“My Little Pony: New Generations” Great Tribute to MLP [Review]

Netflix and Hasbro’s new “My Little Pony: New Generations” is a great tribute to MLP that’s come before. As an old pony lover myself who grew up on the 80s version of the show it was great to see some throwbacks to way back when. Mix that in with special lore that covers “Friendship is Magic” and they’ve set up this new world to be something all fans are going to love.

The story starts out in a world where each species is separated. Earth Ponies live apart from pegasi and unicorns and that’s the way it’s been since ponies can remember. This movie takes place in the far future where the stories of “Friendship is Magic” are considered to be fairy tales. And they live in fear of one another. It’s Sunny and her dad that seem the most grounded when it comes to opinions on the other species and we get to see that through their interactions in the beginning. Everyone else is fed rumors and lies by a corporation that sells defense mechanisms to use against the other types of ponies.

It Speaks To Today’s Issues In An Easy To Understand Tone For Kids

There are ponies that are consumed with fear and jealousy which are things that we see often today. Especially when something is unknown. I also want to point out that there could be things in this film that seem like political undertones. Some people may be really upset with some of what they are saying because the film makes it out to seem like Earth Ponies think that they are superior to all others (sound familiar?). But the film teaches a great lesson for kids and adults that racism, rumors and fear are never how you want to make your decisions.

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In parts of this film you get to see the damage of what prejudices can lead to. It’s all put in a very simple to understand way for kids to catch on. Some people may not like these scenes because it paints the group doing the judging in a negative light, to which I say GOOD. This movie is exactly what I want my kid watching to help them wrap their mind around social issues. And to be honest, I probably learned a lot of my world views from “My Little Pony” episodes back in the 80s.

The new mane group is one that comes together pretty perfectly. There is Sunny who is reminiscent of Patch from “My Little Pony Tales” not only because of her coloring but also because of her adventurous spirit. Hitch who is sheriff of Maretime Bay where he has to keep the peace. Izzy the Unicorn who we’ll call the Pinky Pie of the group. Zipp who is a more of a tomboy than even Rainbow Dash and her sister Pipp who is the face of the Pegasi royals with her own social media following and is quite the idol.

They all have different attributes but what brings them together is the want for change. Somehow magic has been lost over time and with history books now scrubbed of any and all helpful information, besides what the Earth ponies want you to know they have no clue how to fix things again. It’s up to Sunny and her father’s research to put all the pieces back together with the help of her newfound friends.

The Animation and Character Design Were a Pleasure to Watch

Going from the chunky 80’s ponies to the slimmed down ponies in the 90s could give anyone whiplash. It was that then a dive back into the more cutesy design. Eventually we got “Friendship is Magic” which many people were fans of. This new animation design however is exactly what I was waiting for. They’ve totally nailed it, combining the best elements of each generation.

The color choices were pleasant too. Zipp’s color combination reminded me of Gusty. I mentioned before that Sunny reminded me of Patch which was a fun throwback to “My Little Pony Tales.” The same could almost be said for Izzy who reminded me somewhat of Melody. Though Izzy’s colors were a bit more subtle than the overly powerful colors used for “My Little Pony Tales.” Other ponies illustrated throughout the movie looked like they took on the color patterns from ponies of all generations. Which was a fun nod to things like “My Little Pony: Escape From Midnight Castle” and more.

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So Many Easter Eggs!

Probably the most exciting part for me watching the film was finding all of the Easter Eggs hidden throughout. I don’t want to spoil the fun but if you check out Sunny’s bedroom as her dad is putting her to bed, you may want to pause and look around a moment. Another BIG surprise for me was what they were playing on the video monitors during the song “Danger, Danger.” It’s only for a split second but you’ll want to pay extra attention during that scene.

Overall

Overall I’m going to give this a 5 out of 5. I LOVED it and it gets bonus points for keeping my daughters attention. She’s 7 and has ADHD so I’m not sure what it was about this movie but it kept her watching from start to finish. Families everywhere will love this film. I really hope they decide to make a series out of this.

“My Little Pony: New Generations” hits Netflix on September 24th.