fbpx
Wikipedia

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games, known simply as Friendship Games, is a 2015 flash animated musical sports fantasy television movie sequel to 2014's My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks, directed by Ishi Rudell[N 1] and written by Josh Haber[N 2], It was produced by DHX Media's 2D animation studio in Vancouver, Canada for Hasbro Studios in the United States, as part of Hasbro's Equestria Girls toy line and media franchise, itself a spin-off of the 2010 relaunch of My Little Pony. The movie received a television network premiere on Discovery Family, a joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro, on September 26, 2015, with a home media release on October 13 that year; it also had a limited theatrical run in the United Kingdom and Australia beginning in late October 2015.

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games
Region 1 DVD cover
Directed byIshi Rudell
Jayson Thiessen (consulting director)
Written byJosh Haber
Based onCharacters
by Lauren Faust
Produced byDevon Cody
Starring
Edited byRachel Kenzie
Music byWilliam Anderson
Production
companies
Distributed byShout! Factory (United States and Canada home media)
Release dates
Running time
72 minutes (DVD/Blu-ray)[1]
Countries
  • Canada
  • United States
LanguageEnglish

Like the first two Equestria Girls movies, Friendship Games re-envisions the main characters of the parent franchise, normally ponies, as teenage human characters in a high school setting. The movie's story centers around a sports competition between the students of Canterlot High School and their rivals at Crystal Prep Academy, one of whom is Twilight's human counterpart, who has been investigating the magical activity around Canterlot High.

A fourth Equestria Girls movie, subtitled Legend of Everfree, was released on Netflix on October 1, 2016.[2]

Plot

The students of Canterlot High School prepare for the Friendship Games, an academic and sporting competition held every four years between their school's team, the Wondercolts, and the undefeated Shadowbolts from Crystal Prep Academy. Sunset Shimmer, who has been observing her friends' magical ability to "pony up" – grow pony-like ears, tails, and wings – whenever they play musical instruments, becomes concerned when Rainbow Dash transforms during a pep rally, seemingly at random. Tasked with finding the cause of this development, Sunset attempts to contact Twilight for advice but receives no response.

Meanwhile, one of Crystal Prep's students, Twilight's human counterpart, investigates the magical activity surrounding Canterlot High. Twilight builds a locket-like device to detect and contain the magic for further study, hoping this will secure her application for Everton, a coveted independent study program. However, Principal Cinch threatens to revoke the application to blackmail Twilight into participating in the Friendship Games and maintain Crystal Prep's victory record.

Upon Twilight's arrival at Canterlot High, her device detects Sunset and her friends' magic and leads Twilight to them; as she approaches, the device inadvertently drains Rarity's magic when she "ponies up" after making uniforms for the other girls. Sunset, initially mistaking Twilight for her pony counterpart, quickly realizes the misunderstanding and considers consulting Twilight in person. When Crystal Prep's Twilight follows her to the portal to Equestria, the device absorbs the portal's magic and seals it off. The device similarly affects Pinkie Pie when she tries to ease the tension with a party and later Fluttershy when she attempts to cheer up a distraught Twilight, creating dimensional rifts to Equestria and giving Twilight's dog Spike the ability to speak.

Following Twilight's victory in the games' academic decathlon, the games continue with a "tri cross relay", a relay race between archery, speed skating and motocross. Applejack transforms after she advises Twilight, causing the device to steal Applejack's magic and create a rift that summons monstrous plants. Rainbow Dash "ponies up" to save the other competitors before losing her magic, allowing Canterlot High to win the event, but causing Cinch to accuse Canterlot High of cheating due to their perceived magical advantage. Frustrated by her failure to keep the magic protected, Sunset furiously berates Twilight for endangering her friends, regretting it when Twilight runs off in tears.

Before the final event, Cinch and the Shadowbolts pressure Twilight into releasing the magic within her device to harness it against the Wondercolts. The magic instead corrupts Twilight, turning her into a winged monster[N 3] who proceeds to destroy the statue portal and open more rifts that threaten to destroy the parallel world. As the Wondercolts and Shadowbolts work together to save their classmates, Sunset notices her friends' magical auras and realizes that their magic manifests when they exhibit the same traits as the Elements of Harmony. Gathering their magic with the device, Sunset assumes an angelic form resembling Princess Celestia,[N 4] closes the rifts, and returns Twilight to normal.

Refusing to relent from manipulating Twilight, Cinch threatens to report the incident to the school board. When taunted that no one would believe her account of the magical incidents, however, she concedes to a tie that is celebrated by both teams. Reconsidering her Everton application, Twilight realizes she is happier at Canterlot High and transfers there, where Sunset and the other students welcome her as a new friend.

In a pre-credits scene, the Twilight from Equestria emerges from the portal with the counterparts of her friends gathered around it. She apologizes for her absence, explaining that she has just escaped from a time travel loop,[N 5] before gawking at the sight of her counterpart.

Cast

Production

A forest clearing, used both for the Friendship Is Magic episode "Bloom & Gloom" and for this movie, was previewed in a background image shown online back in November 2014.[4]

The third installment was first teased by Rainbow Rocks co-director, Ishi Rudell on December 12, 2014. Brony Donald "Dusty Katt" Rhoades asked wondering about Rudell's silence on Twitter, and Rudell replied that he was "too busy working on #3".[5]

On January 29, 2015, Australian home media distributor Beyond International stated via Facebook that they had obtained distribution rights for seasons 4 and 5 of Friendship Is Magic, in addition to Rainbow Rocks and the "third Equestria Girls (film)".[6][non-primary source needed] Further confirmation was given during Hasbro's investor presentation at the 2015 New York Toy Fair, along with other products in the Friendship Games lineup.[7][8]

The concept designs for the movie's ending credits were done by Katrina Hadley with Chris Lienonin and Jeremy Mah on the layouts.[9]

This was also the first movie in the Equestria Girls spinoff franchise not to be directed by Jayson Thiessen and written by Meghan McCarthy (as well as the only one not to involve McCarthy in any way) as they were both busy directing and writing 2017 theatrical My Little Pony movie respectively, which was in production at the time, although Thiessen did direct the movie's companion shorts and was consulting director on the movie itself.

