It's official, the movie has a PG rating. Not that I am surprised considering how rare G is and of course it wouldn't be PG-13. Though that would be interesting if it was:)
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I suspect everyone's heard this by now, but just to be safe:
The next two episodes (numbers twelve and thirteen) will both premiere in North America this Saturday, August 5th, after which the show will resume it's one-episode-per-week schedule.
It's official, the movie has a PG rating. Not that I am surprised considering how rare G is and of course it wouldn't be PG-13. Though that would be interesting if it was:)
Wouldn't any amount of combat give this a PG rating?
Equestria Daily just dropped a bunch of screenshots for the movie.
WHOA, WHOA, WHOA...
screenshots:
Is... THAT a CAT PERSON?
IS THAT A CAT PERSON??
Why does that feel like such a nod towards the community (and especially Doctor Wolf?) I mean... It almost DEFINITELY looks like some-ones non-pony OC!
Equestria Daily just dropped a bunch of screenshots for the movie.
WHOA, WHOA, WHOA...
** spoiler omitted **
more spoilers:
So, anyhow, It isn't like I'm a big cat-folk person, but I love pandering when it isn't overly heavy handed, or when it's done cleverly (as I felt was the case in episode 100). So to me, having a character in the show validate some pony-famous individual's non-pony OC if done subtly is going to be great! I doubt we will ever see a hippogriff, but I'd much rather see the cat/dog people anyway.
It's official, the movie has a PG rating. Not that I am surprised considering how rare G is and of course it wouldn't be PG-13. Though that would be interesting if it was:)
Wouldn't any amount of combat give this a PG rating?
Frozen was PG due to an instance sexual innuendo. They could have dropped one line and been G. They deliberately wanted to be PG.
You can see a hippogriff in the movie trailer. Plus there is a reason they are in the movie and there is a twist connected to them but I will not say anymore.
I'm basically a closet brony .... who plays an arcanist called DerpiTwi Lunamoon. And yes ... she has 'derped' several times ...
If there was a trait called 'Friendship is Magic' she would have got it.
As for favourite ponies, Luna would be high on the list (being an astronomer - I cannot believe there are no astronomers on Equestria - if there were .. Nightmare Moon may not have arisen).
Doctor and Derpy Whooves .... I don't think Hasbro would do it but wouldn't it be cool for them to sneak a TARDIS in the background.
Octavia and Vinyl. Be nice to hear them playing together. I'm sure dubstep and classical together would work if done right, and if anyone could pull it off, they could.
As for the mane six: Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinky Pie and Rarity .. but let's not forget Starlight Glimmer and Sunset Shimmer.
Oh yes, my new wizard, has Fluttershy's voice and personality.
I suspect everyone's heard this by now, but just to be safe:
The next two episodes (numbers twelve and thirteen) will both premiere in North America this Saturday, August 5th, after which the show will resume it's one-episode-per-week schedule.
Probably to make up for the fact that the rest of the planet saw those two episodes two months ago.
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Goblin Kid wrote:
Freehold DM wrote:
YouTube is where MLP got big. Fan based stuff there is still watched. I'm glad to see YouTube getting some official love here.
Yeah... I spend way to much time watching reviewers and analysts on youtube.
I used to do that, but I ended up cutting way back after I realized that I disagreed (often strongly) with most of them; particularly ones who started using it as a platform for talking about unrelated issues.
The only one I still watch now is DWK, as he's hilarious and insightful.
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Dragon78 wrote:
DWK?
Oh, you're in for a treat. >:)
I'll drop a link to his recap (they're all recaps as much as reviews) of Every Little Thing She Does, as I think that's one of his best ones. (Warning: NSFW for language.)
Quote:
By "unrelated issues" do you mean stuff like politics, nerd rage, other series, etc.?
That's exactly what I mean.
I don't want to throw shade (as the young people say) at anyone in particular, but one reviewer kept referencing contemporary political controversies in their reviews.
