Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony

So I just downloaded the digital copy of this for $12.99 and I'm assuming the reason you're reading this right now is probably because you're wondering if this documentary is worth it. In my opinion, it is if you are a brony yourself.

Outsiders will not find anything here that will interest them, or keep them hooked for 90 minutes. This was definitely a love letter to the bronies, from the bronies. This doesn't mean that it's a bad movie, but you should know that going into it. Now unto what did and didn't work for me.

My biggest issue was with pacing. The movie seemed to jump from one thing to the other with almost no transition at points. I would sit there wondering to myself "did they really need to include that clip?", but this is only a big problem in the first half hour or so. It's when the movie actually makes it to the conventions that I began to really enjoy it.

There were a couple other problems, but that was the one that really stuck out for me. Now unto the good. One great thing that the filmmakers did that I really enjoyed, were the portions at Bronycon. These sections of the movie did a good job at showing off exactly what it is that we do as a fandom. I found myself smiling at a couple things said in interviews that only a brony would understand. I was not in attendance at this particular convention, but this movie made me want to be there. It looked like a fun time. The other conventions weren't handled as well as Bronycon, but I still enjoyed them.

Anyways, buy this if you're a brony. Be free to skip right over this is you aren't

This documentary does an excellent job describing what the brony community is like. A lot of it is from the view of other bronies, but you get to see or hear a lot of what other people think.

There's no shortage of heartwarming moments, and plenty of funny situations as well. The animations made for this documentary are very professional and look like something out of the show itself, not to mention the music that fits so fluidly with the animation.

They did a great job capturing the real antics of the bronies who were interviewed during the documentary. It didn't feel like they had a camera crew following around.

In all, it's a pretty entertaining documentary and also pretty informative even to bronies, but you certainly don't have to be a brony to enjoy and learn a lot from this film.

Overall, I enjoyed this film. It follows some good individual stories, and I really enjoyed the original animation created for it by JanAnimations and others. One of the things I enjoyed about this film isn't even in the film itself - it's how responsive the filmmakers have been to input. The film was funded through Kickstarter, and all through the production process, backers were given details about how things were going, and the crew took suggestions and feedback. Not only through Kickstarter, but through their Twitter accounts, YouTube replies, and e-mail.

I look forward to the day that this film becomes available on Blu-ray, film festivals, and perhaps more! Go buy this film now at their website if you're curious, or wait a bit for those other methods of distribution! /)

"Isn't it amazing how a group of adult men can completely take over a show meant for little girls; making it virtually impossible to search or do anything related to the show without being exposed to over-sexualized, misogynistic, sexist crap, and they get a documentary that praises them for stepping outside of their perceived gender roles? Meanwhile 45% of the gaming community is comprised of women and I get dick pics and rape threats if I try and go on xbox live."

Three stars instead of one because it's rather impressive that the documentarian could create something so smarmily self-congratulatory, yet riddled with homophobia and much less flattering to "bronies" than he'd like to think.

Depending on your age and background, you may well be aware of what 'Bronies' are. These are, usually, adult male fans of the recent animated My Little Pony series--a series intended for very young little girls. The folks who made the shows were surprised by this phenomenon. It seems that adult men are now its most rabid fans and have begun organizing giant conventions for My Little Pony which are every bit as big as you might find for Star Trek or Anime.

The purpose of Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony appears to be both to explain this fandom and to also normalize it as much as possible. Nice and very likable teenage and adult men are interviewed about their obsessions with these incredibly happy and sweet cartoon characters. And, the film features charming narration by John de Lancie (who does the voice for one of the characters on the show and is also adored by Star Trek fans for playing 'Q') and it also has many interviews including the show's creator as well as another one of the voice actors, Tara Strong. They all seem to agree that it's a benign obsession and the notion of these guy emulating the positive messages of the show isn't a bad thing at all--and the film does a great job in normalizing this fandom. However, it also seems to occasionally miss the proverbial elephant in the room. This is because two big problems really aren't addressed in the otherwise entertaining film. First, the women and children who like the show are almost completely ignored. Now I know that the film is about adult fans but the film says a Brony can be a man or a woman--yet not all that many women are interviewed and the focus clearly is on the guys. No young girls are interviewed. That is all very odd-- especially in light of the second problem. There is a far darker side of many of the Bronies. The Brony movement began on 4chan--a website often linked to some of the stranger, more militant folks lurking on the internet. In light of this, it isn't surprising that SOME of the Bronies have a much more sexualized view of My Little Pony and there are quite a few reports of inappropriate behaviors by some of the Bronies at conventions or on websites. Sexual harassment, an unnatural infatuation with children, anatomically correct pony pillows or fan art and emotional bullying are sometimes serious problems. Now I am not saying all or even most Bronies behave this way, but it IS a problem--one often addressed on the internet yet oddly missing from the documentary. Sites such as Ponies for Parents and Brony Stupidity (among others) point out many examples of inappropriate conduct that clearly indicate that not all Bronies are as nice and benign as the ones you see in the film. Try a Google search using the terms 'My Little Pony porn' and you'll come up with tons and tons of examples of amazingly twisted fan art and porn videos. Yet, inexplicably, the film never mentions any of this. When a film ignores such obvious controversies, it becomes, in a way, more like propaganda than a documentary--the big reason why I felt a little uncomfortable watching this otherwise well made movie. Watch if it you want--just be aware that there is far more to the fandom than you see in this film.