REVIEW: MY LITTLE PONY: THE MOVIE

Director: Jayson Thiessen

Writers: Meghan McCarthy, Rita Hsiao, Michael Vogel

Starring: Tara Strong, Tabitha St. Germain, Ashleigh Ball, Andrea Libman, Cathy Weseluck, Emily Blunt, Michael Pena, Liev Schreiber, Taye Diggs, Zoe Saldana, Kristin Chenoweth, Uzo Aduba, Sia

            My Little Pony: The Movie comes at an interesting time in the franchise. When Lauren Faust was tasked with brining the 80s toy franchise to the fledgling The Hub network, neither she nor the people involved realized the phenomenon they were creating. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was not only a hit with both boys and girls, but it found an unexpected fanbase amongst adult men, now known as Bronies.

The Mane 6 (Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy) and Spike.

            Friendship is Magic followed magic student Twilight Sparkle (Tara Strong) and her pet dragon, Spike (Cathy Weseluck), as they were sent to the small town of Ponyville in Equestria by her mentor, Princess Celestia (Nicole Oliver). There, she was tasked to learn about friendship and did so by becoming friends with fashionista Rarity (Tabitha St. Germain), apple farmer Applejack (Ashleigh Ball), extreme flyer Rainbow Dash (also Ball), high-energy party planner Pinkie Pie (Andrea Libman), and animal lover Fluttershy (also Libman). Their friendship was the key to saving Equestria numerous times, eventually leading to Twilight becoming a princess herself. The show is in the middle of its seventh season, and some of the bloom has fallen off the rose as is expected with an aging franchise. Friendship is still popular, but not as much as it once was.

You know it's big budget because there's shading and light effects.

            The Movie was announced back in 2014 and became the second feature to be produced through Hasbro’s AllSpark Pictures (after the abysmal Jem and the Holograms) alongside DHX Media, with Lionsgate releasing. Series director Jayson Thiessen left the show to focus on directing the film, and showrunner Meghan McCarthy wrote the screenplay with Rita Hsiao and Michael Vogel. The forces of the Storm King (Liev Schreiber) invade Canterlot during Twilight’s first Friendship Festival, sending the Mane 6 and Spike to new parts of Equestria to find help and rescue Princesses Celestia, Luna (St. Germain) and Cadence (Britt McKillip) from capture. Series composer Daniel Ingram also provided the music. Although other Friendship-related productions have seen theatrical releases before airing on TV, this is the first to be made exclusively for theaters.

An image depicting a new undersea kingdom.

            The production took great pains to ensure that the movie wasn’t just viewed as an extended episode of the show (something that sunk the box office of many other show-to-film efforts, particularly from DiC Entertainment). As such, the movie features slightly tweaked character and set models to add a sense of roundness and weight. At times, they almost resemble a cross between the models from the show and the artwork of Jay Fogsit, one of the contributing artists to IDW Publications’ ongoing My Little Pony comics. For longtime fans of the show, this adjustment could be a bit jarring, but as the movie goes on you become more accustomed to the new look. That’s helped by the overall familiarity of the production which left it feeling close enough to the show, from everything that transpired on screen to the opening notes of Ingram’s enjoyable score. And there’s plenty of eye candy as many residents and visitors to Ponyville make cameos throughout the opening sequence.

The Storm King and Tempest.

            The movie continues the ongoing themes of season seven of introducing new locations and characters. Unfortunately, this is where it stumbles a bit. Not much screen time is given to these new characters to adequately develop them or their relationships. The most developed is Tempest (Emily Blunt), who receives a flashback to explain her lack of a horn and why she’s helping Storm King conquer the ponies. The Storm King himself, however, only appears twice and is far less imposing a threat than any that have come before him on the show.

New friends, including a con artist, pirates and an undersea pony.

The ponies’ quest has them encountering and befriending a variety of new species and characters, but these friendships all form awfully fast and get no time to develop organically. We get a brief glimpse into their world and a little backstory through exposition, but not much else. Even the instances of allegiance changing can’t be explained adequately beyond “because the script said so”. Perhaps there were just too many to juggle in the movie’s short running time, or maybe they dedicated too much time to ensure there was a song number in every new scene. These characters do get a bit of fleshing out, but that’s only assuming you’ve read the IDW prequel comics. Some of that material would have been beneficial here.

