Equestria Girls - Valentines Day

[AllanO]

I enjoyed this review and while I like MLP enough to have watched a fair chunk of it, I am not really having much a yen to check this out, strikes me as too gimmicky.

So two fussy little things that strike me from this review, was the magic mirror portal only working every three years due to the alignment of the Sun and the Moon, because if so couldn't Celestia and Luna just have you know moved the Sun and Moon into position as needed until Twilight finished up (not an option for those who can't control celestial bodies, but you know in this case).

Second, so Twilight learns that the magic of the elements were inside her and her friends all along, which is also a lesson of the series second to last episode. I mean the series did have a tendency to repeat lessons, but I don't know you think Twilight would remember that one.

Anyway maybe the real plot holes were the friends we made along the way.

[Trinary]

Anyway maybe the real plot holes were the friends we made along the way.

That line.

But yeah, Equestria Girls has a fair amount of plot-holes, big enough to drive Optimus Prime through:

-How did Sunset know when the portal would be open again? Did she just try it every day for "thirty moons" and just lucked out?
-How did she know about the Elements of Harmony when they were basically a long-lost myth until Twilight used them on Nightmare Moon?
-How did she know who the hell Twilight and her friends even were?
-Why work the split up Twilight's friends before the mirror even opened up when, again, she couldn't know who the hell they were or about their connection to the Elements?
-Sure is lucky Twilight happened to be in the Crystal Empire, where the mirror was being stored, during that brief window.
-How did Celestia know that sending the other Mane characters would be disruptive, but couldn't/didn't tell Twilight anything else about the Equestria Girls world to warn or prepare her? Selective knowledge is selective!
-How did Sunset thing a few dozen mind controlled teenagers would accomplish jack against Equestria?
-What made her think the Element of Magic would even let her be able to DO that?
-Etc.

[Dragon Ball Fan]

still say the writers were fucking with people like me and if Sunset's struggle in Rainbow Rocks was supposed to be a more realistic take on redemption and forgiveness, they failed to repeat it with any of the other reformed villains in this sub franchise.

And what the was Chuck talking about Starlight Glimmer's redemption being more detailed then Sunset's?

[Cheerilee]

Two things one why didn't Twilight just grab and run, two was Sunset bluffing about the mirror? Because if not she be trap as well, and that wouldn't work with her plans.

Yes, Sunset was bluffing about threatening to break the portal. Twilight refused to hand over the crown, so Sunset drops the hammer and doesn't follow through with her threat. Heroes celebrate victory, so Sunset gets upset and goes for the tackle. Five minutes later, Sunset says that she was bluffing all along about breaking the portal, because she planned to lead an army and invade Equestria, so she needs the portal too.

That line.

But yeah, Equestria Girls has a fair amount of plot-holes, big enough to drive Optimus Prime through:

-How did Sunset know when the portal would be open again? Did she just try it every day for "thirty moons" and just lucked out?
-How did she know about the Elements of Harmony when they were basically a long-lost myth until Twilight used them on Nightmare Moon?
-How did she know who the hell Twilight and her friends even were?
-Why work the split up Twilight's friends before the mirror even opened up when, again, she couldn't know who the hell they were or about their connection to the Elements?
-Sure is lucky Twilight happened to be in the Crystal Empire, where the mirror was being stored, during that brief window.
-How did Celestia know that sending the other Mane characters would be disruptive, but couldn't/didn't tell Twilight anything else about the Equestria Girls world to warn or prepare her? Selective knowledge is selective!
-How did Sunset thing a few dozen mind controlled teenagers would accomplish jack against Equestria?
-What made her think the Element of Magic would even let her be able to DO that?
-Etc.

- Celestia and Luna seemingly knew how the portal worked, but neither one had ever dared to go into it. Celestia presumably taught Sunset about it, and Sunset was power-hungry, so she would be drawn to a power that even Celestia feared, and became the first to go through.

- In the powerless EQG world, Sunset learned that you can increase your power relative to others by bringing down those others, so she schemed to break up groups and relationships. Twilight's friends were already friends with each other in the EQG world (as opposed to Ponyville, where Twilight was the one who brought them all together), and they were stronger together, so Sunset broke them up, like she broke up everyone else.

- We don't know how long the portal stays open. Sunset probably came though the unguarded portal in the Crystal Empire, slipped out of the castle, and made some simple inquiries about the state of the world. That's enough to learn about Twilight and the Elements of Harmony Crown.

- Her original plan was probably just to slip into Equestria and find some magical item to bring over for an advantage in this non-magical world, but she hit the motherlode due to Twilight's visit.

- Those teenagers would presumably turn into ponies if they went through the portal. So the question more becomes, "How did Sunset think the Crown, a couple demon minions, and a few dozen mind-controlled soldiers would accomplish jack against Equestria?" And the answer is, her pawns can counter Celestia's pawns, while she thinks she can take Celestia one-on-one. And she's a villain with delusions of grandeur, carrying a weapon that took out Nightmare Moon and Discord.

