My Little Pony: The Movie movie review (2017)

“My Little Pony” also aims to stir some ‘80s nostalgia for a certain generation of adults in the audience – hence, the baffling array of random pop culture references, including a famous line from “Pretty Woman” and a shameless plug for another Hasbro property, the Hungry Hungry Hippos game.

Admittedly, this frothy confection is not my sparkly cup of tea. I’m a little too old to have played with the toys as a kid; now, as a mom myself, I have an eight-year-old son who is definitely NOT a Brony. He attended a recent screening with me under vocal protest, despite my encouragement that he keep an open mind heading into the film, as is always our goal. (“Sorry, kid,” I told him. “Not everything can be ‘Dunkirk.’”)

We wouldn’t have known our Pinkie Pie from our Fluttershy if they came up and bit us on the butts—which they’d never do, of course, because the pony pals are all about kindness and friendship. Now that we’ve spent a little time in the magical, rainbow-hued land of Equestria, however, we are unlikely to return. It is just mind numbing in its simplicity.

But the folks behind the movie do deserve credit for remaining true to the fundamental elements of the “Friendship is Magic” television show, including admirably keeping the voice actors who’ve brought these characters to life for the past seven seasons. Longtime director Jayson Thiessen and lead writer Meghan McCarthy also made the leap from the series to the big screen. (Rita Hsiao and Michael Vogel share screenwriting credit.)

Despite that consistency, though, “My Little Pony: The Movie” simultaneously aims to expand its appeal by adding new characters to the ponyverse and casting well-known actors to play them. So while its themes of trust and teamwork are super basic, the narrative itself is all over the place, with a multitude of underdeveloped, crammed-in characters. Plus, every once in a while, the various animals burst into song, but not in any particularly memorable way. (Although one peppy little ditty about being awesome was a toe-tapper, I will concede.)