Watching Legend of Everfree. Notes below as I watch, with overall thoughts after. I would consolidate these notes into paragraphs, but :effort:. I exclusively refer to Dougworld Twilight as SciTwi, but don't make any such distinctions for the others, since I frequently contrast SciTwi and pony Twilight but not the others.
COMMENTARY
* Oh, so the one clip I watched actually was just the beginning. Everyone being disolved by Midnight Sparkle in her dream is still creepy for this franchise.
* The theme song's lyrics are really weak. The music seems like it should be from an Apple Family song.
* Confirmation that less than a year has passed in Dougworld.
* Stay losing Brad.
* Didn't expect Gloriosa would have a Midwestern/Canadian accent. Well, probably not quite that. I'm not good with accents.
* One of my complaints about Rainbow Rocks was that to prop up Sunset, she was "assigned" to do and notice things that other characters normally would, and I'm noticing the same thing here. Like really, no one else noticed anything odd about SciTwi's outburst on the bus?
* SciTwi isn't Twilight, so no problem with the Timber Spruce romance. Plus, they have better chemistry than Brad ever did with anyone.
* Again, not a fan of evil Filthy Rich.
* I like all the stuff characters are doing in the background.
* And Sunset is the only one who notices anything weird between Gloriosa and Filthy Rich?
* You know, I don't think the Sunset we see in this movie is really consistent with what we saw in the previous movies.
* Stay losing Brad. Though I'm glad Sunset explicitly told him to give up on any Twilight.
* Solar powered lamps? At that size? I don't think that would work.
* Snips and Snails are with the high school group?! I don't see the CMC anywhere. Is this the first non-comic non-alicorn instance of the Dougworld versions of characters definitely being different ages than the pony versions?
* Sunset, don't you find the use of the name Everfree in the tale odd?
* Again, in order to make Sunset the sympathetic one, everyone else is oddly unaware of Twilight's feelings. This is similar to how in Rainbow Rocks, everyone but Twilight didn't support Sunset much.
* This second song is oddly similar to "Luna's Future" at the start. Again, not a fan of the lyrics.
* "I've never told anyone about this before, you must be special," must be Timber's go-to pick-up line.
* I know the ones running the park need money, so can they really afford to throw around gem dust?
* Now I get Applejack getting super strength and sort of Rarity shooting gems, but why can Pinkie make stuff explode? Plus, Fluttershy gets a power that barely helps in combat, since their foes are well past bear level.
* Oh hey, Derpy speaking for the same time in Dougworld.
* How the hell is "figuring out new and uncontrollable powers" such a low priority?
* Huh, I didn't expect them to figure out that Timber is Scooby Doo-ing things only halfway through. If they're revealing it now, he must be a red herring.
* If Rainbow's worried about moving too fast, and Applejack is worried about hammering too hard, why don't they switch roles?
* Eh, the gag about Sunset reading Pinkie's thoughts didn't really work for me for some reason.
* Did Sunset's singing voice always sound like this? Not a big fan of this song either, and it again feels familiar.
* I was about to say, "Is it really a good idea to practice magic openly?" but I had forgotten everyone already knows about their magic.
* Oh hey, they're actually having Flash and Sunset talk about their relationship! And once again, stay losing Flash.
* This Gloriosa reveal didn't have enough set up, I feel.
* Why did Gloriosa take only five of the seven gems in the first place?
* So Sunset's powers are supposed to reveal feelings and motivations, but I can't make sense of what Gloriosa is trying to do. Is it just, "She went crazy! No more explanations!"?
* Wait, Timber went into the cave, but he never came out. How did he get back to camp without SciTwi and Sunset noticing?
* I heard good things about Gloriosa's villain song, but I'm not feeling it. Plus, it again seems familiar. "Say Goodbye to the Holiday", maybe?
* This fight scene is making everyone seem... pretty lame. They actually feel weaker than they normally do when they "pony up". Like, why is Rainbow running instead of flying? And before, Fluttershy could shoot butterfly blasts, but not now.
