OPINIONS IN THIS BLOG ARE SOLELY MY OWN; NOT THOSE BY THE MY LITTLE PONY FANDOM ON WHOLE. ALSO, PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL BE REVIEWING THE SHORTS OUT OF RELEASE ORDER - THANKS IN ADVANCE
(All plot summaries from Wikipedia, all images from the My Little Pony Wikia)
In February 2014, a trailer for Rainbow Rocks was released onto YouTube, but not a single clip came from the actual film itself - instead, they all came from the eight shorts. These shorts were all adapted into the screenplay novelization, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Rainbow Rocks, whereas the actual film itself was known as The Mane Event. The trailer, in my opinion, felt like false advertising, but when we saw the Comic Con trailer, THAT actually showed clips from the film, and we were given clips of roughly the first 15-20 minutes; even you arrived at a theater late between September 27 and October 11, you probably wouldn't miss much expect for the amazing intro credits (spoiler alert!)
Now then, onto the shorts themselves, and as I'll be reviewing them based on the order of the novelization, kicking off is...
Perfect Day for Fun
Written by Amy Keating Rogers and Daniel Ingram
Based on chapter 1
Aired June 19, 2014
The six friends hang out at Canterlot High's outdoor carnival together.
Is it me, or do I find it very odd that they saved the first part of the novelization for last? What's even odder is that the carnival takes place before the Rainbooms formed, and yet they're performing at the carnival. Then again, it's probably pony Twilight's imagination. The song's very nice to listen to, and it's funny that Spike the puppy beat Applejack at the strength test. How did he handle that mallet? And I'm also amazed by how many characters appeared, as shown in the image above.
Guitar Centered
Written by Amy Keating Rogers
Based on chapters 2 and 3
Aired April 4, 2014
Rainbow Dash and Trixie get into an argument over an electric guitar in a music store, and face each other in a "shred-off". Though Rainbow wins, she decides to keep the guitar that won her the shred-off and leaves Trixie with an unaffordable guitar as her prize.
Yeesh, did Rainbow Dash pull a Pete Townshend on her old guitar? Pop culture references aside, this short is pretty humorous and it was nice that Trixie got a major role (by the way, Rainbow was the one who touched it first and not you, Trix). I never knew she was left-hoofed, or is it left-handed in her human counterpart's case? :P It was funny when Pinkie suggested that Rainbow play a tuba, almost like Patrick Star asking if mayonnaise is an instrument. Oh, and nice trick at the end, Rainbow!
Music to My Ears
Written by Cindy Morrow
Based on chapters 4, 7, and 15
Aired March 27, 2014
DJ Pon-3 struts to her own beat on her way to Canterlot High, only to have her headphones confiscated by Principal Celestia when she gets there.
Out of all the shorts, this is easily my favorite; DJ P0N-3/Vinyl Scratch is my favorite of the background ponies and this short was tailor made for her. I often find myself strutting to the music on my Android, and speaking of the music, it very much told the story and didn't need to rely on dialogue, barring a line from Mrs. Cake. Nice to see how music affects your environment. Interesting fact; the short was going to end with Principal Celestia rocking out to the music. I wonder what made them change their mind?
A Case for the Bass
Written by Natasha Levinger
Based on chapters 5 and 6
Aired May 24, 2014
Applejack tries to buy back her bass guitar after Granny Smith accidentally sells it to the Flim Flam brothers. When the brothers doubt her ownership and refuse to return it, Applejack proves herself by expertly playing the bass.
According to director Ishi Rudell (he also co-directed Rainbow Rocks), about 20 seconds of Granny Smith hilarity was cut due to time constraints. I can understand why they wanted to keep these shorts around two minutes to two and a half. It was nice seeing Flim and Flam's human counterparts (shame they didn't have the boater hats), plus it's great that they're still at odds with Applejack, and it was funny when their hair was messed up by Applejack's bass playing.
Hamstocalypse Now
Written by Josh Haber
Based on chapters 8 and 9
Aired April 11, 2014
Fluttershy and Rarity get into trouble when hamsters run loose while they try to clean their home at the animal shelter. Fluttershy manages to corral the hamsters by hypnotizing them with her tambourine music.
Oh, those troublesome hamsters! I think Rarity should learn from Fluttershy about how to properly take care of animals by not dressing them up. :P In the trailer, I wondered why there were a bunch of hamsters with Fluttershy and Rarity, but watching the short itself, I now know why. It almost reminds me of the Pied Piper; who knew that hamsters were susceptible to hypnosis by tambourine? (Seriously, don't attempt this with real hamsters.)
Pinkie on the One
Written by Josh Haber
Based on chapters 10, 11, and 12
Aired April 25, 2014
Annoyed by Pinkie Pie's constant drumming antics, Rainbow Dash finds an outlet for Pinkie's energy by making her their band's drummer.
Sugar butter cocoa cookies? Who's ever tried one, might I ask? And how do you fold cookie batter? Cooking queries aside, it was funny seeing Pinkie make a mess out of the cookie batter, getting Rainbow Dash covered in glitter (or should she become Glitter/Purple Dash?), and by drumming with a fork and spoon on the cafeteria table, food, and her friends' heads. Who knew Pinkie was so full of energy? Oh, wait, she is. Never mind. :P
Player Piano
Written by Amy Keating Rogers
Based on chapters 13 and 14
Aired May 10, 2014
Rarity turns to the Diamond Dog boys for help moving her grand piano across campus in time for band practice with her friends. After she arrives late, she agrees to take up playing the more portable keytar instead.
Is it me, or does Rarity have more fashion sense than common sense? :P I figure it's appropriate we see Rarity with the Diamond Dogs (I think they're the Diamond Boys since they're human) since Amy Keating Rogers also wrote A Dog and Pony Show. This time, it's surprising that they're actually willing to help her, even if they attempted to put up with her whining and complaining. I'd like to know why Trixie didn't give the piano wheels. Maybe she wanted a bit of payback from Guitar Centered?
Shake Your Tail
Written by Amy Keating Rogers
Based on chapters 16 and 17
Aired June 6, 2014
Twilight Sparkle and her friends try to come up with a theme for an upcoming school party.
Prior to its official release, Shake Your Tail had a release on April 16 before being made private on YouTube. Was it accident on Hasbro's part, I don't know? Like Perfect Day for Fun, this short is a music video showcasing Twilight (pony counterpart) with the Rainbooms figuring out on a theme for the school party. Of course, this is a figment of Twilight's imagination, according to the novelization. Plus, Pinkie with her tiki mask took me by surprise. On whole, it's a great finale to the shorts, and I'm surprised it was actually... I'm still not saying! ;)
Final Thoughts
On whole, every short was amusing and fun to watch in their own unique ways. They definitely serve as a good series of prologues to Rainbow Rocks, although where was Sunset Shimmer throughout? It might've been nice to explain where she was at the time. Also, why don't Rarity and Twilight have horns in their anthro forms? That was a minor issue that also annoyed me with Equestria Girls; at least the novelization gave them horns. And is Vinyl Scratch the world's only silent disc jockey?
Those issues aside, they're all worth watching again. I'm surprised that they haven't considered doing shorts like these for the actual series; those I would love to see! No individual ratings for the Rainbow Rocks shorts this time; I'm grouping them all together for one whole rating.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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