Tag: My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic

Pony Up With The First Official MLP Movie Trailer!!

by The_acz

This afternoon, Hasbro and Lionsgate finally released the first official trailer for My Little Pony: The Movie.  The film seems to have a mixture of 2D animation, but also seems to use CGI for the backgrounds and some other objects. While a bit odd at first, the film does visually look nice. Check out the trailer for yourself and make your own judgement. My Little Pony: The Movie releases on October 6th.

Viz Will Be Publishing The Art Of ‘My Little Pony: The Movie’ This Fall!

by The_acz

Earlier today Viz announced that they’ll be partnering with Hasbro to release an art book for the upcoming MLP Movie scheduled to release October 6th. Not much has been said about the book, but it will be pretty lengthy and also include full color art. The art is due for release sometime in August, 2 whole months before the film comes out, so be wary of spoilers. Are you excited about this announcement? What animated movie do you want to see get an art book? Tell us in the comments below!

Geekscape Reviews: Equestria Girls ‘Rainbow Rocks’ Blu-Ray

by Shane O'Hare

Hot off the presses from Shout!Factory is the next in the Equestria Girls franchise. The full title. “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks”, was how you say, a bit long to put in the title of this review.

In case you aren’t in the know, “Equestria Girls” is a spin-off film series of the now HUGELY popular “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic”. In these films there exists and alternate dimension similar to that of MLP’s Canterlot. This is not a dimension of sight or sound, but of hands and feet! That’s right, Ponies are People too!

The first film had our lead character, Twilight Sparkle, traveling through to this alternate dimension to stop the plans of an evil doer. Rainbow Rocks pretty much starts out the same, but this time there are THREE bad guys!

The story, much like the first one, is what it is. A nice feel good story with valuable lessons for the young crowd. For the older crowd, such as myself, it’s more of an elaborate fan service. Seeing all of our favorite characters human counterparts put a huge smile on my face throughout the entire film. The “adult” references throughout were always met with an audible laugh.

Equestria Grils Rainbow Rocks Daft Punk Rarity
This was hands down my favorite shot from the film.

The entire goal for our protagonists in “Rainbow Rocks” was to sing a song that would counter the evil magic from the films villains, The Dazzlings.

Hands down the best part of “Rainbow Rocks” was the amazing soundtrack. The entire plot revolves around a Battle of The Bands. The show’s composer, Daniel Ingram, freaking killed it. 10 all new original recordings from Daniel really stole the show (how many stage puns do you think I can get into this review?).

The Blu-Ray edition comes with both the Blu-Ray and DVD copy, as well as a code for the digital download version. The bonus features are a tad slim, but it is to be expected for a childrens release. The one feature I was extremely grateful for was the audio commentary. A gaggle of the films crew were present. Writers, producers, editors, animators. The entire crew was well represented. I really appreciated that it was obviously a group of people that loved their job, it wasn’t “dumbed down” for a younger audience. They pointed out small minute animation details that you wouldn’t normally have caught. It was a joy listening to it.

Final Thoughts

“Rainbow Rocks” was a must see for me this year. After the surprise that was the first Equestria Girls movie (it really superseded all my expectations), I knew that the sequel would have only improved on everything. Boy was I right.

The bonus features are lacking. Besides the audio commentary you get three sing alongs and the eight prequel shorts. The audio commentary and the fact that you get what amounts to three copies of the film more than makes up for it.

This is a must have for any MLP fan, young OR old.

You can get your hands on your own copy of “Rainbow Rocks” NEXT WEEK! It hits store shelves October 28th. There are some retailer specific bonuses too! If you get the DVD version at Target, Walmart or KMART you will get a Rainbow Rocks bracelet, Music CD or A Backstage Pass respectively.

SCORE: 4/5

Geekscape 332: The SDCC 2014 Spectacular!

by Jonathan

Another San Diego Comic Con is in the books! Derek Kraneveldt, Shane O’Hare and brand new Geekscapist Stanley Wong join me to regale you with tails from SDCC! First off, Derek and I attend the Guardians of the Galaxy premiere and tell you why it’s the best Marvel movie yet! Shane talks about his San Diego drunken escapades and losing an entire bag of SDCC swag! Stanley dares to find Comic Con lodging on Tinder! And all of us get harassed by new Geekscape villain Mordecai The Dark Lord! So what were the victories and tragedies of SDCC 2014? Listen up and join us! It’s the second best thing to being there yourself!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:14:23 — 85.1MB)

Geekscape TV: Shane’s A Pretty Pony. Watch Him Compile His ‘My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic’ Rarity Cosplay!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: Here at Geekscape, we’ve been working hard to bring you plenty of quality content for our new YouTube channel, Geekscape TV.

So far, you’ve seen The Death of ‘Superman Lives’: What Happened? director Jon Schnepp detail his top 5 Superman stories, Jonathan playing some real life Mario Kart at SXSW, Stan Lee talking Marvel vs. DC (and more),  Lou Ferrigno playing Flappy Bird, of course Hero of the Prophecy, and much more!

We’ve got plenty more coming down the pipeline, but today we want to show you something very special. Our resident My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic super fan (or Brony, whatever you want to call him), Shane O’Hare was just in California for this year’s WonderCon, and he put together an excellent Rarity cosplay. Watch him detail his outfit, awkwardly hit on Nicole, and show off his finished product below!

Bronies and Cosplayers, how did Shane do? Don’t forget to subscribe to GeekscapeTV on Youtube, because we’ve got plenty more where this came from!

Go Inside The World Of Bronies With ‘A Brony Tale’

by Shane O'Hare

We here at Geekscape are no strangers to MLP and Bronies (you should see my Rarity cosplay), so when we saw the trailer for the upcoming documentary on the best fandom out there we just had to share it.

I am always down for people intelligently explaining our passion for this show, and it looks like Brent Hodge as put together a fantastic film.

A Brony Tale is premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival April 26th. It can also be seen at the DOXA Film Festival on May 11th!

Brony Breakdown: Season 4, Episode 12 – ‘Pinkie’s Pride’

by Shane O'Hare

Whoa damn fellow Scapists! Last minute Brony Breakdown before the newest episode hits the airwaves, so I better get this up and going like lickity split Virginia. If you eye spied our article last Tueday, then you know this episode has a super duper special guest star. DATS RIGHT! Weird Al himself! Enough horsing around, let’s breakdown “Pinkie’s Pride”

The episode opens up with an establishing shot of what appears to be Appleloosa, the stereotypical Western town in Equestria. We get a nice shot of the town during what appears to be the yearly UMF. Camera moves back and we get eyes on Weird Al’s character, Cheese Sandwich (that name still bugs me, reminds me of that school yard joke about “pulling apart a cheese sandwich”).  He exclaims that those ponies have never partied so hard in their lives. Yeah, definitely UMF style, poppin mollies. I guess ketamine would be more apropos, what with the horse motif. Just as he gets the words out, he gets a twitcha twitch. He get’s a feeling that he is needed in Ponyville! Roll that intro!

Before we get too far into this Breakdown, I’d like to point out that Cheese Sandwich here looks like a certain Western Film character.

Brony Breakdown Man With No Name
I cannot give more props to the animators in this show.

I mean, look at that stranger. So fierce.

The moment we are whisked back to Ponyville, we are met with a song by our Pink Pony, as she gallivants through town collecting supplies for Rainbow Dash’s party. As she goes from store to store, the townsfolk reminisce about all the parties Pinkie has thrown.

I should really say that this episode is a heavily musical one. The majority of the episode is in song. One of the show’s composers, William Anderson, used to play in Weird Al’s band! So they were a perfect match when recording the songs for this episode. This also makes my breakdown for this episode pretty thin. The songs really need to speak for themselves. With that, lets take a listen to the first tune. “Pinkie the Party Planner”

I really liked all the different background characters singing voices, I was most impressed with Chantal Strand. Yeah, the voice of that right bitch Diamond Tiara. Her line about her “cutesanera” put a little smile on my face. Yeah, she’s still evil.

If this tune sounds familiar then it’s because the episodes writer based the song off of Belle. Yeah from Beauty and The Beast.

Just out of the singing we find the Mane 6 enjoying Pinkie’s work on her Banner for Rainbow Dash. We get a quick glimpse of the serious side of Pinkie. She get’s all up in Rainbow’s grill, reinforcing the fact that “Parties are serious business.”. Just then the Horse with No Name appears on the scene, and he gives his name to the group right away. He informs them that his cheese senses have alerted him to Ponyville, and that a party is about to get underway. This is when we find out that not only is it Rainbow Dash’s Birthday, it is also the anniversary she came to Ponyville! A birthdaversary! Cue the  next song!

Now this is what I am talking ’bout! Weird Al is right in his element in this song, I found myself involuntarily bobbing to the tune. Again, Amy Keating Rogers based this song off another famous tune. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (yeah I spelled that right, FROM MEMORY), but with a nice hint of Polka. I would also like to note that my main man Daniel Ingram had his fingers on this. He helped with the lyrics and wrote the music for this one. Sadly, Weird Al did not play the accordion for this. Now, now. I know you’re a sad pony over this, but it’s okay. It’s still good!