Music

Like the previous two installments, the songs were composed by Daniel Ingram with lyric writing shared between Ingram and screenwriter Josh Haber; except "Friendship Games", "ACADECA" and "Right There in Front of Me" which had lyrics solely by Ingram. Even though it wasn't listed in Discovery Family's televised broadcast of the movie's ending credits, "What More Is Out There?" can be heard in the movie. Although "Right There in Front of Me" is listed in the credits, it is absent in Discovery Family's broadcast. Song production was done by Caleb Chan with vocal arrangements by Trevor Hoffman.

  • "Friendship Games" – Sunset Shimmer, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and ensemble (voiceover)
  • "CHS Rally Song" – Rainbow Dash and full company
  • "What More Is Out There?" – Twilight Sparkle
  • "ACADECA" (Academic Decathlon) – Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and full company (voiceover)
  • "Unleash the Magic" – Principal Abacus Cinch, Twilight Sparkle, and the students of Crystal Prep Academy
  • "End Credits Song: Right There in Front of Me" – Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and ensemble (voiceover)

"Right There in Front of Me" plays over the closing credits on the movie's DVD and Blu-ray versions.[10] According to Rudell, the song "Dance Magic" is unrelated to the movie.[11]

The version as heard in the movie.
The original cut of the song, originally conceived as a duet.

One of the deleted scenes included in the Blu-ray and DVD set is an alternate version of the song "What More Is Out There?", featuring both Crystal Prep's Twilight Sparkle and Canterlot High's Sunset Shimmer.[12] The song was originally intended as a duet for the two characters, but due to time constraints and the removal of a subplot involving Sunset questioning if she belonged to the human world or Equestria, it was ultimately rewritten as a solo for Twilight.

Release

Theatrical

The movie received a theatrical debut exclusively at the Angelika Film Center in New York City on September 17, 2015. William Anderson, Ashleigh Ball, G.M. Berrow, Josh Haber, Daniel Ingram, Brian Lenard, Andrea Libman, Ishi Rudell, Rebecca Shoichet, Tara Strong and Cathy Weseluck, including Sarah Michelle Gellar from Buffy the Vampire Slayer[13] and comedian Jim Gaffigan,[14] were among those in attendance.[15] Also in attendance was The Real Housewives of New York star Kristen Taekman,[16] Top Chef's Padma Lakshmi,[citation needed] America's Got Talent host Nick Cannon, former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber, fashion photographer Nigel Barker, Sons of Anarchy's Drea de Matteo, and fitness guru Tracy Anderson.[17]

Friendship Games had a limited theatrical release in select Vue Cinemas theaters in the United Kingdom between October 24, and November 1, 2015.[18] The movie had a limited theatrical release at various Hoyts theaters in Australia between October 31, and November 10, 2015.[19] In Mexico Cinépolis had a limited theatrical release between October 9 and 18, 2015.

Television

In the United States, the movie was premiered on Discovery Family (a joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro) on September 26, 2015. On December 24 (Christmas Eve), 2015, the movie made its debut in the United Kingdom on Pop.

Home media and streaming

In the United States and Canada, Shout! Factory released Friendship Games on DVD (Region 1), Blu-ray disc, digital download release,[20] and in a box set alongside its two predecessors on October 13, 2015.[21] DVD and Blu-ray special features consist of four storyboard animatic deleted scenes, audio commentary, sing-alongs, and five animated shorts.[22] Primal Screen released a Region 2 DVD on November 2, 2015, and includes the five animated shorts and a recap of the first two Equestria Girls movies.[23]

On November 30, 2015, the My Little Pony Facebook page posted an advertisement promoting that the movie will be added to Netflix on December 1, 2015.[24] The version used on Netflix is the same as the one found on the DVD and Blu-ray versions of the movie with the end credits song, "Right There in Front of Me", playing over the movie's end credits.

Merchandise and other media

The movie is a part of the sport-themed Friendship Games lineup, a third installment in the My Little Pony: Equestria Girls toy line and media franchise, which was first displayed at London's 2015 Toy Fair in January,[25] and mentioned with other supporting products, alongside this movie, during Hasbro's investor presentation in February that year.[7] LB Kids published a novelization of the movie.

Animated shorts

A series of animated prequel shorts for Friendship Games, similar to those produced for Rainbow Rocks, was announced on February 13, 2015.[26] On July 31, 2015, the My Little Pony Facebook page posted some instructions for playing in the "Friendship Games Fantasy League" and indicated that a new short would be released every Saturday during August 2015.[27][non-primary source needed] Like the Rainbow Rocks shorts, these are also separate from the movie.[28] A total of five shorts were released; the first four of these, paired with a 10-minute preview of the movie, aired on Discovery Family on August 29, 2015.[29]

No. Title Directed by Written by Original airdate
1"The Science of Magic"[30]Jayson ThiessenNatasha LevingerAugust 1, 2015 (2015-08-01)
Sunset Shimmer studies her friends' pony hybrid transformations to better understand how magic works in the parallel world.
2"Pinkie Spy"[31]Jayson ThiessenNatasha LevingerAugust 8, 2015 (2015-08-08)
Rainbow Dash tries to spy on Crystal Prep Academy's sports team, but Pinkie Pie ruins her attempts to remain unseen.
3"All's Fair in Love & Friendship Games"[32]Jayson ThiessenAugust 15, 2015 (2015-08-15)
Lyra Heartstrings (Ashleigh Ball) and Sweetie Drops (Andrea Libman) compete to earn a spot on the Wondercolts team in the Friendship Games tryouts.
4"Photo Finished"[33]Jayson ThiessenIshi Rudell and Jayson ThiessenAugust 22, 2015 (2015-08-22)
Photo Finish (Tabitha St. Germain) gets carried away when Vice Principal Luna asks her to take pictures for the Canterlot High yearbook.
5"A Banner Day"[34]Jayson ThiessenAugust 29, 2015 (2015-08-29)
Flash Sentry, Micro Chips (James Kirk), and Sandalwood (Vincent Tong) have conflicting ideas on their welcome banner for Crystal Prep Academy.

