My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Friendship Games

'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' is in my opinion one of the best animated shows in recent years. The first film based on it 'Equestria Girls' was an enormous disappointment and the complete anti-thesis in quality as one could get. Was apprehensive about watching its first sequel 'Rainbow Rocks' but was both pleasantly surprised and very impressed.

'Friendship Games' is a decent third instalment in the 'My Little Pony: Equestria Girls' film series. It is a step down from 'Rainbow Rocks' and is nowhere near as good as 'Friendship is Magic', but it is much better than the 'Equestria Girls' film (then again many things are better than that, and it takes a lot for any of its sequels to be as bad or worse). Its flaws are at least different to 'Equestria Girls', not being the "having the same flaws and amplifying them" sort of sequel.

It could have been much better. It has to be said though that there are a couple of improvements over 'Rainbow Rocks'. There is no forced or awkwardly written romance. Twilight is much more consistently written and is more developed and likable. And Flash isn't quite as bland. 'Friendship Games' does suffer from trying to do too much, there are too many characters and too many plot strands.

While the characters are fun and likable (though Flash is still a bit on the bland side, though not as much as before, and Principal Cinch is agreed too one note), the only characters that develop are Twilight and Sunset Shimmer. The film certainly isn't dull and the conflicts and dynamics are interesting, but some plot strands are better explored than others with a few under-explored and messily handled.

There could have been much more focus on the games too. The games themselves are very exciting, but happen too late in the film and the screen time for them is too short.

However, the animation is vibrant, ethereal and well-rounded, like 'Friendship is Magic' and 'Rainbow Rocks' and unlike 'Equestria Girls', with character designs that are appealing and don't send warning signs about potential bad messaging. The songs aren't quite as good as in 'Rainbow Rocks' but are still catchy and cheerful, they're easy to hum along to and the lyrics aren't too cheesy.

Much of the writing is fine too. Like 'Rainbow Rocks', there is a good balance of humour and emotion, with winning and amusing humour and poignant and never schmaltzy or mawkish emotion. The references are clever and naturally integrated and the messages are well-meaning and heartfelt and avoid being preachy.

Story here has its messy moments but still moves along nicely and it doesn't feel like an extended TV episode. Twilight and Sunset Shimmer are well realised characters, love what the sequels have done with the latter, and of the newer characters Sugarcoat (hilariously personality-wise the complete opposite of her name) is a sheer delight.

Voice acting is very strong, no talent wastes here. Tara Strong, Ashleigh Ball and Rachel Shoichet are particularly good.

Although, decent second sequel but could have been better. 7/10 Bethany Cox

My initial review of this film might've been a little harsh.. I think I was just a little off put by the short length of it. But... after rewatching it, my opinion has changed. This is probably the best movie of the Equestria Girls series, if only because it establishes its own identity and doesn't rely heavily on the the "Friendship is Magic" show. I like FiM a lot more, but this EqG series does have heart and its own soul. Which, to add on to that, I love how while these human characters are still the counterparts of ponies in Equestria, they still have their own individual personalities.. they're similar but definitely not the same.. their own souls and spirits, etc.

The music is good, which is the norm for a DHX/Vancouver / Hasbro production. The animation is on par with Rainbow Rocks. The acting is on par with the show and the direction from Rudell is great... he does a fantastic job. So I'd love to see a fourth film in the EqG series. If a fourth film was on par or better than these films, I'm sure it'd be a fine film... hopefully they'll try to finally break past the 72 minute mark. I think they need a little more time to flesh these stories and characters out.

Nice job MLP staff. Keep on doing your thing.

With the mixed reactions of the the 1st movie, and the more positive ones that came from Rainbow Rocks, I was hoping this movie wouldn't botch up the progress its previous entry made. I could not have be ever so wrong. Sure it does not star the Dazzlings, and the music is not completely like the last one, but I still think it manages to knock all the other entries out of the park. Now that Sunset is out lead role, we get to see even more amazing development from her, that, like Princess Twilight, she is still learning how to not only be a leader, but be a good friend.And Crystal Prep as the villains really do make quite a glaring contrast from our mane 6. And yet, though there is no battle of the bands this time around, the music is just as good and perhaps better than before. I whole heartedly recommend that every fan of MLP needs to watch this, not before the other ones of course.

In the third installment in the Equestria Girls franchise, viewers are taken on a magical journey once more to Canterlot High School, in more ways than one. DHX Media and Hasbro Studios prove once again that they have the capability to create quality entertainment for the whole family. Though very fun and imaginative, fans of the My Little Pony can grow to appreciate the depth and deep morals expressed in a show that looks as if it was made with all the colors of a crayola pastel box. The best part in my opinion would have to be the phenomenal music originally composed by Emmy winner Daniel Ingram, who shows us all that music is just as magical as the movie itself. If you are fan of anything animated and or gripping, this movie is the one for you.

This movie was horrible!

-Lots of exposition, exposition, rush it out ASAP! -With a 70-minute runtime, there's just not enough time to introduce an entire second school and still have time to give the Wondercolts spotlight. -Terrible "villains". With the exception of Midnight Sparkle (who's only on the screen for around two minutes), they do not have the coolness factor that other MLP villains and most Disney villains have. In fact, Cinch's plan to use Sci-Twi in the Friendship Games backfires so epically it almost gets the world destroyed. -The Friendship Games put untrained students in mortal peril. Motocross and archery have a high risk of injury, if not death. Plus no one bats an eye when the giant Piranha Plant attacks the stadium. -Dean Cadence is UGLY! -The HuMane 5 are still as flanderized as ever! Thank Celestia the 2017 movie won't be Equestria Girls-related, as the true Mane 7 had an entire show to be fleshed out. -Shining Armor has no more than two lines, and never shows up again. What a wasted character! -The final battle lasts only a few seconds. -Just Eat Gilligan: Twilight, why are you keeping that magic-stealing pendant around when it's clearly hurting people! Without it, you could have avoided this plot. NO ONE in your school has no idea how magic works. Is it any surprise that it goes out of control and almost destroys the world? -The Shadowbolts are one-dimensional and can be summed up in a single small sentence each: an ostentatious athletic girl, a brutally honest girl, a sarcastically nice but really passive aggressive girl, a girl who's really passionate about music and sort of outgoing if you could call it that, and then another one I don't even remember. You should be able to know who's called Sugarcoat and who's called Sour Sweet. That's how memorable they are. -Please get smarter about raising the stakes. -Very slow movie.

Avoid this movie. Watch Finding Dory instead. (It climaxes better than the entire FG movie.)