As we all saw at the end of the song, Pinkie Pie was feeling like her party throwing abilities weren’t up to snuff. THIS IS CALLED CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT FOLKS! After the music interlude, the whole town is worshiping Cheese Sandwich and his potential party abilities. We see our beloved Pinkie Pie LITERALLY holding back tears as her mane deflates and she goes back home. Twilight interrupts her sulking, just enough for Pinkie to wonder out loud if she isn’t cut out to throw parties. CUE ANOTHER TUNE!

This is a great example of how music can really evoke emotion. We went from full blast, balls to the wall Weird Al Polka to this down tempo sadness. I honestly felt myself feeling pretty bad for Pinkie. Amy Keating Rogers said she and Daniel Ingram based this song off “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” from the musical Evita. Having seen Evita multiple times by different groups, I can safely say I am not hearing it. What I am hearing is exceptional performance by Shannon Chan-Kent, who does the singing for Pinkie Pie. I am really blown away by her in this particular song.

We quickly cut back to the festivities being put together, and we get a glimpse of a certain background pony indulging in a chocolate fountain.

Brony Breakdown Chocolate Derpy
Dat chocolate smile. Totes adorbs.

With her new found confidence, Pinkie is on the scene. She demands that Cheese Sandwich compete in a GOOF OFF! We are then presented with literally polar opposite faces from Pinkie Pie.

Brony Breakdown Cheese Challenged
Mean muggin Pinkie, then suddenly…
Brony Breakdown Stroke Victim Pony
Stroke victim Pinkie.

This is an excellent example of how creative the teams that work on this show are.

So you may be asking, “Da fuck is a Goof Off?”, well bookworm Twilight has the answer. She appears on the scene with a dusty old book, which just so happens to be the official rulebook of the Goof Off. Basically the rules say the competitors have free range to goof about in attempts to make the judge laugh, smile, chortle etc. etc. etc. Who is the judge you are saying? Well Rainbow Dash of course, and she is none too pleased about it. As Cheese Sandwich and Pinkie Pie post up, we are met with yet ANOTHER SONG!

Now THAT is a party song. This is more a medley of a bunch of songs, even two of Weird Al’s songs (Beer Barrel Polka and W.A.Y. Moby Polka) can be heard throughout this jam. Heck we even got a Pinkies Smile cover by Al, and a Spanish Pinata song by Pinkie? It’s really all over the place here. I particularly enjoyed the live action clips. That alligator went ballistic!

The song comes to a sudden end when Pinkie see’s that Rainbow Dash is having a bummer of a party. Crushed by a giant pinata cake, Pinkie Pie quickly forfeits the competition. She’d rather see her friend happy than fight over the chance to throw the party. After the commercial break, we find the Mane 6 catching up on the edge of town. Pinkie has packed up her party gear and is planning on leaving town! Mutual apology’s are exchanged. Pinkie is sorry that she put her pride over Rainbow’s happiness. The other Mane 5 express their own apologies, letting Cheese Sandwich woo them and have them forget their friend. FRIENDS AGAIN!

After the air has been cleared, Cheese Sandwich hits the frame. He explains that he never meant to take Pinkie’s place as party pony in ponyville, he just wanted to impress her with his skillz. Why may you ask? WELL…

WHAT?! WHAAAT?! Did anyone see that ending coming? That was some next level twist. Like the ending of Sixth Sense, or Bioshock Infinite, or Primer (did primer have an end?). I actually went “OH! DAMN” out loud.

The melody in this tune had a real big Disney feel. The lilting at the end was top. I also can’t gloss over the animation during this tune. The dynamic movements really show off the power of Flash 8 and the expertise of the animators.

Rainbow quickly interrupts the sappy bullshit, and demands a party! CUE ANOTHER TUNE!

Now that is right up my alley, dat four on the floor break beat. Daniel Ingram really shows off his chops with this one. Amy Keating Rogers says the inspiration for this song was Pink’s “Raise Your Glass”.

Just outside the party we find Pinkie Pie writing in the group diary, as Cheese Sandwich gives her a little memento. No, not a Polaroid picture that says “John G” on it. He slides her a box, and inside is his rubber chicken. How…sweet?

He dons his Fist Full of Dollars cosplay and wanders off into the sunset, as Pinkie says “I never did get that pony’s name”. Perfectly book-ending this episode with Clint Eastwood references.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This episode, was a blast. I was very much looking forward to it after all the hyper surrounding it. Weird Al really blew me away with his performance. Since it was a musical, I can’t gloss over the musical team. Daniel Ingram really was on point, all the different songs really showed his range as a musician. That ending song, I would pay big bucks to hear him write a EDM inspired pop song, I absolutely loved it. We also cannot forget Steffan Andrews, who played a mean accordion.

This is easily my current favorite for Season 4. I’d love to hear what everyone else thinks about this episode, so please leave a comment below!

Weird Al Yankovic Is Guest Starring On My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic! And We Got You A Sneak Preview!

by Shane O'Hare

You read that right my fellow Geekscapists! The legendary Geek musician himself, Weird Al Yankovic will be lending his voice to this weeks episode of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic! We got our hooves on a couple of stills and some clips for you as well!

“Pinkie Pride” — An elated Pinkie Pie is planning the biggest and best “birth-iversary” party ever for Rainbow Dash, but when another party planning pony named Cheese Sandwich rides into town, plans change. Soon, everypony is so excited about Cheese Sandwich’s party that they forget about Pinkie Pie, but her pride won’t let her go down without an official “goof off,” on “My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic,”Saturday, February 1 at 10:30 a.m. ET/ 7:30 a.m. PT on the Hub Network.

http://youtu.be/09m1LBX0Jc0

http://youtu.be/NfIrTE_fY-E

http://youtu.be/3AonDMSAfh4

So I better see all of you here this Saturday for the newest episode, and while you’re here catch the latest in the Brony Breakdown!

Brony Breakdown: Season 4, Episode 11 – ‘Three’s A Crowd’

by Shane O'Hare

OH SNAP! OH SNAP! It’s that time again! Brony Breakdown time, and do we have a great episode this week. Three’s A Crowd starts off with our special Princess Twilight getting a very anticipated letter, Princess Cadence is coming to visit! That’s right! Her sister in law, the Alicorn that is giving it to her Brother on the nightly, is coming to Ponyville to spend some nice quality time. Thats not the ONLY good news to be had, Fluttershy got a letter of approval from the Equestrian Society for The Preservation of Rare Creatures to observe one of the rarest creatures in the land, THE BREEZEY! Yeah I have no idea what that is, but I ain’t no hyper nerd like Fluttershy. She is like that weird girl in school that loved horses and only read Shojo Manga. BUT WAIT, THERES MORE! Pinkie Pie got a letter advertising a sale on used patio furniture! HOW PERFECT! Though this all seems a bit TOO perfect… Wouldn’t you agree? Well we’re here to find out! Let’s Breakdown “Three’s A Crowd”, ROLL THAT THEME SONG!

We return to find the Mane 6 on the platform of the Ponyville train station, wishing Fluttershy a bon voyage. Shes’s all decked out explorer style, and Applejack gives her a big old basket of apples.

Ya know, I’ve been meaning to bring something up about our farm fresh friend Applejack. Everyone in her family is a color of a type of apple. Big Mac is BIG RED, Granny Smith is…well granny smith, and Applebloom is a Golden Delicious. Applejack on the other hand, she’s…she’s…ORANGE! Could this mean she really comes from a family of citrus farmers from Florida, and could possibly be the heir to the Tropicana fortune? Why did she abandon her Rutaceae heritage? The world may never know.

__protect_sweet_apple_acres____by_tehjadeh-d4nxjh5
“Something is wrong here…” Click for Source.

With that, Fluttershy is off! Off to observe some animals, that is. Our ever caring Pinkie Pie chases after her proclaiming that she will never forget Fluttershy, and then is quickly distracted by a balloon. More of her WACKY RANDOMNESS! AMIRITE?!

Back at the platform we catch back up with Twilight and the rest of the gang. She is absolutely overcome with joy and worry about Cadence’s upcoming visit. Normally when Cadence and Twilight get together, there is usually some sort of world ending evil looming about. So Twilight is very anxious about this trip. She needs it to go off without a hitch, and what is the perfect way to spend the free time with her old friend? WHY AT THE TRAVELING MUSEUM FOR STAR SWIRL THE BEARDED! Her major inner nerd comes out as she gushes about the exhibits that can be expected. After this little display we are greeted with the most out of left field sound effect of the season yet. Rainbow Dash makes a very…unique sound and gesture of disgust. I had to replay this scene a few times to make sure my ears weren’t lieing to me.  If you aren’t watching this show you gotta at least hear this clip.

As if on cue, the train from the Crystal Empire rolls up with Princess Cadence on it! Eagle-eyed viewers will also catch Flash-Sentry as one of the royal guards, and he gives a saucy glance to Twilight. He wants to get a piece of that Alicorn strange. Pleasantry’s are exchanged and Twilight and Cadence are off to spend the weekend together.

