Gone are the hand-drawn animated ponies, make way for their creepy, anthropomorphized and digitally animated brethren: the “new generation”, if you will, which includes not only ponies, but Pegasi and unicorns from all over Equestria. This “My Little Pony” movie takes a contemporary twist on the franchise’s principles of love and friendship by featuring a political awakening on tolerance, prejudice and even fascism – sweetened, of course, with numbers. songs, cute gags and pastel views.
In “My Little Pony: The Next Generation,” directed by Robert Cullen and José L. Ucha, land ponies are anti-magic (read: anti-science) and prone to sowing fear. With the exception of our enlightened heroine, Sunny Starscout (Vanessa Hudgens), who crashes into a protest run primarily by a defensive weapons maker who takes advantage of a community comically scared of being attacked by other creatures like to ponies.
The panic is obviously unwarranted when a little unicorn, Izzy (Kimiko Glenn), takes the stage. Sunny takes her new pal to safety, deploying a learning tour that shows how stupid and backward-looking beliefs cultivated by their distinct communities about the not-so-scary “other” are.
In search of sacred items that could restore magic to Equestria, Sunny and Izzy assemble an eclectic team of young progressives – including tomboy Pegasus and his social media obsessed sister – back in pony country, Sprout (Ken Jeong), a crimson demagogue with a blonde mane, is rising to power.
Although generic (just this year, “Raya and the Last Dragon” portrays a similar treasure hunt aimed at bringing together diverse groups), the film’s message of unity and the need for a new generation to unite against disinformation and the commotion of the populace is not the worst thing. At the same time, parents could play around with the film’s surprisingly unsubtle references to US politics – something to numb the pain of watching. Again another “My Little Pony” movie that the kids will ask for whether you like it or not.
My little pony: a new generation
Classified PG. Duration: 1h30. Watch on Netflix.