So two fussy little things that strike me from this review, was the magic mirror portal only working every three years due to the alignment of the Sun and the Moon, because if so couldn't Celestia and Luna just have you know moved the Sun and Moon into position as needed until Twilight finished up (not an option for those who can't control celestial bodies, but you know in this case).

Celestia and Luna control the Sun and Moon on one side of the portal. Since they can't influence the Sun and Moon on the other side, it stands to reason that they can't really mess with the portal that way (they would need to try and mess with the portal directly). The portal presumably runs on it's own schedule, and "Moons" are just Equestria's way of measuring when it arrives. Like, you can mess with the dials on your watch, but that won't make the train wait for you, or arrive any sooner.

[Darth Wedgius]

I watched all the EQ movies once, enjoyed each one, and haven't really felt tempted to see any of them again. It looks like SFDebris got more out of the movie than I did, but it looks like he put more into getting something out of it. I guess there's an upside to reviewing instead of just watching.

I liked Spike being an anchor for Twilight in this, and I did like Twilight's lesson that people aren't supposed to follow her because she's a princess; she's a princess because people are supposed to follow her.

Other than that... It just didn't do much for me. It didn't do anything I really hated. Even what seemed like Sunset having a switch flipped from Evil to Good was something I'd gotten used to in MLP and chalked up to being a kid's show.

[CmdrKing]

In Friendship in Magic, while you can absolutely find all the elements that are there for the toy line (end of season transformations, an episode dedicated to showing off everyone's pet, ponies that are normally naked having dresses), the creative team absolutely had a larger idea for the show and simply wove those elements in. Hasbro didn't hand a list of new toys to their writers and get a response of "uh... sure we can do that".

Meanwhile I do think you can feel a bit of cynicism in the original's Equestria Girls' creation. I suspect that Hasbro saw things like Monster High or Bratz, said "well we need something to capture that market", and then went to the MLP team with "we need a line of human dolls in high school, each with three distinct outfits" to which they said "uh... sure we can do that".

I think all other Equestria Girls material is a lot better than the original movie (Rainbow Rocks in particular as noted), and it's precisely because the writers had figured out how to give it a unique voice compared to FiM and were able to roll all the new corporate notes into the show organically, rather than the seams being visible.

[Dragon Ball Fan]

Even what seemed like Sunset having a switch flipped from Evil to Good was something I'd gotten used to in MLP and chalked up to being a kid's show.

I hate that kind of dismissive thinking, kid shows can handle this better. why is Sunset the only character in this or any other part of the franchise who actually has to earn redemption in the next movie?

[Darth Wedgius]

Even what seemed like Sunset having a switch flipped from Evil to Good was something I'd gotten used to in MLP and chalked up to being a kid's show.

I hate that kind of dismissive thinking, kid shows can handle this better. why is Sunset the only character in this or any other part of the franchise who actually has to earn redemption in the next movie?

My point wasn't about being forgiven, but rather about her quick change of heart. At the end of the movie it was clear that she had to clean up her mess, and that she was "in good hands."

I put it down to the convention of MLP:FiM. It's the same reason the police didn't show up during the final battle. It's the same reason that the Joker can get caught and escape again and again in Batman: TAS. Some details are eliminated to make for a more entertaining story.

[Dragon Ball Fan]

Even what seemed like Sunset having a switch flipped from Evil to Good was something I'd gotten used to in MLP and chalked up to being a kid's show.

I hate that kind of dismissive thinking, kid shows can handle this better. why is Sunset the only character in this or any other part of the franchise who actually has to earn redemption in the next movie?

My point wasn't about being forgiven, but rather about her quick change of heart. At the end of the movie it was clear that she had to clean up her mess, and that she was "in good hands."

I put it down to the convention of MLP:FiM. It's the same reason the police didn't show up during the final battle. It's the same reason that the Joker can get caught and escape again and again in Batman: TAS. Some details are eliminated to make for a more entertaining story.

then, what was the point of showing Rainbow Dash punished in "Newbie Dash" or the Cutie Mark Crusaders being punished in "Appleosa's Most Wanted"? if the show wants to tell stories about unconditional friendship and forgiveness, can it at least be consistent?

[Darth Wedgius]

Even what seemed like Sunset having a switch flipped from Evil to Good was something I'd gotten used to in MLP and chalked up to being a kid's show.

I hate that kind of dismissive thinking, kid shows can handle this better. why is Sunset the only character in this or any other part of the franchise who actually has to earn redemption in the next movie?

My point wasn't about being forgiven, but rather about her quick change of heart. At the end of the movie it was clear that she had to clean up her mess, and that she was "in good hands."

I put it down to the convention of MLP:FiM. It's the same reason the police didn't show up during the final battle. It's the same reason that the Joker can get caught and escape again and again in Batman: TAS. Some details are eliminated to make for a more entertaining story.

then, what was the point of showing Rainbow Dash punished in "Newbie Dash" or the Cutie Mark Crusaders being punished in "Appleosa's Most Wanted"? if the show wants to tell stories about unconditional friendship and forgiveness, can it at least be consistent?

Again,my complaint wasn't about forgiveness or punishment, or the lack thereof. It was about change of heart.