Apart from the shorts above, a Friendship Games "blooper reel" was posted on the official Equestria Girls website on May 3, 2016, containing fictional outtakes of various scenes from the movie.[35]

Soundtrack

The movie's soundtrack was released on September 17, 2015 on iTunes[36] and on Amazon on September 18, 2015.[37] The first three singles, "Friendship Through the Ages",[38] "My Past is Not Today"[39] and "Life Is a Runway",[40] were first released by Hasbro's YouTube channel on March 31, 2015; later re-uploaded on April 2, 2015.

No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length
1."Friendship Through the Ages"Daniel Ingram, Katrina Hadley, Brian Lenard, Jayson Thiessen, and Michael VogelRebecca Shoichet, Andrea Libman, Kazumi Evans, Ashleigh Ball, and Shannon Chan-Kent2:08
2."My Past Is Not Today"Ingram, Hadley, Lenard, Thiessen, and VogelShoichet2:19
3."Life Is a Runway"Ingram, Hadley, Lenard, Thiessen, and VogelEvans1:58
4."Dance Magic"IngramShoichet, Ball, Chan-Kent, Libman, and Evans2:04
5."The Friendship Games"IngramShoichet, Ball, Chan-Kent, Libman, Evans, and choir2:41
6."CHS Rally Song"Josh Haber and IngramBall, chorus2:30
7."What More Is Out There"Haber and IngramShoichet2:48
8."ACADECA"IngramFull company2:42
9."Unleash the Magic"Haber and IngramIris Quinn, Shoichet, and choir3:09
10."Right There in Front of Me"IngramShoichet, Ball, Chan-Kent, Evans, and Libman2:59
Total length:25:19

Reception

Television viewership

When the movie premiered on Discovery Family on September 26, 2015, it was viewed by 436,000 viewers. According to the Nielsen ratings, it was watched by approximately 120,000 adults 18-49.[41]

Critical response

The movie received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. Daniel Alvarez of Unleash the Fanboy gave the movie a score of 8 out of 10, calling it "another quality installment in the Equestria Girls series." He praised the movie's characters, calling Sunset Shimmer "a great focus", as well as the movie's songs and "epic climax." However, he noted that several negatives "hold it back from being near perfect", such as Principal Cinch, whom he called "the worst antagonist."[42] Geekscape's Adam Lemuz praised the movie as "a great follow-up to Rainbow Rocks." He further complimented that "fans of the previous films will get a lot of enjoyment out of it as it delivers plenty of solid laughs and noteworthy songs."[43] Ed Liu of Toon Zone called the movie "solid addition to the Equestria Girls franchise", but felt it was "overly familiar" and "a little padded" when comparing it to the first movie's story. He also praised Sunset Shimmer's development from "a vintage mean girl to a strong, assertive character in her own right", calling her character arc initiated from the first movie "a wonderful long-form story".[44] Mike Cahill of The Guardian gave the movie two out of five stars, calling it "craven commercialism", but adding that "it's not unattractively designed, and its peppy collegiate spirit trumps the sappiness of Disney's Tinkerbell spin-offs".[45]

Notes

  1. ^ Making this the first Equestria Girls film not to be directed by Jayson Thiessen, who was consulting director.
  2. ^ Making this the first Equestria Girls film not to be written by Meghan McCarthy, who was not involved in making the film.
  3. ^ Identified outside the film as "Midnight Sparkle".
  4. ^ Identified outside the film as "Daydream Shimmer".[3]
  5. ^ As depicted in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fifth season finale "The Cutie Re-Mark".
  6. ^ Erroneously named as "Lemon Tart" in the film's end credits.