After their departure the rest of the gang, I guess we can call them the Mane 4 at this point, notice an odd spinning disc coming down from the sky. AND ITS HEADED RIGHT FOR THEM! They all narrowly escape sudden harm as the UFO crashes into a tree. Pinkie shouts “WHAT WAS THAT?!” and the strange disc responds; “Not a what, a who my dear!”. I recognize that voice! IT’S! IT’S!

Brony Breakdown Discord Blue
DISCORD!

OH SNAP HE’S BACK! BACK AGAIN! TELL A FRIEND! Discord is back and he is looking a bit sick, and if his sneeze that engulfed the tree in a blue flame is any indication of his symptoms, then he is in dire need of a doctor.

Now the current members of the Mane 4 are very ‘spicious of his intentions. Rainbow Dash wants to know why he just doesn’t stay home in bed, while Applejack just gives him THE EYE.

He lays out his intentions; he wanted to enjoy the aid and comfort from the nicest pony in town Fluttershy, but forgot she had her trip today. Turns out Discord and Fluttershy are pen pals and communicate on the reg. So of course the next best solution in her absence is having the new and improved Mane 4 take care of him! Right?! Well, urm wrong. Rainbow immediately dashes off at the thought of it. Pinkie on the other hand is more than willing, but her eagerness turns Discord off. He distracts her easily with a balloon. That leaves Rarity and Applejack to be his nurse maids.

Brony Breakdown Nurses
This fandom is really fucking weird sometimes.

They begrudgingly accept, but almost instantly catch his “Blue Flu”. Seems a tad bit too convenient, that all the ponies that are there to help him get eliminated. So he finds his way to Twilight and Cadence at the Star Swirl The Bearded exhibit. After the usual introductions, he begs them for help, pulling the “Friends Help Friends” card. Cadence uses her magic to cast a magic health bubble around her and Twilight so they don’t catch the flu. Another one of those instances of Dues Ex Machina. So they bring him back to Twilights house to rest, though they make a fatal mistake. They ask him if he needs anything. CUE THE MUSIC!

That whole display really put a smile on my face. John de Lancie really has that certain charm. The references in his song are numerous. That TSA joke…and THAT ENDING! He’s a maniac!

I was really partial to the mane swap here!
I was really partial to the mane swap here!

Of course Twilight immediately consults her books for a possible cure, but Discord puts a stop to all that nonsense. He tell the two Princesses that the only cure for the Blue Flu is to pick a special flower which grows atop a mountain, precisely at sunset. After a back and and forth, Discord produces a map with directions to the rare flower. His outfit looks a tad familiar…but I just can’t put it.

I wonder if he is wearing golf shoes?
I wonder if he is wearing golf shoes?

Too weak to make the journey himself, he hooks the two royal ponies up to a chariot of sorts, and they fly him off.

After the commercial break the trio finds themselves at the hill where the magical flower grows. And god damned its a huge flower! Like, a big ass tree sized flower. So the two Princesses use their magic to yank it out and take it back to Ponyville. BUT, there is always a but, as they are about to leave a giant scary snake monster emerges from the hole the flower resided in. Now when I saw scary snake monster, I mean scary. It’s as if the monsters from La Blue Girl and the Shai-Hulud had a fucked up love child.

The two Alicorns blast blast dat monster with their magic, and bury it back in the ground. YEAH! TEAM WORK!

Now that danger is gone and the flower in hand, they return to Discord to return to Ponyville to cure what ails him. When they get back to his chariot he find him dancing in excitement, shouting his praises for Twilight. AND IT LOOKS LIKE HE IS ALL BETTER! Turns out that bastard was faking it the whole time! Pissed as all hell, Twilight gives him a chance to explain himself before she goes all Dirty Harry on his ass.

Turns out Discord wanted to test the friendship he and Twilight have together. He pulls some very creative emotional cards, saying how much better Twilight is; highlighting his fear that he thinks Twilight is too important for him. This guy is a next level emotionally abusive kind of guy. If this wasn’t a children show, I’d say this was some pretty harsh stuff.

Twilight is crushed! Her special day with Cadence is ruined, but Cadence can’t agree with her. She says that spending the day at the Star Swirl museum would have been a nice relaxing day, but spending the day adventuring with Twilight was even better! Ya see, she doesn’t get much adventuring back at the Crystal Empire, and this series of events was just what she needed! Me thinks Discord knew more than he lead on. As everyone is hugging it out, the Hentai-Snake Monster busts up out of the ground and sneezes on the trio. Instantly getting Discord sick, this time all green with spots. Luckily for the Princesses they had that Magic Health Bubble.

Back at Ponyville Twilight recounts the days lesson. Even the most chaotic days, if spent with friends is a day well spent.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I love, love, love, love, LOVE Discord episodes. John de Lancie basically reprises his role as Q from Star Trek, and it is always a treat. His godlike powers really lend themselves to some quick and subtle jokes. All the references, especially ones that only adults would get, fit perfect into his neurotic demeanor.  This episode was really full of fun the whole time, though I feel the Discord episodes are kind of a “get out of jail free card” for the writers. Need to have an episode where the moral is just some ephemeral fleeting thought? Bust out Discord.

Regardless of that, it was a blast to watch. Come for the next Brony Breakdown where we cover “Pinkie Pride”, which has Weird Al Yankovic as the special guest star! YOU JUST GOTTA FIND OUT!

Brony Breakdown: Season 4, Episode 6 – ‘Power Ponies’

by Shane O'Hare

WHOA NOW! Yeah I know I am a few days behind, but the lack of a PC at home, the Christmas holiday, and complete chaos at work has made me a very busy geek. So today, the day before Christmas, AKA Christmas Eve, I am posted up at my office and getting all of my writing done.

This week is probably THE biggest must see MLP episode yet. Especially if you aren’t a huge fan. This is the COMIC BOOK EPISODE! Not to give it all away just yet, but lets just say things get SUPER! So let’s breakdown “Power Ponies”.

We open up in Twilight’s bedroom. Spike is up late reading those silly comic books and all the ruckus woke Twilight up! Spike gives us the rundown of his favorite book “The Power Ponies”.

The evil villain of the story, the Mane-iac (there is going to be A LOT of horse puns this episode, so get ready) was once a power hungry owner of a hair care company. One day she fell into a vat of product, that gave her super powers! BUT IT ALSO MADE HER GO INSSAAAANNNNEE! Her and her hench ponies plan to break into the Maretropolis Museum to steal the Electro-Orb, the ultimate power for her doomsday weapon. After some scolding, and some forgiveness from Twilight, Spike gets back to his book. Role dat intro!

At this junction I would like to point out the complexity of Spike’s animation when he’s on his comic rant. The team who works on this show has this amazing ability to synchronize complex movements that looks natural. The walk cycle of the ponies alone is something to behold. If you really watch the characters they all flex and bend like they have real muscle. This season especially, we see the characters becoming more and more animated, and it’s the subtle things that make the biggest difference.

The skeleton of an animated pony. Note how the haunches stretch and the mane bounces.
The skeleton of an animated pony. Note how the haunches stretch and the mane bounces.

When the song of friendship ends we see the Mane 6 and Spike are once again back at the old castle from “Castle Mane-ia”. They’ve decided to restore the old castle for Luna and Celestia… for reasons unknown to me. Dat place is nasty!

So, wanting to feel helpful, Spike tries to pitch in and lend a hand hoof, but it appears that everyone has the restoration on lock down. Being the nice princess she is, Twilight suggests Spike go finish his comic book. She makes an uneducated and very “Mom” statement about his book. DOESN’T SHE KNOW HUMDRUM ISN’T A HERO IN THE POWER PONIES BOOK!? According to Spike he is there just for comic relief, just as Spike comically relieves his foot into a soapy bucket of water. Dejected and feeling useless, Spike goes back to the library to read his book.

This point I’d really like to talk about his mistreatment of his comic. I mean COME ON! No bag… no boards, consciously rolling it up. Come the fuck on Spike.

Anyway, Spike goes to finish his comic, and makes an offhanded statement about him and the character Hum Drum being the same, both useless. THIS IS FORESHADOWING! He goes to turn the page and it’s BLANK! How unbelievably disappointing! But whats that tiny writing on the last page? Spike goes searching for a magnifying glass to read what is written. Just as he finishes the tiny writing the Mane 6 walk in. Just in time for the comic book to turn into a portal to another dimension! OH NO! Twilight goes to stop Spike from entering the void, but she is pulled in with him! Soon there is a big pony chain as everyone is getting pulled into the book!

When the team comes to it appears they’ve actually entered the world of Power Ponies! On the rooftops of Maretropolis Spike utters the funniest line in the show.

"Holy New Persona Ponies!"
“Holy New Persona Ponies!”

Now this is where the episode goes from adorable to AMAZING! The Mane 6 have turned into the characters from the comic, and they all have DC/Marvel equivalent powers! This episode is total geek fan-service from here on out. Here is the superhero rundown; from left to right.

