aka-45316
Joined May 2017
Welcome to the new profile
We're still working on updating some profile features. To see the badges, ratings breakdowns, and polls for this profile, please go to the previous version.
Reviews30
aka-45316's rating
I don't care what any of the negative commentators have been saying about this movie, "Kung Fu Panda 4" is one of the best sequels I ever watched! I saw this movie three times already, once with my sister & brother-in-law while it was in theaters, the second not long after I got a DVD copy of the film, and the third with my two nieces and nephew, and I can't stop enjoying it!
For me, the film proved to be excellent from start to finish. The story and direction were well-done, the voice acting and characters were terrific, everything.
I very much recommend giving this sequel a chance, that's for sure.
For me, the film proved to be excellent from start to finish. The story and direction were well-done, the voice acting and characters were terrific, everything.
I very much recommend giving this sequel a chance, that's for sure.
When it comes to if I had much of a relationship with this film, I remember seeing it on two separate occasions as a kid, as well as frequently seeing trailers for it, but it never really stood out to me or made much of an impact on my life. Regardless, I figured that it wouldn't hurt to give this movie another shot now that I'm older.
To be honest, even after I finally rewatched the whole movie, I personally consider "Open Season" to be one of the worst animated films I've ever seen!
I mean, seriously?! What's there to like about "Open Season" to begin with?
First off, the animation was openly subpar.
The visualization was cheap-looking to where it was like watching a really long Saturday morning cartoon. The humans and animals certainly weren't atrocious-looking, but they weren't appealing either. The settings were neat, but they were bland and uninspired too. The worst part is that it didn't look like the animators were putting in enough effort or commitment to really make an impression, and the signs that everything was done by computer were very easy to spot.
The direction, story, and screenplay didn't do this movie any favors either.
As a whole, everything about the movie was an uninspired Dreamworks rip-off. The buddy-comedy aspect between Boog and Elliot was strongly reminiscent of the one between Shrek and Donkey in the first "Shrek" movie, only the grouchy straight man is played by an African-American while the happy-go-lucky and eccentric individual is played by a White dude. Similar to "Over the Hedge", "Open Season" takes place in a North American setting and features a bear, skunks, porcupine, and squirrels. And just like "Madagascar", "Open Season" features an animal living in a human-populated area who's suddenly forced to live in the wild while trying to find a way back home. Basically, "Open Season" was a combination of "Shrek", "Madagascar", and "Over the Hedge", only with uninspired and messy results.
On top of this, the comedy was infuriating; the film's moments of heart, emotion, and drama were too weak and by-the-numbers; and the action sequences were incredibly lame. The morals the film had about friendship and loyalty weren't well-done either, because the movie appeared to be saying that you need to gain a friend and earn their loyalty just so that they could be your personal bodyguard, a factor that's particularly fueled by how needy Elliot often got for Boog and his actions throughout the story.
Lastly, the voice acting, characters, and character development were lackluster.
Regardless of whatever "developments" they have, every character was either uninteresting or irritating, and accompanying them all were voice performances that were straight up second-rate. Heck, not even the involvements of Patrick Warburton as Ian and Billy Connolly as McSquizzy impressed me, because not only were the two of them weirdly miscast, their performances and comedic-timings were galling compared to other voice roles they portrayed. As galling as Ian and McSquizzy themselves, if I may add.
And now, let's take a look at the main players of this picture. Boog, Elliot, Beth, and Shaw. Shall we?
Boog the Grizzly Bear certainly wasn't one of the film's most bothersome of characters, but he's hardly what I'd call an engaging focus either. The entirety of his character arc and role was too much like that of Alex the Lion from "Madagascar", in that he's an arrogant animal performer who was accustomed to living under human care that's suddenly stranded in the wild because of a misunderstanding, and it features him struggling to make a living in the woods just like when Alex and company got stranded on Madagascar. The only difference is that while Alex managed to gain control of his instincts and nature as a lion before the first film's climactic showdown, Boog suddenly embraces being a bear and follows his instincts during his fight with Shaw. To me, this openly leads towards toxic results. Wouldn't that mean he'd resort to eating his friends afterwards? And would he have any kind of control over his carnivorous nature? What can he eat if the fish will just slap him every time he goes near them?
