John Tesh

As one of the OG 4th gen MLP fans (or brony for those of us in the fandom) who watched every last episode, special and film of the previous series since its debut in 2011 I was going into this a bit skeptical and with an air of caution as many new series of shows I have liked have either ended up being awful or basically meh at best. However, as I watched the film and time went on I really began to realize that this film was actually a marvelous continuation of the previous series and it felt like the previous series didn't ever actually end, but continued on with a fascinating new story that at first glance appeared distant but then came very close to our own. The new computer generated three dimensional designs make this film a dazzling experience of bright colors and gorgeous scenery around every corner. The backgrounds feel complete and are full of life in every frame of animation with every detail down to every strand of hair on a pony's head, every flower petal and every building full detail. For a 3-D kids film, this is probably one of the better ones I have seen in recent years. The music is the typical fan fare of poppy, upbeat and sometimes over the top kids songs meant for this type of film. However something this film managed to do was mix up the genres a fair bit to make the soundtrack more unpredictable and smash the expectations of the audience a fair bit. The eclectic mix of songs actually made them stick out more and made the music score more diverse and well rounded in its presentation. The new cast of brightly colored characters were at first I felt kind of dull and didn't feel like they had the same depth of the previous "Mane Six" and their strong dynamic as not only very close and dedicated friends but also the guardians of friendship. As the film went on I began to realize that the new cast was actually fairly complex in their personalities, appearances and motivations and eventually by the end came off as strong characters showing that this new generation is ready to tackle the problems of not just friendship but also prejudice, fear and ultimately bringing others together through love, compassion and understanding and ending division across the world. Although the ending was perhaps in my opinion a bit rushed, it none the less showed that this is MLP through and through and that this new generation is ready to tackle some hard lessons on what friendship truly means and how magical it can be when everyone is working together. Overall I cannot recommend this enough for anyone who is either an existing brony/pegasister of the gen 4 fandom, an older fan of the earlier generations, younger kids or even new fans looking for something new to quench their thirst for a new piece of entertainment. This one gets a 5/5 from me, but it would be 10/10 if allowed.