Equestria Girls
So I saw Equestria Girls yesterday. And I loved it!
(Some spoilers ahead.)
I remember when the project was first announced, with only the news that it would involve human versions of the girls and a high-school setting. The great majority of the fanbase (including me) recoiled in horror. Not only did we hate the idea of the girls stuck in this world indefinitely, as we were led to believe would happen, we were terrified of it becoming some awful cliche high-school melodrama and that it would switch the focus from friendship to romance.
Then more facts began to be revealed, and some of us (including me) began to feel steadily better. It would mostly involve alternate versions of the girls that had always been human. I had already called it that it would probably have to be that for me to like it, so I was thrilled. We also got word that the focus would still be on friendship. By the time it was actually released in June, I was confident that it was probably a good thing.
The only characters from the show who make the journey are Twilight and Spike, and they don't get stuck here; they have to get back within three days. So that was good. The only other character from their world was never on the show and she was apparently going to stay in this world, as a human. I think of her as more human than Pony, really, since we hardly see her as a Pony and she's so comfortable as a human. (So I really want the doll of her more than the Pony figure....)
Twilight's reactions to being human are adorable. When she first discovers hands, the poor thing screams. She's so confused and bewildered. And she tries to walk on all fours at first. But the instant Spike sees someone walking upright, Twilight immediately tries to do so as well. She wobbles all over, but although she never fully adjusts to being human, she quickly does as best as she can to walk properly and do other things as humans do whenever she sees how they do it. She makes some strange flubs (trying to eat an apple the Pony way, putting a pen in her mouth to write with, and watching her try to use a computer is both hilarious and kind of heartbreaking), but she tries to remedy them. I wonder if there's any fics on her discovering and trying to cope with other things the movie didn't touch on.
The focus was indeed still on friendship. The only trace of romance was as a very nice guy starting crushing on Twilight, in spite of her awkwardness and her tendency to sometimes do very strange things since she wasn't really human (which he didn't know). It was very tasteful and sweet. And even at the end, when the magic of the Element of Harmony temporarily gives Twilight her wings and Pony ears during battle, that doesn't bother him and he still wants to have a hoped dance with her before she has to go back. (She ends up meeting his Pony counterpart when she gets back. We're told that there will not be any romance between them in season 4, however, which I'm fine with. I thought it was cute in the movie, but I wouldn't want to see any of the main Ponies actually get into an actual romantic relationship. I want to see the focus stay on friendship.)
I really liked the human versions of the girls. They were all basically still the same in personality, but it was interesting and fun to see them behave like their Pony counterparts. I was especially fond of Pinkie and Rainbow and Fluttershy. We didn't get awful, teeth-grating Rainbow from season 2-ish era, but something closer to how she's grown by season 3, only somehow I liked her even more. Human Rainbow didn't really seem prideful at all, in spite of her proclaiming herself awesome at one point. And seriously, Pinkie Pie? Her crazy "hunches", as both versions, are so spot-on that it's creepy. Pinkie truly has many secrets (there's no way I'm believing it's just hunches!) and is a much deeper character than she's often given credit for. And Fluttershy, as always, is just adorable.
Celestia and Luna running the school was a lot of fun. I love Luna's design. And I wonder about her background. I wonder if, like the Ponies, Luna was troubled and went astray for a while. I'd love to see what might have happened with her and how she and Celestia got to where they are.
Also, very unlike the dolls, all the girls dress very modestly for the most part. It was a lovely breath of air, especially after all the revealing clothing that characters like the Winx Club girls wear. It makes me very upset that the dolls are being marketed with much different, more revealing clothing!
And then we come to Sunset Shimmer. I think my analysis of her was basically right. She isn't evil; she's just spoiled and prideful and needs a big wake-up call. She does act like a fairly cliche mean girl for most of the film, but what's different (and much more concerning) is that she wants real power and she's after an artifact that's highly dangerous in the wrong hands. Also, I was glad that she didn't have her henchmen hurt Spike when they grabbed him to lead Twilight out to her. She said she wasn't a monster and of course they'd let him go unharmed, which they did. She did try to attack Twilight after she got the artifact and went kind of nuts with her desired power, but we don't see how far the attack would have gone.
She's always scoffed at friendship, and even sabotaged the friendships of the five human counterparts of Twilight's friends before the movie started, but then it was friendship that stopped her when she went all demon-crazy after getting the Element of Harmony. The girls protected Twilight from the attack and the Element responded, creating a barrier, and then gave the girls enough power to counter Sunset and defeat her. Her change of heart consists of her exclaiming she's sorry and she didn't know there was another path to being the best. She thought her way was the only way.
I found her attitude change believable and consistent with her behavior in the film, and if there is future material in this verse, I really hope it focuses on Sunset's character development as she learns about friendship. Her journey would be much different than Twilight's, considering the path she had taken.
Also, since there is no Twilight counterpart in this world, I wondered if Sunset is meant to be that counterpart (like, within the verse-intended, and not just intended by the writers) and that is why she has a similar-sounding name and seems to be so at home being human. That would make sense and be intriguing besides. It would suggest that Sunset was meant to be, or become, human.
All in all, I'm just in love with the film and I would totally buy it to watch again and again. And I want some of the dolls, definitely, in spite of their flaws. I want Sunset and Twilight the most, and also Celestia and Rarity. And I wish Luna didn't only come in a huge expensive multi-pack. I think I might want Rainbow too, because I really, really loved her human counterpart.
