I don't remember that episode. Guess that says how little an impression it left on me.

Edited by Chariot on Jan 22nd 2019 at 9:30:59 AM

How about this: it's the one where a actual hipster comes to Ponyville.

It's no exaggeration. He really is a hipster from his obsession with "authenticity" to his predilection for finding things "before they were cool/mainstream", as the phrase goes.

As for "Simple Ways"... for me, it's quality was lame but not actually garbage, eliciting a "meh" at best since it's a dime-a-dozen "those that really care for you will cherish who you really are" and didn't really do anything new or intriguing with the concept or it's premise. It's also resolved through what seemed to be a "catfight", with Rarity and Applejack giving their worst opinions and impressions of one another and that resolves the story...I guess? What the bugger was Applejack even trying to do? It seemed petty on her part.

As for how entertaining it was, I didn't really find it very entertaining but that can probably be chalked up to it's premise. A thought I recollect having after seeing it was "I didn't want to laugh" and that may be because it's premise seemed, when I was seeing it, a bit iffy as it seemed to be one of those "affection angle" stories and though this may sound inane, I kinda thought that maybe a story where two girls fight over a man was...iffy for "My Little Pony". Yes, I know Rarity was the only one who was fighting for a hipster.

I may have actually found it more entertaining or at least laughed more (and maybe felt a bit off) if it wasn't tied to a premise I thought was iffy. It's the same as discord's antics and "A Glass of Water" in the discord story I saw yesterday. I might have found it more fun if it wasn't tied to the exact opposite of what the overarching storyline of discord's reformation should be. Heck, I still find "A Glass of Water" to be quite nice and fitting of discord, what with it's madcap, manic, bop-you-from-place-to-place mood. It's chaotic and entertaining, as discord usually is or tries to be.

They were NOT "fighting over a man". They were fighting over Rarity imitating Applejack's fashion sense and mannerisms in a rather stereotypical way. Applejack doing the same back at Rarity was to demonstrate to Rarity how shallow and hurtful such an imitation is.

Yes, I'm cognizant that it wasn't actually what the story was about. It's merely that, for reasons that escape me, that initial "prediction" stuck me with and colored my view of the story. I'll see it again another time so as to correct that mistake.

As for the impression, wouldn't that actually aggravate Rarity more then get her to realize how inane she's being as it...kinda did? And, though this may not be apropos, Rarity's realization seemed rather...instant.

So, for today, it's Filli Vanilli.

"Filli Vanilli" has been seen!

It's actually quite nice (with a few quibbles I have but don't mar the whole caboodle) and is also a nice Flarity story since the focus is on them and the both of them being nothing but kind, caring, and supportive for one another. I was not expecting it to have so much focus on both of them.

Oh, and I have an apt subtitle for it.

Filli Vanilli: Pinkamena, what the (insert expletive here)?!

Post of the Day #2404

Posted by kegisak on Mon, 30th Jan '12 6:57:24 PM - Post #84159 in the old thread

To clarify, Rarity was absolutely fighting over a stallion.

Applejack was fighting over being offended by Rarity's particular way of trying to win said stallion.

They make clear really early on that AJ is completely disinterested in stallions this dude. It's not a love triangle, so much as it's a love angle; Rarity likes Trenderhoof, Trenderhoof likes AJ, and AJ wants no part in any of this nonsense that just fell into her lap. She just wants Rarity to cut it out with the offensive caricature.

Which she did by pretending to be as snobbish as Rarity was.

They got into a contest over who could be the most offensive stereotype.

Not bashing the MLP movie, but why does it have a 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, while Bumblebee has a fresh 92% despite both movies being mostly positively received by their respective fandoms?

Because there's not necessarily much overlap between "professional" critics and fans?

(Note that the audience score for MLP is 77% and Bumblebee's is 79%.)

The most common criticism I've seen from professional critics is that MLP is pretty much just a movie for people who already like MLP, with little to offer for anyone who isn't already engaged in the series. If MLP is your thing, great, you'll love this, but there's next to no mainstream appeal whatsoever.

From what I've heard, Bumblebee is a pretty stellar movie regardless of whether you've ever seen a single Bayformers movie or liked them. It's a standalone experience that reinvents the franchise for a new audience.

But I haven't seen Bumblebee. I'm just reciting what I've seen others saying.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Jan 23rd 2019 at 4:25:53 AM

I keep thinking "Why is this film about a Bumblebee so popular?" then I remember its Transformers related

I mean, I guess you missed all of that Bee Movie weirdness over the last few years....

I hope they played flight of the bumble bee at least once

Yep, I've definitely seen it. The difference between it and the previous movies is like Knight and Bay.