I can tell that Martin Lawrence was at least trying to make the best of his involvement as Boog, but his performance sounded uninspired. It came across as more like Lawrence wearing a gigantic bear suit rather than him voicing a character.
Meanwhile, Elliot was one of the more unbearable of the characters. His role and character arc may not have been too similar to Marty the Zebra from "Madagascar", but both characters have a lot in common. In this case, both Marty and Elliot got their friend in trouble and caused a misunderstanding, they both wind up getting tranquilized and cast off to the wild with predatory characters, and both are happy-go-lucky and eccentric. Other parts of Elliot's arc had similarities to Donkey from "Shrek", in that both characters were saved from an antagonist by a grouchy individual and want to be the friend of their savior afterwards. Elliot himself was someone I could barely tolerate. His personality and sense of humor were frustrating, and the things he did, such as lying to Boog about knowing the way to Timberline just to get Boog "to hang out with him more and officially become his best friend" did not help me sympathize or like him in the slightest. He never did anything to make up for his mistakes or expressed any kind of genuine apology either, which only caused him to be less deserving of forgiveness or any form of companionship. And no, helping Boog during his fight with Shaw doesn't count, because all his efforts and attempts in that very time were too flat. One thing's for sure, Ashton Kutcher's portrayal did not make Elliot any more likable.
The character of Beth wasn't someone I cared for either. She's portrayed as a kind-hearted and loving individual, but to me...she came across as more like a self-righteous hypocrite. She gets onto Shaw for constantly hunting and killing animals when it's not hunting season, and she advocates for animal welfare and preservation, yet she spoils a bear to where he's nothing more than a harmless pet! Taking away any chance of him actually surviving in the wild and making him do clown tricks on a stage!
What kind of a ranger does that?!
If that's not an example of hypocrisy at its finest, I don't know what is. I'm surprised that the environmental advocates didn't go slamming on her door in protest. The fact she was the one who dumped Boog in the woods with Elliot, as well as caused him to suffer and struggle due to her spoiling him, did not help put her in a flattering light. The performance of Debra Messing only fueled my belief that Beth is an unlikable hypocrite, that's for sure.
And as for Shaw...well, he was the worst character out of everyone.
All throughout this entire film, I often rolled my eyes or cringed out of aggravation because of how infuriating Shaw was. He's literally nothing more than an idiotic, exasperating, childish joke who should be taken to the nearest asylum and kept there for life!
I don't care if everything I described Shaw as was the basic intention behind his character or if it was supposed to fit with the story, he's still nothing but an unfunny, less-than-intimidating, and one-dimensional villain-wannabe. Regardless of how often he'd come close to killing Boog and Elliot, his intentions behind why he was going after them to begin with, and his attempts in general, only fueled my belief that he's a pitiful moron. Not to mention his jokes and sense of humor were aggravating in the worst way.
On top of this, Shaw caused several notable plot deficiencies and flaws. Aside from there being no explanation for why he's obsessive over his gun and crazy about hunting animals, the film doesn't explain why Shaw disregards the law and has no respect for it or the authorities. His first scene with Beth and Gordy confirms that he broke Timberline's laws more than once, and somehow, he manages to weasel away from punishment.
And what do Gordy and Beth do?
NOTHING!!!
Despite suspecting Shaw of his illegal activities, they don't conduct so much as an investigation! And even though the evidence of his misgivings is right in front of them, they don't put him in a cell and throw away the key afterwards!
Why?!
And how did Shaw manage to evade custody in the first place? Mainly considering all he relied on was stupidity, taunts, insults, and terrible jokes?
