My Little Pony: Equestria Girls (2017 television specials)

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls (also known as My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Magical Movie Night on home media release[1] and My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Tales of Canterlot High on Netflix)[2] is a series of animated television specials which is a part of Hasbro's toyline and media franchise of the same name, which in turn is a spin-off of the 2010 relaunch of the main My Little Pony toyline. Animated using Adobe Animate, the specials were produced by DHX Media's 2D animation studio in Vancouver, Canada for Hasbro Studios in the United States. First announced in October 2016,[3] the specials focus on the main characters from the main My Little Pony franchise, re-envisioned as humanoid teenagers attending high school. A total of three 22-minute specials aired in the United States from June 24 to July 8, 2017, on Discovery Family (a joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro).[4]

Not to be confused with the animated web series of shorts that premiered in late 2017.
For other uses, see My Little Pony: Equestria Girls (disambiguation).
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls
Genre
Written by
  • G.M. Berrow ("Dance Magic")
  • Noelle Benvenuti ("Movie Magic")
  • Rachel Vine ("Mirror Magic")
  • Dave Polsky ("Mirror Magic")
Directed byIshi Rudell
Voices of
ComposerWilliam Anderson
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes3 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Stephen Davis
  • Sarah Wall
  • Kirsten Newlands
  • Asaph Fipke ("Dance Magic" and "Movie Magic")
ProducerAngela Belyea
Editors
  • Shannon Archibald
  • Tom Harris
Running time22 minutes
Production companies
Release
Original networkDiscovery Family
Original releaseJune 24 (2017-06-24) –
July 8, 2017 (2017-07-08)

Premise

The three specials follow the daily lives and adventures of Canterlot High School's top students – Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity – following the events of My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Legend of Everfree.[3]

Cast
Main article: List of My Little Pony: Equestria Girls animations § Characters

Main Character Voices

Supporting Character Voices (In Order of Appearance)

Additional Voices

Specials
No. Title Directed by Written by Original airdate
1"Dance Magic"Ishi RudellG.M. BerrowJune 24, 2017 (2017-06-24)
Desperate to raise funds to help repair Camp Everfree, Rarity finds out about a music video contest with a sufficient cash prize, and convinces her friends to enter and spend their existing funds on costume materials. The students of Crystal Prep Academy are also entering, in order to rent a yacht for their spring dance, and trick Rarity into sharing her music video theme idea with them. After buying the materials, Rarity discovers the Crystal Prep students rehearsing with similar outfits, and realizes they have stolen her idea. Pressed for time and unable to think of a new theme, Rarity despairs until she overhears the Crystal Prep students worrying that they have no song prepared for their music video. At Rarity's proposition, the two groups set their rivalry aside and collaborate on a single video that wins the contest, allowing both groups to split the prize and meet their goals.
2"Movie Magic"Ishi RudellNoelle BenvenutiJuly 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)
The girls are invited to a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming Daring Do film by director Canter Zoom as a reward for their camp fundraiser. During their visit, the film's production is jeopardized when lead actress Chestnut Magnifico encounters scheduling conflicts, a set piece falls apart during shooting, and several author-approved props are stolen. The girls determine that someone is sabotaging the movie, and pursue a cloaked suspect running loose with the stolen props around the studio. The girls eventually catch the hooded culprit and correctly deduce her to be Juniper Montage, Canter's niece and production assistant, who is envious of Chestnut and hoped to make her quit by delaying the movie so she could take her place. Juniper is banned from the studio as punishment, and with the production issues settled, the girls are given minor roles in the movie as repayment for their efforts.
3"Mirror Magic"Ishi RudellRachel Vine and Dave PolskyJuly 8, 2017 (2017-07-08)
Sunset Shimmer runs out of pages in her magic journal to write to Princess Twilight in Equestria, so she returns home to pick up a new one. There Sunset meets Starlight Glimmer, Twilight's student, who is curious about the parallel world and persuades Sunset to take her for a visit. Meanwhile, Juniper Montage happens upon a hand mirror that is enchanted with Equestrian magic, showing her reflection as a famous and beloved movie star. Feeling resentful towards the girls for upstaging her, Juniper discovers the mirror can also trap objects and people inside it, which she uses on Sunset's friends in a fit of anger. Sunset also becomes trapped in the mirror after returning with Starlight. The combined magic of the girls' geode pendants morphs Juniper into a giant monster. The mirror falls and cracks during Juniper's rampage, causing the world inside the mirror to collapse into a void. Understanding Juniper's desire for friendship, Starlight persuades her to release the girls before they fall into the void. Juniper returns to normal and is forgiven by the girls, while Princess Twilight gives Starlight permission to stay a while longer to experience the parallel world.