Fluttershy/Saddle Rager (The Hulk), Applejack/Mistress Mare-velous (Wonderwoman Batman combo), Rarity/Radiance (Green Latern), Rainbow Dash/Zapp (Storm), Pinkie Pie/Fili-Second (The Flash), Twilight Sparkle/Masked Matter-Horn (Kind of a Captain Planet meets Superman).

Suddenly the evil Mane-iac hits the scene, causing a ruckus. Each of the Ponies get a quick brief on how their powers work from Spike, but they all seem to mess it up. Applejack ends up tied to a lamp post. Rainbow Dash causes a tornado. Rarity created a Tea set, and Fluttershy just can’t get mad enough to Hulk out. During the entire disaster of super proportions, Mane-iac makes off with the Electro-Orb!

Mane-iac is voiced by Ellen Kennedy and she absolutely steals the show. Her long insane laughing fits and evil diatribes really make her seem like the bad guy. Besides her flawless voice acting, the animators really brought their AAA+++ game on her character. Between her facial twitches and how she moves (her mane is a batch of tentacles, very Doc Ock) they blew their proverbial load on her sprite. I mean, look at this face!

Brony Breakdown Maneiac Laugh
This is only one of the many hilarious freakouts.

With the team beaten, Spike starts to beat himself up. Not literally, emotionally. He’s all sorts of sad that he is Hum Drum, the same character he talked all that smack about earlier. He quickly informs the team that they need to roll up to Mane-iac’s hideout, regulator style.

When the Power Ponies hit the scene, Mane-iac sends out her hench ponies to dispatch our heroes. All of them have hair care themed cutie marks, and most of them look like 70’s era Mods.

The Mane 6 are finally starting to get a sense of their powers. Applejack is dishing out golden horseshoe throwing stars, while Rainbow Dash is blasting fools left and right. And yet, Fluttershy still can’t get mad enough to Hulk out. Just when we think the Power Ponies have the villains on lockdown, Mane-iac blasts them with an evil hairspray freeze ray! OH NO! She tosses them all in a cage and leaves Spike all alone.

Now this is where we get some serious character development. Spike pulls a Solid Snake and sneaks into the building through the vents, all the while his monologue is self deprecating. He is feeling so low and useless. Soon inside he sees the terrible fate his friends are facing.

The Power Ponies are held up in a cage, getting resprayed with the Hairspray. They are helpless! We get more of the same from Mane-iac, and she pulls a James Bond villain classic maneuver: Explain your evil plan in great detail to your enemy. After some trash talk from Mane-iac, directed at Spike, Twilight stands up for her friend. Some real uplifting words, and that is just what Spike needs!

He sneaks down onto the floor and sets a giant trap for the Henchponies, getting them all caught up in a giant curtain. This gives the Power Ponies enough time to break free from the Hairspray and get out of the cage. A brutal Avengers level fight ensues. Everyone has mastered their powers and they are all going ham on the baddies.

Just as the fight is getting good, Fluttershy tries to sneak out. Nothing is making her mad and she has no powers. That is until Mane-iac tries to squash a firefly. When Fluttershy catches her in the act, she finally gets mad and Hulks the fuck out.

Brony Breakdown Flutterhulk
This is actually kind of terrifying.

Fluttershy straight up glacks Mane-iac and destroys her evil weapon with flair. And as soon as everything is over with, they comic book shows back up and sends them back to the castle. Back home everyone shows their gratitude to Spike, without his comic know how they wouldn’t have been able to stop Mane-iac and get sent back home.

Final Thoughts

This is probably my favorite episode so far, even if it was a Spike episode. It was a HUGE upgrade from last week’s offering. All the super powers, and nods to other superheros, really made my geek insides warm and fuzzy. My girl Rarity was in top form, and Tabitha St. Germain had a great performance. But, I have to give it to Ellen Kennedy as MVP for this episode. She played the villain perfectly, and the way the animators had her move was really impressive. When she was slithering around her doom weapon it really creeped me out.

If you are on the fence about MLP: FiM, and are a geek, then you MUST see this episode. If you know any comic book fans then show them this episode, and I bet you they will love it!

Brony Breakdown: Season 4, Episode 5 – ‘Flight To The Finish’

by Shane O'Hare

Whoa now! This Brony Breakdown is a few days late, as I had a massive computer accident (bottle water meet motherboard), coupled with my busted laptop, I have to find time to get my writing out at work. So the extra day or two should have given you enough time to watch “Flight to The Finish” a couple of times, and get your own opinions on it. We got ourselves another Cutie Mark Crusader episode and I foresee major cute going on. Lets jump right in and break down “Flight to The Finish”!

We open up on Cheeriliee, the school teacher for Ponyville, addressing her class. She soon introduces the head of the Equestria Games (equine themed Olympics), Miss Harshwhinny. She informs the class that she will be picking a group to attend the games as flag carriers for Ponyville, and the best part is IT’S A COMPETITION! Nothing builds self confidence in a little filly than ruthless competition against their friends! Roll the intro!

Once back, we get the rundown for the contest. The class will break up into teams and choreograph a flag carrying routine. Whoever scores the highest (in grace, style, and originality) will get to perform their routine at the Equestria Games! During Miss Harshwhinny’s instructions, Rainbow Dash blares in and interrupts her. Rainbow introduces herself as the coach for the competition. She regales the class with and old story of when SHE carried the Cloudsdale flag at the games. The amount of innuendo in her story was palpable. “I spread my wings…flag flapping in the breeze…I did tricks with that flag that no one has ever seen and hasn’t since.” Nothing too perverted there…but sometimes I wonder what the writers are doing.

Miss Harshwhinny soon puts a stop to Rainbow Dash’s celebrating and reminds her to stay professional and not get to emotional. Miss Harshwhinny is kind of a bitch, BUT WE MUST STAY PROFESSIONAL!

The entire time this is going on Rainbow Dash’s biggest fan, Scootaloo, is looking on in awe. We can see where this is going, can’t we? After class is over the Cutie Mark Crusaders (CMC from here on out) convene in the playground to discuss their plans. The competition calls for them to demonstrate what makes their town special. Only after standing back and actually looking at each other do they realize what makes Ponyville special. It is a place where all kinds of different ponies can live together. Earth ponies, Pegasus ponies and Unicorns. DIVERSITY UNIFIES! So it’s settled, they need to emphasis the diversity, and even though they are little fillies; they have hearts that are strong as horses. CUE THE SONG!

But before that, lets talk about the voice actresses. The CMC are voiced by Madeleine Peters (Scootaloo), Claire Corlett (Sweetie Bell), and Michelle Creber (Apple Bloom). Unlike male voice actors, young girls are typically hired into roles for characters their same age. Most of the time when a young male character is in the show, a female usually ends up voicing them. Best example outside of MLP (Spike is voiced by Cathy Weseluck) is The Boondocks. The two main characters Huey and Riley are voiced by Regina King. The idea is that an adult female can pull of a young male voice a lot longer than a boy can. We all know how much havoc puberty can wreck on a 12-15 year old male voice.

The voice actresses for the CMC are 17, 14, and 14 years old, and keep in mind that when they started on MLP:FiM they were all four years younger. Normally this doesn’t mean much for female voice actresses but in the case of the CMC it does. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell are both voiced by now 14 year old girls, and both characters have accents. It is now very apparent that both actresses have had their voices change over the course of the show. Most notable is Sweetie Bell. Gone are her cute little voice cracks and squeeks. Claire Corlett’s voice has finally settled, and this is presents a possible narrative route for the entire CMC.

Now that the characters sound like they’ve gone through puberty, it could be time the CMC do the same. Now, when I say “Go through puberty” I’m not expecting some Seventh Heaven level type story arc where one of the daughters “becomes a woman”. No I am talking about CUTIE MARKS! It has been three seasons of them furiously trying to get their Marks (the pony equivalent of puberty). I think it is time for the CMC to get to the next stage as characters just like Twilight did. Their voices sure have changed, and it is very apparent in the song, which is where I left off!

Hearts as Strong as Horses is the first song composed by Daniel Ingram for Season Four. You can really hear his style coming through on this one. The lyrics are cute and adorable and it really conveys the CMC’s motivation. Take a listen to the song here, and enjoy the awkward straight on animation that this season seems to be enjoying way to much!

As soon as the song is over, those two stuck up bitches show up. Yeah that’s right, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon come into frame to ruin the CMC’s day (am I really calling small, child equivalent, horses bitches? Yeah I am!). Their stuffy attitude comes across as really mean this time around (it gets worse even!) and their mocking of the CMC not having their cutie marks is just par for the course.

Silver Spoon & Diamond Tiara mock the CMC with their cutie marks. Looks like their favorite movie is Requiem For A Dream.
Silver Spoon & Diamond Tiara mock the CMC with their cutie marks. Looks like their favorite movie is Requiem For A Dream.