(Some spoilers ahead.)
I remember when the project was first announced, with only the news that it would involve human versions of the girls and a high-school setting. The great majority of the fanbase (including me) recoiled in horror. Not only did we hate the idea of the girls stuck in this world indefinitely, as we were led to believe would happen, we were terrified of it becoming some awful cliche high-school melodrama and that it would switch the focus from friendship to romance.
Then more facts began to be revealed, and some of us (including me) began to feel steadily better. It would mostly involve alternate versions of the girls that had always been human. I had already called it that it would probably have to be that for me to like it, so I was thrilled. We also got word that the focus would still be on friendship. By the time it was actually released in June, I was confident that it was probably a good thing.
The only characters from the show who make the journey are Twilight and Spike, and they don't get stuck here; they have to get back within three days. So that was good. The only other character from their world was never on the show and she was apparently going to stay in this world, as a human. I think of her as more human than Pony, really, since we hardly see her as a Pony and she's so comfortable as a human. (So I really want the doll of her more than the Pony figure....)
Twilight's reactions to being human are adorable. When she first discovers hands, the poor thing screams. She's so confused and bewildered. And she tries to walk on all fours at first. But the instant Spike sees someone walking upright, Twilight immediately tries to do so as well. She wobbles all over, but although she never fully adjusts to being human, she quickly does as best as she can to walk properly and do other things as humans do whenever she sees how they do it. She makes some strange flubs (trying to eat an apple the Pony way, putting a pen in her mouth to write with, and watching her try to use a computer is both hilarious and kind of heartbreaking), but she tries to remedy them. I wonder if there's any fics on her discovering and trying to cope with other things the movie didn't touch on.
The focus was indeed still on friendship. The only trace of romance was as a very nice guy starting crushing on Twilight, in spite of her awkwardness and her tendency to sometimes do very strange things since she wasn't really human (which he didn't know). It was very tasteful and sweet. And even at the end, when the magic of the Element of Harmony temporarily gives Twilight her wings and Pony ears during battle, that doesn't bother him and he still wants to have a hoped dance with her before she has to go back. (She ends up meeting his Pony counterpart when she gets back. We're told that there will not be any romance between them in season 4, however, which I'm fine with. I thought it was cute in the movie, but I wouldn't want to see any of the main Ponies actually get into an actual romantic relationship. I want to see the focus stay on friendship.)
I really liked the human versions of the girls. They were all basically still the same in personality, but it was interesting and fun to see them behave like their Pony counterparts. I was especially fond of Pinkie and Rainbow and Fluttershy. We didn't get awful, teeth-grating Rainbow from season 2-ish era, but something closer to how she's grown by season 3, only somehow I liked her even more. Human Rainbow didn't really seem prideful at all, in spite of her proclaiming herself awesome at one point. And seriously, Pinkie Pie? Her crazy "hunches", as both versions, are so spot-on that it's creepy. Pinkie truly has many secrets (there's no way I'm believing it's just hunches!) and is a much deeper character than she's often given credit for. And Fluttershy, as always, is just adorable.
Celestia and Luna running the school was a lot of fun. I love Luna's design. And I wonder about her background. I wonder if, like the Ponies, Luna was troubled and went astray for a while. I'd love to see what might have happened with her and how she and Celestia got to where they are.
Also, very unlike the dolls, all the girls dress very modestly for the most part. It was a lovely breath of air, especially after all the revealing clothing that characters like the Winx Club girls wear. It makes me very upset that the dolls are being marketed with much different, more revealing clothing!
And then we come to Sunset Shimmer. I think my analysis of her was basically right. She isn't evil; she's just spoiled and prideful and needs a big wake-up call. She does act like a fairly cliche mean girl for most of the film, but what's different (and much more concerning) is that she wants real power and she's after an artifact that's highly dangerous in the wrong hands. Also, I was glad that she didn't have her henchmen hurt Spike when they grabbed him to lead Twilight out to her. She said she wasn't a monster and of course they'd let him go unharmed, which they did. She did try to attack Twilight after she got the artifact and went kind of nuts with her desired power, but we don't see how far the attack would have gone.
She's always scoffed at friendship, and even sabotaged the friendships of the five human counterparts of Twilight's friends before the movie started, but then it was friendship that stopped her when she went all demon-crazy after getting the Element of Harmony. The girls protected Twilight from the attack and the Element responded, creating a barrier, and then gave the girls enough power to counter Sunset and defeat her. Her change of heart consists of her exclaiming she's sorry and she didn't know there was another path to being the best. She thought her way was the only way.
I found her attitude change believable and consistent with her behavior in the film, and if there is future material in this verse, I really hope it focuses on Sunset's character development as she learns about friendship. Her journey would be much different than Twilight's, considering the path she had taken.
Also, since there is no Twilight counterpart in this world, I wondered if Sunset is meant to be that counterpart (like, within the verse-intended, and not just intended by the writers) and that is why she has a similar-sounding name and seems to be so at home being human. That would make sense and be intriguing besides. It would suggest that Sunset was meant to be, or become, human.
All in all, I'm just in love with the film and I would totally buy it to watch again and again. And I want some of the dolls, definitely, in spite of their flaws. I want Sunset and Twilight the most, and also Celestia and Rarity. And I wish Luna didn't only come in a huge expensive multi-pack. I think I might want Rainbow too, because I really, really loved her human counterpart.