Another kept analyzing episodes in terms of tropes of contemporary story-telling, which was fine until I realized that it wasn't giving us new insights into MLP, but rather was using MLP as a mechanism to introduce how those tropes worked (e.g. "here's why 'happy endings' are cliche" despite the series not being over yet). It was not only overly didactic, but wasn't even really about the ponies anymore.
Another kept making comparisons between MLP:FiM and other series, which I just found annoying.
So yeah, the analysis community is subject to Sturgeon's Law just like everything else.
I enjoy Bronies React - hosted by ACRacebest, but featuring a host of Bronies including Saberspark, Animated James, Black Gryph0n, Dusty Katt, Fire Team Harmony, Nowacking, and many others.
And Cyborcat's MLP Vlogs. She's currently most of the way through season 2, and airs MLP Vlogs about every other Friday.
SF-Debris (not on Youtube, but part of Channel Awesome) does one or two reviews a year. He doesn't consider himself a Brony, but he appreciates the show and is frequently hilarious.
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Some thoughts on Discordant Harmony (spoiler'd because I'm considerate like that):
Spoiler:
I'll confess that I've never been a big fan of Discord. As an antagonist he was interesting, but as a reformed antagonist I feel like there's only so much use that they can get out of his character, and this honestly feels like they're starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel. I mean, I'm glad this wasn't another "Discord acts like a jerk to Twilight" episode, but - at the risk of sounding like a gigantic hipster - the fact that his acting normal was having a deleterious effect on him was easy to see coming (and I usually always suspend disbelief during my initial viewing). While I certainly don't want the show to up-end itself in an effort to break new ground, Discord's current narrative value honestly feels played out.
That said, I did like the part about his fading away if he didn't act chaotic for a long-enough period of time (apparently less than twenty-four hours!). New information about how things work is always appreciated, and this helped to further place Discord's near-limitless power into a broader context.
Urgh, they used the "d" word ("draconequus") again! I really wish the fandom hadn't come up with that; a unique entity doesn't need a taxonomic classification!
Hrm, I suspect I'm thinking too hard about this, but there's a bit of a juxtaposition in Discord bothering to go shopping at all when he can create and/or alter anything he wants. But I guess we can chalk that one up to his natural chaos and be done with it.
Props to this episode for how forthright Fluttershy was about her disappointment at Discord's being so normal (let alone then trying to fix everything). I felt like this really echoed the inner strength - the result of years of character growth - that she put on display earlier this season in Fluttershy Leans In. It's nice that wasn't just a one-note thing.
I admit it, watching Fluttershy trying to mimic Discord's chaos was adorable. It was like watching a kitten pretend to be a lion.
Some thoughts on Discordant Harmony (spoiler'd because I'm considerate like that):
** spoiler omitted **...
Er... On your third point...
Spoiler:
the show writers came up with the name. Cherrilee says it first. (S2E1)
Also, why doesn't a unique entity need a taxonomic classification? The point of the taxonomic classification is to show that there is a biological difference and to name said biological difference. So it doesn't matter how many are in the taxonomic classification as long as it can be shown that the new classification is necessary.
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Some thoughts on The Perfect Pear (spoiler'd for those that haven't seen it yet):
Spoiler:
Oh man, when this episode started I thought it was going to be another rendition of The Hooffields and McColts. WOW was I wrong!
"Breakfast for dinner." I feel like I should have some sort of nitpick about this...but I don't.
Is...is Granny Smith going to an outhouse to wash up for dinner? Because that really doesn't seem right.
Wait, Goldie Delicious is still alive and sane? I was pretty sure that the Slenderman would have gotten rid of her by now.
You know, this isn't really a thing, but you'd think the Apples would be waving it in the Pears' faces about how they (the Apples) founded Ponyville and all (even if they were called "Smith" back then). Or at least, if Granny's story in season two's Family Appreciation Day is reliable.
