Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks - The Movie Review

Here we go; the big one for 2014! Unlike the previous Equestria Girls review, this time, it'll be a one-man show with yours truly.

OPINIONS IN THIS BLOG ARE SOLELY MY OWN; NOT THOSE BY THE MY LITTLE PONY FANDOM ON WHOLE

THIS BLOG CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS; READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

(all screenshots taken from the My Little Pony Wikia)

Upon the release of the original Equestria Girls, it had been met with mixed to positive reception by the fandom. Following the movie came the fourth season which brought forth many surprises. During that time, eight shorts that served as prequels to Rainbow Rocks came out, and it brought forth some excitement when it finally came out on September 27. Was it worth the wait?

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Rainbow Rocks

Written by Meghan McCarthy

Produced by Sarah Wall and Devon Cody

Directed by Jayson Thiessen and Ishi Rudell

The answer is a short, resounding "yes". As a matter of fact, it even blew the original Equestria Girls and season four out of the water! Most of the time, sequels aren't that great compared to the original like Batman and Robin, Jaws: The Revenge, or Superman IV, but there are cases where the sequel is as good as, or even better than, the original, like Toy Story 2 and 3, Shrek 2, and the whole Harry Potter saga. As for Rainbow Rocks, let's see how it went down, shall we?

THE SYNOPSIS

A musical showcase is about to be held at Canterlot High School to raise money for all after-school programs. Because of her actions in Equestria Girls, the student body ostracizes Sunset Shimmer despite her redemption, with her only support being the Human Five. Sunset shows three new girls - Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk, collectively known as the Dazzlings - around CHS and suspects there's something off about them, especially when their singing creates dissent among the students, turning the friendly showcase into a battle of the bands.

With the help of her book from Equestria, Sunset is able to contact Princess Twilight who goes through a modified Crystal Mirror back to Canterlot High. Twilight also has the knowledge that the Dazzlings are sirens who feed on negative emotions to control others with their singing, and were exiled from Equestria by Star Swirl the Bearded. As the Rainbooms practice for a counterspell against the Dazzlings, there is clear tension among the five members but Sunset doesn't say or do anything about it.

When it comes to the semifinals against Trixie and the Illusions, Rainbow Dash sings a self-praise song that nearly reveals their secret, but despite Sunset saving her, her actions are seen by jealous rage. Despite the bad performance, they advance to the finals, only to be trapped beneath the stage by the Illusions, and arguments erupt between the Rainbooms. Twilight and Sunset realize that their hostility has been preventing the spell from working, and after being rescued by Spike and DJ Pon-3, they fend off the Dazzlings in a musical finale.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

Star Players

Unlike last movie, Twilight is very much the secondary protagonist to Sunset Shimmer, and it looks like she's still struggling to write with her hands, it seems. :P Even if she's a princess, Twilight still may not have all the answers everypony expects her to have, as she and Sunset discover. Spike also had a nice role as well, especially when helping save the Rainbooms from under the stage.

The Rainbooms very much had well-written roles throughout the film, and it seems that they still can't agree on certain things. :P Rainbow Dash plays guitar and lead vocals, Applejack bass, Rarity keytar, Fluttershy tambourine, and Pinkie Pie drums.

In the previous movie review, I said Twilight was the best character, but here, it was Sunset who was the best character. She has come a long way from being a mean-spirited bully to someone who wanted to make up for her misdeeds, and yet everyone refuses to let go of the past. To be fair, there's always two options if you mistreat people; they can help you despite the pain you inflicted, or they'll put you down like you did to them. The student body went and did the latter, and since I imagine Sunset did VERY serious damage, it feels fair, but at the same time, from her perspective, it kind of doesn't.

In the end, after watching Sunset help the Human Six in stopping the Dazzlings, they do eventually forgive her, and with her development throughout, I love her more than ever as a character.

Unlike the previous film where Flash had contribution to helping Twilight win the crown, he didn't play much part in the main plot, which is disappointing as there was much untapped potential. However, I will comment on his behavior towards Twilight when she helps the Rainbooms - remember when Shining Armor chewed her out for calling "Cadance" evil? He was under Chrysalis' spell, and therefore, it was out of his control; the same with Flash. It always irks me when people forget an important detail like that. Same thing when he calls Sunset the girl they love to hate.

That said, it was funny when he bumped into the wall while leaving the room the Rainbooms where practicing in, and I liked his facial expressions when he played against the eco kids. What's he got against hippies, anyway? :P Oh, and I can't leave out his near kissing Twilight before Trixie butted in.

Speaking of Trixie, during the second half, she plays a more supporting role in getting the Rainbooms out of the way so she can take her rightful place in the finals. I do enjoy her first singing role, Tricks Up My Sleeve, which I'll cover in the Musical Numbers.

Now the Dazzlings; Adagio is the leader, Aria is the more indignant, and Sonata is the more distracted, almost like a Three Stooges act. My favorite of them (probably like most) would have to be Sonata; she's the Pinkie Pie of the franchise's baddies, and yet there's moments that she is manipulative like her cohorts. My God, how did they do Adagio's hair? It must've taken AGES just to get it animated right! A bit of a shame that Aria's name wasn't mentioned at any one point... ah well, it still won't affect my rating.