If Shaw was a poacher, then I'd see why he's so disrespectful of the law and loves mercilessly hunting animals. If he was an animal control officer or pest exterminator, then I'd get why he hates animals so much and believes humans to be superior. And if he was a relative of a political figure, then I'd see where he gets his apparent law immunity & evasion from. Instead, the filmmakers make Shaw some deranged and brainless lunatic with literally zero sense of depth or characterization. And no matter what sort of "developments" he goes through, I could neither take him seriously nor tolerate him any further.
The performance of Gary Sinise didn't make Shaw any better, that's for sure. He was over-the-top in a maddening way, and his comedic-timings and overall portrayal were exasperating. He particularly sounded like he was giving a mediocre impression of Jim Varney or Blake Clark, drawing on the vocal ranges of Cruella de Vil & Yzma, and mixing it all with a humor reminiscent of the Joker.
In the end, "Open Season" is not only Sony Picture Animation's first movie, it's also one of their worst. I wouldn't recommend it even if a gun was pointed at my head.
To be honest, even after I finally rewatched the whole movie, I personally consider "Open Season" to be one of the worst animated films I've ever seen!
I mean, seriously?! What's there to like about "Open Season" to begin with?
First off, the animation was openly subpar.
The visualization was cheap-looking to where it was like watching a really long Saturday morning cartoon. The humans and animals certainly weren't atrocious-looking, but they weren't appealing either. The settings were neat, but they were bland and uninspired too. The worst part is that it didn't look like the animators were putting in enough effort or commitment to really make an impression, and the signs that everything was done by computer were very easy to spot.
The direction, story, and screenplay didn't do this movie any favors either.
As a whole, everything about the movie was an uninspired Dreamworks rip-off. The buddy-comedy aspect between Boog and Elliot was strongly reminiscent of the one between Shrek and Donkey in the first "Shrek" movie, only the grouchy straight man is played by an African-American while the happy-go-lucky and eccentric individual is played by a White dude. Similar to "Over the Hedge", "Open Season" takes place in a North American setting and features a bear, skunks, porcupine, and squirrels. And just like "Madagascar", "Open Season" features an animal living in a human-populated area who's suddenly forced to live in the wild while trying to find a way back home. Basically, "Open Season" was a combination of "Shrek", "Madagascar", and "Over the Hedge", only with uninspired and messy results.
On top of this, the comedy was infuriating; the film's moments of heart, emotion, and drama were too weak and by-the-numbers; and the action sequences were incredibly lame. The morals the film had about friendship and loyalty weren't well-done either, because the movie appeared to be saying that you need to gain a friend and earn their loyalty just so that they could be your personal bodyguard, a factor that's particularly fueled by how needy Elliot often got for Boog and his actions throughout the story.
Lastly, the voice acting, characters, and character development were lackluster.
Regardless of whatever "developments" they have, every character was either uninteresting or irritating, and accompanying them all were voice performances that were straight up second-rate. Heck, not even the involvements of Patrick Warburton as Ian and Billy Connolly as McSquizzy impressed me, because not only were the two of them weirdly miscast, their performances and comedic-timings were galling compared to other voice roles they portrayed. As galling as Ian and McSquizzy themselves, if I may add.
And now, let's take a look at the main players of this picture. Boog, Elliot, Beth, and Shaw. Shall we?
Boog the Grizzly Bear certainly wasn't one of the film's most bothersome of characters, but he's hardly what I'd call an engaging focus either. The entirety of his character arc and role was too much like that of Alex the Lion from "Madagascar", in that he's an arrogant animal performer who was accustomed to living under human care that's suddenly stranded in the wild because of a misunderstanding, and it features him struggling to make a living in the woods just like when Alex and company got stranded on Madagascar. The only difference is that while Alex managed to gain control of his instincts and nature as a lion before the first film's climactic showdown, Boog suddenly embraces being a bear and follows his instincts during his fight with Shaw. To me, this openly leads towards toxic results. Wouldn't that mean he'd resort to eating his friends afterwards? And would he have any kind of control over his carnivorous nature? What can he eat if the fish will just slap him every time he goes near them?
