My Little Pony: A New Generation is a 3d movie which had a lot of fans and interested people that looked forward to its arrival and expected (mostly) nothing more or less as what the title promised them - a new generation of the Mlp universe. And after nine seasons of a great series that managed it to make its way into the hearts and minds of children and adults, teaching them lessons of friendship and life in a colourful world with Ponys, Pegasi, Unicorns and other interesting creatures in a thoughtful way, the deep characters, great plot and courful and interesting world, it also maked sure to not only catch its audience and deliver them nice and helpful lessons, but also to create a feeling of nostalgic when thought about. Therefore many where interested to see a movie that would let them feel the same and would expand the Mlp universe with a new generation of ponys that have to deal with new problems on their adventure, which would lead them to the magic of friendship in the same thoughtful way as already joyfully seen in the series.
However, I for myself was almost shocked to see how the lazyness of some of the films creators managed it here to destroy the great potential the film had. I'm bot talking of the animation style, because that is a whole other topic and highly depending on the subject. I'm neither talking about the voice acting, which was btw well done or the message the film wants to deliver. No, I am talking about the films plot, characters, character development, leak of logic and the general lazyness that sadly often was shown through the movie.
And yes, I know that this is mostly a movie for children and the Mlp comunity, but that isn't an excuse in anyway for the movie just being lazy made. This can be seen in the films first minutes as the new characters, their world and the current conflict with which the ponys habe to deal with are introduced. The female main protagonist Sunny Starscout, an earth pony is shown that lives with her father in a lighthouse and teaches her and the other main protagonist Hitch Trailblazer as also the later main antagonist Sprout Cloverleaf the lessons of friendship that Twilight Sparkle and her friends discovered through their adventures and the former unity that once has been existed between the three main pony races. This all happens in an Equestria where these three races, the Earth Ponys, Pegasi and Unicorns live seperated in different areas of the country, after they once split apart. How did that happen you may ask? - Well although teasert throughout at least half of the movie and importend for the plot or at least very interesting to no, it never gets explained in the movie. Even tho there was a well known Queen of friendship with her friends that have united the whole country with all its different species it is never explained. I mean the main plot is to show the magic of friendship, that can unite and overcome borders, the three races life seperated from each other with bad beliefs from each other and the reason of this conflict isn't worth to mention? Come on! Plus it wouldn't have been difficult to do so. You easily just could give the audience one sight of the reason and/ or event that caused the current situation through some propaganda by the government, maybe in school etc. But no, the current image of the other races only gets called out as brainwashing by Sunny's father. But how does he knows this and has a general knowledge of Equestrias past then, when the origin of the current situation lies that far away in the past that generations of ponys have been told a false image of Pegasi and Unicorns you ask then? Well, he did some research... Seriously? That's all it needs to know the true past? Why is he then at least just seemingly the only pony that knows about this? I mean it isn't delivered to the audience that the access to that knowledge is that hard to get. And then again, how comes it, that even Sunny's seemingly well knowing father that even was in possession of one of the three magic friendship gems believed that it wasn't that necessairy to explain how it could happen, that the unity and friendship of the three races that once has been existed broke apart? I mean sure, that may be a thing to tell your ten year old daughter at her bed, but he didn't seem to have told her that later, because she didn't even seems to know that as a grown up, because she never mentioned it - even in argumentations with Hitch or her speech at the fashion show of Karen's secruity enterprise. That be that, but the plot, although first at least kinda promising as an unicorn, the second main protagonist Izzy shows up at Sunny's town and they both get connected to each other in their beliefs and goals, making their way to Pegasi city to gain go find a way to bring the Unicorn's lost magic and the unity back. However this gets handled rather lazy and unlogical as all that it needs is to put some magic crystals they saw on a train stations glas mosaic together just because it looks in their eyes as if they could fit and friendship to activate them.
