The My Little Pony Movie

***The My Little Pony Movie*** is an animated feature-length film based on the *My Little Pony* franchise and the series *My Little Pony Friendship is Magic and the twenty-fourth Paramount Animation film*. It was released theatrically on October 6, 2017 in the United States.

In the film, Twilight Sparkle and her friends embark on an adventure beyond Equestria to save their home from a new force of evil, making new friends along the way. The film takes place between the season seven finale and the season eight premiere.

## Plot[edit]

The ponies of Equestria prepare for their first Friendship Festival, overseen by Princess Twilight Sparkle in Canterlot. The festivities are interrupted by the army of an evil conqueror called the Storm King, led by his second-in-command, a unicorn named Tempest Shadow, who is under orders to capture Equestria's princesses for him to harness their magic in exchange for restoring her broken horn. Twilight escapes being petrified by Tempest's magical orbs after Princess Celestia gives Princess Luna incomplete instructions to seek help from "the queen of the hippo" beyond Equestria. Joined by her friends Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Spike, Twilight sets out to find the "hippos".

Twilight and her friends travel to the desert city of Klugetown, where a feline con artist named Capper offers to escort them, secretly intending to sell them to settle a debt. As Capper begins to develop a genuine friendship with them, Twilight discovers an atlas that reveals the "hippos" to be hippogriffs, exposing Capper's treachery. When Tempest arrives in pursuit of Twilight, the group evades her aboard a delivery airship run by birdlike pirates, whom Rainbow Dash persuades to take them to the hippogriffs' kingdom on Mount Aris. In a moment of over-excitement, Rainbow Dash performs a Sonic Rainboom that accidentally gives their location away to Tempest, forcing the group to reach Mount Aris in a makeshift hot air balloon.

While exploring the hippogriffs' deserted kingdom, Twilight and her friends are saved from drowning in an underwater cavern by the seapony Princess Skystar, who leads them to her undersea home of Seaquestria. Skystar reveals her kind to be the hippogriffs, transformed by a magic pearl used by her mother, Queen Novo, to hide from the Storm King. When Novo denies them the pearl to use against the Storm King, Twilight desperately attempts to steal it while letting her friends unknowingly distract the sea ponies. Her plan backfires when she triggers an alarm before Pinkie and the others can persuade Novo to give them the pearl, resulting in the entire group getting banished to the surface. After disowning her friends during a heated argument, Twilight is kidnapped by Tempest, who gains her sympathy upon revealing how the loss of her horn as a filly after an ursa minor attack destabilized her magic and caused her own friends to shun her. Meanwhile, Twilight's friends return to Canterlot to rescue her with the help of Capper, the pirates, and Skystar.

In Canterlot, Tempest delivers Twilight to the Storm King, who absorbs the princesses' magic to empower his mystical Staff of Sacanas and conjure a powerful storm against Twilight's friends, betraying Tempest as well. Twilight saves Tempest and Twilight's friends blast themselves from Pinkie's giant party canon to get through the storm. Twilight and her friends reconcile and they help her take the staff and end the storm. The Storm King hurls a magical orb at the group to petrify them, but Tempest jumps in his way, turning them both into stone. The Storm King's body falls and shatters, while the group uses the staff to revive Tempest, who returns the stolen magic to restore the princesses and the damaged city. The Friendship Festival resumes, and the ponies celebrate with all of the allies Twilight and her friends have made on their adventure. Encouraged by Twilight, Tempest joins in by producing a fireworks display with her broken horn, and accepts the group's friendship.