I can tell that Martin Lawrence was at least trying to make the best of his involvement as Boog, but his performance sounded uninspired. It came across as more like Lawrence wearing a gigantic bear suit rather than him voicing a character.
Meanwhile, Elliot was one of the more unbearable of the characters. His role and character arc may not have been too similar to Marty the Zebra from "Madagascar", but both characters have a lot in common. In this case, both Marty and Elliot got their friend in trouble and caused a misunderstanding, they both wind up getting tranquilized and cast off to the wild with predatory characters, and both are happy-go-lucky and eccentric. Other parts of Elliot's arc had similarities to Donkey from "Shrek", in that both characters were saved from an antagonist by a grouchy individual and want to be the friend of their savior afterwards. Elliot himself was someone I could barely tolerate. His personality and sense of humor were frustrating, and the things he did, such as lying to Boog about knowing the way to Timberline just to get Boog "to hang out with him more and officially become his best friend" did not help me sympathize or like him in the slightest. He never did anything to make up for his mistakes or expressed any kind of genuine apology either, which only caused him to be less deserving of forgiveness or any form of companionship. And no, helping Boog during his fight with Shaw doesn't count, because all his efforts and attempts in that very time were too flat. One thing's for sure, Ashton Kutcher's portrayal did not make Elliot any more likable.
The character of Beth wasn't someone I cared for either. She's portrayed as a kind-hearted and loving individual, but to me...she came across as more like a self-righteous hypocrite. She gets onto Shaw for constantly hunting and killing animals when it's not hunting season, and she advocates for animal welfare and preservation, yet she spoils a bear to where he's nothing more than a harmless pet! Taking away any chance of him actually surviving in the wild and making him do clown tricks on a stage!
What kind of a ranger does that?!
If that's not an example of hypocrisy at its finest, I don't know what is. I'm surprised that the environmental advocates didn't go slamming on her door in protest. The fact she was the one who dumped Boog in the woods with Elliot, as well as caused him to suffer and struggle due to her spoiling him, did not help put her in a flattering light. The performance of Debra Messing only fueled my belief that Beth is an unlikable hypocrite, that's for sure.
And as for Shaw...well, he was the worst character out of everyone.
All throughout this entire film, I often rolled my eyes or cringed out of aggravation because of how infuriating Shaw was. He's literally nothing more than an idiotic, exasperating, childish joke who should be taken to the nearest asylum and kept there for life!
I don't care if everything I described Shaw as was the basic intention behind his character or if it was supposed to fit with the story, he's still nothing but an unfunny, less-than-intimidating, and one-dimensional villain-wannabe. Regardless of how often he'd come close to killing Boog and Elliot, his intentions behind why he was going after them to begin with, and his attempts in general, only fueled my belief that he's a pitiful moron. Not to mention his jokes and sense of humor were aggravating in the worst way.
On top of this, Shaw caused several notable plot deficiencies and flaws. Aside from there being no explanation for why he's obsessive over his gun and crazy about hunting animals, the film doesn't explain why Shaw disregards the law and has no respect for it or the authorities. His first scene with Beth and Gordy confirms that he broke Timberline's laws more than once, and somehow, he manages to weasel away from punishment.
And what do Gordy and Beth do?
NOTHING!!!
Despite suspecting Shaw of his illegal activities, they don't conduct so much as an investigation! And even though the evidence of his misgivings is right in front of them, they don't put him in a cell and throw away the key afterwards!
Why?!
And how did Shaw manage to evade custody in the first place? Mainly considering all he relied on was stupidity, taunts, insults, and terrible jokes?
If Shaw was a poacher, then I'd see why he's so disrespectful of the law and loves mercilessly hunting animals. If he was an animal control officer or pest exterminator, then I'd get why he hates animals so much and believes humans to be superior. And if he was a relative of a political figure, then I'd see where he gets his apparent law immunity & evasion from. Instead, the filmmakers make Shaw some deranged and brainless lunatic with literally zero sense of depth or characterization. And no matter what sort of "developments" he goes through, I could neither take him seriously nor tolerate him any further.