That's right, after her father seemingly had told her the story of Twilight and her friends with their friendship gems that stood for certain Virtues each that where the attribute of one of them and which gave them their magic it now just are first two and later for some reason three gems - each for one of the three pony races. Just why? How did this three gems do have any connection of friendship? Neither their form, nor their at least seemingly affiliation to one of the races make any sense in this context. And again, how comes it, that her father didn't told her about it or about the true function of the lighthouse they lived in? What happened to him? He just disappered from one scene to another without any explaination. Maybe he got the same fate as Sunny's mother wich never played any role through the movie or is to be seen in any scene either. Why make something that new and unlogical there, when not needed? Just because you can call it new generation then? Nonsense! This wouldn't have been the point as the core plot and the new characters already would have ensured that. Especially when you are in fact that lazy that you don't use any deep characters by using cliches over cliches or in many cases just take the old main characters such as Twilight, Pinkie Pie or Rainbowdash as a rolemodell to a point, that they get that forgetable that for an example I had to google their names while writing this critic after have seen the movie on the very day. A reason for this is on one hand that the film doesn't seem to care about the protagonist's pasts, but manages to focus on a plot that just streches itself because it hasn't any big content. That leads to the second reason. There really isn't that much character development after all. The only persons that kinda undergo some changes through the movie are Hitch and Sprout. This character in itself is just another of the movie's problems as it looks as if he tries to fill the movie's space for a villain or threat and fails while doing so. In addiction to the plots leak of content comes that this leads to the plot being that predictable that they had to make the plottwist with the third gem at the end.
And even the movie's end leaks of logic, which to be fair had its origin at the approximately middle of the movie when it gets mentioned that the Pegasi's ability to fly doesn't just comes from them having wings but magic, so that all Pegasi can't fly. But when our friends have gathered all three magic gems and managed it to unify around thirty representants of the three races through pityness they reagained their magic. The Pegasi not only regain their ability of flying but also are suddently perfectly skilled in it. And the other Pegasi that weren't in near of the gems and didn't get the news of the big unity get their magic back as well because ... reasons... The same goes for the Unicorn's ability to use magic. Forget about flying lessons or magic schools with big librarys, they just can because MAGIC And it isn't as if the movie is bad in all points or was made to fail from the beginning. It could have been done better. With just a little more effort in character development Story telling etc. Like it comes out, that Sunny's father just used Twilight's story as a way to indirectly tell his daughter Equestrias past, and the reason for the current conflict as also introducing her to the solution to it when he already had known it.
All in all you could say, that My Little Pony: A New Generation had in its core a great potential that was ruined through lazyness and focusing on the false points.
Kids just deserve better.
However, I for myself was almost shocked to see how the lazyness of some of the films creators managed it here to destroy the great potential the film had. I'm bot talking of the animation style, because that is a whole other topic and highly depending on the subject. I'm neither talking about the voice acting, which was btw well done or the message the film wants to deliver. No, I am talking about the films plot, characters, character development, leak of logic and the general lazyness that sadly often was shown through the movie.
And yes, I know that this is mostly a movie for children and the Mlp comunity, but that isn't an excuse in anyway for the movie just being lazy made. This can be seen in the films first minutes as the new characters, their world and the current conflict with which the ponys habe to deal with are introduced. The female main protagonist Sunny Starscout, an earth pony is shown that lives with her father in a lighthouse and teaches her and the other main protagonist Hitch Trailblazer as also the later main antagonist Sprout Cloverleaf the lessons of friendship that Twilight Sparkle and her friends discovered through their adventures and the former unity that once has been existed between the three main pony races. This all happens in an Equestria where these three races, the Earth Ponys, Pegasi and Unicorns live seperated in different areas of the country, after they once split apart. How did that happen you may ask? - Well although teasert throughout at least half of the movie and importend for the plot or at least very interesting to no, it never gets explained in the movie. Even tho there was a well known Queen of friendship with her friends that have united the whole country with all its different species it is never explained. I mean the main plot is to show the magic of friendship, that can unite and overcome borders, the three races life seperated from each other with bad beliefs from each other and the reason of this conflict isn't worth to mention? Come