After the encounter with the Blue Bloods, Rainbow Dash joins the CMC for their first demo of their routine, while Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara watch on from the bushes. What the CMC show off is actually a pretty impressive display. It shocks Rainbow Dash and the bullies in the bushes! Mouths agape! Rainbow is about to bust over it but remembers her need to be “Professional”. Instead of gushing she restrains herself.  Feeling threatened the Blue Bloods have to resort to nefarious methods. They approach the CMC and focus their torment on Scootaloo. They praise the team for their routine but scoff and mock them for having a Pegasus that cannot fly. They point out that a filly Scootaloo’s age should be able to fly and her not flying will keep them from winning the competition. This obviously gets to Scoots and she demands that they rework their routine for the competition, much to the chagrin of Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom. She is confident that she can get her undersized wings to lift her off by the next morning. So goes a new montage, Scoots forces her friends to work all through the night on a new routine while she tries to fly.

So comes the day of their final walk through and the new routine is nothing to write home about. Rainbow Dash isn’t pleased and neither are the CMC, so Scoots takes another night trying to fly without success. Next comes the day of departure and Scootaloo decides to bail on her friends. She doesn’t want to let them down, but ultimately they are fed up with her and make the decision to leave her in Ponyville.

On the train Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell break the bad news to Rainbow Dash, that they left Scootaloo in Ponyville. OH BOY! Does she give them a scolding! Reinforcing the whole friends don’t leave friends behind, and Friendship is Magic. They all ditch the train and hurry back to get Scootaloo. They catch her throwing out all her precious possessions. Her posters, memorabilia and even her SCOOTER!  When Rainbow and the girls show up they explain to Scootaloo that they’re her friends and she can be a great pony even if she can’t fly.

This is where the show pulls a great move. They don’t shy over the fact that Scootaloo is kind of handicapped. They talk about the tough situation she is in, they don’t just gloss over it.

They get her confidence back and head to the Crystal Empire for the competition, and wouldn’t you know it their first routine wins it all!

Final Thoughts

I really liked the message this episode conveyed. Be who you are and do not let anyone get you down. Though that’s pretty much all I enjoyed: the Blue Bloods were really mean, beyond just a couple of bullies in school and the story was kinda boring. I just want the Mane 6 to get that six keyed chest open! Daniel Ingram stole the episode with “Hearts as Strong as Horses”.

All in all, the episode was just OKAY.

Join Your Favorite Ponies Christmas Morning With A Traditional Yule Log!

by Shane O'Hare

You read that right folks! Our friends over at The Hub are doing things a bit different this Christmas, and will be showing a traditional Yule Log before their morning programming. From 6 AM to 10 AM Eastern, you and your family can sit in front of the TV and listen to the crack crack crackle of the log and along with some festive music! There might even be a few of your favorite characters stopping by! The Press Release we got goes as follows:

On Christmas morning, the Hub Network, a destination for kids and their families, will preempt all regular programming to feature the “My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic Yule Log,” a Hub-centric version of the perennial favorite: a crackling yule log, complete with songs of the season playing in the background, Wednesday, December 25, 6–10 a.m. ET/3–7 a.m. PT. The programming preemption encourages family togetherness during the holiday morning.
Animated characters from a variety of Hub Network shows make cameo appearances around the fire, as seen at Pinkie Pie’s house where stockings have been hung for each of the core-cast ponies of “My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic,” including Princess Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Fans can also go to Hub Network’s YouTube channel onDecember 25 to transform their computers and smart phones into crackling fireplaces of fun.
 
The original “Yule Log” program was first broadcast on Christmas morning in 1966 by local station WPIX as a gift to New York City residents, most of who live in apartments and do not have fireplaces. The program was a critical and ratings success and was broadcast for 23 years until it was taken off the air in the 1990s. The traditional “Yule Log” TV program has since returned and can be seen on numerous stations nationwide.
You know everyone here at Geekscape will have their sets tuned to The Hub come Christmas day! I get to spend Christmas with my favorite pony!

Brony Breakdown: Season 4, Episode 4 – ‘Daring Don’t’

by Shane O'Hare

Whoa, is it that time of the week already? I’m excited, aren’t you? This episode is a huge call back to “Read It and Weep” from Season 2. The episode where Rainbowdash ends up in hospital and her only entertainment is reading some crummy old books! Turns out that she loves the novels about an adventuring Pony named Daring Do, written by Equestria’s most famous author A.K. Yearling. I hope you can see the joke in that name. Let’s get deep into this weeks episode: “Daring Don’t”

Our show opens up with Fluttershy trying to teach some baby birdies to fly. A diagram so simple a caveman could understand it is hanging up in a tree as she flaps her wings. Suddenly Rainbowdash comes zipping into frame shouting “FOUR MORE MONTHS” Ad Nauseum. When Fluttershy gets a hold of her to ask about all the shouting, we get brought up to speed. The next book in the Daring Do series from A.K. Yearling is set to hit book stores (can we expect to see it at BARNS & NOBLES?! Get it…Barns…horses…heh) in just four months! Can she wait? Well Fluttershy doesn’t think she will be able to. I really think it’s funny how the writers are portraying Rainbowdash’s extreme fandom. It’s like how I imagine some fans of MLP can be… but I can only imagine. It’s not like I would know first hand. It’s not like I have all the Happy Meal Toys, talking Celestia, multiple hand made vinyl figures, numerous shirts and even the We-Love-Fine leggings. Yeah, so I can only imagine.

Brony Breakdown S04 E04
Yeah…I lied.

Roll dat intro. We join back up with Rainbowdash as she is chattering a new countdown. Three months and 26 days. Three months and 26 days. She walks into Twilight’s library only to find everyone is having a party, WITHOUT HER! A holiday party, National Random Holiday Party Day. This is just another time where I feel Pinkie Pie’s character has just morphed more and more into “Katy t3h PeNgU1N oF d00m”, and her lines are just there to seem wacky. I know I am trying to give too much weight to a show for children, but even as a kid I found characters like this boring. Ed from Ed, Edd and Eddy comes to mind, but his moments of clarity made up for it.

Applejack tells the angry Rainbowdash that she herself came to invite her to the party, but she was way to busy re-reading the last Daring Do book. AGAIN! Cue the countdown again. Thanks Applejack. Twilight interrupts her chanting to inform her that the publisher of the Daring Do books said that they release was pushed back two whole months! Rainbowdash proceeds to lose it all over Twilights face.

Brony Breakdown Rainbowdash Squirting
I don’t think there is anything wrong with the file name I chose.

The panicked super fan suddenly resorts to the ultimate level of creeper. She wants Twilight to find out where A.K. Yearling lives so they can help her with her everyday life so she may get back to writing the book. Naive Twilight agrees and the Mane 6 are off on another adventure! Next scene is one of MANY Indiana Jones references. We get a Sepia Tone map with a red line moving across it with some very suggestive music. As the team approaches the author’s house we see that Pinkie Pie has been painting a red line on the ground the entire trip. OK random Pinkie Pie…you’ve earned a few points in my book for that. When they get to the domicile we see that the whole place has been wrecked up! Everyone rushes in and begins the search for the writer. Rainbowdash’s motivation is just for more reading material and not the well being of A.K. Yearling.

A.K. demands to know who they are and what they are doing in her home, as she frantically searches for something. She finally grabs a book that seems pretty mystical if you ask me. On it are three dials forming a combination lock, A.K. Yearling flips each tumbler to the proper code…funny enough her combo is 000. The book opens up and a glowing golden ring emerges. Hmmm. I am starting to suspect the writer isn’t all she appears to be. Rainbow’s pushiness to get the next book finished ticks Twilight off and she pulls the Pegasus outside. As Twilight gives her the proverbial chewing out about invading someones privacy, a group of mean looking Stallions roll up and demand the golden ring.

A.K. Yearling rips off her dorky looking outfit to reveal that she IS Daring Do! They are one in the same! An action packed fight scene ensues, but unfortunately Daring Do is bested. The leader of the evil Hench-Ponies walks in to exclaim his victory. Dr. Caballeron (from the fourth Daring Do book) outlines his plan to sell the ring to the equally evil Ahuizotl so that he may use it to complete the Dark Tower. Twilight and Rainbowdash proceed to get into a nerd fight over the Daring Do books and spout out a buncha geek shit. I was really reminded of the Nerd fight from the cartoon Eltingville Comic Book Club (everyone should really check out this fight. Its hilarious).

The crew decides they must go and help Daring Do get the ring back. As Rainbowdash catches up with Daring Do her inner fangirl comes out and she suddenly becomes overcome with nerves. How can she keep her composure around her hero? Well she can’t, and her rambling alerts Daring Do to her presence and she gets jumped. At this point I’d like to point out how Daring Do is essentially just a pallet swap of Rainbowdash. If Rainbow was in a fighting game Daring Do would be her alternate color.

Brony Breakdown Rainbow Daring Do
Mirror world!

Daring Do is voiced by Chiara Zanni, and I recognized her voice right away. She is one of my favorite voice actors, and hearing her in this show was a treat. Rainbow convinces Daring Do to let her help, but her nervousness of being with her idol is going to get her in trouble. DUH OF COURSE IT IS! How is Rainbow going to grow as a character?