So the feud was originally based on economic competition? That seems rather prosaic. I mean, it's certainly legitimate and all, but I kind of thought it would be something at least a little more unusual, if only because of the extremely casual relationship this show has with matters of commerce and economics.
Wait wait wait...the Pears don't buck their trees to knock the pears down? I was absolutely sure we'd get something about "pear-bucking" in there somewhere.
Okay, wow, seeing those black-eyed babies actually talking is SUPER CREEPY!
...and then I realized that this was the story of Applejack's/Apple Bloom's/Big Mac's PARENTS! I'm still completely and utterly nonplussed that they did that! I had long since given up hope that we'd ever find out their names, let alone anything else about them! I have to go buy a new hat just so I can tip it to you, DHX.
Aww, and they're outlining the traits they had their children now have! The sweetness is just too much!!!
Props to the animators for remembering to include the image of Nightmare Moon on the moon.
This might be slightly too nitpicky, but I feel like Mrs. Cake should have volunteered some of this information before. I mean, she isn't some far-flung relative or a background pony we've never heard of before; she lives there in town and is quite clearly known to the Apple children. You think she'd have mentioned something about their mother to them at some point.
Nice work on calling out the whole "naming versus nurture" issue with Mrs. Cake, Apple Bloom!
...and the show counters by saying that her maiden name was Chiffon Swirl! So much new information! Including the rather odd tradition of married mares taking their husband's name, now that I think about it.
And listening to "Chiffon" mentioning to Buttercup how their families hate each other was when it finally clicked for me. The feuding families, the star-crossed lovers, their lives ending prematurely...this is the pony version of Romeo & Juliet.
Being a gigantic nerd, I actually did the math on Bright Mac and Buttercup's "one hundred thirty-one thousand four hundred fifty-six hour anniversary." As it turns out, that's exactly fifteen years. So if he called her Buttercup as a very young pony - let's say five - they were just barely older than teenagers when they got married. That sort of puts the whole idea of Twilight being a high-schooler (a la Equestria Girls) into persepective.
Well, that song left me crying like a little girl...
...and then I cried again when Grand Pear apologized to the Apple kids. Darn this show and it's ability to move me!
Aw nuts, and AGAIN when we saw that tree! That's it, I'm out for a while...
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Goblin Kid wrote:
Alzrius wrote:
Some thoughts on Discordant Harmony (spoiler'd because I'm considerate like that):
** spoiler omitted **...
Er... On your third point...
** spoiler omitted **
Spoiler:
Well I'll be damned...you're right. Thanks for keeping me honest yet again! My apologies to the fandom for thinking that they did that, though I still think the classification is unnecessary. The reason why is that - as a unique entity - a taxonomic classification is redundant; the personal name "Discord" is sufficient. There's no need to make a distinction between who he is and what he is; a single name fulfills both roles. If you're unique, then there's no reason to suggest that you're of a particular "type" of creature, and so need a personal name to distinguish you from others of your type.
Some thoughts on The Perfect Pear (spoiler'd for those that haven't seen it yet):
** spoiler omitted **...
I agree on everything, except:
Spoiler:
breakfast for dinner is actually a saying here in Ohio, so it's relatively true to AJ's form.
But yeah... This was the pinnacle of episodes so far.
Some thoughts of my own:
Spoiler:
This was TONS better than Romeo and Juliet. For starters, you actually see a love story, not some whirlwind romance between two kids who have no real idea what love is, but are lusting after each other, but rather you see years go by, and they get closer and closer before their marriage. Also, they were smart enough to not kill themselves after a familial confrontation like one young couple.
MY ONLY ISSUE is that Misses Cake calls it romantic to elope. Pragmatic? Yes. Romantic? A little, but it WAS NOT the most romantic thing they had done.
END RANT. Sorry.
In other words, this episode took it's source material and improved it!