Celebrity cameo: Sia as Songbird Serenade.

            Overall, the movie felt like an extension of the show, which was thanks to a lot of the same people working behind and “in front” of the camera. Fans of Friendship is Magic will enjoy the movie on that basis alone. There were also quite a few jokes and sight gags that will get a laugh (oh that Pinkie Pie…). The story was fine, even though it wasn’t anything remarkably new or wildly different, and the music was varied and fun. The new characters were really shortchanged in the long run. They served little purpose beyond advancing the Mane 6 to the next part of their journey and weren’t thoroughly developed. Friendship is Magic has done many instances of friendship building and credible threats to Equestria that far surpass what was presented in the movie. These things just weren’t given enough time to gestate on screen so that they’d feel real.

RATING: 3 out of 5 hooves. A nice, if flawed, addition to the My Little Pony canon. Fans of the show and kids will most likely like it, although newcomers and general audiences may fail to find what made the show so magical in the first place.

REVIEW: SABAN'S POWER RANGERS

Director: Dean Israelite

Writers: John Gatins, Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Michele Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney

Starring: Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Ludi Lin, Becky G., Elizabeth Banks, Bryan Cranston, Bill Hader

            Saban’s long-running Power Rangers franchise joins the ever-growing list of Hollywood reboot mania with the franchise’s first theatrical film in 20 years.

The original Power Rangers.

            The series began in 1993 as Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, created by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy. The series utilized footage from the continuing Japanese Super Sentai series interspliced with new footage starring an American cast and became a worldwide phenomenon. The series focused on five “teenagers with attitude” selected by a being named Zordon to utilize Power Coins to turn them into Power Rangers. As Rangers, they defend the Earth from evil space witch Rita Repulsa and her minions as they try to either destroy or conquer it, depending on her mood.

Cyler, Scott, Lin, Montgomery and G.

            The film is a more serious take on the familiar story. It still centers on five teenagers from the city of Angel Grove—disgraced football star Jason (Dacre Montgomery); autistic genius Billy (RJ Cyler); formerly popular cheerleader Kimberly (Naomi Scott); self-proclaimed crazy Zack (Ludi Lin); and private loner Trini (Becky G.)—discovering Power Coins left by Zordon (Bryan Cranston, who actually worked on the original series) for the next chosen group of Power Rangers to be found (although the choosing aspect of that is debatable). However, their newfound powers and identity come with a catch: the evil Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks), once defeated by Zordon, has returned and they have only days to stop her from destroying the Earth; starting with Angel Grove. Fans of the series will be happy to know all the elements are present: Alpha 5 (Bill Hader), the Power Coins (which looked more like encrusted gems but were still called “coins”), the suits, the Zords, the Mega Zord, and the giant monster fight.

Jason holding a Power "Coin".

            As far as “teenagers with attitude” go, these kids have that in spades (except maybe for Billy, who doesn’t quite have the chip on his shoulder as the others do despite his own hard-luck story). Even Zordon isn’t above a ride on the ‘tude train, as he’s presented as less of a mentor than his TV counterpart and more as someone who doesn’t really like kids but is forced to deal with them. One place the story is lacking, however, is in character development. Jason gets the most focus in the story, with Billy a close second. We’re told Kimberly became a “mean girl” when she betrayed a friend’s trust, but the designation isn’t really given a satisfactory justification beyond the ambiguous offense. Zack and Trini’s characters get the least development (and a lack of last names, neither ever once uttered on camera unlike the other three). It’s eventually revealed that a sick mother drives Zack to spend times skipping school and acting out. Trini’s backstory is shown only in a singular quick scene of awkward family interaction, and a later attempt at context fails to adequately explain what it was we were seeing.

Banks as Rita Repulsa.