References

  1. ^ "My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games". Shout! Factory. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  2. ^ Heldman, Breanne (July 22, 2014). "'My Little Pony: Equestria Girls — Legends of Everfree': Trailer". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  3. ^ Hadley, Katrina [@isitlunchyet_t] (September 26, 2015). "[Katrina Hadley on Sunset Shimmer's transformation]" (Tweet). Retrieved July 23, 2016 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Caesar, Phil (November 2014). "Untitled". phils portfolio. Blogger. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  5. ^ Rudell, Ishi (December 12, 2014). "#3 confirmation tweet". Retrieved December 12, 2014 – via Twitter. (Archived locally)
  6. ^ "Mark Davenport – Have you taken over taken the rights of..." January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015 – via Facebook.
  7. ^ a b Hasbro (February 13, 2015). (PDF). p. 63. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2016.
  8. ^ (PDF). Reuters. February 13, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2016.
  9. ^ Rudell, Ishi [@ishiH3Art] (September 28, 2015). "[Film's ending credits crew confirmation]" (Tweet). Retrieved September 28, 2015 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Rudell, Ishi [@ishiH3Art] (September 27, 2015). "["Right There in Front of Me" to be heard on the film's DVD and Blu-ray versions confirmation]" (Tweet). Retrieved September 27, 2015 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Rudell, Ishi [@ishiH3Art] (September 27, 2015). "["Dance Magic" unrelated to "Friendship Games" movie confirmation]" (Tweet). Retrieved September 27, 2015 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Cups (October 1, 2015). "Friendship Games Deleted Scene – and it's a song!". Equestria Daily. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  13. ^ Haber, Josh [@joshhaber] (September 17, 2015). "[Buffy's Sarah Michelle Gellar at A.F.C.'s "Friendship Games" premiere confirmation]" (Tweet). Retrieved September 17, 2015 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Haber, Josh [@joshhaber] (September 17, 2015). "[Comedian Jim Gaffigan at A.F.C.'s "Friendship Games" premiere confirmation]" (Tweet). Retrieved September 17, 2015 – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Weseluck, Cathy [@CathyWeseluck] (September 9, 2015). "[Weseluck attending "Friendship Games" premiere at A.F.C. confirmation]" (Tweet). Retrieved September 9, 2015 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ Taekman, Kristen [@KristenTaekman] (September 17, 2015). "We had such a great time..." (Tweet). Retrieved September 17, 2015 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ "Stars Come out to Celebrate the Third Installment of My Little Pony Equestria Girls with the "Friendship Games" Premiere from Hasbro Studios" (Press release). New York, NY: Hasbro; Sony Music Entertainment. September 18, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015 – via Market Watch.
  18. ^ "My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games". MyVue.com. October 13, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  19. ^ "My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games". Hoyts.com.au. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  20. ^ My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games Official Trailer #1 (2015). Shout! Factory. July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015 – via YouTube.
  21. ^ "My Little Pony: Equestria Girls (Three Movie Gift Set)". Amazon. July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  22. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (July 9, 2015). "'Equestria Girls: Friendship Games' Set for October". Animation Magazine. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  23. ^ "My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games [DVD]". Amazon UK. August 19, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  24. ^ My Little Pony Official (Hasbro) (November 30, 2015). "Equestria Girls: Friendship Games Netflix Premiere". Retrieved November 30, 2015 – via Facebook.
  25. ^ idlemichael (January 19, 2015). "Toy Fair 2015 – what did we see? Beware: Potential EG3 Spoilers!". UK of Equestria. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  26. ^ Marimo (February 13, 2015). . Derpy News. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  27. ^ Hasbro (July 31, 2015). "Want to participate in The Friendship Games?". Retrieved July 31, 2015 – via Facebook.
  28. ^ Miller, Jim [@TheBiggestJim] (August 15, 2015). "["Friendship Games" shorts separate from its movie confirmation]" (Tweet). Retrieved August 15, 2015 – via Twitter.
  29. ^ Sneak Peek: My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship Games August 29th Promo. August 18, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2015 – via YouTube.
  30. ^ MLP: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games "The Science of Magic" EXCLUSIVE Short. August 3, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015 – via YouTube.
  31. ^ MLP: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games "Pinkie Spy" EXCLUSIVE Short. August 10, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2015 – via YouTube.
  32. ^ MLP: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games "All's Fair in Love and Friendship Games" EXCLUSIVE Short. August 17, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015 – via YouTube.
  33. ^ MLP: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games "Photo Finished" EXCLUSIVE Short. August 24, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2015 – via YouTube.
  34. ^ MLP: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games "A Banner Day" EXCLUSIVE Short. August 31, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2015 – via YouTube.
  35. ^ "Equestria Girls Videos | Equestria Girls Movie". Hasbro. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  36. ^ "My Little Pony Equestria Girls: The Friendship Games". iTunes Store. September 17, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  37. ^ "My Little Pony Equestria Girls: The Friendship Games". Amazon.com. September 16, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  38. ^ MLP: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks – "Friendship Through the Ages" Music Video. April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2015 – via YouTube.
  39. ^ MLP: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks – "My Past is Not Today" Music Video. April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2015 – via YouTube.
  40. ^ MLP: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks – "Life is a Runway" Music Video. April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2015 – via YouTube.
  41. ^ Mitch Metcalf (September 29, 2015). . Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  42. ^ Alvarez, Daniel (September 27, 2015). "My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Friendship Games Review". Unleash the Fanboy. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  43. ^ Lumez, Adam (September 29, 2015). "Geekscape TV Reviews: 'Equestria Girls: Friendship Games' Spoiler Free". Geekscape. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  44. ^ Liu, Ed (October 15, 2015). "Review: "My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games" Mostly Has Its Game On". Toon Zone. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  45. ^ Cahill, Mike (October 22, 2015). "My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games review – rehoofed high jinks". The Guardian. Retrieved November 2, 2015.

External links

  • My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Friendship Games at IMDb

