My Little Pony: The Movie

The My Little Pony toy line has been around for years and sparked a number of popular animated TV series. In this upbeat, colorful feature film, Twilight Sparkle (voiced by Tara Strong)—Ponyville's squeaky-voiced Princess of Friendship—is preparing to mount a festival headlined by pop singer Songbird Serenade (Sia). Suddenly, a flotilla of hostile airships appears, bearing unicorn Tempest Shadow (Emily Blunt), who announces that her boss—the villainous Storm King (Liev Schreiber)—intends to conquer the city. Sparkle escapes along with her pals Applejack (Ashleigh Ball), Rainbow Dash (also Ball), Pinkie Pie (Andrea Libman), Fluttershy (Libman again), Rarity (Tabitha St. Germain), and dragon Spike (Cathy Weseluck), embarking on an odyssey to find the powerful hippogriffs and ask for their help. Along the way, they encounter a series of oddball characters—including a fast-talking con-cat (Taye Diggs) and a ship full of pirate birds led by Captain Celaeno (Zoe Saldana)—before reaching their destination and meeting hippogriff queen Novo (Uzo Aduba) and her sea pony daughter Skystar (Kristin Chenoweth). All return to Ponyville for a climatic showdown. Although the plot falls back on a standard-issue superhero template, the emphasis here is on making new friends and working together (presented with a succession of bland Disneyesque songs), while the visuals are agreeably old-fashioned—featuring bright, sunny colors. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the production featurettes “Making Magic with the Mane 6 and their New Friends” (15 min.) and “The Journey Beyond Equestria” (12 min.), as well as the shorts “Hanazuki: Full of Treasures” (5 min.), “Baking with Pinkie Pie” (4 min.), and “Equestria Girls” (3 min.), as well as a brief deleted scene, and the music video for “I'm the Friend You Need” by costar Taye Diggs. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a reasonably engaging family film.] (F. Swietek)