Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony

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.

I almost decided to not buy this documentary after hearing relatively mixed reviews about it. I decided to give it a shot to at least support the people behind it such as John de Lancie and Lauren Faust. After watching it, I'm so glad I decided to give it a chance.

"Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony" (rolls right off the tongue) is a documentary following the stories behind several bronies, their discovery of the show, and the impact it has had on their lives, for the better or worse. It also includes much footage from various pony cons from around the world, namely Bronycon. As the movie goes on, we see how these cons bring people from all over the world, with different backgrounds, together with a common interest.

As a Brony myself, I was curious to see how my story of discovering the show and having this hobby would relate to others. While I did see a bit of myself in these young men, it was actually far more interesting to see what was different in our stories. Some of the events they describe, without spoiling anything, genuinely made me feel sorry for them, and at other times, proud of them. As the documentary continues, we see their lives intertwine at the Cons, and it really made me feel great to know that these previous outcasts now have people to share their interests with.

The interviews with John de Lancie, Lauren Faust, Tara Strong, and a few other people in the Brony community are very intriguing, since it's not all that common to hear opinions on a fanbase from the people the fanbase hails. It made my day to hear support from such well known people, especially since taking such a positive outlook on Bronies is often seen as risky in the media.

Also included is an animated song about the types of bronies sung by none other than de Lancie himself, however here he appears as his ponysona (the pony version of yourself.) The animation is top notch and is actually on par with the show itself. The only problem with it is that it is chopped up and spread out throughout the movie, when I feel it should have just been one whole piece like I originally saw it on Youtube.

By the time the credits were rolling, I was feeling prouder than ever to be a Brony. The movie clearly establishes that the stereotypical fat neckbeard basement dweller is not your typical Brony, in fact quite the opposite. Not only that, but seeing the charity work Bronies do, as well as just supporting each other and trying to create a "kinder, gentler" world, as Lauren Faust put it, really warmed my heart. I haven't felt much shame for being a Brony for a long time, but now there is none whatsoever. It even inspired me to find someway to get more involved in the community.

The only fault with the movie is that it is extremely one sided. Not that there is anything wrong with the Brony community in itself, but it doesn't mention that many online Bronies have become trolls and are a huge part of the reason that people have negative connotations with MLP.

Overall, this documentary stands as a tribute to the Bronies, and a great informative video to everyone else interested in learning about this cultural phenomena. If you're a Brony who feels alone or ashamed, watch this and you will no longer feel so down in the dumps. Definitely worth the price of admission.

My biggest disappointment is that this film isn't at all funny.

It's primary reason for existing seems to be to proselytize the virtues of the cartoon and justify the reasons grown men are fascinated by it. If you aren't a brony, you aren't going to find much in this film, because it doesn't have a sense of humor about itself.

There is room in the market for a film like this, and because it was for a group of fans that seem a bit obsessive, it will probably make a profit. I can't really say it shouldn't have been made, simply that it does not speak to a broader audience.

The one thing that I did take away from the documentary was that even simple stories, if made with quality, can find an audience. People that have trouble relating to one another and develop real world friendships find a lot to love about a show that explains why friendship is magical. At least that's what I saw as the plot of this film.

Okay, now why the summary headline. . . I found this movie a bit disturbing for one main reason. Every My Little Pony obsessed man in this film felt they needed to tell us "I'm not gay." Like that makes their passion socially acceptable. They might as well be saying, "Sure, I like pink unicorns, but it's not like I like men! THAT would make me weird a pariah!" It's a rather homophobic view, in my opinion, and totally undermines the movie's supposed message of acceptance.

So it's not entertaining, particularly educational, or social conscious, but if you obsessively collect everything with a pony on it, you'll probably like it.

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

"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.