The duo moves onward and approaches Dr. Caballeron and his cronies (hey, that’s kind of like ponies). She devises a cunning plan, she dons a disguise and approaches the group. She offers up a nice sack of coins in exchange for the golden ring. At this moment, her arch enemy Ahuizotl (I am getting serious Mola Ram vibe from this guy) rolls up and demands the ring. Caballeron ditches the ring and scoots with the cash. Ahuizotl summons a team of evil, fierce jungle cats (and one little kitty) to attack Daring Do. An action packed fight ensues, and Daring Do is looking like she will come out ahead. The whole time Rainbow is cheering her on from the bushes. As it looks like the adventure pony is about to escape with the golden ring, Ahuizotl demands he gives her the ring. Daring Do drops a cheese filled one-liner. “Ahuizotl, you know I love you, but I can’t give you the ring until I properly propose!”. What follows is currently the most popular MLP GIF on the internet. Seriously, everyone is blowing this up.

Brony Breakdown S04 E04
The noise she makes is equally adorable.

This is one of those rare instances where the characters being animated from head on actually works out. In fact I think this is the only good one out there.

The fight rages on and Rainbowdash suddenly gets the urge to impress Daring Do. She jumps out into the open and tries to give Daring Do her hat. Her shouting is brought to the attention of Ahuizotl and he grabs the multi colored pony. This distracts Daring Do and the evil cats jump her and snag the ring! Ahuizotl takes Daring Do  AND the ring to the ancient temple where the Dark Tower is. Rainbowdash is ashamed and gives up the adventure. Just as she starts on her journey back home, the rest of the Mane 6 meet up with her. She expresses her shame and defeat, and that she just wants to go home. She let down her hero. Like the good friends, Twilight and the rest try to cheer her up. Twilight says that in every Daring Do book, the ending doesn’t always appear so cut and dry and that they need to try and help Daring Do. With her new found confidence, thanks to her friends, they charge the temple in an attempt to save the adventurer.

The Mane 6 roll up right as the ceremony begins. The golden ring is the last to be placed on the tower. The tower actually looks like an ancient version of a popular childrens toy. Just off screen Rainbow saves Daring Do from a watery demise, though her lack of a thanks just reinforces her want to be a lone wolf adventurer. Back in the main chamber Ahuizotl and his guards. A comical fight ensues for the last ring, each of the different characters showcasing some sick fighting moves. Mean while Rainbowdash and Daring Do begin to take the stacking rings off the tower. As the rings get bigger they get heavier, and only with the help of Rainbowdash could Daring Do expect to get them all off. THIS IS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! As the fight rages the color swapped ponies manage to get the last ring off of the tower. Doing so causes the tower to crumble and our heroes barely make it out. The ring is destroyed and Daring Do thanks the crew from Ponyville and runs off to finish her book.

Rainbowdash then learns the lesson of the day, she shouldn’t get so wrapped up in other ponies favorable qualities that she forgets her own. Her exact words: “I got so wrapped up in how awesome she was that I forgot how awesome I am”. As her thought is finished, there is a knock on the door. The mailpony has a package for Rainbowdash. It’s the newest Daring Do book a whole week early! AND SHE IS ON THE COVER! So excite!

Final Thoughts

I really liked this episode. I especially appreciated all the Indiana Jones references and nods. All the background music had a very Dr. Jones feel to it. I really have to give props to the musical department on this show. The conclusion was the typical self confidence boosting message you’d expect. Believe in yourself and others will believe in you. Technically this was a filler episode, as none of the main story was touched (mysterious six keyed chest), but it was a great one. Let’s hope we start to get to the meat of the story soon. I am starting to get anxious!

Brony Breakdown: Season 4, Episode 3 – ‘Castle Mane-ia’

by Shane O'Hare

It’s that time of the week again folks! Season 4 of My Little Pony is off to a great start and this week we got ourselves a NEW WRITER! Josh Haber cuts his teeth with this wonderful mystery episode. Lets Breakdown “Castle Mane-ia“!

The episode opens with out beloved Twilight Sparkle, PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE, furiously going through every book in her library for some sort of clue as to what the mysterious six-keyed chest the Tree of Harmony gave her is. The one thing I noticed right away is her nonchalantly flying around in her library. It shows that she is deep down actually comfortable with her new wings, and doesn’t mind them at all. Her flying phobia only comes out when she is making a conscious effort at it. Kind of like manual breathing. Which you are now doing. Breathe in… and out.

Twilight’s worrying soon comes to an abrupt halt. Spike upchucks a letter from Celestia that says Twilight should skedaddle on out to the ancient castle that Celestia and Luna used to live in (before Luna went all grimdark on Equestria) and check the library there! She knows there will be a book there with the answers Twilight seeks. So an adventuring we go!

Again she opts for walking instead of flying, she still isn’t comfortable with it. When Twilight and Spike get to the ruined castle, she pulls a card from the opening scene and goes all hummingbird again. The site of books gets her all nerdcited and she forgets she has wings. I feel as if this is going to be a sudden realization she will have half way through the season. While she is totally engrossed in the stacks, Spike is slowly starting to notice the true level of creep this place gives out. *FORESHADOWING!*

We quick cut to Pinkie, Applejack and Rainbowdash at… the Bee farm? OK, I’ll roll with it. Applejack and Rainbowdash are having a competition to see who is the most “Daring Pony in Ponyville!”. So the most logical way of finding this out is to cover themselves in Bees. Yeah, they’re recreating their favorite scene from The Wicker Man.

Brony Breakdown Bees
Even Pinkie knows this is weird.

Well, the Beekeeper needs his Bees and this competition ends with no winner. After some creative accounting Pinkie determines that Applejack and Rainbowdash are sitting tied! This becomes the motivation for these two ponies to head to the Castle (while Pinkie goes to her job ringing the school bell). Only the most daring pony could spend a night in the old Castle, where the rumored “Pony of Shadows” resides. JINKIES!

This setup scene feels kind of contrived. Yeah I’m calling the writing for a show about Pantone colored horses use the power of friendship to defeat evil, contrived. What isn’t contrived is the sound design. This scene I really began to notice the subtle sounds. The beekeeping outfits rubbing together, the birds in the background and the airy echo Applejack and Rainbowdash have while outside was really impressive. The one thing I didn’t really comment on during the premiere was how sophisticated the show’s sound has gotten. Complex combinations of SFX, VO and Music really have this blowing shows of a higher caliber out of the water.

The sound also had me start to notice the upped animation quality. The next scene was the setup for Fluttershy and my girl Rarity getting to the same castle. While Rarity outlined her desire to get her hands (hoofs?) on some ancient tapestry to restore and use for inspiration for a new clothing line, I noticed the new walk cycle for the ponies. The human walk cycle is one of the hardest things for an animator to…animate, and the pony walk cycle a close second. The folks who work on this show have always had an impressive eye to detail on how the characters move, but this season it has been pushed up to the next level. Raity’s legs move and stretch in a realistic way, while her hair has weight and moves realistically.

Cut back to the castle library, Twilight and spike discovery a secret room behind a bookcase. Inside is Celestia’s and Luna’s old double diary! Yeah, from about a thousand years ago. Literally, this book has been there longer than Christianity has existed, and Twilight’s first instinct is to run over and thumb through it like it’s an old Highlights at a doctors office and she is hoping the hidden image puzzle hasn’t been solved yet. What is inside is pretty much the user manual for the castle. Each time Twilight gets to a new passage about the castles secret passages, traps and ins and outs, another pair of ponies runs into the same thing. All the while Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbowdash are submitted to scare after scare a mysterious cloaked pony wanders the shadows. Watching. Waiting. Commiserating.

This set of scenes is full of the hardest part of a cartoon horse to animate properly. The straight on face shot. These characters were designed from the ground up in profile. Their profile and silhouette are distinctive. That is why the toys for this show are mostly in the old G3 styling, it doesn’t translate well to other angles.  There is a lot of running, and screaming and looking terrified in these scenes and it is mostly done from straight on. These characters just don’t work that well. They rely to much on their pronounced mouths (muzzles? snouts?) to provide definition. Take the famous “FlutterDash Singing” scene from season 2. We’re setting up shop in the uncanny valley here.

Brony Breakdown Singing
Seriously. What the hell!

Twilight soon gets to the part of the diary about the “Organ to The Outside”, just as the cloaked mystery pony starts to play it. This organ is like the master control for all the traps and secret doors. So while the organ is played the four wandering ponies get thrown around like rag dolls. The single best frame of this episode is after Rarity is tossed in a bush and then immediately thrown back inside and gets hit with a rock.

Brony Breakdown Rarity Face
Thats my waifu!

So all the while the four ponies of the apocalypse are going about their four individual crises, Twilight is happily reading through the Princess’ private journal. Only until some serious whining from Rarity does she come out to see what is going on. Honestly watching the four characters all freaking out was pretty hilarious. Twilight zapped them with her magicks and knocks some sense into them. They don’t have ANYTHING to be afraid of thanks to the power of friendship! BUT! The organ keeps playing, time for Mystery Inc. to investigate!