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Goblin Kid wrote:
Alzrius wrote:
Goblin Kid wrote:
Alzrius wrote:
Some thoughts on Discordant Harmony (spoiler'd because I'm considerate like that):
** spoiler omitted **...
Er... On your third point...
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
Spoiler:
That's not really the same though. Both of those are names for what they are. We've just doubled up on them; one for formal taxonomy and another for casual use.
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Goblin Kid wrote:
Alzrius wrote:
Some thoughts on The Perfect Pear (spoiler'd for those that haven't seen it yet):
** spoiler omitted **...
Spoiler:
Yeah, I knew that was an actual thing some people enjoyed - though I didn't know it was a saying per se - but it's not my cup of tea. Hence why I sort of wanted to nitpick it, but couldn't really bring myself to do so.
Quote:
I agree on everything, except:
** spoiler omitted **
But yeah... This was the pinnacle of episodes so far.
Some thoughts of my own:
** spoiler omitted **
In other words, this episode took it's source material and improved it!
Spoiler:
I didn't mean for the comparison to be taken quite so seriously; any resemblance between this episode and the play was quite obviously taking very broad strokes. I don't think it's quite enough to directly compare them, particularly since this episode had a different focus - it put the spotlight not just on Bright Mac and Buttercup, but on those they left behind as well. Seeing Grand Pear tear up when he apologized to the Apple kids put forth that it wasn't just about their parents. It was about everypony involved.
No, haven't been to a convention in years. In fact I think I have only been to like two anime conventions in the last 15 years. I used to go to anime conventions all the time when I was younger.
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Some thoughts on Fame and Misfortune (spoiler'd because Rarity says "no spoilers!")
Spoiler:
I have the damnedest feeling that there's some sort of significance to these new ponies showing up. Some research suggests that they're G4 updates of ponies from previous versions of My Little Pony - that is, the names aren't completely new - but...I don't know, it's like there's something about them that I'm not quite getting. The show introduces new one-off characters easily enough (just look at Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail from season six's Top Bolt), but for residents of Ponyville, why couldn't they have used some ponies we'd already seen? I'd have enjoyed seeing Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon again, since they haven't had any speaking lines since season five's Crusaders of the Lost Mark.
Okay, so I looked it up. Twilight's bit about "friendship isn't always easy, but there's no doubt it's worth fighting for" was from The Return of Harmony - Part 2, when Twilight and the girls put the smackdown on Discord.
Wow, the Friendship Journal from season four really got old fast. I mean, yeah it had rotting fruit in it - and it must have survived Tirek destroying the Golden Oak Library - but I'm still a little surprised by how much it's falling apart. Wasn't season four only a year or so prior to now, in-character time? Obviously there's no official answer, but that's what it seems like.
Twilight, why are you so upset at the fact that publishing your journal is helping the CMCs with their cutie mark summer camp? I get that's not the journal's purpose, but it's not like this is necessarily a bad thing either. Just so long as everypony follows the friendship lessons contained therein, why not help the CMCs help ponies figure out their destiny?
Wait a minute...okay, the collectors who want signed copies and jerks gabbing over their tea is one thing. But now we have ponies acting like literally everything Pinkie says is hilarious and fans harassing Rainbow Dash with their adulation, which seems kinda...I dunno, these almost seem like meta-referential reactions. In fact, wait...holy crap, these ponies are complaining that Fluttershy had to keep learning to be assertive over and over again? And then complaining when she actually changed?! These ARE meta-referential reactions, brought into the narrative! It's...it's...another spotlight on the fandom! NOOOOO!!!
