Trope example recently deleted on account of "improper usage", but with not much more justification. Please discuss.
- Continuity Nod:
- Spike chases after a ladybug in Twilight's lab; a ladybug is featured in each previous movie, around the same time mark.
I don't see how this cannot be a Continuity Nod; the presence of the ladybug in Twilight's lab is entirely gratuitous if not a nod to the previous movies.
- Call-Back:
- Human Twilight introduces herself to Pinkie, who responds that she already knows who Twilight is since Pony Twilight has been friends with the Humane Five. Human Twilight had even been foreshadowed by Pinkie herself when Pony Twilight met Pinkie in the first film.
Again, this looks genuine to me; it's plot-relevant, it's in dialogue, and it does refer to events in the previous movies, it has all features of a call back.
- Shout-Out:
- The lead supervisor of the Crystal Prep team is named Abacus Cinch, which is a play on Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird).
- Parts of the song the Crystal Prep students sing to Twilight about using her magic-stealing device to get revenge are taken straight from the lyrics of the "Cellblock Tango" in Chicago.
- The designs of Daydream Shimmer and Midnight Sparkle during the climax wouldn't look that out of place as designs for Goddess Madoka and Devil Homura respectively.
- The final Beam-O-War battle between Daydream Shimmer and Midnight Sparkle gleans from Dragon Ball Z. Particularly the end of the "Cell Saga" where the threat is beaten by a momentary distraction (in this case Puppy Spike calling out to Twilight).
All of this looks like authentic shout-outs; unless there's Word of God denying one example or the other, I don't think they should have been removed.
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Hi. I'm the person who removed these. Let me try to explain, I'm not that good at it but I'll try.
Continuity Nod example was removed because honestly, the presence of a ladybug really doesn't seem worthy of a continuity nod. It's something that only someone incredibly attentive to detail would even bother to notice, and the ladybug itself has no significance to make it noteworthy of mention.
Call-Back example was removed because it made it sound like the mention of Pony Twilight was supposed to be the call back. And then it mentions Human Twilight was foreshadowed before, which isn't even part of the right trope.
Shout-Out examples were all removed for various reasons. Atticus Finch was removed because there's nothing connecting him and Abacus Cinch that makes it close to a shout out. Cell Block Tango was removed as there are no similarities between that song and Unleash The Magic. I've watched both songs enough times to know. The other two were removed because they're not true shout outs, but someone saying "this is similar to this" which isn't the trope. A shout out is supposed to be deliberate, and both the Madoka and DBZ mentions are not deliberate.
Hopefully this makes things clear.
The Continuity Nod clearly exists solely for the sake of being a nod; the presence of the ladybug has indeed no meaning if one doesn't take into account the previous movies. It doesn't take an "incredible attention to detail" to notice, just having watched the other movies; and anyway, attention to detail is usually how Continuity Nods are noticed.
The Call-Back, again, has no reason to be removed as it fits all criteria of the trope; it refers to the previous events of the other movies and is plot-significant. I don't see how the added tidbit of Pinkie foreshadowing it even earlier invalidate it, though this part can be removed; it doesn't make it any less an example of a Call-Back.
Edited by StFan
On the subject of Twilight confusion: "Pony Twilight" seems wrong to me since, well, she's not a pony when at CHS; She transforms into a human, so calling her a "pony" at that point is technically wrong. I think the page should refer to Equestria-born Twilight as "Princess Twilight", since that's what the characters use in-universe, and it's unambiguous; Crystal Prep Twilight is not in any way a princess. Objections? Am I being pedantic?
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I agree. Princesses Twilight is the most useful title to distinguish her from Human Twilight.
My one counterargument is how we would distinguish other characters from their pony selves if not their titles?
Perhaps its just me, but wouldn't an outsider be easily misled and fail to realize that she's a pony when reading entries?
I don't know if that justifies the less precise terminology, but I think its something to consider.
Is it really such a stretch to see the interaction between Micro Chips and Sandalwood as a ship tease? After all, in the commentary to Rainbow Rocks the producers themselves ship Wiz Kid and Curly Winds.
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It is a stretch, as with interpreting any kind of interaction between two characters, of the opposite sex or not, as ship tease is a stretch. Do you consider Derpy having a friendly gesture toward Flash Sentry as ship tease? Micro Chips and Sandalwood had pretty much the same amount of chemistry.
You make a good point. Frankly, I didn't see much of a ship tease between Shining and Cadance either; there's a little, but I had to put on my Shipping Goggles in order to see it. (I'm sure the producer who shipped Wiz and Curly in Rainbow Rocks was wearing his as well, or just having some fun with the fans. Probably the latter; they do that.) I've been to a few inter-school rivalry events like the Friendship Games, and unless things have changed greatly since my time in high school, faculty often bring significant others along and encourage alumni and family members to attend; the fact that Shining didn't even go is actually a bit of a Ship Sink.
I was actually surprised to see so little ship tease in this film.
Adding "adults are useless"? When midnight is opening portals, you can see Luna and Cadence doing pretty much nothing but stare at the background
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Luna and Cadance are muggles in this verse and have no control or understanding of even the small bursts of magic that cause the Rainbooms to "pony up". All the muggle students are pretty much useless in this situation too, save for the ones touched by Equestrian magic.
Should we denote every instance of which Twilight Sparkle we are talking about? Some entries mention it, others do not.
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Too clunky. Every mention of Twilight is by default implied to be the human Twilight, since the movie is about her. A mention like "Princess Twilight" is enough when it's about the Equestrian version. Note that the fact she appears is a spoiler in itself, so I'm against even putting a clarification at the top.
I just read in the Not Using the Z Word entry that Human Twilight uses the H word. Can someone confirm that?