My Little Pony: The Movie (Sony version)

My Little Pony: The Movie is a 2022 animated musical adventure comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Entertainment One, Walden Media, and July Moon Productions and released by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film was co-written and directed by Karey Kirkpatrick. Based on Hasbro's My Little Pony franchise, the film marks the beginning of the fifth incarnation of the franchise, which is set to serve as the official sequel to the previous generation, a first for the franchise. It features the voices of Selena Gomez and Auli'i Cravalho (who also producer the film with Alice Downey Goldstone and Mary Ellen Bauder Andrews), Chris Pratt, Zendaya and Ginnifer Goodwin. The film is set many years after the events of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, in a magic-less era where the story of Twilight Sparkle and her friends is considered a myth, and the three pony kinds – earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns – have grown apart, living separated from one another in paranoia and prejudice. The film follows Sunny Starscout, an earth pony who, after meeting the unicorn Izzy Moonbow, embarks on a quest to reunite all pony kinds and restore magic to the land.
After the critical and commercial failure of the television series adaptation film My Little Pony (2017), Sony Pictures Animation and Hasbro was developing an another computer-animated My Little Pony feature film. Production was underway by 2019, and the cast was announced in June 2021.
My Little Pony: The Movie premiered at the Brussels Animation Film Festival in Belgium on February 25, 2022, and went into general theatrical release in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, 2D and D-BOX formats in the United States on March 4. The film received positive reviews from critics, although it was considered inferior to its predecessor, and grossed $1.36 billion worldwide and broke multiple box-office records, including the second-highest-grossing film of 2022, the third-highest-grossing animated film until it was surpassed by The Smurfs 2 (2022), and the highest-grossing film produced by Sony Pictures Animation. My Little Pony: The Movie was also the second film released in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic to reach the $1 billion milestone. A tie-in video game titled My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on May 27, 2022, and for Google Stadia on June 28, 2022. A follow-up television series, My Little Pony: Make Your Mark, was animated by Atomic Cartoons and produced by Sony Pictures Animation and Entertainment One. It debuted on Netflix on May 26, 2022. A singalong version of the film was released on Netflix on July 18, 2022. 
== Plot ==
In the earth pony town of Maretime Bay, Argyle Starshine teaches his daughter Sunny Starscout about tales of old Equestria when earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns lived in harmony. Although most earth ponies dismiss these ideas as myths and now live in fear of the other races, Sunny hopes that all races can make amends and live in harmony.
Years later, Sunny continuously tries to change the minds of the other earth ponies, disrupting a showcase of anti-pegasi and unicorn technology by factory owner Phyllis Cloverleaf. Hitch Trailblazer, Sunny's childhood friend and sheriff of Maretime Bay, pulls her away and prepares to send her back home with the warning that she is jeopardizing their friendship with her activities. Suddenly, a unicorn named Izzy Moonbow wanders into the town. While most of the earth ponies flee, Sunny befriends Izzy and quickly takes her to her home to hide from Hitch and his deputy Sprout, Phyllis' son. Learning from Izzy that unicorns have lost their magic and that the pegasi may be to blame, Sunny travels with her to the pegasus city of Zephyr Heights in order to ask for their help. The two elude Hitch and flee town, and Hitch leaves Sprout in charge while he pursues them. Sprout names himself sheriff and eventually becomes a dictator-like leader, turning the residents of Maretime Bay into a hostile mob and commandeering his mother's factory to construct a war machine.
Sunny and Izzy are caught in Zephyr Heights and taken to meet Queen Haven and her two daughters, Pipp Petals and Zipp Storm, who seem to be the only pegasi who can fly. When Sunny starts asking about magic, Haven has them imprisoned in the castle dungeon. Zipp secretly visits them there and tells them that the pegasi have also lost their magic and cannot fly, and the royal family uses wires to give the illusion of flight. She helps them escape and takes them to an abandoned transit station that Sunny realizes was used by all pony races in the past. Sunny finds a set of stained glass windows depicting two crystals – one of which is set in Haven's crown – that may fit together and bring back the magic. The three concoct a plan to steal the crown during Pipp's performance that night. Hitch's arrival triggers a series of mishaps that reveal the royals' inability to fly; Haven is arrested, and the sisters are forced to flee. While Pipp is initially angry with her sister, she returns the crystal and helps the group escape the city. Hitch overcomes his own prejudices and offers to help Sunny in her effort to reunite the pony races.
Izzy escorts the group to her home in the forest village of Bridlewood and disguises them as unicorns before leading them to Alphabittle, who holds the unicorn crystal. Sunny wins it from him in a dance competition, but loses her disguise as she celebrates. As the group flees with the two crystals, they come across Haven, who has also escaped. Sunny and Izzy try to put the two crystals together, but they have no effect. Dejected, Sunny gives back the crystals and returns to Maretime Bay with Hitch.
While packing up her childhood toys, Sunny finds a third crystal intended to join with the other two, built into a lamp her father had made for her. As she races to tell Hitch, they discover that Sprout has turned the entire town to his side and is piloting his war machine to attack the other pony races. Sunny and Hitch rush back to her home as Izzy, Pipp, Zipp, Haven, and Alphabittle arrive. Gathering the crystals, Sunny, Izzy, and Pipp try to put them together while Hitch and Zipp hold off Sprout's machine. Phyllis orders Sprout to stop, but he refuses and crashes into Sunny's home, destroying it and the frame in which the crystals must be set. Phyllis, Haven, Alphabittle, and Sunny's friends put aside their differences and come together to comfort her amid the rubble. In response, the crystals activate, temporarily transforming Sunny into an alicorn and restoring magic across the land. Sunny and her friends celebrate as the ponies of all three races cooperate to fix the damage done by Sprout and a new era of peace begins.