Release

Broadcast

The three specials aired in the United States from June 24 to July 8, 2017, on Discovery Family (a joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro) as a part of the channel's "Summer Splash" seasonal event.[4] The Summer 2017 music videos, also aired as a part of the event, share the same title sequence as the specials.

Prior to the U.S. broadcasts, the specials had a weekly release in Poland on Teletoon+ from May 14 through May 28, 2017.[5][6][7]

Home media

The three specials were released on a one-disc Region 1 DVD on August 8, 2017 by Shout! Factory under the title My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Magical Movie Night.[1] Under the title My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Tales of Canterlot High, the specials were also made available on the Netflix video streaming service on October 1, 2017.[2]

Reception

The Magical Movie Night compilation DVD release received mixed reviews, with criticism directed towards the DVD's lower visual and sound quality compared to previous films as well as the lack of extra content. Brett Nolan of NoReruns.net praised the DVD's presentation of the specials as a single film, saying it gave the specials "a much more cohesive and cinematic feel, lending itself beautifully to watching it straight through in one go."[8] Joe Corey of Inside Pulse gave the specials an overall score of 4 out of 5, including his daughter's input that she "wasn't bothered that this wasn't one narrative such as the previous four movies".[9] Classic Speedy of ToonZone (now Anime Superhero) called "Dance Magic" a "slight but fun story", while considering "Mirror Magic" to be the best of the three stories as a direct follow-up of the second special, and for its "unexpected" inclusion of Starlight Glimmer as a character.[10] Conversely, Francis Rizzo III of DVD Talk, while giving the story content three out of five stars, drew unfavorable comparisons to Friendship Is Magic as he felt it contrasted the previous films' "sense of identity built around music and a quasi-magical backstory", considering the specials to be "more like a standard earthbound teen cartoon that eventually remembers that there are superpowers involved come the third episode".[11]

References
  1. "My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Magical Movie Night". Shout! Factory. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  2. "Equestria Girls: Tales of Canterlot High". Netflix. October 1, 2017. Archived from the original on May 18, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  3. "Hasbro Announces My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 7 and New My Little Pony: Equestria Girls Specials for 2017" (Press release). Pawtucket, Rhode Island: Hasbro. October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2016 – via TV Series Finale.
  4. "The Girls of Canterlot High Return to Discovery Family in Three New My Little Pony: Equestria Girls Specials to Air Throughout the Network's Annual "Summer Splash" Programming Event" (Press release). Discovery Communications. May 26, 2017. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  5. "Program TV teleTOON+ na 2017-05-14" (in Polish). Program TV. Archived from the original on May 29, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  6. "Program TV teleTOON+ na 2017-05-21" (in Polish). Program TV. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  7. "Program TV teleTOON+ na 2017-05-28" (in Polish). Program TV. Archived from the original on June 9, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  8. Nolan, Brett (August 7, 2017). "DVD Review: MY LITTLE PONY: EQUESTRIA GIRLS – MAGICAL MOVIE NIGHT". NoReruns.net. Archived from the original on September 27, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  9. Corey, Joe (August 10, 2017). "DVD Review: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Magical Movie Night". Inside Pulse. Archived from the original on June 22, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  10. Classic Speedy (August 10, 2017). "Review: "My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Equestria Girls: Magical Movie Night" – Real Fun". ToonZone News. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  11. Rizzo III, Francis (September 4, 2017). "My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Magical Movie Night". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
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