little, pony, equestria, girls, friendship, games, known, simply, friendship, games, 2015, flash, animated, musical, sports, fantasy, television, movie, sequel, 2014, little, pony, equestria, girls, rainbow, rocks, directed, ishi, rudell, written, josh, haber,. My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship Games known simply as Friendship Games is a 2015 flash animated musical sports fantasy television movie sequel to 2014 s My Little Pony Equestria Girls Rainbow Rocks directed by Ishi Rudell N 1 and written by Josh Haber N 2 It was produced by DHX Media s 2D animation studio in Vancouver Canada for Hasbro Studios in the United States as part of Hasbro s Equestria Girls toy line and media franchise itself a spin off of the 2010 relaunch of My Little Pony The movie received a television network premiere on Discovery Family a joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro on September 26 2015 with a home media release on October 13 that year it also had a limited theatrical run in the United Kingdom and Australia beginning in late October 2015 My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship GamesRegion 1 DVD coverDirected byIshi RudellJayson Thiessen consulting director Written byJosh HaberBased onCharactersby Lauren FaustProduced byDevon CodyStarringTara Strong Rebecca Shoichet Ashleigh Ball Andrea Libman Tabitha St Germain Cathy Weseluck Iris QuinnEdited byRachel KenzieMusic byWilliam AndersonProductioncompaniesDHX Media Hasbro StudiosDistributed byShout Factory United States and Canada home media Release datesSeptember 17 2015 2015 09 17 Angelika Film Center September 26 2015 2015 09 26 Discovery Family and Family Channel Running time72 minutes DVD Blu ray 1 CountriesCanada United StatesLanguageEnglishLike the first two Equestria Girls movies Friendship Games re envisions the main characters of the parent franchise normally ponies as teenage human characters in a high school setting The movie s story centers around a sports competition between the students of Canterlot High School and their rivals at Crystal Prep Academy one of whom is Twilight s human counterpart who has been investigating the magical activity around Canterlot High A fourth Equestria Girls movie subtitled Legend of Everfree was released on Netflix on October 1 2016 2 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3 1 Music 4 Release 4 1 Theatrical 4 2 Television 4 3 Home media and streaming 5 Merchandise and other media 5 1 Animated shorts 5 2 Soundtrack 6 Reception 6 1 Television viewership 6 2 Critical response 7 Notes 8 References 9 External linksPlot EditThe students of Canterlot High School prepare for the Friendship Games an academic and sporting competition held every four years between their school s team the Wondercolts and the undefeated Shadowbolts from Crystal Prep Academy Sunset Shimmer who has been observing her friends magical ability to pony up grow pony like ears tails and wings whenever they play musical instruments becomes concerned when Rainbow Dash transforms during a pep rally seemingly at random Tasked with finding the cause of this development Sunset attempts to contact Twilight for advice but receives no response Meanwhile one of Crystal Prep s students Twilight s human counterpart investigates the magical activity surrounding Canterlot High Twilight builds a locket like device to detect and contain the magic for further study hoping this will secure her application for Everton a coveted independent study program However Principal Cinch threatens to revoke the application to blackmail Twilight into participating in the Friendship Games and maintain Crystal Prep s victory record Upon Twilight s arrival at Canterlot High her device detects Sunset and her friends magic and leads Twilight to them as she approaches the device inadvertently drains Rarity s magic when she ponies up after making uniforms for the other girls Sunset initially mistaking Twilight for her pony counterpart quickly realizes the misunderstanding and considers consulting Twilight in person When Crystal Prep s Twilight follows her to the portal to Equestria the device absorbs the portal s magic and seals it off The device similarly affects Pinkie Pie when she tries to ease the tension with a party and later Fluttershy when she attempts to cheer up a distraught Twilight creating dimensional rifts to Equestria and giving Twilight s dog Spike the ability to speak Following Twilight s victory in the games academic decathlon the games continue with a tri cross relay a relay race between archery speed skating and motocross Applejack transforms after she advises Twilight causing the device to steal Applejack s magic and create a rift that summons monstrous plants Rainbow Dash ponies up to save the other competitors before losing her magic allowing Canterlot High to win the event but causing Cinch to accuse Canterlot High of cheating due to their perceived magical advantage Frustrated by her failure to keep the magic protected Sunset furiously berates Twilight for endangering her friends regretting it when Twilight runs off in tears Before the final event Cinch and the Shadowbolts pressure Twilight into releasing the magic within her device to harness it against the Wondercolts The magic instead corrupts Twilight turning her into a winged monster N 3 who proceeds to destroy the statue portal and open more rifts that threaten to destroy the parallel world As the Wondercolts and Shadowbolts work together to save their classmates Sunset notices her friends magical auras and realizes that their magic manifests when they exhibit the same traits as the Elements of Harmony Gathering their magic with the device Sunset assumes an angelic form resembling Princess Celestia N 4 closes the rifts and returns Twilight to normal Refusing to relent from manipulating Twilight Cinch threatens to report the incident to the school board When taunted that no one would believe her account of the magical incidents however she concedes to a tie that is celebrated by both teams Reconsidering her Everton application Twilight realizes she is happier at Canterlot High and transfers there where Sunset and the other students welcome her as a new friend In a pre credits scene the Twilight from Equestria emerges from the portal with the counterparts of her friends gathered around it She apologizes for her absence explaining that she has just escaped from a time travel loop N 5 before gawking at the