Movie Review: 'The My Little Pony Movie'

Having seen the unique and oddly fascinating documentary Bronies a few years back, I have been trying to come to terms with the adult fans of My Little Pony. Is this simply large scale trolling or are these grown men for real in their pony based fandom? Oddly, I don’t feel like either of the Brony documentaries that have been released in the past couple of years have answered my question. I still don’t get what it is that grown men see in My Little Pony.

I definitely see what my 5 year old Goddaughter, Charlotte, finds appealing about the series. My Little Pony combines pretty, colorful, talking horses with a very simple, easy to digest moral in each episode of the series. Charlotte’s favorite color is pink and there is a character in the series named Pinkie Pie, it’s a pretty natural fit for her as yet unformed taste and intellect. That brings me back to the Bronies. Having now sat through My Little Pony The Movie, their interest in this series remains a bafflement to me.

My Little Pony The Movie is centered around the very first Festival of Friendship in which our heroine, Princess Twilight Sparkle, is charged with demonstrating why friendship is the greatest thing ever. Twilight has planned an epic festival featuring a performance by none other than pop star pony Songbird Serenade (real life pop star Sia). As we join the story, Twilight is nervously preparing for a meeting with her fellow pony princesses. She’s hoping to ask them to use their magic to move the sun and the moon to just the right places in the sky to light up the festival.

Unfortunately, Twilight’s plan is thwarted by an attack by an evil baddie known as The Storm King (Live Schreiber) and his top henchman, a former pony kingdom member, Tempest Shadow (Emily Blunt). The Storm King hopes to steal the magic from the Princess Ponies so he can use to take control of the weather and by extension take over all of Equestria. It will be up to Princess Twilight and her pals, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Spike the Dragon, to unite the surrounding pony kingdoms to stop The Storm King and his evil plot.

The story of My Little Pony The Movie is very straightforward and uncomplicated. The messages about friendship, trust, inner strength, and good judgment should resonate well with the target audience of pre-teen girls. There is nothing at all wrong with targeting that audience and giving them something that is geared well toward their growing minds. The animation may not be of the mind-blowing level of a Pixar but, Pixar can go over the heads of smaller children whereas My Little Pony The Movie is exceptionally well written for this specific audience.

That however, does not help me with my continuing effort to understand Bronies. I was hoping that watching My Little Pony The Movie would unlock a logical explanation for these grown men’s fascination with this kids show and I came away only more confused. I was remarkably bored watching My Little Pony The Movie. That’s an understandable reaction for a man my age, 41 years old, to a movie that is written to appeal solely to pre-teen girls. That however, leads to further confusion over what it is that other grown men see in this franchise.

A friend of mine theorized that it’s the very simplicity, the uncompromised innocence of the franchise and this movie that the Bronies find appealing. It’s a good theory, my friend is rather brilliant, especially in the world we live in today under the threat of terrorism, nuclear war and an ever-increasing war on our freedoms (decide for yourself which freedoms I am talking about, I’m taking a knee on that question. Ha!). Logically, it makes sense that some might seek shelter from the outside world in the friendliest and least complicated work of art available.

That’s just a theory, but it’s so far the best I have heard. I don’t have any interest in being snide toward Bronies or any fan sub-culture. I happen to love many passionate fanbases that I am not a part of. I happen to find anime fans to be among my favorite people, a gentle, warm passionate fandom whose favored art doesn’t appeal to me in any way, but I love the anime fans. Bronies still kind of weird me out if I am being completely honest, but I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade.

If you genuinely enjoy the world of Princess Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, go right ahead. It doesn’t appear that you are hurting anyone and in my book, in this day and age that’s certainly a plus. Enjoy your ponies, I will be over here pretending that I understand while my Goddaughter gives me another detailed lesson in what a "Cutie Mark" is all about in her mind.