* SciTwi's "pony'd up" form has wings?! I really would have preferred this alternate version of Twilight having to earn being an alicorn.
* Oh hey, magical girl transformation.
* These are obviously equivalents of the Elements of Harmony, but it's kind of lame that no one but Twilight and Sunset had to demonstrate their elements.
* I don't think holding a fundraiser in a cave would ever be a good idea.
* I'm surprised they're keeping the band thing consistent.
* I'm surprised they didn't break up the SciTwi x Timber ship.
* This remix of the movie's intro song is better than the intro version, I think. Still not a big fan.
* Close up of Applejack and Rarity holding hands.
* Bulk Biceps' Dumb and Dumber outfit is amusing.
* They're going further with SciTwi x Timber than I expected. Again, not opposed to this, because SciTwi is not Twi.
* Ending song is OK.
* Saw the gag in the postcredits scene coming, but it amused me.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I wasn't a particularly big fan of this. A lot of it felt like nothing important was happening, both in terms of plot and character moments, and the character moments we got weren't that memorable. The Main Five were their plainest selves. Gloriosa was a weak villain, with nothing but, "Magic makes her crazy!" as a motivation. I liked the way Flash Sentry was handled well enough, with no one even entertaining the thought of him being a romantic lead and explicitly telling him to give up on any Twilight.
I didn't find SciTwi interesting, but at least they broke up her brooding with her romance, which was decently charming. I'm surprised that they had SciTwi and Timber Spruce actually become a couple, and didn't break them up by the end. As I mention in my above commentary, I don't have a problem with this because SciTwi isn't Twi. However, it does feel off that someone with problems connecting to people like SciTwi, I previously thought even more so than normal Twilight, would be so receptive to flirting and be willing to date.
The past week's discussion of Starlight Glimmer and her characterization, and direct comparisons people made with Sunset Shimmer, possibly got me to examine Sunset more than I usually would have, and I honestly still have the problems with her I had back in
my old review of Rainbow Rocks. There's a later post where I talk about how I don't have a good handle on Sunset's character, but tracking that down would take more effort. And even after this movie, I still don't really have a good handle on her. Take that moment where she randomly makes a spooky noise in front of a flashlight before talking to SciTwi (where SciTwi's magic is first revealed). I didn't view that as in-character, or out of character, or a subversion of expectations, but rather, "Huh, I guess that's something she does now." Her empathy is emphasized a lot in the movie, but they do that by downplaying everyone else's. The Main Five show an almost concerning lack of interest in Twilight's feelings, and fail to notice obvious things like Gloriosa and Filthy Rich's animosity. Going back to ponyland, could you imagine an episode where Twilight is as moody as SciTwi is here, and no one notices because Sunset isn't there? Sunset feels like a "default Main Six" made up of characteristics shared by everyone, with the quality they want to emphasize at the moment being cranked up for her and dialed way down for everyone else.
They made a big deal out of everyone getting powers, but it amounted to a whole lot of nothing, with saving the day once again coming down to everyone assembling then friendship blast. Plus, it feels like it actually made everyone weaker; Rainbow was already moving quickly when "ponying up", but with this power, she decided to stop flying around. And Fluttershy had energy attacks before, but not now.
It's actually kind of weird seeing the explicit reveal of magic leaking out into the world actually happen after so long, since that's long been proposed as a way to lead into a TV series, which people have been suspecting ever since the initial concept leak. With suspicions that Friendship is Magic will end after the theatrical movie next year, I feel like this points to the show continuing at least a season after it, unless they plan to fully disconnect Equestria Girls and Friendship is Magic.
EDIT: Oh, songs. The songs were alright, but more so than any previous MLP thing with a lot of songs, these mostly feel really familiar. Oddly enough, this applies mostly to "A Hearth's Warming Carol".
Overall, I can't say I disliked the movie, but I didn't like it either. It's definitely worse than Rainbow Rocks, but deciding where it falls among the first and third movies is difficult.
(Don't tell me if it does or doesn't)