sight of her counterpart Cast EditSee also My Little Pony Equestria Girls Characters Tara Strong as Twilight Sparkle the socially awkward prized student of Crystal Prep Academy later Canterlot High School and a member of the Shadowbolts later the Wondercolts Strong also voices her counterpart from Equestria in a pre credits scene Rebecca Shoichet as Sunset Shimmer a Canterlot High School student Wondercolt who hails as a unicorn from Equestria Shoichet also performs Twilight Sparkle s singing voice Ashleigh Ball as Rainbow Dash a competitive athlete Wondercolt and Applejack an honest country girl Wondercolt Andrea Libman as Pinkie Pie a cheerful party obsessed Wondercolt and Fluttershy a kindhearted Wondercolt animal lover and Sweetie Drops a Wondercolt Tabitha St Germain as Rarity a dressmaker Wondercolt with a generous spirit and Vice Principal Luna Celestia s younger sister Kazumi Evans performs Rarity s singing voice Cathy Weseluck as Spike Twilight s pet dog who gains the ability to speak after exposure to Equestrian magic Frank Welker does Spike s barking and growling sounds Iris Quinn as Principal Abacus Cinch the reputation obsessed head of Crystal Prep Academy Sharon Alexander as Sour Sweet a Shadowbolt who alternates between an obnoxiously nice and ill tempered personality Sienna Bohn as Sugarcoat a Shadowbolt who bluntly speaks her mind Kelly Sheridan as Indigo Zap a hypercompetitive Shadowbolt Britt Irvin as Sunny Flare a disdainful Shadowbolt Shannon Chan Kent as Lemon Zest N 6 a Shadowbolt and rock music enthusiast Chan Kent also performs Pinkie Pie s singing voice Nicole Oliver as Principal Celestia the head of Canterlot High School Britt McKillip as Dean Cadance the friendly dean of Crystal Prep Academy Vincent Tong as Flash Sentry a Wondercolt who is enamored with Twilight s counterpart in Equestria and an unnamed Crystal Prep bus driver Andrew Francis as Shining Armor a Crystal Prep alumnus and Twilight s older brother Production EditA forest clearing used both for the Friendship Is Magic episode Bloom amp Gloom and for this movie was previewed in a background image shown online back in November 2014 4 The third installment was first teased by Rainbow Rocks co director Ishi Rudell on December 12 2014 Brony Donald Dusty Katt Rhoades asked wondering about Rudell s silence on Twitter and Rudell replied that he was too busy working on 3 5 On January 29 2015 Australian home media distributor Beyond International stated via Facebook that they had obtained distribution rights for seasons 4 and 5 of Friendship Is Magic in addition to Rainbow Rocks and the third Equestria Girls film 6 non primary source needed Further confirmation was given during Hasbro s investor presentation at the 2015 New York Toy Fair along with other products in the Friendship Games lineup 7 8 The concept designs for the movie s ending credits were done by Katrina Hadley with Chris Lienonin and Jeremy Mah on the layouts 9 This was also the first movie in the Equestria Girls spinoff franchise not to be directed by Jayson Thiessen and written by Meghan McCarthy as well as the only one not to involve McCarthy in any way as they were both busy directing and writing 2017 theatrical My Little Pony movie respectively which was in production at the time although Thiessen did direct the movie s companion shorts and was consulting director on the movie itself Music Edit Main article List of songs in My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Friendship Games Like the previous two installments the songs were composed by Daniel Ingram with lyric writing shared between Ingram and screenwriter Josh Haber except Friendship Games ACADECA and Right There in Front of Me which had lyrics solely by Ingram Even though it wasn t listed in Discovery Family s televised broadcast of the movie s ending credits What More Is Out There can be heard in the movie Although Right There in Front of Me is listed in the credits it is absent in Discovery Family s broadcast Song production was done by Caleb Chan with vocal arrangements by Trevor Hoffman Friendship Games Sunset Shimmer Applejack Fluttershy Pinkie Pie Rainbow Dash Rarity and ensemble voiceover CHS Rally Song Rainbow Dash and full company What More Is Out There Twilight Sparkle ACADECA Academic Decathlon Twilight Sparkle Sunset Shimmer and full company voiceover Unleash the Magic Principal Abacus Cinch Twilight Sparkle and the students of Crystal Prep Academy End Credits Song Right There in Front of Me Twilight Sparkle Sunset Shimmer Applejack Fluttershy Pinkie Pie Rainbow Dash Rarity and ensemble voiceover Right There in Front of Me plays over the closing credits on the movie s DVD and Blu ray versions 10 According to Rudell the song Dance Magic is unrelated to the movie 11 source source The version as heard in the movie source source The original cut of the song originally conceived as a duet One of the deleted scenes included in the Blu ray and DVD set is an alternate version of the song What More Is Out There featuring both Crystal Prep s Twilight Sparkle and Canterlot High s Sunset Shimmer 12 The song was originally intended as a duet for the two characters but due to time constraints and the removal of a subplot involving Sunset questioning if she belonged to the human world or Equestria it was ultimately rewritten as a solo for Twilight Release EditTheatrical Edit The movie received a theatrical debut exclusively at the Angelika Film Center in New York City on September 17 2015 William Anderson Ashleigh Ball G M Berrow Josh Haber Daniel Ingram Brian Lenard Andrea Libman Ishi Rudell Rebecca Shoichet Tara Strong and Cathy Weseluck including Sarah Michelle Gellar from Buffy the Vampire Slayer 13 and comedian Jim Gaffigan 14 were among those in attendance 15 Also in attendance was The Real Housewives of New York star Kristen Taekman 16 Top Chef s Padma Lakshmi citation needed America s Got Talent host Nick Cannon former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber fashion photographer Nigel Barker Sons of Anarchy s Drea de Matteo and fitness guru Tracy Anderson 17 Friendship Games had a limited theatrical release in select Vue Cinemas theaters in the United Kingdom between October 24 and November 1 2015 18 The movie had a limited theatrical release at various Hoyts theaters in Australia between October 31 and November 10 2015 19 In Mexico Cinepolis had a limited theatrical release between October 9 and 18 2015 Television Edit