            The one who benefitted most from the movie’s changes was Alpha 5. While many weren’t happy with his design when it was first revealed, the character has become a bit more competent and less annoying. They did manage to work in at least one instance of the trademarked declaration “ay yi yi yi!”, but it made sense when it happened (and was just one of many Easter eggs peppered throughout the film for longtime Rangers fans). He still served as the film’s primary comic relief, but the comedic moments throughout the film were relatively subdued (while some moments just fell purely flat). Rita and her Putties were made to be a bit more menacing than their TV counterparts; with Rita’s early appearances in Angel Grove verging on satisfactorily terrifying. And fans who guessed the story behind Rita’s design ended up being correct in their assessment, which could play nicely into future films.

The new Ranger suits.

            As for the story itself, overall it was entertaining enough to keep a viewer interested. Despite the flaws in their characterizations, the actors themselves managed to carry the story—and they had to. Those expecting a lot of action are bound to be disappointed as they spend a good portion of the movie not being Power Rangers. Yes, this is another one of those “superhero origin stories” that spends most of its time world building and doesn’t get to the nitty gritty until the final act.

Rita and her army of Putties.

The final act also ends up being the weakest of the film. The tone of things becomes comparatively lighter to all the teenage angst we had been subjected to thus far. Rita, who was building up to be a genuine threat, left too many opportunities for the Rangers to get the upper hand on her. The Rangers, who spent a good portion of the film learning how to fight without their Zords, are thrown into battle with them and clunkily work their way into the fight without even the least bit of guidance from Zordon or Alpha 5, who had been training them. The film was also littered with those convenient and cliched contrivances often found in these types of movies: the main characters all end up in the same place at the right time, instant knowledge on how things work, someone important to a character ends up stupidly in need of rescue, etc. The CGI, however, was well done as was the stunt work, and the fights were decent, though brief and too few.

Superhero landing!

Overall, Saban’s Power Rangers is one of the better reboot efforts to come through in a sea of reboots that barely resemble or make fun of their source material. Power Rangers satisfactorily takes the over-the-top Japanese elements that made the original show a comedy and grounds them in reality to give us a more serious attempt at the franchise. While the plot is littered with clichés and contrivances to help the story move forward, and is decidedly sparse on important character development and Rangers action, it does present an interesting story that will keep audiences engaged. There are actually some moments which makes it hard to believe they consider this to be a family film, but it never goes as dark as the 2015 short film by Joseph Kahn. Fans of the franchise should come away satisfied enough to look forward to future installments (set up in a mid-credits scene, so stick around), which have a decent enough base to improve upon here.

RATING: 3 out of 5 Zords. A decent start to a new franchise that isn’t much deeper than a typical popcorn flick, but should be found enjoyable by most audiences. 

REVIEW: SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP #12

Warning: may contain spoilers.

SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP #12

Release Date: September 23, 2015

Writer: Sholly Fisch

Art: Dario Brizuela

Colors: Franco Riesco

Letters: Saida Temofonte

Assistant Editor: David Pina

Editor: Kristy Quinn

Covers: Dario Brizuela & Franco Riesco

The Mystery, Inc. gang is called to Gotham to help who they believe is Batman, but is really Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy with a ghost problem.

GRADE: C+. Not one of the better mysteries to grace these pages as once again the Scooby gang encounters DC Comics characters. While the interactions between all of them were fun, there was really no case of which to speak. It was just an elaborate comedy routine used as a way to bring all the characters involved together. Otherwise, this was the weakest of Sholly Fisch’s scripts. Largely, the reason behind it was Fisch attempted to cram a lot more story than a single issue would allow as this series doesn’t really give them a chance to breathe in its current format. Fortunately, the artwork of Dario Brizuela at least makes the book pleasant to look at, and it’s interesting to see the Batman: The Animated Series character designs rendered in the Scooby-Doo style.

What did you think of this issue? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page.

REVIEW: MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #34

Warning: may contain spoilers.

MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #34

Release Date: September 16, 2015

Writer: Jeremy Whitley

Art: Andy Price

Colors: Heather Breckel

Letters: Neil Uyetake

Editor: Bobby Curnow

Covers: Andy Price (regular), Sara Richard (subscription), Stewart McKenny (incentive), Tony Fleecs (Hot Topic & Salt Lake Con)

A shrouded pony gathers up some of the Mane Six’s foes—The Flim Flam brothers, Iron Will, Lightning Dust and Queen Chrysalis—in order to attack and disrupt the Crystal Empire’s Crystal Faire. But that turns out to be a diversion for a misguided mission to bring back one of the Ponies’ greatest foes.

GRADE: A. Jeremy Whitley follows-up his story from FIENDship Is Magic #1 with this two-parter. While much can’t be said about the actual story itself without giving away the entire point of it, the lead-up was well done by recruiting some familiar faces to distract the Mane Six. The only negative is that Chrysalis, who has been depicted as a major threat, seemed very de-powered in this appearance. Whitley is joined by Andy Price on art for this installment, who continues to pepper the action and backgrounds with fun little visual gags.

This issue came with 5 covers, seen below. What did you think of this issue? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page.

REVIEW: BATMAN BEYOND (2015) #4

Warning: may contain spoilers.

BATMAN BEYOND #4

Release Date: September 2, 2015

Writer: Dan Jurgens

Art: Bernard Chang

Colors: Marcelo Maiolo

Letters: Dave Sharpe

Editors: Dan Didio & David Pina

Covers: Dan Panosian (regular), Craig Rosseau (Green Lantern 75^th Anniversary)

Brother Eye has hacked Tim Drake’s suit and corrupted A.L.F.R.E.D., allowing Eye to find Neo-Gotham and penetrate the shields around the city. Drake teams-up with Micron, the seemingly only Justice Leaguer (and character from the cartoon series) not under Eye’s control, to repel Eye’s attack. But, with his suit damaged, Barbara Gordon takes him to the one place he can get a replacement: the Batcave.

GRADE: C+. An all-out action issue as Neo-Gotham tries to defend itself from Eye’s invasion. There wasn’t much to Dan Jurgens’ story beyond that and finding a way to introduce Jim Gordon’s Batman armor into the Beyond-verse to continue to re-establish the new status quo and further distance it from the cartoon. Bernard Chang’s artwork was inconsistent in this issue, appearing highly detailed on some pages but sketchy on others; particularly in wider battle shots. Marcelo Maiolo’s unique coloring style continues to be the standout feature of the book with his tendency to emphasize certain panels with just two tones (three for one including Inque).

As part of Green Lantern’s 75^th Anniversary celebration, this issue came with an alternate cover depicting a Green Lantern. This one happens to be the one featured in the Batman Beyond cartoon and subsequent works, Kai-Ro.

This issue came with 2 covers, seen below. What did you think of this issue? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page.

REVIEW: MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #33

Warning: may contain spoilers.

MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #33

Release Date: August 19, 2015

Writer: Thom Zahler

Art: Tony Fleecs

Colors: Heather Breckel

Letters: Neil Uyetake

Editors: Bobby Curnow

Covers: Tony Fleecs (regular), Andy Price (subscription), Thom Zahler (incentive), Amy Mebberson (Hot Topic)

Twilight Sparkle uses the spell that created Flutterbat to turn them all into vampire ponies in control of their actions. As they take the battle to the living apples, Fluttershy combats herself for dominance of her body and to help her friends. The plan seems to work, until the apples all form up onto Bad Apple to become a giant Spike.

GRADE: A. A fun conclusion to the story begun last issue. Thom Zahler made excellent use of Fluttershy’s transformation as a driving force in the plot and answered what the others would look like as one in the process. Although, probably the best use of that particular devise was Andy Price’s cover, which depicts the Mane Six as various vampires throughout pop culture. With the excellent artwork of Tony Fleecs and Heather Breckel to back it up, the only negative of the story is that the ending was pretty much telegraphed upon the introduction of Good Apple last issue. But, it was still a fun, enjoyable romp, and one of the best Ponies stories in the comic since its inception.

This issue came with 4 covers, seen below. What did you think of this issue? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page.

REVIEW: BATMAN BEYOND (2015) #3

Warning: may contain spoilers.