## Cast

* Uzo Aduba: Queen Novo
* Ashleigh Ball: Applejack and Rainbow Dash
* Adam Bengis: Code Red
* Emily Blunt: Tempest Shadow/Fizzlepop Berrytwist
* Kristin Chenoweth: Princess Skystar
* Michele Creber[*sic*]: Applebloom[*sic*]
* Taye Diggs: Capper
* Brian Dobson: Verko
* Michael Dobson: Bulk Biceps
* Andrea Libman: Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie
* Max Martini: Boyle
* Britt McKillip: Princess Cadance
* Peter New: Big Mac
* Mark Oliver: First Mate Mullet
* Nicole Oliver: Princess Celestia and Lix Spittle
* Michael Peña: Grubber
* Zoe Saldana: Captain Celaeno
* Liev Schreiber: The Storm King
* Sia: Songbird Serenade
* Tabitha St. Germain: Rarity, Princess Luna, Granny Smith, and Muffins
* Tara Strong: Princess Twilight Sparkle
* Sam Vincent: Party Favor
* Cathy Weseluck: Spike the Dragon

**Canterlot Featured Voices**

* Michael Dobson
* Andrew McNee
* Tegan Moss
* Sabrina Pitre
* Rhona Rees: S04E26 Unnamed Earth Mare #1
* Sam Vincent

**Klugetown Featured Voices**

* Richard Ian Cox
* Michael Dobson
* Andrew McNee
* Peter New: Mori
* Nicole Oliver: Vera
* Vincent Tong: MLPTM Unnamed Klugetowner #12
* Sam Vincent: MLPTM Unnamed Klugetowner #6

**Additional Voices**

* Alistair Abell
* Caitlyn Bairstow
* Christine Chatelain
* Brian Dobson
* Paul Dobson
* Rondel Reynoldson
* Jason Simpson
* Sarah Troyer
* Siobhan Williams
* Shannon Chan-Kent: Pinkie Pie (singing voice)
* Kazumi Evans: Rarity (singing voice)
* Rebecca Shoichet: Twilight Sparkle (singing voice)

## Production

*For more on the production of the film, see The Art of My Little Pony: The Movie.*
In mid-July 2012, Meghan McCarthy commented on the possibility of such a film.​[​specify​]​

The film was first announced during Hasbro Studios' Q3​[​specify​]​ investor call and is being produced in conjunction with Allspark Pictures, which also produced the live-action film adaptation of *Jem and the Holograms*.

Joe Ballarini, a comedy writer who made an uncredited contribution to 20th Century Fox's *Ice Age: Continental Drift*, was originally announced as writing the film's script, and Meghan McCarthy is serving as co-executive producer. McCarthy celebrated the news on Twitter with the hashtag "BigScreenMane6". The news was also retweeted by songwriter Daniel Ingram and voice actress Andrea Libman (Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy).

At PonyCon AU 2015 in Australia, it was stated that the film would not be related to *Equestria Girls* and that the production staff is "going all out on it, to make sure it doesn't just feel like an extended episode."

During the music panel for BABSCon 2015 in San Francisco, Daniel Ingram suggested the possibility of working with a live orchestra on the film's musical score, stating "it's looking like that dream is going to be a reality." On August 1, 2015, it was confirmed that Ingram will be working with a live orchestra.

On July 20, 2015, at Hasbro's Earnings Conference Call, it was announced that a distributor for the film would be made known "shortly".

On August 7, 2015, it was announced that Lionsgate would be distributing the film worldwide except China.

On November 17, 2015, background music score orchestrator Steffan Andrews, who left the series after its fourth season, announced via Twitter that he would be returning to work on the film; the tweet in question was deleted sometime in 2016.

On April 27, 2016, it was announced that the film would be moved up from its previous November 2017 date to a month earlier in October.

Animator Michel Gagné (best known for his tenure at Sullivan Bluth Studios, which made such films as *An American Tail* and *The Land Before Time*), after receiving an email from Jayson Thiessen on June 10, 2015 and being pitched the project in early 2016, committed to it in early 2016 and will start on April 2, 2017, taking an eight-month hiatus from *Spider-Man*.​[​specify​]​ In early October 2016, Gagné reported that Nik Gipe was hired onto the film's staff as his assistant and that the film was being animated using Toon Boom Harmony.

On July 26, 2016, film director Jayson Thiessen tweeted a teaser photo from one of the film's production sessions with editor Braden Oberson.

