Tag: Andrea Libman

Cinema Dispatch: My Little Pony: The Movie

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

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My Little Pony: The Movie and all the images you see in this review are owned by Lionsgate and Hasbro

Directed by Jayson Thiessen

It took them seven years to do this?  We’ve had at least four equestrian girl movies, not to mention a slew of Hasbro properties making it to the big screen, but one of the most successful reboots of all time was put on the back burner until now!?  Well better late than never I guess, though the trailers leading up to its release have certainly strained my credulity on that expression.  Still, trailers aren’t always accurate and I’m certainly a big enough fan of this series that it wouldn’t be THAT hard to keep me at least mildly entertained.  Can the team behind such a successful television series make a successful leap to the big screen, or was this as ill-fated a project as… well pretty much all the OTHER Hasbro films that we’ve gotten so far?  Let’s find out!!

The movie begins with yet another friendship festival that’s hosted by the Princess of Friendship (how much of Canterlot’s tax revenue is straight up pork for Twilight’s pet projects?) and they’ve even managed to get the one and only Sapphire Shores… I mean Countess Coloratura… I mean Songbird Serenade (Sia), to make an appearance!  Twilight Sparkle (Tara Strong) along with her assistant Spike (Cathy Weseluck) and her friends Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack (Tabitha St Germain, Andrea Libman, and Ashleigh Ball), seem to have everything under control and are ready to set everything in motion, but then a fleet of very intimidating airships descend upon the capital of Equestria and start demanding their complete and utter surrender!  It turns out that this is the opening salvo for a maniacal dictator known as The Storm King (Live Schreiber) and is being led by a mysterious pegasus with a broken horn named Tempest Shadow (Emily Blunt) who somehow manages to take out the three other princesses, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence (Nicole Oliver, Tabitha St Germain (again), and Britt McKillip) without the slightest bit of resistance!  Either this is one bad mother of a pony or the Princesses need better security!  In any case, the Twilight and her friends manage to escape but don’t have much to go on other than a mysterious message that Celestia shouted out before she was defeated and captured by Tempest Shadow; seek the queen of the hippos who lives beyond the badlands.  Not sure how hippos will help in this situation unless you dropped them on Tempest, but with nothing else to go on they begin their journey outside of The Shire… I mean Equestria, hoping to find a way to stop The Storm King and Tempest before it’s too late.  What will our little ponies find outside of the comforting boarders of Equestria, and will they know how to deal with such strange and frightening environments?  What is Tempest REALLY after in all this, and what does the Storm King have in store for all of them once he arrives in Canterlot?  Is the answer to all these questions Friendship?  I bet it’s gonna be Friendship.

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“See, THIS place could use a WHOLE lot of friendship!”

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Cinema Dispatch: Trailer Talk (My Little Pony: The Movie)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

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My Little Pony: The Movie and all the images you see in this trailer talk are owned by Lionsgate and Hasbro

Directed by Jayson Thiessen

Despite being such a popular series with a fan base that is heavily invested in the creative side of the process as much as it is in the show itself, there really hasn’t been much said about the My Little Pony movie that’s been in production.  Heck, it honestly feels like Equestria Girls, which was a spin off that only got a limited theatrical release, had MUCH more fanfare and anticipation surrounding it than something Hasbro is actually risking quite a bit of money on.  Okay, there’s no way we’re talking Transformers money here, but there’s no way a feature length animated feature with celebrity voices THIS famous was less than what they invested in freaking Jem and the Holograms which had its first trailer out five months before its release compared to four months for this film.  Still, an uneven marketing campaign doesn’t always spell doom for a film (*cough* Wonder Woman *cough*), and even if it’s a sign that the studio doesn’t have faith in the final product… well go ask Newmarket Films how that worked out with Donnie Darko.  Either way, let’s find out!!

Okay, so there’s no getting around it.  The movie looks PRETTY terrible based on this trailer.  The first thing you’ll notice is that the art style is quite different from the series which isn’t ALWAYS a bad thing (watching it for the first time, I was somewhat reminded of the changes made for the Spongebob Squarepants movie), but it doesn’t come off as an IMPROVEMENT and there are clearly areas where they were cutting corners; most notably with the copious use of CG for the buildings and backgrounds.

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WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL THE TEXTURES!?  Did they just forget to render them!?

