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My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

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Chronology

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls is a 2013 American-Canadian fantasy animated children's film and the first My Little Pony film since My Little Pony: Twinkle Wish Adventure in 2009 and the first theatrically released My Little Pony film since My Little Pony: The Movie in 1986. The film tells the story of Twilight Sparkle, now princess of Equestria, as she must travel into the human world in order to retrieve her element of magic and continue to protect her universe.

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls
My Little Pony film
Credits
DirectorJayson Thiessen
ProducerSarah Wall
Devon Cody

The film is set in the continuity of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, but also introduces the Equestria Girls universe of characters and places into the franchise. As such, it introduces the eventual face of that franchise, Sunset Shimmer as its lead antagonist and introduces the concept of "corrupted magic", which would be expanded upon in its second sequel, Equestria Girls: Friendship Games.

Although the film was not as much a critical darling as the television show it was inspired by, it did receive an impressive viewership of 553,000 in the U.S. and would spawn a massive toyline that would last for an entire decade to come.

Synopsis

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Twilight Sparkle visits the Crystal Empire for her first royal summit following her coronation as a princess of Equestria. Sunset Shimmer, a former student of Princess Celestia, emerges from a mirror portal and steals Twilight's crown, which contains the Element of Magic. After a chase through the castle, Sunset goes through the portal with Twilight's crown. The other princesses explain that the portal leads to an alternate world; as the other Elements of Harmony are unusable without the crown, Twilight is tasked with retrieving it from the other world before the portal closes for thirty moons. Despite Celestia's insistence that Twilight must travel alone, Spike follows her into the portal.

Twilight and Spike emerge in the other world in the form of a human teenager and a dog, respectively. Twilight investigates the nearby Canterlot High School and encounters its human students and staff, several of whom resemble ponies in Equestria. Masquerading as a transfer student, Twilight defends the counterpart of her friend Fluttershy from being bullied by Sunset. Twilight learns that Fluttershy has delivered the crown to Principal Celestia, mistaking it for a prop meant for the elected "princess" of the Fall Formal. Determining that no one would believe her claims of being a pony from another world, Twilight receives Celestia's permission to run for Fall Formal Princess against Sunset to recover the crown.

While continuing to explore school life, Twilight discovers that the counterparts of Fluttershy and her other friends from Ponyville (Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash) – have separated of hostility. Sunset sends her cohorts Snips and Snails to record a humiliating video of Twilight behaving like a pony, which is posted online and viewed by the entire school. The counterparts of Twilight's friends come to her aid, only to argue among themselves, revealing the cause of their falling out to be a series of treacherous text messages and emails they supposedly sent each other. Through a theory of Twilight's, however, the five girls realize that Sunset sent these messages to deceive them. The five reconcile and help Twilight perform a public dance routine for her campaign, which improves Twilight's image.

In another attempt to undermine Twilight, Sunset has the formal decorations in the school gym wrecked and uses edited photographs to frame Twilight. Although Sunset's ex-boyfriend Flash Sentry proves Twilight's innocence, the formal is postponed to the night after the portal to Equestria closes. Twilight and Spike reveal their true identities to the other girls, convincing them of the situation's urgency. Under Twilight's direction, they rally the other students and successfully repair the damage in time for its original schedule, earning Twilight the school's support.

On the night of the formal, Twilight wins the election and the crown, but Sunset steals it back in a scuffle after kidnapping Spike and threatening to destroy the portal to Equestria. Upon donning the crown, Sunset transforms into a demon and hypnotizes the other students, revealing her intent to conquer Equestria with the students as her army. When Sunset attacks Twilight and her friends, their friendship activates the crown's magic, giving them pony-like ears, wings, and tails. The six girls use magic to revert Sunset and their schoolmates to normal. Sunset, humbled by the power of the girls' friendship, tearfully apologizes for her actions. After celebrating at the formal and placing Sunset under her friends' care, Twilight and Spike return to Equestria with the crown as the portal closes, reuniting with their pony friends.

