Lesley the Pony Has an A+ Day! is a web animation created by Wesley Núñez for Mr. Matuk's fourth-grade film studies class.not really The short follows Lesley, a sunglasses-wearing little pink pony from Merryville who's on his way to meet the Duke. On his journey there, he encounters strapping lads and comely maids, greets every tulip one by one, and is greeted by a host of happy monkeys. However, as soon as he actually meets the Duke, things take a turn for the weird, then the disturbing.
The video can be seen here
. It won the 2015 BoneBat Comedy of Horrors Viewers' Choice Award for Best Animated Short, and is both a Vimeo staff pick and a Sight & Sound Magazine Toon of the Month recommendation.
Tropes:
- Anachronism Stew: Some of the snapshots show Lesley playing an arcade game and an electric guitar in what is clearly a medieval realm.
- Black Comedy: From the Lyrical Dissonance to the cheerful imagery placed right up against language uncomfortably similar to that used by abusers, self-harm, demon summoning, and blood and guts, this is the entire thing.
- Character Shilling: How the audience is led to see the Duke before meeting him. He's apparently regal, majestic, and a cool fella with slick duds.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Lesley...Gamboling through malls and esplanades. Makes sense if you realize that they are essentially the same thing.
- Disguised Horror Story: The video starts off innocent and cheerful with an infectious song playing in the background...then as soon as Lesley meets the Duke, things start getting unsettling and don't stop.
- Downer Ending: Whatever unspeakable thing the Duke did to Lesley the Pony led his life to spiral into a void of sadness, hate and anger.
- Gorn: Lesley has haunting dreams of bathing in royal blood. This lyric is followed by a Black Metal sample complete with stop-motion visuals of meat being ground up.
- Hate Sink: The Duke of Merryville is revealed to be incredibly rude, dismissive and self-centered, and is heavily implied to have sexually assaulted Lesley so horrifically that it caused his mind to break down. Given the similarity of Lesley and the Duke's names to the in-universe creator Wesley and his teacher Mr. Matuk, it's possible that this is meant to be a child's own downward spiral after real-life abuse.
- Implied Rape: While what the Duke did to Lesley was never shown, judging by their dialogue before, it is heavily implied that he sexually assaulted Lesley.
- The Kingslayer: Though it's never shown explicitly, the blood seeping out from under the happy monkeys' door and the flaming tower are enough to imply that Lesley has sacrificed the Duke to appease the Dark Lord.
- Lyrical Dissonance: Right after Lesley's meeting with the Duke, the lyrics change from happy and joyful, to slightly strange...to completely disturbing.Lesley
Emotionally void and tickling elves
Chasing chubby babies in the rain
And cutting his own arms and legs
(cupcakes!) - Pony Tale: Literally.
- Synchro-Vox: How the Duke and Lesley speak to each other.
- Wham Shot: As soon as Lesley reaches the castle and opens the door, the music abruptly stops and we hard-cut to an uncomfortably detailed close-up drawing of the Duke. This is where everything starts to go downhill.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Lesley underwent a mental breakdown into hatred and destruction before summoning the Dark Lord and brutally murdering the Duke after he was horrifically abused by him.