To digress for a moment, my favorite instance of the show commenting on its fans was season five's Party Pooped, largely because that was so subtly done that it might not even have been a commentary on the fandom at all. Slice of Life was addressing things the fans had brought up over the years, being a send-up more than anything. But then we got season six's Flutter Brutter and Stranger Than Fan Fiction. The former was more a critique/commentary on a particular phenomenon/attitude among members of our generation (or, more likely, every generation) than of its fans per se, and the latter confined most of its commentary to a single character, blunting the critique therein by letting us ascribe those negative traits to Quibble Pants himself (and, to be fair, Rainbow Dash), rather than having them be portrayed as an indictment of the greater participants in fandom.
But this time around, there's no such fig leaf; this episode is commenting on (the negative aspects of) its (more devoted) fans, and the comment is not a positive one. Tribalism, hyper-criticism, inordinate idolization, they're all here. And the thing is, none of these are wrong, but focusing on them to the exclusion of any redeeming characteristics makes this seem like, well, an indictment of the fans, ignoring everything positive that they bring to the table. The very people that they're criticizing are the ones who've made this show such a success that it's lasted this long.
Normally, I'd be more positive about a show that can make a comment on its viewers (without breaking the fourth wall) while still offering a coherent narrative that stands on its own. That's normally an instance of a show operating on multiple levels simultaneously, which I see as a product of good storytelling. But (and I suspect that most fans will disagree with me here) the didactic nature of MLP:FiM, to my mind, negates this strength. Whereas most shows are there simply to entertain, (almost) every episode of this show has a particular lesson that it wants to impart, some episodes more heavy-handedly than others.The problem is that when you're trying to convey a particular lesson, that focus seems (rightly or wrongly) to reduce anything else that you convey to being secondary at best, seemingly accidental at worst. As such, it's hard for me to give this episode credit for what it's doing here, since it seems to be more interested in calling out the negative aspects of its fans.
...aaand I just proved the show right (or at least, not wrong) about us with all of my complaining, darn it.
I'm a little perplexed that publishing the Journal made this happen. I mean...it's almost like there hadn't been any sort of effort to document and transmit the Mane Six's adventures to a wider audience in Equestria. More than that, though, is that the Journal's publication seemed to create demand among ponies where there wasn't any before. Did all of these ponies have no real interest in Twilight and co. before they read (or just heard about) the Journal? That just seems a little, I dunno, abrupt.
Hah, there's Twilight's mirror with pictures of her friends on it in the background! Nice nod to continuity, there!
"I can't even go to the bathroom without somepony tryin' to tell me how cool I am!" Okay, wow, that's...that's the sort of line that can be taken in all the wrong ways, Rainbow. Also, why is that upsetting you so much? From what we saw in Parental Glideance, that's almost exactly how you grew up. If anything, being celebrated for every little thing you do, no matter how insignificant, should feel nostalgic for you.
Ooh, Starlight's got an idea for how to fix this! Knowing her, it's going to be something crazy like mass-brainwashing everyone or traveling back in time to stop Twilight from ever publishing the Journal! I can't wait!
There's just...there's so much going on with that whole thing about the idea that Twilight's "character" would have been more interesting if she stayed in Canterlot, to which she responds that she's not a character but a real pony. It's like the reverse of all those (ill-formed) internet arguments where someone responds to an in-universe question by pointing out the fictional nature of the story. I love it!
And one of the ponies is complaining about Twilight getting wings. Check please!
I've learned that I'm the sort of person who enjoys these songs more the more I listen to them, so I won't critique this one too much. On the contrary, I enjoyed hearing the Mane Six respond to the complaints most typically leveled against them. That and it seems like we've had a real dearth of songs this season, so more is definitely welcome.
Hah! The song did nothing! That was funny even if it was predictable!
Wait, Starlight's big plan was to perk the Mane Six up by showing them that those new ponies from the start of the episode took the Journal's lessons to heart? That's nice and all, but it doesn't deal with the issue of that crowd of jerks outside the castle making a nuisance of themselves.
And apparently that won't be addressed at all, using the magic of "everything resets itself by next week" to deal with that. Bit of a cop-out there. I'm definitely going to go complain...er...damn it.
