My Little Pony: The Movie

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My Little Pony: The Movie

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Michael Joens
Produced by Joe Bacal
Tom Griffin
Written by George Arthur Bloom
Starring Danny DeVito
Rhea Perlman
Madeline Kahn
Cloris Leachman
Charlie Adler
Russi Taylor
Tammy Amerson
Tony Randall
Nancy Cartwright
Cathy Cavadini
Frank Welker
Music by Score:
Robert J. Walsh
Songs:
Tommy Goodman
Barry Herman
Distributed by Theatrical:
Flag of the United States De Laurentiis Entertainment Group
Flag of Canada Paramount Pictures
DVD:
Rhino Entertainment
Release date(s) Flag of the United States June 6, 1986 (limited)
June 13, 1986 (wide)[1]
Running time 86 min.
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
IMDb profile

My Little Pony: The Movie is an animated feature film based on the popular My Little Pony toy line. It was released on June 20, 1986 by De Laurentiis Entertainment Group. The movie features the voices of Danny DeVito, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Rhea Perlman, and Tony Randall.

Produced by Marvel Enterprises and Sunbow Productions, with animation production by Japan's Toei Animation and Korea's AKOM, My Little Pony: The Movie was succeeded by a television series which ran in late 1986. A 10-part episode from that series, The End of Flutter Valley, was a sequel to the movie.

Contents

[edit] Plot

 The plot summary in this section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article.
Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

At Dream Castle, the Little Ponies are preparing a festival to celebrate the first day of Spring. From the Volcano of Gloom, the witch Hydia watches the event via her cauldron and, disgusted by the frivolity, tells her daughters that they must ruin it.

Baby Lickety-Split, one of the Baby Pony Dancers, tries to gain attention by inventing an elaborate new dance step, but only succeeds in tripping up the others and ruining the whole performance. When she is scolded by Buttons and the other Baby Ponies, a tearful Lickety-Split runs to the Lullabye Nursery where she packs her things to run away. Spike the baby dragon is unable to persuade her to stay, so he compromises by going with her to keep an eye on her, and leaves behind a note for the other My Little Ponies.

Hydia's daughters, Draggle and Reeka, are inexperienced at causing mischief and fail utterly at ruining the festival. They return to the Volcano of Gloom in disgrace, where Witch Hydia presents a better plan - they'll make Smooze. The sisters collect a series of disgusting ingredients, but neglect to obtain the Phlume, the prospect of which terrifies them. The spell seems to work regardless, creating a pool of sentient purple lava that gleefully buries Ponyland.

After discovering Spike's note, Magic Star, Shady and Gusty set off to search for him and Baby Lickety-Split. They go straight past a chasm that the pair have fallen into, but fail to hear their cries over the roar of a nearby waterfall. They next search the area near the home of the Bushwoolies, when a wave of Smooze rushes towards them. They make a hasty retreat, but Gusty and two Bushwoolies are splattered with Smooze, which refuses to come off and makes them highly irritable and pessimistic. The group returns to Dream Castle, apart from Shady and a purple Bushwoolie, who continue the search for Baby Lickety-Split and Spike.

The Smooze meanwhile reaches the chasm where Lickety-Split and Spike are trapped, forcing them to retreat down an underground tunnel.

Seeing Gusty's predicament, Wind Whistler and North Star fly off to retrieve the Rainbow of Light, a magical object that is kept safe by a farm girl named Megan since their previous adventure. Megan hands it over, but insists on coming with them, as do her younger siblings Danny and Molly. By the time they return, Dream Castle has already been buried by Smooze, and its inhabitants are being forced uphill. Megan releases the Rainbow, which initially succeeds in halting the Smooze but is then gobbled up by it. The stalled Smooze then hardens, making it impossible for the Ponies to retrieve their home or their weapon.

Hydia realises that the reason the Smooze hardened was because the Phlume was not included in the ingredients. She sends her daughters to collect it, revealing that the source of the Phlume is a massive, putrid monster which becomes angered at their attempts to milk it, beating them with its many tentacles.

Leaving Dream Valley to get help, Megan, Fizzy and Wind Whistler arrive at the home of the Moochick, the little wizard who previously gave them the Rainbow of Light. Hearing their predicament, he offers to conjure them a new home, but all of his suggested designs are ridiculously outlandish. It's his rabbit, Habbit, that provides the answer - Paradise Estate, which the Ponies agree suits them perfectly. Habbit then produces a map to the home of the Flutter Ponies, whom the Moochick explains has the power to defeat the Smooze - but, he warns, they might not be welcome to the idea of visitors. He then magics them and the Paradise Estate back to Dream Valley, where the rest of the Little Ponies take delight in their new home. Megan, accompanied by Wind Whister, Magic Star, Fizzy, Danny and Molly, begin the journey to Flutter Valley.

