"My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" Review

After this, no one can ever say I'm not a man of my word. Most likely by now you've seen at least a commercial for the show "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic." I'm an animator so I attempt to give all animations a chance, but My Little Pony didn't have anything to interest me. As a kid I never played with the toys or watched the old show. As an adult I was annoyed that the toys were sleeked down to appear more "sexy." So when my friend Zach became obsessed (I'm talking image tagging, fan comic making, shrine in his closet obsessed) with this show I really couldn't understand why. That being said, I agreed to watch one episode, chosen by him, and give him my 100% unbiased opinion of it. Zach and his friend Alex agreed I should watch episode 15, "Feeling Pinkie Keen."

This story is about a pony named Pinkie Pie who has the ability to make predictions via twitches on her body. Another Pony named Twilight doesn't believe in this ability because there is no scientific explanation. Essentially it is a metaphor for faith versus science. It covers all the necessary bases to tell the story without going too deep. It's perfect for children and ends with a solid moral, though parents who believe in science over faith might not like it.

I love traditional and tradigital 2D animation. When the animators take time to draw frame by frame each image the whole thing just flows better. So watching these flash based motion tween style animations just feels lazy by comparison. Having only the person talking move while the others just react isn't good. It's not how real life works, people don't just stop all motion but blinking.

On that note, this is a great example of the detailed work that can be done in flash. When it's moving the animation flows smoothly and there are enough replacement pieces for each character to have subtle and over the top expressions. It does save time and in the end will help later seasons be produced faster. This type of animation isn't my cup of tea but, like the Erin esurance commercials before it, I can really appreciate when this technique is used right.

The design is...it's my little pony's...do I really need to say more? It's cute, brightly colored and adorable. The characters designs aren't doing anything girl based toys or cartoons haven't done before. What is really great about the design is the background images. They are almost always jam packed with unique objects making them full of life. The few occasions the backgrounds become empty that life is drained away. It's not a show stopper, but it's noticeable.

Each character has a unique voice that matches their individual personalities, but they do come off as overly stereotyped. The farmer sounds like a classic cow girl and the Pinkie Pie is the sitcom "blond." There isn't anything inappropriate or unsafe about what you'll hear. Each line feels like something someone would really say, but doesn't become too complicated to alienate children. What really makes this simple dialogue work is the voice actors energy. Without them this script would be a lot blander.

Although there is some entertaining wit, many of the greatest laughs are from physical humor. Whether it be a exaggerated expression or a Loony Toons style anvil drop, you'll be hard pressed not to laugh at least once.

Over All:
B+
This show is perfect for little kids, and by comparison to shows like Flapjack, Hanna Montana, Adventure Time, and most the kids shows out there right now, this is a shinning gem. It will be one of the shows that 20 years from now college kids will be talking about having watched as kids, like how my generation discusses Spiderman. Will I watch this show again? No, but if I had kids I would want them to watch it and gain some simple morals with fun stories. It's the kind of show parents can watch with their children and not feel like their brains are melting. They might even get a few moments out of it themselves.

And now to you Zach, fine, your right. It wasn't as bad as it looked, but your over the top obsession with it is...well over the top. I guess, like the Naruto anime, we'll just have to disagree. Now if they do a My Little Pony: Apocalypse Pony season, maybe we can talk.

Free Comic Book Day

Rabidly approaching is free comic book day...well not rapidly...at a normal speed really...whatever, this Saturday is free comic book day! This day always brings me to the question, WHY THE HELL DON'T MORE PEOPLE READ COMIC BOOKS?!?!

Seriously, everyone I know loves super hero movies and knows/loves the characters. Who didn't play and adore Batman: Arkham Asylum? Who doesn't love great art work and amazing fights with heart gripping stories? So it seems only logical that everyone would love comic books, yet many comic stores are going out of business and sales of real paper comics are going down. So for ten years now they've just been handing out comics for free once a year!

Also, digital comics are killing classic comic book stores...come on, having a nice book always feels better than some hard plastic contraption. And you don't risk losing all your comics from a virus or having your identity stolen when you spend cash at a store. Sure they take up space, but it's worth it!

So everyone get out there on Sat and support your local comic store!