The performance of Gary Sinise didn't make Shaw any better, that's for sure. He was over-the-top in a maddening way, and his comedic-timings and overall portrayal were exasperating. He particularly sounded like he was giving a mediocre impression of Jim Varney or Blake Clark, drawing on the vocal ranges of Cruella de Vil & Yzma, and mixing it all with a humor reminiscent of the Joker.
In the end, "Open Season" is not only Sony Picture Animation's first movie, it's also one of their worst. I wouldn't recommend it even if a gun was pointed at my head.
Before I get down to the many problems this movie has, I'd like to point out that it wasn't without some highlights.
At first, I thought that Izzy was going to be some unicorn version of Pinkie Pie. I was surprised when I found myself charmed by her instead, because while she does remind me of Pinkie she managed to stand as her own pony regardless. A similar scenario happened with Zipp too, in that while she reminded me of Rainbow Dash she proved to be unique and different as a character. Likewise, Sunny and Hitch were the best earth ponies in this entire movie, because they both had lovable personalities that helped them be characters people can root for and give sympathy towards. The character of Pipp was another character I enjoyed, mainly because I love how she grew from a full-of-herself pop icon to a caring and supportive friend. The chemistries shared between the five characters were more enjoyable than I thought they'd be, and every moment featuring them was fun no matter what. The performances of Vanessa Hudgens as Sunny, Kimiko Glenn as Izzy, James Marsden as Hitch, Lisa Koshy as Zipp, and Sofia Carson as Pipp were amazing as well.
I would also like to add that Queen Haven and Alphabittle grew on me as the film progressed thanks to their surprising developments, and Jane Krakowski and Phil LaMarr were excellent in their respective roles.
Plus, I'm happy to say that "Glowin' Up", "Fit Right In", and Johnny Orlando's "It's Alright" are what I consider to be the movie's best songs. Unlike the rest of the songs, they were enjoyable to listen to, and the moments featuring them were fun to watch. The only thing I can't help but wonder regarding "Fit Right In" is why the song couldn't be given a different title, because there's already a song from "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" that has this title.
Aside from these highlights, though...the film as a whole just wasn't as great as people were making it out to be. To put it bluntly, it was atrocious!
The villains of this movie were incredibly generic and one-note.
Sprout in particular was the most annoying character because he was more of a nuisance with the demeanor of a pouty child, and he hardly had ANY sort of character growth despite whatever developments the story brought. Not to mention Ken Jeong was incredibly miscast, and unlike most of his work his performance in this movie lacked personality, charm, and humor.
This wasn't the case with Elizabeth Perkins, but the character of Phyllis was also lackluster because the direction taken with her was extremely poor and confusing. I mean, for a while she was a manipulative CEO of a company who wants others to let their fears control them, but then she changes simply because of how out of control Sprout was being? What's up with that?!
The story as a whole was hardly what I'd call spectacular.
Despite the Easter eggs it contained to reference the previous My Little Pony series, and the involvements of Gillian M. Berrow as co-screenwriter and Meghan McCarthy as an executive producer, the filmmakers didn't do ANYTHING to explain how both this movie and its predecessor were connected. The story opened up so many questions yet never took the time to actually answer them, leaving plot holes in the process.
Like, what caused the pony races to be divided in the first place?
I get that this movie was made to serve as the first installment of a new series, but...much of the problems relating to the story clearly came from how confident the filmmakers must've been about this leading into an all-out franchise and how reliant they were on that prospect. With all the conflicts the story contained being resolved in the end, the questions like the one I mentioned aren't even worth answering in the future.
In addition to this, the story carried too many uncanny similarities with Disney's "Raya and the Last Dragon", which came out before MLP: ANG aired. From the very time I found out what this movie's story was going to be, I had a feeling I was gonna know what would be happening from a mile away. Once I saw the MLP film...it was as predictable as I thought it'd be. It had its emotional and heartwarming moments, yet they were all weighed down by the predictableness of the story. The overall comedy aspect wasn't even as fun to watch as I hoped it'd be, because the gags fell incredibly flat among others. Because of how surprisingly quick the pacing was, the film as a whole was surprisingly underdeveloped.