== Cast ==
* Selena Gomez as Sunny Starscout, an adventurous and virtuous earth pony-turned-alicorn who enjoys roller skating and wants all pony kinds to get along, and tries to return magic to the world in order to unite the three types of ponies as equals.
** Victoria Gomez voices as young Sunny
* Auli'i Cravalho as Izzy Moonbow, an energetic and curious unicorn from the Bridlewood Forest that loves crafting, who is the first non-earth pony Sunny befriended.
* Chris Pratt as Hitch Trailblazer, an earth pony who is the kind and hard-working sheriff at Maretime Bay and Sunny's childhood friend.
** Iain Armitage voices as young Hitch
* Zendaya as Pipp Petals, a Pegasus princess from Zephyr Heights who is a talented pop icon and loves to be a good influence on others and entertain other ponies with her music
* Ginnifer Goodwin as Zephyrina "Zipp" Storm, Pipp's older sister and a rebellious Pegasus princess from Zephyr Heights who enjoys athletics and science
* Sandra Bullock as Laurel Starscout, Sunny's mother
* Octavia Spencer as "Corey" The Manticore, a manticore
* Maya Rudolph as Phyllis Cloverleaf, an earth pony who owns Canterlogic, a company specializing in products to keep earth ponies "safe and stylish"
* Julia Roberts as Queen Haven, a pegasus who is the mother of Pipp and Zipp and the monarch of Zephyr Heights
* Awkwafina as Courtney, a baby dragon and Sunny's pet.
* Richard Ayoade as Sprout Cloverleaf, an earth pony stallion, Phyllis' son, and deputy sheriff to Hitch at Maretime Bay
** Alan Schmuckler provides Sprout's singing voice.
* Danny DeVito as Alphabittle, a unicorn stallion from the Bridlewood Forest
* Ed Helms as Argyle Starshine, Sunny's father and Laurel's wife who tells her stories about Twilight Sparkle and her friends
Additionally, Arturo Hernández voices Jasper, Thunder, and Toots; Brooke Goldner voices Sweets; Gillian Berrow voices Zoom; Heather Langenkamp voices Dazzle Feather and Mayflower; Will Friedle voices Comet Tail, Glitter Cupcake and Skye Silver; and director Robert Cullen voices Sparkle Chaser, Rob the Pony and Wings. The voice actresses from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic television series – Tara Strong as Twilight Sparkle, Ashleigh Ball as Rainbow Dash and Applejack, Tabitha St. Germain as Rarity, and Andrea Libman as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie – briefly reprise their roles in the film's opening scene.
== Production ==
=== Development ===
In February 2019, after the critical and commercial failure of the 2017 My Little Pony based on the television series, it was reported that Sony Pictures Animation and Hasbro was developing a another computer-animated My Little Pony feature film.[better source needed] Reports later said that the film would mark the beginning of the franchise's fifth-generation,[better source needed] which was confirmed on September 17, 2020;[better source needed] My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic creator Lauren Faust first hinted that Hasbro was working on the fifth incarnation in 2018, when she denied any involvement on the franchise's next incarnation. On October 8, 2020, it was reported that the fifth incarnation, including the film, would center on a new set of characters, though with the possibility of characters from the previous incarnation appearing.
On January 29, 2021, Emily Thompson, Entertainment One's VP of global brand management, revealed that the film would be set in the same world as the fourth incarnation of the franchise, while still serving as the first entry in the fifth incarnation, being set years after the events depicted in the previous incarnation. Thompson explained that her decision was made because the producers felt it would have "felt wrong" to not to further explore the lore and worldbuilding established by the fourth incarnation.
On February 12, 2021, it was reported that Karey Kirkpatrick will serve as director along with John Rice will co-directed the film. Alice Dewey Goldstone and Mary Ellen Bauder Andrews were also announced as producers for the film along with Selena Gomez and Auli'i Cravalho. Executive producers include former Friendship Is Magic co-showrunner and writer Meghan McCarthy and Allspark Animation president Stephen Davis.
=== Voice cast and recording ===
On June 30, 2021, Gomez, Cravalho, Chris Pratt, Zendaya and Ginnifer Goodwin were revealed to be the film's main cast. Part of the film's recording sessions had to be done remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tara Strong, voice actress for Twilight Sparkle, said in April 2020 that she would not reprise her role in the fifth incarnation due to reprising her role in My Little Pony: Pony Life.[full citation needed] Ultimately, however, she did reprise her role alongside fellow Friendship Is Magic/Pony Life cast members Andrea Libman, Ashleigh Ball, and Tabitha St. Germain for the film's prologue; and would continue to do so in My Little Pony: Make Your Mark.
=== Animation ===
The film's animation services were provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks. Unlike previous My Little Pony media, the film was animated entirely through computer-animation. Although, the brief introductory flashback, which features the "Mane Six" from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, was done with traditional animation in the style of the series. 48 animators worked on the film remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to animation supervisor Alan Hawkins, the filmmakers were inspired by several My Little Pony series for the ponies' anthropomorphic design.
=== Music ===
Songwriters Karey Kirkpatrick and his brother Wayne Kirkpatrick composed songs for the film, while Mark Mothersbaugh did the original score. The film's soundtrack was released alongside the film on April 8, 2022.
== Marketing ==
A tie-in video game titled My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on May 27, 2022, and for Google Stadia on June 28, 2022.