My Little Pony: Equestria Girls (2017 television specials)
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls | |
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Genre | |
Created by | Hasbro |
Based on | |
Written by |
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Directed by |
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Voices of | |
Composer | William Anderson |
Country of origin |
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Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 3 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer | Angela Belyea |
Editors |
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Running time | 66 minutes |
Production companies | |
Original release | |
Network | Discovery Family |
Release | June 24 July 8, 2017 | –
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls (also known as My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Magical Movie Night on home media release[1] and as Equestria Girls: Tales of Canterlot High on Netflix)[2] is a miniseries of Canadian-American animated television specials based on Hasbro's toyline and film series of the same name, and a spin-off of the 2010 re-launch of My Little Pony. The series focuses on the main characters from the television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, re-envisioned as teenage humans in a high school setting. A total of three 22-minute specials aired in the United States on Discovery Family from June 24 to July 8, 2017.[3]
Premise
The series follows the daily lives and adventures of Canterlot High School's students – Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity – following the events of My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Legend of Everfree.[4]
Cast
Main cast
- Tara Strong as Twilight Sparkle
- Rebecca Shoichet as Twilight Sparkle's singing voice
- Ashleigh Ball as Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and additional voices
- Andrea Libman as Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and additional voices
- Tabitha St. Germain as Rarity and additional voices
- Kazumi Evans as Rarity's singing voice
- Cathy Weseluck as Spike
- Rebecca Shoichet as Sunset Shimmer and additional voices
Supporting cast
- Sharon Alexander as Sour Sweet
- Britt Irvin as Sunny Flare
- Sienna Bohn as Sugarcoat
- Shannon Chan-Kent as Lemon Zest
- Andy Toth as Canter Zoom and additional voices
- Ali Liebert as Juniper Montage
- Kira Tozer as Chestnut Magnifico
- Charles Zuckerman as Stalwart Stallion and additional voices
- Kelly Sheridan as Starlight Glimmer and additional voices
Episodes
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | |
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1 | "Dance Magic" | Ishi Rudell | G.M. Berrow | June 24, 2017 | |
Desperate to raise funds to help repair Camp Everfree, Rarity finds out about a music video contest with a sufficient cash prize, and convinces her friends to enter and spend their existing funds on costume materials. The students of Crystal Prep Academy are also entering, in order to rent a yacht for their spring dance, and trick Rarity into sharing her music video theme idea with them. After buying the materials, Rarity discovers the Crystal Prep students rehearsing with similar outfits, and realizes they have stolen her idea. Pressed for time and unable to think of a new theme, Rarity despairs until she overhears the Crystal Prep students worrying that they have no song prepared for their music video. At Rarity's proposition, the two groups set their rivalry aside and collaborate on a single video that wins the contest, allowing both groups to split the prize and meet their goals. | |||||
2 | "Movie Magic" | Ishi Rudell | Noelle Benvenuti | July 1, 2017 | |
The seven friends are invited to a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming Daring Do movie by director Canter Zoom as a reward for their camp fundraiser. During their visit, the movie's production is jeopardized when lead actress Chestnut Magnifico encounters scheduling conflicts, a set piece falls apart during shooting, and several author-approved props are found stolen. The girls determine that someone is sabotaging the movie, and pursue a cloaked suspect running loose with the stolen props around the studio. The girls eventually catch the hooded culprit and correctly deduce her to be Juniper Montage, Canter's niece and production assistant, who is envious of Chestnut and hoped to make her quit by delaying the movie so she could take her place. Juniper is banned from the studio as punishment, and with the production issues settled, the seven friends are given minor roles in the movie as repayment for their efforts. | |||||
3 | "Mirror Magic" | Ishi Rudell | Rachel Vine and Dave Polsky | July 8, 2017 | |
Sunset Shimmer runs out of pages in her magic journal to write to Princess Twilight Sparkle in Equestria, so she travels to Equestria to pick up a new one. There Sunset meets the unicorn Starlight Glimmer, Twilight's student, who is curious about the alternate world and persuades Sunset to take her for a visit. Meanwhile, Juniper Montage happens upon a hand mirror that is enchanted with magic from Equestria, showing her reflection as a famous and beloved movie star. Feeling resentful towards the seven girls for upstaging her, Juniper discovers the mirror can also trap objects and people inside it, which she uses on Sunset's friends in a fit of anger. Sunset also becomes trapped in the mirror after returning with Starlight; the combined magic of the seven girls' geode pendants morphs Juniper into a giant monster. The mirror falls and cracks during Juniper's rampage, causing the world inside the mirror to collapse into a void. Understanding Juniper's desire for friendship, Starlight persuades her to release the girls before they fall into the void. Juniper returns to normal and is forgiven by the girls, while Princess Twilight gives Starlight permission to stay a while longer to experience the parallel world. |