As for their voices, Adagio is voiced by Kazumi Evans (the singing voice of Rarity and Princess Luna), Aria by Diana Kaarina (speaking) and Shylo Sharity (singing), and Sonata by Marÿke Hendrikse (who previously voiced Gilda; speaking) and Madeline Merlo (singing). Wow; Marÿke went from voicing a vicious griffon to an airheaded teenage girl; how often does that happen? Oh, and their pendants being destroyed at the end, losing their ability to sing as well, was extremely cathartic since they caused trouble at CHS.

Several background/supporting ponies make appearances; Bulk Biceps, Lyra, Sweetie Drops (or Bon Bon, if you wish to avoid confusing her with a certain Cutie Mark Crusader), Octavia Melody, Maud Pie, and the Diamond Dogs reappear after Player Piano. Plus, Octavia gets one line in a British accent played by Kazumi Evans ("I knew she was still trouble!") We also get two members of Photo Finish's band - Pixel Pizzaz and Violet Blurr. Can't make a full opinion on them since they've yet to play a role. And Derpy's band... who'd be that crazy to have her advance after one round?

But the background pony who played a major role near the end was DJ Pon-3. That's right, I'm saying so because while Derpy's role in Rainbow Falls could have gone to anypony, I feel that her role in Rianbow Rocks was tailor-made for DJ Pon-3. I mean, who else would have a car that can transform into a stereo system?

Hey! Haven't I Seen This Before?

I certainly can't leave out the reference to The Show Stoppers; they've really gone Alice Cooper again. Hopefully they'll get it right one day... There's also Fluttershy's stage fright (Filli Vanilli), the rap song by Snips and Snails (Testing Testing 1, 2, 3), pony Pinkie being called a genius (Luna Eclipsed, It's About Time), Sunset confronting the Dazzlings like she did with Twilight in the previous film, Rainbow Power (Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2), Trixie's final line and failed smoke out (Boast Busters), the list goes on. As for references to pop culture, just read this and go down to Shout-Out.

Musical Numbers

The intro song to the film is Rainbow Rocks; definitely a better idea than rehashing the original theme song into a rock song, and it's more original, very much like the introduction themes in the Thomas specials.

Better Than Ever is a personal favorite, showing the improvements Canterlot High's student body have shown since the previous movie - I think the song serves a metaphor here.

Battle of the Bands is the first villain song, taking place in the Cafeteria. This is the reverse to Helping Twilight Win the Crown - the latter was to get the students to join, whilst Battle was to get them to... ahem, battle to be the best, very much like Lightning Dust in Wonderbolts Academy.

I've already discussed Shake Your Tail in my review for the shorts, but for the movie version, I'm not going to bother with Applejack not noticing the magnets as it had no bearing on the story.

Under Our Spell is the second villain song; it's definitely quicker than sixteen different acts competing in an hour (real time), and it just cuts to the chase when Flash Drive (yes, that's the name of his band) is eliminated.

Tricks Up My Sleeve, I imagine, would be Trixie's theme. Kathleen Barr put on a great (and hopefully not too powerful) performance in singing.

Awesome As I Wanna Be was very much, as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride put it, full of self-praise and gas. Not that it's a bad song, but it isn't one I'd listen to all day.

Welcome to the Show is the climactic battle between the Dazzlings and the Rainbooms. On the soundtrack, it is the longest MLP song yet, clocking in at four and a half minutes at least. Plus, we get to hear Sunset's very first singing role. Between the Dazzlings' second verse and Sunset's first verse is the instrumental Rainbooms Battle - the action really spoke for itself there, and the music that went along with it is just intense.

The end credits song is Shine Like Rainbows when Sunset joins the Rainbooms as rhythm guitarist and backing vocals. As part of the credits, we're also given scenes of Sunset being re-accepted by CHS, and lovely artwork by Katrina Hadley.

Little Moments, Big Laughs

You'll notice I haven't included the Bad Counter Spell in the Musical Numbers section. I'm featuring it here because it's so bad it's funny. It's not just the lyrics, but there's outside reactions at Sweet Apple Acres; Granny Smith sticking apple cores in her ears (how'd they even fit?!), and Big Macintosh's response to Spike's comments:

Spike: Eh, that sounded... way better than the last... five times you've played it. Heh heh.

Big Macintosh: Nnope.

When that moment happened, everyone at the theater I was at to see the movie laughed, as did I.

The audience and I also laughed at Maud Pie's brief scene when she "fed" Boulder. (Who's gonna clean up her mess?) We also get a comment from Sunset how she's unable to believe Maud is related to Pinkie. Did you know the midnight snack scene with Twilight and Sunset was added late into production? Must've been the positive reaction to Maud Pie, I reckon!

At the sleepover, Rarity takes a selfie (that's a self photograph taken with a digital camera or cellphone if you're not tech-savvy) with Fluttershy and Sunset, with Spike photo-bombing much to Rarity's annoyance. Photo-bombing also occurs with Trixie during the Better Than Ever song. These moments and many more might be minor, but it's the little touches that make a world come to life, and I thought they were worthy of a mention.

FINAL VERDICT

Well, what can I say? Rainbow Rocks was just fantastic! There was excitement, comedy, emotion, and musical moments throughout, and it is probably my favorite My Little Pony production to date. The real icing on the cake was the development of Sunset Shimmer; she's definitely come a long way. Maybe one day we'll see her return to Equestria? I must say it's a film that must be seen to be appreciated, and I'm eager to see how Equestria Academy will turn out.

Human Twilight ponders the possibility of Equestria Girls 3...

Of course, I can't overlook the post-credits scene with human Twilight and Spike the dog; it definitely begs the question - will we see an Equestria Girls 3? Only time shall tell if we do...

10 out of 10