In the United States the movie was premiered on Discovery Family a joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro on September 26 2015 On December 24 Christmas Eve 2015 the movie made its debut in the United Kingdom on Pop Home media and streaming Edit In the United States and Canada Shout Factory released Friendship Games on DVD Region 1 Blu ray disc digital download release 20 and in a box set alongside its two predecessors on October 13 2015 21 DVD and Blu ray special features consist of four storyboard animatic deleted scenes audio commentary sing alongs and five animated shorts 22 Primal Screen released a Region 2 DVD on November 2 2015 and includes the five animated shorts and a recap of the first two Equestria Girls movies 23 On November 30 2015 the My Little Pony Facebook page posted an advertisement promoting that the movie will be added to Netflix on December 1 2015 24 The version used on Netflix is the same as the one found on the DVD and Blu ray versions of the movie with the end credits song Right There in Front of Me playing over the movie s end credits Merchandise and other media EditMain article My Little Pony Equestria Girls The movie is a part of the sport themed Friendship Games lineup a third installment in the My Little Pony Equestria Girls toy line and media franchise which was first displayed at London s 2015 Toy Fair in January 25 and mentioned with other supporting products alongside this movie during Hasbro s investor presentation in February that year 7 LB Kids published a novelization of the movie Animated shorts Edit A series of animated prequel shorts for Friendship Games similar to those produced for Rainbow Rocks was announced on February 13 2015 26 On July 31 2015 the My Little Pony Facebook page posted some instructions for playing in the Friendship Games Fantasy League and indicated that a new short would be released every Saturday during August 2015 27 non primary source needed Like the Rainbow Rocks shorts these are also separate from the movie 28 A total of five shorts were released the first four of these paired with a 10 minute preview of the movie aired on Discovery Family on August 29 2015 29 No Title Directed by Written by Original airdate1 The Science of Magic 30 Jayson ThiessenNatasha LevingerAugust 1 2015 2015 08 01 Sunset Shimmer studies her friends pony hybrid transformations to better understand how magic works in the parallel world 2 Pinkie Spy 31 Jayson ThiessenNatasha LevingerAugust 8 2015 2015 08 08 Rainbow Dash tries to spy on Crystal Prep Academy s sports team but Pinkie Pie ruins her attempts to remain unseen 3 All s Fair in Love amp Friendship Games 32 Jayson Thiessen August 15 2015 2015 08 15 Lyra Heartstrings Ashleigh Ball and Sweetie Drops Andrea Libman compete to earn a spot on the Wondercolts team in the Friendship Games tryouts 4 Photo Finished 33 Jayson ThiessenIshi Rudell and Jayson ThiessenAugust 22 2015 2015 08 22 Photo Finish Tabitha St Germain gets carried away when Vice Principal Luna asks her to take pictures for the Canterlot High yearbook 5 A Banner Day 34 Jayson Thiessen August 29 2015 2015 08 29 Flash Sentry Micro Chips James Kirk and Sandalwood Vincent Tong have conflicting ideas on their welcome banner for Crystal Prep Academy Apart from the shorts above a Friendship Games blooper reel was posted on the official Equestria Girls website on May 3 2016 containing fictional outtakes of various scenes from the movie 35 Soundtrack Edit The movie s soundtrack was released on September 17 2015 on iTunes 36 and on Amazon on September 18 2015 37 The first three singles Friendship Through the Ages 38 My Past is Not Today 39 and Life Is a Runway 40 were first released by Hasbro s YouTube channel on March 31 2015 later re uploaded on April 2 2015 No TitleWriter s Performer s Length1 Friendship Through the Ages Daniel Ingram Katrina Hadley Brian Lenard Jayson Thiessen and Michael VogelRebecca Shoichet Andrea Libman Kazumi Evans Ashleigh Ball and Shannon Chan Kent2 082 My Past Is Not Today Ingram Hadley Lenard Thiessen and VogelShoichet2 193 Life Is a Runway Ingram Hadley Lenard Thiessen and VogelEvans1 584 Dance Magic IngramShoichet Ball Chan Kent Libman and Evans2 045 The Friendship Games IngramShoichet Ball Chan Kent Libman Evans and choir2 416 CHS Rally Song Josh Haber and IngramBall chorus2 307 What More Is Out There Haber and IngramShoichet2 488 ACADECA IngramFull company2 429 Unleash the Magic Haber and IngramIris Quinn Shoichet and choir3 0910 Right There in Front of Me IngramShoichet Ball Chan Kent Evans and Libman2 59Total length 25 19Reception EditTelevision viewership Edit When the movie premiered on Discovery Family on September 26 2015 it was viewed by 436 000 viewers According to the Nielsen ratings it was watched by approximately 120 000 adults 18 49 41 Critical response Edit The movie received mixed to positive reviews from critics Daniel Alvarez of Unleash the Fanboy gave the movie a score of 8 out of 10 calling it another quality installment in the Equestria Girls series He praised the movie s characters calling Sunset Shimmer a great focus as well as the movie s songs and epic climax However he noted that several negatives hold it back from being near perfect such as Principal Cinch whom he called the worst antagonist 42 Geekscape s Adam Lemuz praised the movie as a great follow up to Rainbow Rocks He further complimented that fans of the previous films will get a lot of enjoyment out of it as it delivers plenty of solid laughs and noteworthy songs 43 Ed Liu of Toon Zone called the movie solid addition to the Equestria Girls franchise but felt it was overly familiar and a little padded when comparing it to the first movie s story He also praised Sunset Shimmer s development from a vintage mean girl to a strong assertive character in her own right calling her character arc initiated from the first movie a wonderful long form story 44 Mike Cahill of The Guardian gave the movie two out of five stars calling it craven commercialism but adding that it s not unattractively designed and its peppy collegiate spirit trumps the sappiness of Disney s Tinkerbell spin offs 45 Notes Edit Making this the first Equestria Girls film not to be directed by Jayson Thiessen who was consulting director Making this the first Equestria Girls film not to be written by Meghan McCarthy who was not involved in making the film Identified outside the film as Midnight Sparkle Identified outside the