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 7 (Honest Apple)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Hasbro

Episode directed by Denny Lu and Mike Myhre

We’re back with another episode of Next Top Equestria Model, and if that title didn’t make it clear enough we’ll be focusing on Rarity and her love of fashion once again!  Now Rarity is easily my favorite of the Mane 6 as her episodes tend to have a lot more range than anyone else’s and she’s a genuinely interesting character to watch with highlight such as Sisterhooves Social,  Sweet and Elite and of course the eponymous Rarity Investigates!  Will this be another great example of why Rarity is the best, or is this one we’ll want to bury away with other better off forgotten episodes like The Mysterious Mare Do Well or even Just for Sidekicks?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Rarity and Spike handing out flyers for a fashion contest that the former will be hosting at the Carousel Boutique in an effort to give aspiring young fashion designers an avenue to express themselves as well as an invaluable networking opportunity!  With any good fashion contest though, you need a collection of colorful and sardonic judges to make it all come together and fortunately Rarity has such a group of characters in mind!  Hoity Toity will serve as our Tim Gunn, Photo Finish will be the wacky and unpredictable one that’ll generate the drama, and the anchor will be… Applejack!  Wait, WHAT!?

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Good thing she was passing by just as you made that announcement!

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 7 (Fluttershy Leans In)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 1 Comment

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Hasbro

Episode directed by Denny Lu and Tim Stuby

We’re back with another episode of Unbreakable Fluttershy who hasn’t had a starring role since last season’s Viva Las Pegasus and has barely even shown up since this season began.  Fluttershy isn’t the easiest character to write for considering how much her defining characteristics can sometimes limit what she’s capable of doing, but in recent seasons they’ve managed to put out a few gems with her that complement what makes her unique in the cast.  Can they continue that going into season 7, or will this be remembered as a half-hearted piece of season filler?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Angel Bunny (Fluttershy’s own Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne) doing some parkour in Fluttershy’s house (okay…) before it all ends the same way every parkour run inevitably does so; with the runner getting GREVIOUSLY (and hilariously) injured.  Oh I’m sure he’s fine!  He’ll be back to being an abusive jerk-wad in no time!

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“Did you… get… the shot?”     “I think so.”     “My work is done…”

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 7 (Rock Solid Friendship)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 1 Comment

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Hasbro

Episode directed by Denny Lu and Tim Stuby

We’re back with another episode of All in The Pie Family; a show that ALSO had a breakout star named Maud!  Okay, it was spelled Maude, but close enough!!  Maud Pie is one of the most popular characters of the series since her debut in season four to the point that she’s one of the very few secondary characters to have multiple episodes focused on them.  Seriously, does anyone even remember the last time Zecora got a speaking role?  Not even The Cakes get more than one chance in the spotlight!?  PINKIE PIE LIVES WITH THEM FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!  No… have to focus.  Lack of Mr. and Mrs. Cake aside… Maud has had a very strong record so far as her episodes tend to stand out quite a bit, and with the solid track record this season has so far with supporting characters, it seems likely that that trend will continue.  Do they manage to pull off another great episode with everyone’s favorite April Ludgate impersonator, or are we reaching the point of oversaturation one of the show’s more interesting characters?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Maud Pie getting her Rock-torate in Rock Studies (because Geology isn’t a funny enough word) and the whole Pie family is there for the graduation ceremony… which only includes her.  Hey, at least she’s not trying to get a job in an oversaturated market, which I assume is the case with Magic Studies graduates.  I mean, if the choices are CONTROLLING THE UNIMAGINABLE POWER AROUND YOU or looking at dirt all day, I’m pretty sure we’d ALL go for the one that lets us shoot fire balls.

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Oh look!  Their mortarboards are ALSO made out of rocks!

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 7 (A Flurry of Emotions)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 2 Comments

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Hasbro

Episode directed by Denny Lu and Tim Stuby

We’re back with another episode of Flurry Heart’s Day Out!  Oh yes, the little rascal who we’ve barely seen since her debut in season six and is cute to a weaponized degree!  Feels like a wasted opportunity if you ask me!  Well wait no longer, fans of all things cute and baby related, as the writers have heard your pleas and we now have another episode with the extremely marketable bundle of joy!  Does this episode bring the adorable goodness that we require along with an interesting story about being a good parental figure, or will Flurry Heart turn out to be just as uninteresting as poor Nicky Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Twilight in her Doom Fortress talking to one of the nurses from the Ponyville Hospital about a possible appearance by the Princess to cheer up some foals who managed to get something called The Horsey Hives.  Technically hives are a symptom rather than the root cause of an illness and often caused by allergic reactions (meaning that the entire class must not only be allergic to the same thing but must have been exposed to it at the same time), but I guess they’re MAGIC hives and can be spread any number of ways.  Twilight is easily convinced to help out by delivering food, gifts, and reading materials, which of course spells DOOM for everyone as Murphy’s Law is just as stringent a rule in this world as gravity is; meaning something is gonna come RIGHT through those front doors and screw everything up!

