Equestria Girls: Dance Magic

Finally, after five months, I get to tackle the three Equestria Girls specials! These could be some of my most anticipated reviews to date, especially since I sounded off against one of them by quite a bit, and I'll let you figure out which one it is. Anyway, here's the first of them, Dance Magic!

I don't care for the Shadowbolts. At all. They had potential to create an anti-Mane Six in Friendship Games, but all they just did was stand there to look pretty and taunt the Wondercolts at every opportunity. Before the special came out, I was hoping they'd actually be given some depth, but here? They pretty much cared about nothing but winning... again. And their personalities come off as shallow... again. And they're reduced to four... wait, what?

Yeah, why Indigo Zap (you know, the loud one, the supposedly anti-Rainbow Dash) isn't there is because, according to Ishi Rudell and Gillian Berrow, she was on vacation. It's fine and all, but why couldn't they have at least given an acknowledgement to her absence in the actual special? I know it wouldn't affect the story that much, but still.

Back to the remaining Shadowbolts; they basically steal Rarity's idea for a music video and when they're stuck on what to do for a song, you're supposed to root for them, but I don't. Why? Because they needed the money for their spring dance on a yacht. Never mind how ludicrous their goals are, but stealing someone else's idea out of desperation is not a sympathetic reason; it makes you look petty!

You'll notice I haven't talked about the story yet. My biggest problem with it is that it's incredibly thin and tries to rely on its characters to pull through. However, it doesn't work since the characters featured barely display any personality beyond a few basic traits.

In fairness to Rarity, she has a more nuanced personality than the one Legend of Everfree gave her, where she constantly preaches fashion to the point it's become her sole obsession, lacking any depth her pony counterpart has. Fans complain about Daisy being an idiot in The Way She Does It, but least there, the railcar actually had a nuanced personality, and the themes were a lot stronger and had a hint of subtlety to them.

But I digress; the rest of the Human Seven just feel really bland. Applejack likes baking, Rainbow Dash likes action, Pinkie Pie is... Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, Sunset, and Spike just stand there and barely do a thing. The only other character with some degree of depth is Sci-Twi, and even then, her character is still awful after the events of Legend of Everfree.

Ah yes, speaking of which, if you're not aware, Dance Magic was supposed to take place before Everfree - why do you think the song in the former was on the Friendship Games soundtrack? The special was produced prior to the film and was meant to be about the girls raising funds to attend Camp Everfree, but it was held back and some dialogue was edited to take place after the film.

Which brings me onto the EG timeline - it is incredibly confused as to when everything is. Dance Magic seems to take place in the spring, and yet Everfree is implied to take place in the summer. This has been an issue in productions prior, but it was never this obvious!

Dance Magic's ending is just disappointing, really. Sure, the song is nice, but it could've been a music video on its own. Sure, the moral is good, but the buildup to it is rather flimsy and it comes out of nowhere, only to be hammered in during the third act. Sure, all the technicals - voice acting, music, and animation (bar some goofs) - are great, but they're all standards by now, not a freak accident.

Final Thoughts

It's easy to make a simple idea work. You need to give that premise some good humor, strong characterization, a well-paced story, and a message being based around it. With a bare-boned plot, the characters not feeling relatable, an out-of-nowhere whilst fine message, and some rehashed gags, I can safely say that I don't like Dance Magic. I appreciate that it tried being a sequel to Friendship Games, but it came way too late and feels out of place this far in. It just comes off as pointless.

Honestly, you're better off watching Rarity Takes Manehattan, which has a similar premise, and is far more interesting on every level. Plus, it has a moral which actually connects to the main plot.

Rating: 0 out of 10