film as Daydream Shimmer 3 As depicted in the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic fifth season finale The Cutie Re Mark Erroneously named as Lemon Tart in the film s end credits References Edit My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship Games Shout Factory Retrieved August 20 2015 Heldman Breanne July 22 2014 My Little Pony Equestria Girls Legends of Everfree Trailer The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved July 22 2016 Hadley Katrina isitlunchyet t September 26 2015 Katrina Hadley on Sunset Shimmer s transformation Tweet Retrieved July 23 2016 via Twitter Caesar Phil November 2014 Untitled phils portfolio Blogger Retrieved December 1 2014 Rudell Ishi December 12 2014 3 confirmation tweet Retrieved December 12 2014 via Twitter Archived locally Mark Davenport Have you taken over taken the rights of January 29 2015 Retrieved January 30 2015 via Facebook a b Hasbro February 13 2015 2015 Investor Update at Toy Fair PDF p 63 Archived from the original PDF on October 3 2016 Hasbro Annual Investor Meeting at Toy Fair Transcript PDF Reuters February 13 2015 Archived from the original PDF on October 3 2016 Rudell Ishi ishiH3Art September 28 2015 Film s ending credits crew confirmation Tweet Retrieved September 28 2015 via Twitter Rudell Ishi ishiH3Art September 27 2015 Right There in Front of Me to be heard on the film s DVD and Blu ray versions confirmation Tweet Retrieved September 27 2015 via Twitter Rudell Ishi ishiH3Art September 27 2015 Dance Magic unrelated to Friendship Games movie confirmation Tweet Retrieved September 27 2015 via Twitter Cups October 1 2015 Friendship Games Deleted Scene and it s a song Equestria Daily Retrieved October 1 2015 Haber Josh joshhaber September 17 2015 Buffy s Sarah Michelle Gellar at A F C s Friendship Games premiere confirmation Tweet Retrieved September 17 2015 via Twitter Haber Josh joshhaber September 17 2015 Comedian Jim Gaffigan at A F C s Friendship Games premiere confirmation Tweet Retrieved September 17 2015 via Twitter Weseluck Cathy CathyWeseluck September 9 2015 Weseluck attending Friendship Games premiere at A F C confirmation Tweet Retrieved September 9 2015 via Twitter Taekman Kristen KristenTaekman September 17 2015 We had such a great time Tweet Retrieved September 17 2015 via Twitter Stars Come out to Celebrate the Third Installment of My Little Pony Equestria Girls with the Friendship Games Premiere from Hasbro Studios Press release New York NY Hasbro Sony Music Entertainment September 18 2015 Retrieved September 19 2015 via Market Watch My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship Games MyVue com October 13 2015 Retrieved October 13 2015 My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship Games Hoyts com au Retrieved October 31 2015 My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship Games Official Trailer 1 2015 Shout Factory July 8 2015 Retrieved July 8 2015 via YouTube My Little Pony Equestria Girls Three Movie Gift Set Amazon July 23 2015 Retrieved July 23 2015 Milligan Mercedes July 9 2015 Equestria Girls Friendship Games Set for October Animation Magazine Retrieved July 9 2015 My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship Games DVD Amazon UK August 19 2015 Retrieved November 2 2015 My Little Pony Official Hasbro November 30 2015 Equestria Girls Friendship Games Netflix Premiere Retrieved November 30 2015 via Facebook idlemichael January 19 2015 Toy Fair 2015 what did we see Beware Potential EG3 Spoilers UK of Equestria Retrieved January 19 2015 Marimo February 13 2015 Friendship Games Release Date and Shorts Announced Derpy News Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved February 13 2015 Hasbro July 31 2015 Want to participate in The Friendship Games Retrieved July 31 2015 via Facebook Miller Jim TheBiggestJim August 15 2015 Friendship Games shorts separate from its movie confirmation Tweet Retrieved August 15 2015 via Twitter Sneak Peek My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship Games August 29th Promo August 18 2015 Retrieved August 18 2015 via YouTube MLP Equestria Girls Friendship Games The Science of Magic EXCLUSIVE Short August 3 2015 Retrieved August 3 2015 via YouTube MLP Equestria Girls Friendship Games Pinkie Spy EXCLUSIVE Short August 10 2015 Retrieved August 10 2015 via YouTube MLP Equestria Girls Friendship Games All s Fair in Love and Friendship Games EXCLUSIVE Short August 17 2015 Retrieved August 17 2015 via YouTube MLP Equestria Girls Friendship Games Photo Finished EXCLUSIVE Short August 24 2015 Retrieved August 24 2015 via YouTube MLP Equestria Girls Friendship Games A Banner Day EXCLUSIVE Short August 31 2015 Retrieved August 31 2015 via YouTube Equestria Girls Videos Equestria Girls Movie Hasbro Retrieved May 4 2016 My Little Pony Equestria Girls The Friendship Games iTunes Store September 17 2015 Retrieved September 17 2015 My Little Pony Equestria Girls The Friendship Games Amazon com September 16 2015 Retrieved September 16 2015 MLP Equestria Girls Rainbow Rocks Friendship Through the Ages Music Video April 2 2015 Retrieved April 2 2015 via YouTube MLP Equestria Girls Rainbow Rocks My Past is Not Today Music Video April 2 2015 Retrieved April 2 2015 via YouTube MLP Equestria Girls Rainbow Rocks Life is a Runway Music Video April 2 2015 Retrieved April 2 2015 via YouTube Mitch Metcalf September 29 2015 Top 100 Saturday Cable Originals amp Network Update 9 26 2015 Showbuzz Daily Archived from the original on September 29 2015 Retrieved September 29 2015 Alvarez Daniel September 27 2015 My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship Games Review Unleash the Fanboy Retrieved September 27 2015 Lumez Adam September 29 2015 Geekscape TV Reviews Equestria Girls Friendship Games Spoiler Free Geekscape Retrieved September 29 2015 Liu Ed October 15 2015 Review My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship Games Mostly Has Its Game On Toon Zone Retrieved October 16 2015 Cahill Mike October 22 2015 My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship Games review rehoofed high jinks The Guardian Retrieved November 2 2015 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship Games My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship Games at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title My Little Pony Equestria Girls Friendship Games amp oldid 1132735626, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.