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“I’M THE BABY!!”     “And she’s YOU’RE problem now!!”

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 7 (All Bottled Up)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 2 Comments

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Hasbro

Episode directed by Denny Lu and Tim Stuby

We’re back with another episode of I Love Trixie, starring MLP’s very own Lucy/Ethel besties Starlight Glimmer and THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!!  It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of any episode that puts these two together, and the fact that they are the subject of the season premiere’s second episode is certainly a good way to get me to overlook the fact that we’re starting the season off without a big two-parter to shake things up and start things off with a bang.  Does this turn out to be yet another wonderful use of the two best characters the series has going for it right now, or has this particular team up managed to run its course already?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Trixie and Starlight in the kitchen of Twilight’s Doom Fortress where the former is getting some remedial lessons on magic.  I don’t know why she needs magic when she’s already a master of MAGIC!, but I guess THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE will not be outdone in ANY field of study.  At the very least, she’s still the master of adorable frustration which she proves to us once again after the fifth attempt to turn a pepper shaker into a teacup fails.

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“You put an anti-magic spell on this, didn’t you.  Yes Trixie.  I took the time to come up with a spell to nullify all magic and placed on a random object you JUST SO HAPPENED to try and turn into a teacup.  I absolutely did that.”     “AH HA!!  THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE IS TRULY THE MASTER OF DEDUCTION AS WELL!!”

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 7 (Celestial Advice)

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 3 Comments

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Hasbro

Episode directed by Denny Lu and Tim Stuby

We’re back with another episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and it feels like an ETERTINTY since I last said that!  Then again, the show has taken MUCH longer to start a new season in the past, particularly between seasons four and five when they were being switched over from The Hub to Discovery Family, but that doesn’t mean it was any easier to go without my weekly fix of Pony Magic!  Now the new season is actually doing something very different right off the bat as the show USUALLY starts off with a two-parter to open the season with yet decided to forgo that for the first time since the series began to instead have to separate episodes to start us off with.  Does a less bombastic opening salvo for the season still manage to bring the excitement needed to bring the fans back on board, or does this first episode drop the ball right off the bat?  Let’s find out!!

The episode picks up not too long after the events of the season 6 finale where everyone is getting ready for the award ceremony to honor Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, Thorax, and Discord, for their brave efforts to thwart Queen Chrysalis’s latest scheme.  They didn’t CAPTURE her so she’s still out there probably scheming something else, but her power has at least been diminished since all the Changelings turned on her and became beautiful florescent colored bug horses for their troubles and installed Thorax as their new king.  Probably less to do with his role in overthrowing the monarch than the fact that he now has BAD ASS ANTLERS!

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“Luna.  You can stop now.  Even if you get it on, how is he ever gonna take it off?”     “THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT TOLD YOU TO USE VELCRO STRAPS!!  NOW LOOK WHERE WE ARE!!”

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Super Recaps: Equestria Girls: Friendship Games

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 1 Comment

For the third year in a row, the mad geniuses behind Friendship is Magic has brought us a movie based on what might be one of the dumbest and cynical ideas that you could come up with for a spinoff of a fantasy series.  If you think about it, this is the same crazy idea that led to awful movies like Highlander 2: The Quickening, Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time, and Masters of the Universe.  Somehow though, despite all that was working against them, the team that made colorful horses into a cross generational smash hit managed to make Equestria Girls into a quality and meaningful extension of the series.  Neither of the previous films were perfect, but they managed to be a lot of fun and at brought a bit of variety to the franchise which is more than I think anyone was expecting.  Now they’re back with the third movie which looks to go even more in depth with the parallel universe gimmick by making the Twilight Spark of this universe the focus of this outing.  Will they be able to knock it out the park again with this movie, or have they gone as far as they can with this secondary series?  Let’s find out!!

The movie begins with everyone running frantically to school to face whatever new threat has befallen them this time.  Oh no wait, Rainbow Dash just needs a new guitar string.  Well, to SOME people that would be an emergency (mainly Rainbow Dash).  Oh well, at least there’s absolutely NOTHING strange going on at this school for once and everyone can… wait who’s that?

First a trio of sirens and now the Unabomber!?!?
First a trio of sirens and now the Unabomber!?!?

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