BATMAN BEYOND #3

Release Date: August 5, 2015

Writer: Dan Jurgens

Art: Bernard Chang

Colors: Marcelo Maiolo

Letters: Dave Sharpe

Editors: Dan Didio & David Pina

Covers: Bernard Chang & Marcelo Maiolo (regular), Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz, & Romulo Fajardo, Jr. (variant)

Brother Eye has captured Tim Drake and begins his interrogation of the anomaly to his plans, but Tim is able to escape and is able to recruit Inque upon learning why she serves him. Meanwhile, Matt McGinnis questions if Tim is on the level about his becoming Batman but he doesn’t get very long to dwell on it as when Tim returns to Neo-Gotham, Eye somehow follows.

Just in case you were just joining us.

GRADE: B. This issue takes a break from the main story to focus on Matt’s doubts about Tim, but only a moment as it dives right back into the action. Inque is given a little depth while another Beyond character makes an appearance in the form of size-changing Micron.

Dan Jurgens manages to display Tim’s training throughout, but also remembers to incorporate the fact that he’s a fish out of water and rusty on top of that, which means he makes a lot of simple mistakes without having much time to catch his breath. This world isn’t the home Tim knew and he’s fighting an uphill battle trying to adjust to it while staying alive. That part alone keeps the story interesting. It’s also nice that some focus is finally being given to the characters who truly belong in a Beyond book, instead of keeping them just window dressing to drive the title home.

Raising the stakes.

Bernard Chang’s artwork complimented by Marcelo Maiolo’s colors make the book visually appealing as there is a lot of action crammed onto each page.

This issue came with 2 covers, seen below. What did you think of this issue? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page.

REVIEW: MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDS FOREVER #19

Warning: may contain spoilers.

MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDS FOREVER #19

Release Date: August 5, 2015

Writer: Christina Rice

Art: Brenda Hickey

Colors: Heather Breckel

Letters: Neil Uyetake

Editors: Bobby Curnow

Covers: Amy Mebberson (regular), Brenda Hickey (subscription)

After an unintentional coordination between one of Rarity’s dresses and the Cakes’ cake at a wedding, Rarity decides to start a business with the Cakes to become a one-stop wedding shop. The plan seems like a good one, until Rarity becomes a control freak and begins to overshadow the Cakes’ expertise, leading to a disaster in front of a journalist checking out their business.

GRADE: A. Rarity is the ultimate obsessive compulsive. She puts as much of herself into anything that she does, sometimes more than she or anyone else really has to give, and Christina Rice captured that perfectly. It made for a fun comparison between the maniacally ambitious Rarity and the pretty laid-back Cakes, and to a fun disastrous cake design. Brenda Hickey’s artwork with Heather Breckel’s coloring brought it all together to really make it feel like an episode of the series.

This issue came with 2 covers, seen below. What did you think of this issue? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page.

REVIEW: MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDS FOREVER #17

Warning: may contain spoilers.

MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDS FOREVER #17

Release Date: June 3, 2015

Writer: Ted Anderson

Art: Brenda Hickey

Colors: Heather Breckel

Letters: Neil Uyetake

Editors: Bobby Curnow

Covers: Amy Mebberson (regular), Brenda Hickey (subscription)

Twilight Sparkle has a lot to do and a problem she can’t solve, which drives her close to burning out. She decides to find out how other Ponies handle such a load and settles on observing Big Mac as he handles his chores. Feeling it not enough, Twilight casts a spell to actually enter Big Mac’s mind and see what makes him tick.

GRADE: A. Twilight’s freakouts are an established part of her character, and are used to propel this story forward. What was unique was the larger focus Big Mac received in this tale, as he’s usually an incidental character in a story that focuses on his family or that leads to the farm. Ted Anderson handled all the aspects of Big Mac well, showing how everypony has many different sides to their personalities, even if they don’t always show them in obvious ways, and how those sides can work together to make one function. It was a fun, simple story wonderfully brought to life by Brenda Hickey and Heather Breckel.

This issue came with 2 covers, seen below. What did you think of this issue? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page.