going back to check on Apple Bloom and then immediately considering her too young to take care of herself was one thing…but for her to immediately start baby-proofing everything, all while pulling a “Stepford Smiler”, is a little extreme even if it’s meant more as a joke than anything, and it doesn’t really “fit”. And aside from that, this episode does mostly “ho-hum” territory as well. As I’ve said before, Applejack episodes just don’t seem to work. Mix it in with the CMCs who rarely have episodes that work and things are even worse, although, in all fairness, this episode is more about Apple Bloom than the other two.

But then comes the last third. The animation of the Flaming Geyser Swamp and the chimera is fantastic…especially the latter. I’ve never seen the show put out such an amazing-looking monster. Compared to how “cartoonish” the Manticore and Hydra looked like in the first season, this thing is far more scary-looking and deadly-looking. Almost too much so, unfortunately…as it kind of makes all things before and, to a degree, what was still-to-come after look a bit “tame” by comparison. The monster even argues with itself in a spot of humor…although I think how fearsome it looks kind of “dulls” the comic relief effect.

They kind of had to “force” the moral to work in this one by making Applejack as neurotic as Twilight used to be, but the scenes with the chimera make up for a lot of it. Although it’s mostly an Applejack/Apple Bloom episode, I consider this the closest the show has ever come to a “hit Applejack episode”.

Fun Facts:

Applejack is the only member of the Mane Six who appears in this episode, although Rarity is mentioned and the CMCs are present.

There’s a “hats and bows” closet at Sweet Apple Acres. Maybe Applejack and Apple Bloom are like those geniuses who don’t want to think about what to wear every day…

When Applejack opens the wardrobe and says: “Scootaloo?!”, the only lame defense Scootaloo can think of is: “Uh…no…?” This is similar to the old “Good Burger” bit that used to be done on Nickelodeon’s “All That”, where Ed would always royally goof something up, a customer would call him on it, and his only defense would be to say: “Uh…no…?”

When Applejack lifts up Apple Bloom’s bed looking for her…Ms. Smarty Pants (from “Lesson Zero”) is underneath.

The “Flame Geyser Swamp” is reminiscent of the Dread Fire Swamp from “The Princess Bride”.

It’s been a while since the show used a monster from classic mythology. This episode features an (admittedly impressive-and-monstrous-looking) chimera. As an unusual turn, the monster is actually fully sentient, unlike others. The snake portion, at one point, appears to have “hypno eyes” similar to Kaa from Disney’s “The Jungle Book”, but these are never used in the episode. In fact, in an ironic twist, the snake ends up being hypnotized. All three heads are voiced by the same voice actor (which…actually makes a lot of sense): Ellen Kennedy, the same individual who provided the voice of the Mane-iac in “Power Ponies”.

I think it’s kind of funny the lion tamer’s chair is collapsable.

Yes…Cajun ponies exist. 😛

Rating:

2.5 Stars out of 5

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews ~ Season Four, Episode Sixteen: “It Ain’t Easy Being Breezies”

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by pcclsky in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Reviews, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ~ Season Four, Uncategorized

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Tags

Applejack, breezies, Fluttershy, It Ain't Easy Being Breezies, My Little Pony, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, review, Seabreeze, Twilight Sparkle

Synopsis:

The Breezies, tiny fairy creatures who are incredibly delicate and frail, are migrating across Equestria to gather pollen and are now on a return trip home to their own world, but have to make sure to reach it by the end of the day or the portal that connects Equestria to their world will close, stranding them. While flying across Ponyville, Spike accidentally disturbs a leaf which is more than enough to catch a dozen or so of them in an eddy that strands them. Fluttershy comes to their rescue and immediately gains their admiration and affection…with the exception of one Breezie named Seabreeze who insults the others for being too incompetent and lazy to stay with the group. Fluttershy takes the Breezies back home to rest for a bit before resuming, but it’s not long before they begin to grow comfortable on Fluttershy’s TLC and keep making more excuses to stay with her and let her care for them. Seabreeze grows angrier and angrier and more insistent they go, but Fluttershy, not wanting to hurt their feelings or reject them, keeps caving into them. As it gets late and becomes more and more clear that the Breezies may not be able to return home in time, Seabreeze, getting desperate, tries to go alone and soon gets in trouble from a few common occurrences, culminating in nearly getting attacked by bees. Fluttershy comes to his rescue and he admits he didn’t really hate the others; he just knew he couldn’t survive in this world and was desperate to get them to want to leave. Fluttershy chastises him for that but at the same time realizes, as she had to shout at the bees to get them to leave him alone, that sometimes doing the right thing means needing to be forceful. With that in mind, she forces herself to order the Breezies to leave and throw them out of her house. Unfortunately, they’ve delayed too long and their reduced number can’t ride a strong-enough breeze to get them back as there’s not enough of them to act as a bulwark, so Twilight Sparkle turns herself, Fluttershy, and the others into Breezies to add more to the numbers. On the way back, Seabreeze changes his tune from being a “whip cracker” to more encouraging and motivating, also apologizing for his insults earlier. The Breezies and the Mane Six fly through the portal with only minutes to spare, and the girls get a brief glimpse of the Breezie world before Seabreeze gives Fluttershy a flower from the world as a reminder of them and a thank you. Fluttershy later writes that “showing kindness” can take many forms, including that of “tough love”, as Seabreeze’s flower gives off a rainbow shimmer…