As the team sneaks up on the organ player, the riffs that were being played felt really familiar. They kept leading up and I was expecting a certain drum riff to kick in and one of the most famous words of the 60’s to be sung.

Twilight walks up to the playing pony and pulls off it’s cloak. ITS PINKIE! DUHHH! Her logic if flawless as to how and why she got to the organ, but it makes sense. I guess. The team retires to the library to have a friendship pow wow and close things down. Right before the credits roll we see ANOTHER shadowy figure spying in on them…with evil yellow eyes.

Final Thoughts

This episode was very enjoyable to watch. Josh Haber put together a nice episode, though the plot lines were a little weak. I mean really? MOST DARING PONY COMPETITION? I was most impressed with Tabitha St. Germain’s performance. Her rarity voice was absolutely fabulous and I loved every line. Besides the next level VO and SFX, this episode was just OK in the long run. There wasn’t really any conflict, everyone just ended up at the castle for random reasons. Speaking of random, they need to stop turning Pinkie Pie into “Katy Teh Penguin of Doom”. She can be goofy and not come off sounding like she has late stage dementia.

That’s all until next week!

Brony Breakdown: MLP Season 4 Premiere!

by Shane O'Hare

If you’re a fan of MLP like we at Geekscape are, then you were more than elated when Season 4 of our beloved cartoon premiered this Saturday. We were greeted with two wondrous, BACK TO BACK episodes, kicking off the newest season with a bang! There be SPOILERS here on out so if you haven’t watched it then GO DO IT!

MLP S4E01 (3)

We’re greeted with a lovely scene of the Mane Six, trying to teach the newly winged Twilight how to fly. See, if you didn’t remember, she became a PRINCESS! A Unicorn with wings is an Alicorn (or Peggacorn, viewers may choose their mythical animal naming convention on their own accord). Her friends are more than excited to help her with her Royal Duties, and all bow and praise her as the new Princess of Ponyville. This is when we are reminded of this show’s very positive qualities. Twilight is a very humble individual and doesn’t feel that she deserves to be worshiped. Her friends bowing to her just doesn’t feel right. We can see that even though she has changed physically (dem wings baby), she hasn’t gotten up to the level of Princess emotionally or mentally. Yeah, I am getting next level on the deconstruction of this cartoon horse.

We are soon thrust quickly into the plot. Our dear Twilight has to get things ready for the Summer Sun Celebration. Yeah, we’re getting some season one call backs here. The Mane Six all pack up and head to Canterlot to help their friend with the preparations. Here we get a few glimpses of some evil afoot. Black, devilish looking vines come cropping up out of the ground. They seem to have an objective. An EVIL objective, but that is for later on. While the entire city is getting all hyped up for the Summer Sun Celebration, Twilight’s friends decide they need to go back to Ponyville to get their town’s own party ready. This is when Twilight is faced with another new daunting change in her life as Princess. Isolation; her friends all seem to eagerly leave her in the city. In reality they’re excited and happy for Twilight and just want to celebrate with her.

On the eve of the celebration, Twilight wakes up in the middle of the night to something very out of the ordinary. The Moon and the Sun are both in the sky, like together. So of course the citizens of the city begin to flip their proverbial Horse Apples. We are quickly informed that Princess Celestia and Luna are both MIA, thus explaining the Moon/Sun issue. When it is decided for Twilight that she is in charge, due to the fact she is the only Princess around. I mean, they COULD go get Cadence, but she is written off as being “too busy” running the Crystal Empire. I’m sure she’d find the time to rescue the two horses in charge of controlling the day night cycle, but whatever. Twilight, the President pro tempore of the Senate, quickly jumps to action. This is where I start to get impressed with the show’s writing again. Her timid, shyness is quickly replaced with a fast-acting plan-making pony. She orders the citizens of Canterlot to bunker up and wait while she goes to Ponyville to get the show’s Deus Ex Machina. The Elements of Harmony, which are stored in her library back at home.

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Is it really a good idea to keep the most powerful defensive magic items unattended in a library?

She quickly returns to Ponyville to see it overrun with mischievous happenings and the evil vines from before. The Mane Six are soon reunited and they gear up with the Elements of Harmony. All the “pranking” magic that is plaguing the town gives Twilight an idea of who is the culprit. She summons up some heavy looking magic and who of all people shows up but Discord! Voice amazingly by the one and only John de Lancie. After a back and forth, we’ve come to the conclusion that he is NOT the cause of the evil goings on! What ever will the Mane Six do? The vines all seem to be coming from the Everfree Forest, so the team gets all Fellowship of The Ring on us and gets ready to go adventuring, but not before they run into Zecora, the voodoo witch doctor Zebra that lives in the woods. She produces a potion that only an Alicorn can activate, and once activated will grant the user the ability to find the source of the evil goings ons. Of course Twilight zaps it and doses up with the magical stuff. What follows is a series of narrative plot points dumped in our laps. We are shown, through Twilight’s eyes, three major events in the Equestria Timeline. Starting with the more recent, turning of Princess Luna into Nightmare Moon and following banishment. Then the first defeat of Discord, and finishing it all up with where Celestia first found the Elements of Harmony.

Many years ago the great Princess harvested the Elements from the Tree of Harmony. The  only magic powerful enough to defeat Discord, she says that the Tree has enough magic in it to keep things in…harmony. Well it appears that magic has run out! The team now has their objective, find the Tree of Harmony and fix it. Soon into the journey it is decided that this is dangerous work, too dangerous for the likes of Royalty, and Twilight is sent back to the safety of the town. The feeling of abandonment hits Twilight harder than Rob Ford hits an innocent constituent. She finds comfort and personal growth help from the strangest of places, Discord! She soon realizes that splitting up the Deus Ex Machina in the name of royal safety. She braves the bramble once again and joins up with her friends.

The Fellowship soon finds the Tree of Harmony and it is in a bad way. The evil vines have sucked its energy away. The only way to fix things is to return the Elements to the Tree. Sacrificing the writers get out of jail free card for the sake of plot. WHAT A TWIST! Twilight gives the Tree back the Elements and once powered up, it pushes back the evil and Celestia and Luna are returned safely. The Tree then buds a new flower and inside of it is a crystal box with six key holes. Season 4’s plot is then dumped in our laps. No one knows where the keys are but they all know that they must find them, for some reason. Back at town we soon find out that the evil vines were actually planted by Discord way back in his first tussle with Celestia. He just figured it wouldn’t take this long for them to kick in. OH YOU!

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The Tree of Harmony in all it’s glory!

Hard cut back to Canterlot for the Summer Sun Celebration. Just as it is wrapping up, the once embarrassed Twilight jumps in to give the ceremony a little bit of Swag, and joins Luna and Celestia on stage, she finally accepted her roll as princess. Credits.

Final Thoughts

First off, this was a long read and if you made it this far I commend you. It being a double episode full of plot and narrative it really was a lot to cover. I was giddy as a schoolgirl when the show started, and had a visible smile on when the end credits rolled. I was a little leery about the direction the show was going; the coronation of Twilight was rumored to be the cause of Hasbro executives wanting to sell more toys (as well as the idea of the Equestria Girls movie). The writers of the show really know how to create something charming together. This premiere was intelligent, funny and really showed Twilight’s growth into the big shoes (or tiara) that a Princess needs to wear. I am very excited to see what happens next week, and you can be sure that I will have plenty to say about it!

Enter The World Of ‘Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony’

by Shane O'Hare

We are HUGE fans of My Little Pony here at Geekscape. Personally myself probably the biggest on the site. I dressed up as Rarity (the male version) at Comic Con this year. Seriously.

Outside the Geek world, people don’t seem to know about or understand the male fans of the show. Bronies are an odd, out of place WTF worthy group of fans that seem to get a bad wrap.  Well if you’re not up to speed or want to share in the excitement with your friends check out this trailer for the upcoming TV debut of the Kickstarter sensation Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony.

From the Press Release:

Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony sheds light on the unconventional adult fandom of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.  The documentary features John de Lancie and follows several Bronies as they grapple with their misunderstood love for My Little Pony while preparing for the annual convention, BronyCon. This insight into the world of super fandom brings new meaning to masculinity and bravery …  with the help of cartoon horses. Watch when Logo TV’s WHAT!? Documentaries presents Bronies on Monday, October 14 at 10/9c!

This looks pretty damn interesting.  As a fan of the show I get my fair share of ball busting, but haven’t run into stuff like getting my car smashed! I am excited to see what a nice 1st person perspective.

So if you didn’t get to see it when during the Kickstarter then you’re in luck! Be sure to check out Logo TV October 14th!

Don’t know if you have Logo TV? They have a nice handy Channel guide right here! If I get it in podunk Alaska, then you should too!

Geekscape Interviews Daniel Ingram Composer For My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

by Shane O'Hare

Yesterday I had the great opportunity to interview Daniel Ingram, a two time Emmy nominee for his work on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Being a huge fan of the show, and moreso the music I was so excited to be able to talk to the man behind the tunes. I was even MORE nervous. So about 3:30 my time I started to stammer my way through a very interesting interview.