On the subject of the film's themes and morals, I didn't think they were well-done either. Compared to "Raya and the Last Dragon", the way its messages were executed was reminiscent of a political lecture. It made the whole thing feel like an advocacy for socialism and other certain political ideologies rather than a story about friendship. The reasons behind why the pony races were dividing themselves from each other were also quite over-the-top, and they were hardly what I'd call believable considering they sounded like something cooked up by an amateur playwright.
And as for the animation...well, let's just say this film presented a particular example of why computer-animation isn't always the right style to use.
I get that Hasbro, eOne, and Boulder Media were wanting to use a different animation style, and I admired the fact that they were wanting to stretch themselves creatively. Compared to the film's hand-drawn animated predecessors, though, the visualization of the characters and settings didn't seem as natural as I hoped they would be. The ponies and animals looked like walking-talking stuffed toys, and the world and landscapes appeared to be based off of cheap dollhouse commercials.
The visual style certainly wasn't consistent with G4's either, and that's considering the differences in small details. I frequently noted how different in design the ponies in this movie were to the ponies in G4, from the hoof designs to that of the ponies only having cutie marks on one side of their flank rather than on both. I mean, surely I can't be the only one who took note of this, right?
Along with the film's lackluster story and animation, the prologue featuring the Main Six was absolutely useless, and the reprisals of Tara Strong as Twilight Sparkle, Tabitha St. Germain as Rarity, Ashleigh Ball as Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and Andrea Libman as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie (who are all major performers and characters from the previous series) were criminally underused. I know it was supposed to represent the imaginations of Sunny, Hitch, and Sprout as they were playing with the Main Six dolls in their childhood, but the problem is that it didn't give any meaningful contribution to the story as a whole. Right before the scene even ended, it suddenly became a savage ridicule of G4, which did not put this film in a positive light afterwards. The hand-drawn animation used for the prologue was good, but it didn't make the scene any better either.
So, want my advice?
If you want to see a movie where the kind of story and themes this movie has is done right, go see "Raya and the Last Dragon"! If you want to see a My Little Pony movie done right, check out the one from 2017! Those movies are WAY better than this hunk of junk.
At first, I thought that Izzy was going to be some unicorn version of Pinkie Pie. I was surprised when I found myself charmed by her instead, because while she does remind me of Pinkie she managed to stand as her own pony regardless. A similar scenario happened with Zipp too, in that while she reminded me of Rainbow Dash she proved to be unique and different as a character. Likewise, Sunny and Hitch were the best earth ponies in this entire movie, because they both had lovable personalities that helped them be characters people can root for and give sympathy towards. The character of Pipp was another character I enjoyed, mainly because I love how she grew from a full-of-herself pop icon to a caring and supportive friend. The chemistries shared between the five characters were more enjoyable than I thought they'd be, and every moment featuring them was fun no matter what. The performances of Vanessa Hudgens as Sunny, Kimiko Glenn as Izzy, James Marsden as Hitch, Lisa Koshy as Zipp, and Sofia Carson as Pipp were amazing as well.
I would also like to add that Queen Haven and Alphabittle grew on me as the film progressed thanks to their surprising developments, and Jane Krakowski and Phil LaMarr were excellent in their respective roles.
Plus, I'm happy to say that "Glowin' Up", "Fit Right In", and Johnny Orlando's "It's Alright" are what I consider to be the movie's best songs. Unlike the rest of the songs, they were enjoyable to listen to, and the moments featuring them were fun to watch. The only thing I can't help but wonder regarding "Fit Right In" is why the song couldn't be given a different title, because there's already a song from "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" that has this title.
Aside from these highlights, though...the film as a whole just wasn't as great as people were making it out to be. To put it bluntly, it was atrocious!
The villains of this movie were incredibly generic and one-note.