Spike and Lickety-Split's underground explorations lead them to the Grundles, goblin-like creatures whose native Grundleland was also destroyed by Smooze. Though frightening in appearance, the Grundles are quite friendly, and offer to help the pair find their way home.

Meanwhile, Draggle and Reeka return with the Phlume, which Hydia uses to awaken the Smooze, causing it to become more powerful. Although she is satisfied with the apparent strength of the Smooze, Hydia sends her daughters on once last errand to contact a monster named Ahgg, whom they bribe into helping them stop Megan's group from reaching Flutter Valley.

The strengthened Smooze reaches Lickety-Split's party, who escape across a river into a field with a wishing well surrounded by beautiful flowers. They are shocked to hear a voice from inside the well, and when they wheel up the bucket they discover Morning Glory, a Flutter Pony. She thanks them for freeing her and explains that she could not fly out with soaked wings. In return, she leads the way to her home in Flutter Valley, assuring them she'll help them against the Smooze.

As for Megan's group, they are travelling through a field of giant sunflowers when the Smooze catches up with them as well. After a few close calls they manage to escape, but once then are startled when a purple ball bounces towards them - but instead of the Smooze it's the purple Bushwoolie. Shady follows, and together they cross the Shadow Forest, dodging the attacks of sentient trees.

They enter a valley filled with flowers, signifying that they are closer to Flutter Valley. But as they are crossing a canyon, they are blocked by the giant eight-legged monster Ahgg, who has been waiting for them. He seems impossible to defeat until Molly has the idea to tickle him, which renders the beast helpless in seconds.

Finally arriving at Flutter Valley, Megan pleads with Rosedust, Queen of the Flutter Ponies, to help them defeat the Smooze. She claims sympathy for their cause, but refuses to get involved, wanting to protect her own people first. Morning Glory arrives and tells of her rescue from the well, insisting that the Flutter Ponies must show kindness to the Little Ponies. Rosedust relents, and assembles her army.

Back in Dream Valley, the Witches sail on the ocean of Smooze as it approaches the Paradise Estate. It comes so close that the Little Ponies are forced to take refuge on the roof. As Buttons tells the others not to give up hope, the sky becomes filled with Flutter Ponies. At Rosedust's command, they blast the Smooze with Utter Flutter, forcing it back towards the Volcano of Gloom, in process successfully uncovering both Dream Castle and the Rainbow of Light. The freed Rainbow attacks the Witches, carrying them into the sky and dropping them into the Smooze-filled Volcano from a great height. With the danger gone, the Flutter Ponies remove the last remnants of the Smooze from Gusty and the others. Now that the Little Ponies have the Paradise Estate, Magic Star offers Dream Castle to the Grundles to help rebuild their kingdom. Megan returns the Rainbow of Light to the Little Ponies, and Wind Whistler and North Star fly the children into the sunset.

[edit] Musical Numbers

  • "My Little Pony Opening Chorus"
  • "We're Witches" - Hydia
  • "I'll Go It Alone" - Baby Lickety-Split, Spike
  • "I'll Do the Dirty Work" - Draggle, Reeka
  • "Nothing Can Stop The Smooze" - Hydia, Draggle, Reeka, Smooze
  • "There's Always Another Rainbow" - Megan
  • "Home" - The Moochick
  • "Grundles Good" - The Grundles
  • "What Good Could Wishing Do?" - Baby Lickety-Split, Morning Glory
  • "My Little Pony Ending Chorus"

[edit] Reception

Region 2 DVD cover for the film (Britain)
Region 2 DVD cover for the film (Britain)

As with various other films of the 1980s designed to promote toy lines, My Little Pony was not well-received among critics. The New York Times' Nina Darnton, aware of its marketing purposes, added in her review:

“ Unlike the great Disney classics [...], there is [...] nothing that will move [young audiences] - and there are very few bones of wit thrown to the poor parents who will have to sit through the film with children of this age group.[2] ”

The film's box office proved to be equally unsuccessful: opening in only 421 venues on June 6, 1986, it only managed to make nearly US$6 million in ticket sales.[1] With a US$674,724 gross on its wide debut,[1] it remains one of the weakest on record among major features.[3] The combined failure of this, and the next DEG/Hasbro collaboration, Transformers: The Movie, forced their producers to make G.I. Joe: The Movie into a direct-to-video release instead of theatrical.

My Little Pony premiered on DVD in late 2006, thanks to Rhino Entertainment. Musical moments from the film were used as its only extras.

[edit] Cultural references

  • In the Beginning of the Movie Baby Lickity Split tell the pink dragon playing the piano, "Play it again, Spike," a reference to the 1942 film Casablanca.

[edit] Voice cast

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c My Little Pony: The Movie at Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  2. ^ Review of My Little Pony by Janet Maslin. The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2008. (Registration required to read.)
  3. ^ All-Time Worst Openings for 600+ Screens at Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 18, 2008.

[edit] External links

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