MLP G5 Discussion and Speculation Thread

Eh I don’t know, I feel like that would be skewering too much into extremes and would’ve been too preachy for a movie like this

This.

I think the movie did well in showing predujices from both sides, because all the three types of ponies had prejudices that came from gossip that’s only there to talk trash about other ponies, which is exactly what people unfortunately do, either to survive or to make themselves look great in comparison, especially in my country (here, gossip is like a sport, as if by talking down on people will guarantee a badge of honour).

@DoctorWTF
Yeah its been observed by other people before. Sunny wanted to make friends with non earth ponies because of what they are and not who they are. In itself, that’s kind of racist and dangerous. She just lucked out she made friends with nice ponies. What if she tried to make friends with genuinely dangerous ones. The term “stranger danger” has a meaning.

@Latecomer
The best character arc in the movie was Hitch. He started out not trusting non earth ponies. Basically just like 99% of the ponies in that world. But when he got to know non earth ponies, he changed his mind. Sunny had no such character arc. I wish she did but each character needed to play a role and that was her role.

I think it all works, to be honest.

The movie has three core messages:

At the start of the movie, Sunny has a romanticized view of unicorns and pegasi, based on her father’s research. When we flash forwards, we understand that Sunny has had to become more mature and independent as a result of Argyle’s passing. However, her view of unicorns and pegasi hasn’t evolved; it’s still shallow and superficial, and it’s still just her repeating things her father said. It’s worth noting that if Maretime Bay had extended the hoof of friendship, we can infer how that would have played out based on the standoff between the unicorns and pegasi in Bridlewood. A standoff that Sunny was only able to diffuse because of information she had gathered herself.

Sunny spends the second act having her own perception of unicorns and pegasi challenged. The Sunny that crashed the CanterLogic presentation isn’t the same Sunny that re-united the three tribes, and I think the movie just trusts the audience to understand how she grows from her journey.

Sunny being a little bit racist means that she isn’t “better” than anyone else. At the same time, the offensiveness goes completely over Izzy’s head. Her obliviousness to things that could offend her makes her happier overall, and helps her bond with Sunny. Most of the prejudice is based on misinformation rather than genuine malice.

Edit: Where I’m currently at is that Sunny had an arc, but the payoff is unconscious/unspoken. It’s entirely possible that the emperor has no clothes, though. I think this is the litmus test: the next time we see Sunny, is there an emphasis on her doing her own research rather than repeating things she’s heard?

@DerpyFast
It is possible that the arc is just too subtle for me, I guess. I would like to think that maybe makes it too subtle for the target audience too, but perhaps that’s just my ego.

Still, my main comparison here is Twilight’s arc in the FIM opener, which was pretty spelled out.

I keep saying this, but, even though I like the first two episodes of MLP:FiM better in comparison to this film, I think this arc works better in the film than how it would have worked in G4.

MLP:FiM has a very idealistic context, with a good difference in between good characters and obvious villains. A New Generation has a very Simpsons/South Park/The Office context, where most characters are jerks but they can get away with it. And that aspect can work to touch some relatable themes in a believable context.

How likely is it that Tom Hanks or Leonardo DiCaprio guest star in G5?

@Background Pony #3B69
Non-existent

@Background Pony #3B69
I highly doubt it, but it would be a good surprise that nobody would expect, like Charlie Day as Luigi.

@ichiban iceychan 1517
That joke is too forced

@ichiban iceychan 1517
He’s so cool!

@ichiban iceychan 1517
Old and dead joke

@Myoozik
not really :P

Would you rather have Sprout be reformed, or have him be Sunny’s archenemy, who’s the antithesis of everything Sunny believes in?

@Background Pony #3B69
‘Reformed’, because there’s so little reason to keep that paranoia up, unless the show means to justify it a little, and they don’t have the nads.

@Background Pony #3B69
Sprout is too pathetic to be anyone’s archenemy.

@Background Pony #3B69
I want it where later, Sunny could have a better antithesis for her beliefs so I would like it if he was reformed.

in this version the crystal was used as a power source for a weather machine Zephyr Heights uses and apparently all 3 crystals are running out of power.

it running low on power causes the weather machine to malfunction and causes freak snow/rain storms, and causes Sunny and co to abandon their original heist plan and just grab it during the ensuring chaos.

@ichiban iceychan 1517
So that’s how the sun, moon and weather acts. The crystals had power and is running out.

@Myoozik
There doesn’t need to be an antithesis. There’s a reason why environmentalists hated Captain Planet. In the show, the narrative frames all pollution is caused by these group of recurring villains and when the good guys beat them up, it solves the pollution problem. We all know it doesn’t work that way irl.

The issues mlpg5 tackled are also based on irl scenarios. It would be such a false message to teach kids that all you have to do to solve the world’s problems is to blame it on one group and then punish them.

@Phoenixflambe
Not really. This is an early concept. The pegasi can fly just fine without magic in this storyboard. But in the movie we can see that they can’t. This is probably when they didn’t know if they wanted a reboot or not.

@hironakamura
I mean ultimately, it’s a superhero thing. Beating up bad guys don’t solve anything. It’s not that the bad guys are the cause of the problem, it’s a force of nature, and we all know never to go against it