Other media
International release
The three specials had a weekly release in Poland on Teletoon+ from May 14 through May 28, 2017.[5][6][7]
DVD release
The miniseries was released on a one-disc Region 1 DVD on August 8, 2017, entitled My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Magical Movie Night and distributed by Shout! Factory.[1]
Online streaming
Under the title Equestria Girls: Tales of Canterlot High, the specials were made available on Netflix in the United States as of October 1, 2017.[2]
Reception
The Magical Movie Night compilation DVD received mixed to positive reviews, with criticism directed towards the DVD's lower visual and sound quality compared to previous films, as well as a lack of extra content. Brett Nolan of NoReruns.net praised the DVD's presentation of the specials as a single film, saying it gave the specials "a much more cohesive and cinematic feel, lending itself beautifully to watching it straight through in one go."[8] Inside Pulse's Joe Corey gave the specials an overall score of 4 out of 5, including his daughter's input that she "wasn't bothered that this wasn't one narrative such as the previous four movies".[9] ToonZone's Classic Speedy called "Dance Magic" a "slight but fun story", while considering "Mirror Magic" to be the best of the three stories as a direct follow-up of the second special, and for its "unexpected" inclusion of Starlight Glimmer as a character.[10] DVD Talk's Francis Rizzo III, who gave the story content three out of five stars, drew unfavorable comparisons to Friendship Is Magic as he felt it contrasted the previous films' "sense of identity built around music and a quasi-magical backstory", considering the specials to be "more like a standard earthbound teen cartoon that eventually remembers that there are superpowers involved come the third episode".[11]
References
- ^ a b "My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Magical Movie Night". Shout! Factory. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
- ^ a b "Equestria Girls: Tales of Canterlot High". Netflix. 2017-10-01. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
- ^ Albert, Jared (2017-05-26). "The Girls of Canterlot High Return to Discovery Family in Three New My Little Pony: Equestria Girls Specials to Air Throughout the Network's Annual "Summer Splash" Programming Event". Discovery Family Channel. Discovery Communications, Inc. Retrieved 2017-05-26.
- ^ "Hasbro Announces My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 7 and New My Little Pony: Equestria Girls Specials for 2017" (Press release). Pawtucket, Rhode Island: Hasbro. 2016-10-18. Retrieved 2016-10-18 – via TV Series Finale.
- ^ "Program TV teleTOON+ na 2017-05-14" (in Polish). Program TV. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
- ^ "Program TV teleTOON+ na 2017-05-21" (in Polish). Program TV. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
- ^ "Program TV teleTOON+ na 2017-05-28" (in Polish). Program TV. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
- ^ Nolan, Brett (2017-08-07). "DVD Review: MY LITTLE PONY: EQUESTRIA GIRLS – MAGICAL MOVIE NIGHT". NoReruns.net. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
- ^ Corey, Joe (2017-08-10). "DVD Review: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Magical Movie Night". Inside Pulse. Retrieved 2017-08-10.
- ^ Classic Speedy (2017-08-10). "Review: "My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Equestria Girls: Magical Movie Night" – Real Fun". ToonZone News. Retrieved 2017-08-10.
- ^ Rizzo III, Francis (2017-09-04). "My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Magical Movie Night". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2017-09-04.
- 2010s American animated television miniseries
- 2010s American high school television series
- 2017 American television series debuts
- 2017 American television series endings
- 2010s Canadian animated television series
- 2010s Canadian television miniseries
- 2017 Canadian television series debuts
- 2017 Canadian television series endings
- American animated television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters
- American animated television spin-offs
- American children's animated adventure television series
- American children's animated fantasy television series
- Canadian animated television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters
- Canadian animated television spin-offs
- Canadian children's animated adventure television series
- Canadian children's animated fantasy television series
- Canadian high school television series
- Equestria Girls films
- American flash animated television series
- Canadian flash animated television series
- Discovery Family shows
- Television series by DHX Media
- Television series by Hasbro Studios
- Magical girl television series