Code Red.​[​specify​]​

During Hasbro's PonyRadioCon 2016 Russian presentation, it was revealed that the movie would feature eight new songs; during Hasbro's 2017 Toy Fair investor presentation however, it was revealed that the movie would feature a total of seven songs. At the same presentation, it was announced that a theatrical short based on the webseries *Hanazuki: Full of Treasures* will accompany the film.

On May 3, 2017, Daniel Ingram tweeted that he has started to record for the film at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville. He later tweeted on June 6 that the film will contain "70 mins of score". The film's score recording session wrapped up on June 11.

The film finished production on July 29, 2017.

Andrea Libman was nominated for a 2018 UBCP/ACTRA Award for "Best Voice" for her role as Pinkie Pie in the film.

## Reception[edit]

### Box office[edit]

*My Little Pony: The Movie* has grossed $21.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $39.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $61.3 million on a production budget of $6.5 million.

In the United States and Canada, the film was expected to gross between $10 million and $17 million from 2,528 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $3 million on its first day, including $290,000 from Thursday night previews. It ended up opening to $8.9 million finishing 4th at the box office behind *Blade Runner 2049*, *The Mountain Between Us*, and *It*. Amid Amidi of *Cartoon Brew* stated that – despite the opening being considered a disappointment – any reasonable return from the film would be seen as positive by Hasbro because it is tied to the toy line. The film dropped 54% in its second weekend, making $4.1 million and falling to 9th.

Its biggest markets outside North America are China with $7.4 million, the UK with $5 million, Russia with $2.3 million, and Germany with $2.4 million.

### Critical response[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 46% based on reviews from 65 critics, with an average rating of 5.10/10. The critics consensus reads: "Charming and sweet, *My Little Pony: The Movie* will please its dedicated fanbase, even if it's unlikely to encourage non-devotees to gallop along for the ride." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 39 out of 100 based on 13 critic reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.

Katie Walsh of the *Los Angeles Times* gave the film a negative review, saying: "Truthfully, this film feels like four episodes of a cartoon strung together, and there are times, especially during some of the latter musical numbers, where it truly drags." She also criticized the film's animation, saying that it "embraces the flat, colorful, Saturday-morning cartoon look and feel". Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com gave the film 1.5 stars out of 4, criticizing the narrative for being "all over the place" and having "a multitude of underdeveloped, crammed-in characters" while also praising the film for retaining the *Friendship Is Magic* television series cast and staff. Josh Terry of *Deseret News* panned the film, saying that parents should "put their money into some new My Little Pony toys" rather than into seeing the film.

Gwen Ihnat of *The A.V. Club* gave the film a "C" grade, favoring the improved animation over the television series but adding that "you have to wonder to what use it's being put". Elizabeth Weitzman of *TheWrap* wrote positively of the film, saying that the film, "Like its television predecessor, is all dressed up in bubbles and cupcakes and rainbows. But it's so jam-packed with rousing girl power, it passes the Bechdel Test with (literally) flying colors." Amy Nicholson of *Variety* called the film "at once clichéd and exceptional", praising its female characters and "emotionally wise" story.

### Accolades[edit]

Several of the cast from the movie were nominated for awards at the *Behind the Voice Actors Awards*. Three were nominated for *Best Female Lead Vocal Performance in a Feature Film*: Tara Strong (as Twilight Sparkle), Emily Blunt (as Tempest Shadow), and Ashleigh Ball (as Rainbow Dash). Uzo Aduba (as Queen Novo) was nominated as *Best Female Vocal Performance in a Feature Film in a Supporting Role*. Tara Strong, Ashleigh Ball, Andrea Libman, Tabitha St. Germain, Cathy Weseluck, Emily Blunt, Michael Peña, Liev Schreiber, Taye Diggs, Zoe Saldana, Uzo Aduba, Sia, and Kristin Chenoweth were nominated as *Best Vocal Ensemble in a Feature Film*.