on! Plus it wouldn't have been difficult to do so. You easily just could give the audience one sight of the reason and/ or event that caused the current situation through some propaganda by the government, maybe in school etc. But no, the current image of the other races only gets called out as brainwashing by Sunny's father. But how does he knows this and has a general knowledge of Equestrias past then, when the origin of the current situation lies that far away in the past that generations of ponys have been told a false image of Pegasi and Unicorns you ask then? Well, he did some research... Seriously? That's all it needs to know the true past? Why is he then at least just seemingly the only pony that knows about this? I mean it isn't delivered to the audience that the access to that knowledge is that hard to get. And then again, how comes it, that even Sunny's seemingly well knowing father that even was in possession of one of the three magic friendship gems believed that it wasn't that necessairy to explain how it could happen, that the unity and friendship of the three races that once has been existed broke apart? I mean sure, that may be a thing to tell your ten year old daughter at her bed, but he didn't seem to have told her that later, because she didn't even seems to know that as a grown up, because she never mentioned it - even in argumentations with Hitch or her speech at the fashion show of Karen's secruity enterprise. That be that, but the plot, although first at least kinda promising as an unicorn, the second main protagonist Izzy shows up at Sunny's town and they both get connected to each other in their beliefs and goals, making their way to Pegasi city to gain go find a way to bring the Unicorn's lost magic and the unity back. However this gets handled rather lazy and unlogical as all that it needs is to put some magic crystals they saw on a train stations glas mosaic together just because it looks in their eyes as if they could fit and friendship to activate them.
That's right, after her father seemingly had told her the story of Twilight and her friends with their friendship gems that stood for certain Virtues each that where the attribute of one of them and which gave them their magic it now just are first two and later for some reason three gems - each for one of the three pony races. Just why? How did this three gems do have any connection of friendship? Neither their form, nor their at least seemingly affiliation to one of the races make any sense in this context. And again, how comes it, that her father didn't told her about it or about the true function of the lighthouse they lived in? What happened to him? He just disappered from one scene to another without any explaination. Maybe he got the same fate as Sunny's mother wich never played any role through the movie or is to be seen in any scene either. Why make something that new and unlogical there, when not needed? Just because you can call it new generation then? Nonsense! This wouldn't have been the point as the core plot and the new characters already would have ensured that. Especially when you are in fact that lazy that you don't use any deep characters by using cliches over cliches or in many cases just take the old main characters such as Twilight, Pinkie Pie or Rainbowdash as a rolemodell to a point, that they get that forgetable that for an example I had to google their names while writing this critic after have seen the movie on the very day. A reason for this is on one hand that the film doesn't seem to care about the protagonist's pasts, but manages to focus on a plot that just streches itself because it hasn't any big content. That leads to the second reason. There really isn't that much character development after all. The only persons that kinda undergo some changes through the movie are Hitch and Sprout. This character in itself is just another of the movie's problems as it looks as if he tries to fill the movie's space for a villain or threat and fails while doing so. In addiction to the plots leak of content comes that this leads to the plot being that predictable that they had to make the plottwist with the third gem at the end.
And even the movie's end leaks of logic, which to be fair had its origin at the approximately middle of the movie when it gets mentioned that the Pegasi's ability to fly doesn't just comes from them having wings but magic, so that all Pegasi can't fly. But when our friends have gathered all three magic gems and managed it to unify around thirty representants of the three races through pityness they reagained their magic. The Pegasi not only regain their ability of flying but also are suddently perfectly skilled in it. And the other Pegasi that weren't in near of the gems and didn't get the news of the big unity get their magic back as well because ... reasons... The same goes for the Unicorn's ability to use magic. Forget about flying lessons or magic schools with big librarys, they just can because MAGIC And it isn't as if the movie is bad in all points or was made to fail from the beginning. It could have been done better. With just a little more effort in character development Story telling etc. Like it comes out, that Sunny's father just used Twilight's story as a way to indirectly tell his daughter Equestrias past, and the reason for the current conflict as also introducing her to the solution to it when he already had known it.
All in all you could say, that My Little Pony: A New Generation had in its core a great potential that was ruined through lazyness and focusing on the false points.
Kids just deserve better.