Spoilers ahoy, obviously. When these episodes were first announced, I was unsure about it. Sure, Lauren Faust and her compatriots had managed to turn MLP into something quite watchable, but still: a wedding? My interest was piqued when it was revealed that Shing Armor was in fact Twilight Sparkle's brother, and subsequent previews raised my expectations to an insane level. And then, the episodes went beyond my expactations. This is the pinnacle for now, and it sets the bar incredibly high for season 3. This story has everything: catchy songs, a great villain, epic fights (yes, epic fights in My Little Pony!) and sugary sweetness at the end.
What strikes me most about this story, though, it that it's not really a love story at all. For obvious reasons, Shing Armor and Princess Cadence don't interact for much of the story. While they're pretty adorable together, their relationship on the whole is more tell than show. For instance, while it's implied (in fact, promotional material outright states it) that Shing Armor and Cadence met when the latter was foalsitting for Twilight, we're never shown how they first met or fell in love. No, the big relationship story here is that between Twilight and her brother.
As Twilight's brother, Shining Armor is introduced very late in the series, but the song "BBBFF" immediately made me care about him. The relationship between Twilight and Shining Armor is handled quite well and dare I say it, maturely even? We all have to deal with changing relationships in life, and Twilight fearing that she and her brother will grow apart is genuinely saddening, as is their falling out halfway through the story. While romantic love saves the day, in the end it's the story of sibling love that stayed with me.
Having seen the episodes a few times now, a few flaws have become apparent. Luna is handled very oddly (but then again, she has been the entire series) and I would have liked Twilight's parents to get some development. It's the second time we've seen them, but they still have no lines and no names. (Yes, I know about their semi-official toyline-derived names...) But these are minor complaints. Overall, this is great little movie. I can't wait for season 3!
A great wedding, but not a love story
Spoilers ahoy, obviously. When these episodes were first announced, I was unsure about it. Sure, Lauren Faust and her compatriots had managed to turn MLP into something quite watchable, but still: a wedding? My interest was piqued when it was revealed that Shing Armor was in fact Twilight Sparkle's brother, and subsequent previews raised my expectations to an insane level. And then, the episodes went beyond my expactations. This is the pinnacle for now, and it sets the bar incredibly high for season 3. This story has everything: catchy songs, a great villain, epic fights (yes, epic fights in My Little Pony!) and sugary sweetness at the end.
What strikes me most about this story, though, it that it's not really a love story at all. For obvious reasons, Shing Armor and Princess Cadence don't interact for much of the story. While they're pretty adorable together, their relationship on the whole is more tell than show. For instance, while it's implied (in fact, promotional material outright states it) that Shing Armor and Cadence met when the latter was foalsitting for Twilight, we're never shown how they first met or fell in love. No, the big relationship story here is that between Twilight and her brother.
As Twilight's brother, Shining Armor is introduced very late in the series, but the song "BBBFF" immediately made me care about him. The relationship between Twilight and Shining Armor is handled quite well and dare I say it, maturely even? We all have to deal with changing relationships in life, and Twilight fearing that she and her brother will grow apart is genuinely saddening, as is their falling out halfway through the story. While romantic love saves the day, in the end it's the story of sibling love that stayed with me.
Having seen the episodes a few times now, a few flaws have become apparent. Luna is handled very oddly (but then again, she has been the entire series) and I would have liked Twilight's parents to get some development. It's the second time we've seen them, but they still have no lines and no names. (Yes, I know about their semi-official toyline-derived names...) But these are minor complaints. Overall, this is great little movie. I can't wait for season 3!