Tag: Fluttershy

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 (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 (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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The NekoCon Diaries 2016: NekoCon Harder

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

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Another year has passed which means it’s time for Doctor Scientist and I (along with Doctor Scientist’s girlfriend this time) to head back to Hampton VA and attend NekoCon 2016!  And yes, if we do this again next year, than it will be called NekoCon with a Vengeance.  With my schedule the way it is (work, website, sleep, repeat until death) I’m not one to get out much for anything other than seeing movie and making poor choices about my diet, so I really have been looking forward to going back to this convention since I got back from it last year.  So how was it?  Well considering that this is only my second convention ever, let’s just say that it’s still a work in progress for me to get the most out of my experience.  I’m not a typically social person in the first place, so being surrounded by THAT many people is nerve racking to a certain degree which kinda limited how much fun I was having at the time; rather I was focusing a lot on having a full schedule so I would have lots to talk about here.  I do have a notebook full of notes and a mountain full of things I bought, so there’s no doubt I got something out of it, but the in-between moments where I had an hour or two before the next event, I was struggling to do anything other than walk around the Vendor’s Hall decidedly not buying anything and not really talking to people either.  Oh well.  Live and learn I guess.  I DID get more pictures this year than last, so that’s something at least!

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Super Recaps: Equestria Girls: Legend of Everfree

~ Matt Vetrano ~ 1 Comment

Equestria Girls: Legend of Everfree and all the images you see in this recap are owned by Hasbro

Directed by Ishi Rudell

Well what do we have here?  It looks like another Spin-Offs Are Magic movie has been graciously provided by Hasbro who’s always looking to find new ways to milk it’s biggest cash cow that isn’t being helmed by Michael Bay!  Now what’s interesting about this Equestria Girls movie though is that we’ve finally established Human Twilight as an entity in this world and is now a part of our parallel universe crew which, coincidentally (or not so coincidentally) now has seven members  at about the same time as Pony Twilight got a new member for her team!  It also means that this franchise doesn’t have tie itself to the school to accommodate Pony Twilight who still needs to enter in and out of this dimension through the statue portal thingy which gives this a chance to stand on its own as an independent world rather than an extension of Equestria.  Does this series manage to throw off the shackles of its spin-off roots in spectacular fashion, or will removing the training wheels only lead to pain and an uncertain future for these characters?  Let’s find out!!

The movie begins with Human Twilight who is tossing and turning in her sleep from some sort of nightmare, and while we don’t get a glimpse of what she’s dreaming about, we DO at least get a glimpse of her room which has some interesting details all on its own.

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I’m guessing Spike was the one who insisted a picture of him be framed and hung on the wall.

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 6 (Every Little Thing She Does)

~ 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 the Unbearable Starlight-ness of Being!  It seems like the show kind of forgot about her for a while there despite her becoming Twilight’s student seemed to be the overarching theme of the season.  It’s probably a bit too late at this point to turn that into a reality, but it is always nice seeing her do something, especially with No Second Prances being such a high point for the season.  Can they recreate that magic here, or will this latest effort prove to be a non-starter for Starlight who will be relegated to the background like so many other ponies in this show?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Twilight and Starlight in the Friendship Doom Fortress, seemingly having pulled an all-nighter considering how tired they look and getting ready to test their spell casting prowess against each other in what I can only assume is what Unicorns refer to as a horn measuring contest.  It’s not clear if Twilight is holding back, but Starlight has no problem keeping up with her moves which is unfortunate for the library once things start to escalate.

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“What the hell, Starlight!?”     “Oh I’m sorry.  Which one of us wanted to have a wizard duel in the middle of study hall?  Don’t you have a battle arena in here?”     “I’m pretty sure that’s in the basement next to the reanimation lab.”     “What was that?”     “I MEAN IT’S RIGHT NEXT TO THE BAKERY!”

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 6 (Viva Las Pegasus)

~ 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

Well it took them long enough to jump on the Hangover craze!  Every show needs their road trip to Las Vegas (worked for Homer and Flanders), so I guess we’ll have to get the kidified version here.  Personally, I would have gone with Fear and Loathing in Las Pegasus route on this, but then again I doubt that Hasbro would go for something like that, amazing as it would be.  Can the ponies’ trip to the city of gambling and substance abuse be entertaining even with all the edges smoothed out, or will this be a painful exercise in sugarcoating something to protect the kids’ (and their overprotective parents’) delicate sensibilities?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with the Cutie Map (oh hey!  That’s still a thing!) ordering Applejack and Fluttershy to go to the infamous Las Pegasus; EXACTLY the kind of place you’d want to send the two… shall we say prudish members of the group, what with Applejack’s small town farm values and Fluttershy’s inclination towards panic attacks at the slightest provocation.  Oh, it can’t be THAT bad, right?

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“Wow!  It’s so shiny!”     “Things have certainly been looking up since they kidnapped all the homeless ponies and left them in Moo-tah.”

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 6 (Buckball Season)

~ 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 The Bad News Mares!  Sports haven’t really come up in the show other than when it comes to the Wonderbolts, and even then it’s more akin to air shows and Top Gun stuff rather than any of the various ball based sports that other ponies can participate in.  Sure, there was the Equestrian Games, but we the focus was on setting up for the games rather than participating in them, and probably spent more time with the CMC practicing their routine than on any of the events.  Even with this episode incorporating a new sport into the series though, I get the feeling we’ll be talking about sportsmanship rather than… well sports.  Does this episode manage to take full advantage of its premise and the give us an interesting game to go along with the drama, or are the writers just throwing darts at the wall and seeing what sticks?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins with Applejack practicing some sort of advanced bucking technique when she’s rudely interrupted by Rainbow Dash who’s just bored and is looking for something to do.  Lucky for her, Applejack could use some help as her cousin Braeburn from Appleloosa challenged her to a game of Buckball after getting some badass partners and she needs a team for the big game… which is tomorrow… and in Appleloosa.  So Applejack is out there polishing her own skills when she hadn’t even gotten a team together!?  Eh, maybe she figured Rainbow Dash would come by to bug her at some point and she’d be an easy mark for anything competitive.  Sure enough, Rainbow Dash is ready to kick some pony ass at the upcoming game, but there is one problem.  SHE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT BUCKBALL IS!!

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Cue the eye roll and start the laugh track!

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Super Recaps: My Little Pony season 6 (28 Pranks Later)

~ 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 Everybody Hates Dash!  Now the episode from last week was pretty disappointing and felt like a script they had rejected three seasons ago but decided to fish out of the junk drawer to fill out this season.  Sure, the episode before that was pretty excellent, but this is still not how you want to come back from a mid-season hiatus.  Can this episode make up for that lackluster effort, or did they expend all their creative energy bringing Patton Oswalt into an episode?  Let’s find out!!

The episode begins on a DARK and (not quite) STORMY night where Fluttershy is trying REALLY hard to ace that slasher movie audition by getting into character and walking through the woods at night.  Her excuse for this is that a picnic went on too long (things got WAY too crazy when they brought out the Dijon mustard!) but you’d think the ONE person who’d be looking out for that would be the one who’s already terrified of everything!

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“A whole lot of help YOU turned out to be Mr. Bear!  GO OUT THERE AND KICK THAT MONSTER’S ASS!!”

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