I’ll have my questions posted in BOLD and Daniels responses will be quoted.

 

So lets get to it, how did you get started making music for cartoons and how did you end up working on My Little Pony?

 

I’ve always enjoyed making music, I love to make music. I performed throughout school. When I got out of College I was writing music for various shows. Then I got a job making music for the show Martha Speaks, which was really fun.  One day I got a call from the shows producer, Sarah Wall, and she said that she was working on the new My Little Pony with Lauren Faust and that she wanted me to do the music for it. The first song I did was the Pinkies Laugh song from episode two. Then it all kind of grew from there.

 

I’m a huge fan of the show myself, did you ever think it was going to blow up like it did? And did you ever think it was going to be like by so many different kinds of people?

 

I never expected it to blow up like it did. I had put Winter Wrap Up on YouTube so that I could show it to somebody, and a few days later I get a call from them saying I was working on something big. That I had a million views on the song. It was crazy.

 

So last year you were nominated for two Grammies, how was that like?

 

I was nominated for Emmys, you have to actually have made a soundtrack for Grammies, I WISH I could be nominated for a Grammy.

OH YEAH! Thats right! So how was that like? HAHA! (My nerves had gotten the best of me and I had gotten the two awards mixed up…great.)

 

It was really awesome. It was really an honor to be nominated. It was fun to go through the whole process.

One of the great things about the Brony fandom for the show is all the music being created around. Do you ever listen to any of the remixes or original songs?

 

I try to stay away from the original songs, mostly because of conflict of interest. I don’t want to listen to something then a year down the road write something that sounds too familiar. As for the remixes I really like them, it’s exciting to see what some of the fans can produce. Like when Babs Seed came out I was blown away by how many remixes were up so quickly. There is so much out there.

What kind of direction will you be going in Season 4?

 

Well, I can’t really talk much about Season 4 just yet. I think everyone will like what I have planned.

What do you think about new and emerging genres? There are a lot of Electronic artists in the forefront right now, and are there any new directions you want to go?

 

Its always exciting to hear new stuff, there is a lot of amazing new music coming out. As for new genres, We have some new things planned for later this year, again I can’t talk about it, but the fans will definitely like it.

Walk me through your recording process, do you work on the tunes first or lyrics? And do you record everything, I guess traditionally or do you use synths and tools like Ableton?

 

I use a little of both really, first I like to plan out the lyrics. Its good to have something upbeat and happy to start with. So I write the lyrics and then play a piano or play the guitar while I sing them. Then I get with a singer and record a Piano Demo which is just the song in it’s rawest form. That is what we submit and then when it gets the go ahead we record the full piece.

So I guess this is kind of a cliched question, but are there any artists out there that you would love to record with?

 

Living or dead?

Why not both?!

 

Haha, well I’d love to play with Gregory Alan Isakov. I really like what he is putting out and it would be fun to play with him. As for someone just to pick their brain I’d have to say Randy Newman. It would be really great to talk to him.

I know the coronation concert is…is it this week or was it last?

 

It was just this last week.

How was that were you able to go?

 

Yes! I did get to go, I flew down for a few days. It was awesome. It was really cool to go to the event and be able to hear some of the stuff I wrote performed live. It was a great experience seeing all these kids having fun.

So I think I asked all that I wanted to, I am just a really big fan of your work.

 

What is your favorite song from the show?

Winter Wrap Up hands down. I was just going along with the show watching a few episodes, and when I heard it I was blown away and hooked. I couldn’t believe something that good was coming from a cartoon.

 

Haha! Thanks! It’s funny you mentioned that, I was on a plane recently and that was the only song I had on my iPad so I thought “Hey, I wrote this over a year ago why not listen to it”. It was a fun listening to it again after so long.

Do you have a solo career or do you write music outside of shows?

 

Well, I’m pretty busy right now. The HUB has got me on My Little Pony and Littlest Petshop, so I have a full schedule. I’d love to try something eventually.

After that we had our goodbyes and said farewell. Daniel is a very soft spoken guy and it is obvious from just talking with him that he really loves what he does. Making great music for some of our favorite shows.

 

Be sure to check out the newest episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is magic this Saturday the 16th at 10:30 AM EST to hear more of Daniel’s work!

 

 

EXCLUSIVE! Check Out This Clip For ‘My Little Pony: FiM’ Next Episode!

by Shane O'Hare

Our very good friends over at The HUB have given us a nice sneak peak at the next episode of our favorite pony show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic! Watch it below!

 

 

From the Press Release:

 

In this episode entitled “Just for Sidekicks,” Spike finds himself in over his head after convincing Twilight and her friends to let him pet-sit all of their critters in exchange for a few gems when they go to the Crystal Empire to help Princess Cadance welcome the Head of the Equestria Games. In the beginning of the episode, he decides to bake a cake with all the gems he’s saved, and then realizes that he has eaten all of them while preparing the batter.

 

As the resident Brony here I am ECSTATIC to be able to bring this news. I cannot wait for the next episode!

 

You can of course, check out this episode on Saturday 26th at 10:30AM ET only on The HUB!

Watch Star Trek’s Q Sing About Bronies As A Pony In This Clip From ‘BronyDoc’

by Shane O'Hare

You read that right, John De Lancie from Star Trek fame sings about Ponies. You may or may not know that he’d done some voice work for My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. He plays the mischievous Discord, who is basically Q in powers and attitude.

In the recently released to the public BronyDoc, he has a small role where he describes Ponies and Bronies. Gaze at the marvelous Pony De Lanice below.

 

If you are interested in see more, hitup the BronyDoc main page and grab yourself a copy of the awesome crowd funded documentary!

EXCLUSIVE: My Little Pony Coronation Concert Contest Sneak Peak!

by Shane O'Hare

Our friends over at The HUB have given us a sneak peak at their newest My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic promo! Running tomorrow, it is for an amazing contest where you could win a trip to LA for an awesome MLP event! The Coronation Concert! Check it out below!

 

 

From the Press Release:

 

 The Hub is holding a one-day, call-in My Little Pony Coronation Concert Sweepstakes on Saturday, January 26 during the telecast of an all-new episode of “My Little Pony Friendship is Magic,” where one lucky fan will a trip for four to the “My Little Pony Friendship is Magic” Coronation Concert.  During the episode, viewers will be asked to call a number provided for a chance to win the tickets. The invitation-only concert will be held in Los Angeles in February to celebrate a special episode of the series.

Being the resident Brony here at Geekscape, I am super excited to bring this to my fellow MLP fans. Keep and eye out for this promo starting tomorrow, and get your touchtone phones ready for the 26th!
 

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Ponies Are Back In Town! MLP:FiM Returns THIS SATURDAY!

by Shane O'Hare

Fellow Bronies, let us rejoice and praise Celestia! My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic returns to the HUB this Saturday November 10th at 10 AM ET!  Check out this sneak preview of the two part premiere titled “The Crystal Empire”!

Are you as excited as I am? I’ll be waking up after a night with Bond to breakfast in bed WITH PONIES! TWO WHOLE EPISODES OF PONIES!

Also new from The HUB is a new show centered around My Littlest Petshop, titled Littlest Petshop, and it features some familiar voices! Tabitha St. German and Nicole Oliver will be the star talent on the newest show. You can see that right afterwards at 11 AM ET!

See you in Ponyville Saturday

The My Little Pony Friendship Express Trolley Sighting

by Shane O'Hare

We recently posted about the My Little Pony goings on during Comic Con. Specifically that San Diego Metro and The HUB were turning one of the trolleys into the MLP:Friendship Express! Now a intrepid user Fabian has spotted and recorded the Trolley in San Diego. Check it out below.

OMGOSHOMGOSHOMGOSHOMGOSHOMGOSH!!! I am jumping with delight! I cannot wait for Comic Con! If you are attending the convention be sure to ride the trolley, and come by the Geekscape Booth #3919 and say hello to your truly!

Exclusive: Official My Little Pony: FiM Inspirational Posters and Trolley for SDCC

by Shane O'Hare

The super rad fine folks over at The HUB have clued the Geekscape team in on some of the special things they have planned for this years San Diego Comic Con. They have made eight official “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” inspirational posters that will be part of the decor at their booth and their special Trolley car! Check out the awesome below!

They also let us know that they will have an “MLP:FiM” trolley that runs on the San Diego Trolley lines! It is a special trolley car called The Friendship Express. It starts running on the city trolley tracks this Saturday, June 30th, and runs through the entire month of July!

Also, SDCC released their Friday schedule today and there IS a pony panel going on.

10:00-11:00 Hasbro Studios: My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic— Panelists from Hasbro Studios and The HUB TV Network’s My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic share details of the making of the animated series and how the “friendship” and “magic” are brought to life. Fans won’t want to miss it! Also includes Q&A time. Room 23ABC

So if you are going to be at the convention, make sure you get a ticket to ride with the Mane 6!