Review:

This is probably the most reliant-on-plot-devices of the Keys of Harmony episodes…so much so that it’s hard to actually “get the back story”. Considering this is a show for little children and I’m an adult, that’s kind of saying something. Nevertheless…the “lesson” in this episode is rather important, hits close to home for me, and, most importantly, is rarely touched on in other children’s programming, and ultimately sells this episode more than a lot of others.

The sheer number of plot devices in this episode set up just to make sure the plot can work out the way it does is almost corny. And if it wasn’t for being the only way Fluttershy could have gotten her “Key of Harmony”, the whole bit with the girls being turned into Breezies for the final part of the episode would have seen like a shameless attempt to sell toys…although I can’t really say that now as I have yet to see a “Breezie” toy for sale. So there…the “bad stuff” is out of the way.

Now for the great stuff…

The fact of the matter is, in USA society, codependency is a huge problem. Especially among family members of addicts. They know the addict has to resolve a problem…or has to face the consequences of their actions in the hope it will get them to face a problem only they can face…but we don’t want them to suffer for it. And no parent who loves their child or close family member or friend ever “wants bad things to happen” to them. But that leads us to want to “cushion” them and forgive them. You see all these people getting 19th and 20th chances who are celebrities and you laugh and shake your head at them wondering how stupid you can be. That’s because it’s not your child, your friend, your loved one. But even so…it’s true. There are some things, as mature individuals, we have to do for ourselves. No one can do them for us…and if they try they’ll only make things worse.

Fluttershy may not have been a “parent” to the Breezies, but it’s abundantly clear she loves all living creatures and feels an obligation to care for them…even a responsibility (or “codependency”, really) to do so. The thought of “throwing a creature out into the cold, cruel world” is horrific to her because it would feel like the opposite of her nature: not caring for them, even being cruel or mean to them. Yet in this episode she’s forced to do something rather shocking for a kid’s cartoon…she’s forced to see that her kindness is actually harmful…and that the only way she can do the right thing…the truly “caring” thing…is to be “cruel”.

That scene where she finally “puts her hoof down”…and the Breezies come up to her and cling to her as they did all the other times, begging for more of her love and care…and she forces herself to bite her lip, turn up her nose, and firmly tell them to “get out”…damn. Just…damn. It’s even more heavy when it doesn’t do what it could have done. The Breezies don’t just “roll with it”, immediately realize “she makes a good argument”, and then go on their merry way. No…they look heartbroken and fearful. They bow their heads and sullenly and reluctantly fly out. And after Fluttershy forces herself to shut the door behind them…she breaks down in tears. Because that sort of thing is terribly, terribly painful. From personal experience…it HURTS. I can’t tell you how much it feels like something is ripping your heart out. I’m choking up right here writing this just at the memory. And this wonderful little animated program captured that. Even when “everything works out” at the end and the Breezies are safe back at home and Fluttershy’s course of action ends up being the best and the Breezies, no doubt, are even feeling a bit of gratitude for her throwing them out in the first place, you still think about that moment and it’s still painful.

Rarity and Rainbow Dash’s Key episodes were good…even great…but this is in a league of its own. I’d rate it even higher if it wasn’t for the fact I’m not sure my personal bias would be responsible.

Fun Facts:

The opening of the episode is a “flip-side” parody of the opening to “Sonic Rainboom”. Rather than trying to get the girls to cheer louder, Fluttershy is trying to get them to be softer. She even caps the sequence off with her now-infamous pathetic “yay”.

The Breezies were first mentioned in “Three’s a Crowd”, but they’re more “explained” in this episode. Apparently they’re a form of fairy creature (although tiny pony almost seems more accurate…) that needs to come into the “real world” to gather pollen (for some reason) and then migrate back to their own world which is more their size. And apparently they need to float on a breeze in order to “generate magic to protect the pollen”. That latter plot point is just to explain why the girls couldn’t just put the Breezies in a box and carry them to the portal much faster than they could have gone. Essentially, they’re a very complicated mythological creature created just so that the plotline would “work out”.

Seabreeze is voiced by Brian Drummond, the same actor who does the voice of Mr. Cake (who also appears in this episode). Although he uses a Swedish accident, there’s really no need as it’s nearly impossible to tell Seabreeze is even male, let alone the same voice.

While not nearly as popular as “Flutterhulk” or “Flutterbat”, “Flutterbee” became a small “thing” after this episode.

Fluttershy’s Key grew proportional in size to her.

Rating:

4 Stars out of 5

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