Sprout in particular was the most annoying character because he was more of a nuisance with the demeanor of a pouty child, and he hardly had ANY sort of character growth despite whatever developments the story brought. Not to mention Ken Jeong was incredibly miscast, and unlike most of his work his performance in this movie lacked personality, charm, and humor.
This wasn't the case with Elizabeth Perkins, but the character of Phyllis was also lackluster because the direction taken with her was extremely poor and confusing. I mean, for a while she was a manipulative CEO of a company who wants others to let their fears control them, but then she changes simply because of how out of control Sprout was being? What's up with that?!
The story as a whole was hardly what I'd call spectacular.
Despite the Easter eggs it contained to reference the previous My Little Pony series, and the involvements of Gillian M. Berrow as co-screenwriter and Meghan McCarthy as an executive producer, the filmmakers didn't do ANYTHING to explain how both this movie and its predecessor were connected. The story opened up so many questions yet never took the time to actually answer them, leaving plot holes in the process.
Like, what caused the pony races to be divided in the first place?
I get that this movie was made to serve as the first installment of a new series, but...much of the problems relating to the story clearly came from how confident the filmmakers must've been about this leading into an all-out franchise and how reliant they were on that prospect. With all the conflicts the story contained being resolved in the end, the questions like the one I mentioned aren't even worth answering in the future.
In addition to this, the story carried too many uncanny similarities with Disney's "Raya and the Last Dragon", which came out before MLP: ANG aired. From the very time I found out what this movie's story was going to be, I had a feeling I was gonna know what would be happening from a mile away. Once I saw the MLP film...it was as predictable as I thought it'd be. It had its emotional and heartwarming moments, yet they were all weighed down by the predictableness of the story. The overall comedy aspect wasn't even as fun to watch as I hoped it'd be, because the gags fell incredibly flat among others. Because of how surprisingly quick the pacing was, the film as a whole was surprisingly underdeveloped.
On the subject of the film's themes and morals, I didn't think they were well-done either. Compared to "Raya and the Last Dragon", the way its messages were executed was reminiscent of a political lecture. It made the whole thing feel like an advocacy for socialism and other certain political ideologies rather than a story about friendship. The reasons behind why the pony races were dividing themselves from each other were also quite over-the-top, and they were hardly what I'd call believable considering they sounded like something cooked up by an amateur playwright.
And as for the animation...well, let's just say this film presented a particular example of why computer-animation isn't always the right style to use.
I get that Hasbro, eOne, and Boulder Media were wanting to use a different animation style, and I admired the fact that they were wanting to stretch themselves creatively. Compared to the film's hand-drawn animated predecessors, though, the visualization of the characters and settings didn't seem as natural as I hoped they would be. The ponies and animals looked like walking-talking stuffed toys, and the world and landscapes appeared to be based off of cheap dollhouse commercials.
The visual style certainly wasn't consistent with G4's either, and that's considering the differences in small details. I frequently noted how different in design the ponies in this movie were to the ponies in G4, from the hoof designs to that of the ponies only having cutie marks on one side of their flank rather than on both. I mean, surely I can't be the only one who took note of this, right?
Along with the film's lackluster story and animation, the prologue featuring the Main Six was absolutely useless, and the reprisals of Tara Strong as Twilight Sparkle, Tabitha St. Germain as Rarity, Ashleigh Ball as Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and Andrea Libman as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie (who are all major performers and characters from the previous series) were criminally underused. I know it was supposed to represent the imaginations of Sunny, Hitch, and Sprout as they were playing with the Main Six dolls in their childhood, but the problem is that it didn't give any meaningful contribution to the story as a whole. Right before the scene even ended, it suddenly became a savage ridicule of G4, which did not put this film in a positive light afterwards. The hand-drawn animation used for the prologue was good, but it didn't make the scene any better either.
So, want my advice?
If you want to see a movie where the kind of story and themes this movie has is done right, go see "Raya and the Last Dragon"! If you want to see a My Little Pony movie done right, check out the one from 2017! Those movies are WAY better than this hunk of junk.