Appearances

Characters and groups

Places

Objects

Events

Species

Abilities

Staff

Cast

Featured Voice Performers

Featured Singers

Crew

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Series Developed For Television By: Lauren Faust
Voice Director: Terry Klassen
Voice Casting & Production: Voiebox Productions Inc
Score by: William Kevin Anderson
Additional Music and Orchestrations by: Matthew Sorensen, Patrick Griffin, Kelly Davidson, Alex Lu
Theme Song Remix by: Daniel Ingram
"This Strange World" Music and Lyrics by: Daniel Ingram
"Equestria Girls" Music by: Daniel Ingram
Lyrics by: Daniel Ingram and Meghan McCarthy
"Time to Come Together" Music by: Daniel Ingram
Lyrics by: Daniel Ingram and Meghan McCarthy
"This Is Our Big Night" Music by: Daniel Ingram
Lyrics by: Daniel Ingram and Meghan McCarthy
"A Friend for Life" Music by: Daniel Ingram
Storyboard Supervisor: "Big Jim" Miller
Storyboard Artists: Sabrina Alberghetti, Marshall Fels Elliot, Emmett Hall, Sherann Johnson, Raven Molisee, Cory Toomey
Storyboard Revionists: Sabrina Alberghetti, Hanna Lee, Nabie-Ah Yousuf
Art Director: Ridd Sorensen
Character Concept Designer: Kora Kosicka
Character Designers: Rebecca Dart, John Keane, Josh Tin
Prop Designers: John Beveridge, Hanna Lee
Location Designer: Phil Caesar
Cleanup Artists: Patrick Colquhoun, Justine Pulles
Location Color: Geoff Manson
Color Artist: Alexandra Jones
Builds Development: James "Wootie" Woottan
Builds Supervisor: Jaqueline Robinson
Character Build Artists: Dennis Hu, Vivian Hui, Edwin Poon, Mike Tse, Nabie-Ah Yousuf
BG Builds Supervisor: Chris Mizzoni
Offline Editor: Mark Kuehnel
Online Editor: Mark Kuehnel
Layout Supervisors: Denny Lu, Ishi Rudell
Key Layout Artists: Tim Bennett, Kuan-Fu Chen, Kristen Dingman, Matthew Herring, Christopher Leinonen, Rexis Liwanag, Graeme MacDonald, Edwin Poon
Layout Artists: Trish Bartklw, William Bradford, Kaylea Chard, May Chow, Hyunjoo Kim, Daniel MacGregor, Ella Marshak, Fernanda Ribiero, Randy Santa Ana, Kat Stenson, Wataru Uno, Sebastian Zegers
Animation Director: Ishi Rudell
Stock Animators: Nicola Humphrey, Rexis Liwanag, Graeme MacDonald
Animation Revisionists: Mario Bong Macarayan, Janell Poulin, Mike Tse, Toni Zhang
AFX Artist: Ben Galewitz
Production Manager: Ashley Irving-Scott
Asset Manager: Lesley Crawford
Post Production Manager: Ashley Irving-Scott]]
Dialogue Recording: Dick & Roger's Sound Studio
Audio Post Production & Mix: Dick & Roger's Sound Studio
Recording Engineer: Adam McGhie
Sound Editors: Todd Araki, Marcel Duperreault, Shelby Denison, Jason Fredickson, Adam McGhie, Roger Monk, CAS
Re-Recording Mixers: Todd Araki, Marcel Duperreault
Foley Artist: Ian Mackie
Foley Recordist: Rick Senechal
Layout / BG & Animation Services: Top Draw Animation Inc.
Layout Supervisor: Chito Bernardo
Background Supervisor: Hubert Vitug
Production Management: Gemma Santos, Jennifer Dela Fuente-Ramos, Leilani Monzales, Desiree Mendez
Technical Staff: Sonny Yabut, Troy Santos
Animation Director: Lean Lagonera
Asst. Animation / Retakes Supervisor: Benedicto Cadalin
Top Draw Animators: Dominic Albino, Allan Leycano, Novelito Dacuno, Jone Brencis Ong, Sarah Santos, June Ralph Abaja, Juliet Chan, Joeby Mamac, Denise Mariano, Phoebe Kates Saguisag, Romeo Almeria Timbang, Joanna Faye Bunag, JC Maullion, Maikell Soliveres, Rovelyn Alday, Mary Jane Pallones, Ivonne Kamille Chavez, Emil Cano, Jonavic Cunanan, Ron David De Guzman, Marie Andrey Valenzuela, Ram Nievera, Jan Michael Melejor, Erik Franco Alejandria Buyser, Peter Sison, Arnel Nollora, Marko Alauig, John Irving Prudenciano

