It’s Little Surprise To Say But ‘My Little Pony’ Has Been Renewed For A Fifth Season!

by Shane O'HareMay 7, 2014

Quietly teased on The HUB’s Twitter late last night was some fantastic news, albeit kind of a no brainer.

Season 5 is set to air in 2015 and will consist of 26 episodes!

That ominous “2015” maybe a bit sooner than that, as Season 4 premiered late November 2013. And that was planned hit screens the following year.

We here at Geekscape absolutely LOVE The HUB network! They consistently bring entertaining and engaging original content that both kids and adults can enjoy equally. I personally am a huge fan of MLP (if you couldn’t guess) and The Aquabats Supershow. I cannot wait for Season 5!

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

by Shane O'HareFebruary 8, 2014

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!

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

by Shane O'HareDecember 25, 2013

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.

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).

Our Heroes

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'HareDecember 25, 2013

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.

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

by Shane O'HareDecember 9, 2013

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.

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.

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'HareDecember 1, 2013

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'HareNovember 25, 2013

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!

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.

MLP S4E01 (2) — 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!

MLP S4E01 (1) — 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!