DHX Media / Vancouver

Production Legal: Suzanne Cross, Sarah Tarry
Production Finance: David Whitney
Production Accountant: Rebecca Guo
Assistant Accountants: Regina Guia, Kurt Unger
IT Manager: Zorion Terrell
Technical Support: Danyul Carmichael, Kevin Kwok, Mark Kin

Hasbro Studios

Production Finance: Mary Beth Bambridge, Cynthia Turkington
Production Legal: Mike Eisner, Michael Jaffa, Deborah Uluer
Technical Operations: Bradford Keatts
Development: Michael Vogel, Brian Lenard, Robert Fewkes, Michael Ross, Eliza Hart, Linda Steiner
Production: Katyrn Page, Jeff Curtis, Sophia Hussain, Amanda Brynes
Creative Consultants: Mark Wiesenhahn, Steve Linker
The HUB Network: Donna Ebbs, Tegan Molloy, Carin Davis


Behind the scenes

Production

Reception

Music

Merchandise

Toyline

Equestria Girls proved to be successful to push an impressive amount of merchandise. The film produced three toylines, Equestria Girls, Through the Mirror, and Pinkie Pie's Boutique, though the latter only provided one figure.

Publications

The film also produced a number of publications; on October 1, 2013, a novelization of the film entitled Equestria Girls: Through the Mirror, written by G.M. Berrow, notably featuring a notably different plotline with additional scenes and characters. The first annual by IDW Publishing featured two stories based off the film; both prequels. The first, "The Fall of Sunset Shimmer" starred Sunset Shimmer who was still in Canterlot, while the second story, "Equestria Girls" was about the girls in their first days in high school.

Home media

On August 6, 2013, the film was released on DVD and Blu-Ray by Shout! Factory and has later appeared in the Equestria Girls: Three Movie Gift Set. In 2014, Clear Vision released a DVD in France and Italy[1][2].

Around the world

Quotes

Notes

  • Yet unnamed and alternate identifications:
  • While the original students of CHS were said to be original designs, a number of them resemble Friendship is Magic characters to a varying degree. These include Cherry Crash resembling Gilda, Wiz Kid resembling Featherweight and Cloudy Kicks resembling Cloudkicker.
  • The backstory with the Equestria Girls being friends as young girls would arguably be contradicted by the comic story "Equestria Girls", published in My Little Pony Annual 2013 in which the art (done by Tony Fleecs) depicted them noticeably older looking in their first meet ups.
    • While this could simply be an art error, the other Equestria Girls comic story included in the 2013 annual, "The Fall of Sunset Shimmer" contained its own continuity errors regarding the chronological placement of the films' backstory. Most notably, seemingly portraying Moon Dancer, Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon as adults, and most perplexing of all, Twilight Sparkle as a filly, during Sunset Shimmer's first voyage into the human world, in which she was already a teenager.
      • ...This has lead many to view Sunset Shimmer and Flash Sentry's relationship as, umm, extremely creepy as it would imply she would be at least 30 while he was around 15 to 17 at his oldest.
        • ......Likewise, the closest thing to a canon age Twilight Sparkle has ever been given was promotional material for My Little Pony: 20/20 stating that the Sonic Rainboom incident happened 20 years in the past, c. early post-Storm War Equestria. Even at low-end estimations of the passage of time between season 4 and 8, this could put Twilight in her early 20s while she was romantically involved with a high schooler.
  • Up until the 2017 film, Equestria Girls was informally known as the My Little Pony movie, given how it was promoted in its early days, before being considered a backdoor pilot for the Equestria Girls branding.

References

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