Ignoring the fact that Transformers and My Little Pony are marketed towards boys and girls respectively, giant alien robots that turn into vehicles and kick each other's asses does have a lot more mainstream appeal than multicolored ponies learning about the magic of friendship.

Still wish they hadn't killed off Blitzwing...

So.

Recollect when I uttered "It's actually quite nice (with a few quibbles I have but don't mar the whole caboodle)"?

Yes, um, I'm going to babble about one of those quibbles and, to me at least, it's the most significant problem with "Filli Vanilli": Pinkamena, what the (insert expletive here)!?

Pinkamena in "Filli Vanilli" is, to use a coarse expletive here, a bitch. Pinkamena is so oddly antagonistic and uncaring, what with her driving Fluttershy to tears in the first few minutes by hitting all of her fears about being on stage, her bragging about the turkey call and how Macintosh can't use his voice anymore, her driving Fluttershy from her cottage by hitting on her fears again after she fled when her lip-syncing was unveiled, and her "you sounded as though you were a dude" comment when everybody was trying to get Fluttershy.

Pinkamena may be at times goofy and a bit of a space cadet but she's not so cruel. She's ultimately empathetic. Her raison d'etre is to make everybody around her happy and smiling. She's the reason Ponyville isn't full of rude, grumpy, unpleasant ponies. She even knew as early as when Gilda came to Ponyville that Fluttershy is a bit fragile so she shouldn't be pranked.

She is-was-is-was the Element of Laughter, for lord's sake! She's not this malicious and if she ever was, she would realize it, apologize, and try to make up for it!

It's actually reminiscent of "Luna Eclipsed" where most of Pinkamena's significant moments in there is undoing any of Luna's attempts to get into the spirit of Nightmare Night. It's a prime example of how to misuse Pinkamena's oddness by having her create problems for the protagonist and generally act as though she's the antagonist, even when there is no actual antagonist.

I recall the last time this discussion came up, someone suggested that Pinkie thought she was being helpful because she didn't understand Fluttershy's feelings and treated her the way she would want to be treated herself.

i don't think that works, given how clearly uncomfortable Fluttershy was and how unremorseful Pinkie was after everything

it's just a case of the writers not knowing how to write pinkie pie or write in general but overall the episode is pretty strong imo, despite that

Kegisak. He said that (or a thing similar to it) and I can see a little how you could think that Pinkamena is trying to help Fluttershy by showing how ridiculous her fears are through exaggeration.

Having seen "Filli Vanilli", it really doesn't seem that way to me and the problem is that she doesn't seem to realize what she did or how it was wrong. She doesn't seem to care about what she did or it's effects and she has this attitude through the entire thing. She's almost the villain, doing what a villain would normally do: create problems for the protagonist and get under their skin, which is pretty much every thing she does every time she opens her gob!

It's one of the worst- nay, the worst- version of Pinkamena I've seen! What the bugger...

...

Amy Keating Rogers!?

Edited by fredhot16 on Jan 23rd 2019 at 6:35:12 AM

My interpretation of Pinkie's behavior in Filli Vanilli is a mix of two possible explanations (not excuses; Pinkie can be Innocently Insensitive at times but she usually isn't that oblivious to how much she's distressing her friends).

• The first is that Pinkie probably would find it hard to even comprehend the idea of fearing applause. She'd probably understand not wanting to be booed off of stage, but the idea that Fluttershy is afraid of even positive attention from the audience might not have crossed her mind.
• I also suspect she might have been subconsciously jealous of Fluttershy getting asked to sing instead of her, since she loves performing so much more (and can be possessive of her place in the spotlight, as shown in "Pinkie Pride"). Mainly because her first "speech" to Fluttershy mentions other ponies judging Fluttershy because they're jealous of her.

Edited by Rainbow on Jan 23rd 2019 at 9:06:17 AM

Welcome to Inconsistent Pinkie! Is she nice and considerate? A fun loving goofball who doesn't always pay attention? Overbearing and needy? An obnoxious bother ponies just tolerate because "that's Pinkie Pie"? An inconsiderate jerk? It Depends On The Writer!

This is basically where Pinkie started losing a lot of fans. We will see more variations on this less appealing side of Pinkie from time to time. Pinkie is pretty much the least consistently written character of the mane six. Every writer seems to have a different idea on how entertaining and socially capable Pinkie is.

Rarity will eventually fall victim to inconsistent writing as well, but she hasn't reached her peak yet at that point.

Post of the Day #2405

Posted by Seraphem on Mon, 26th Mar '12 12:44:35 PM - Post #136457 in the old thread

I liked Pinkie in The Mean 6. With her standing up to Twilight and instantly going to comfort Fluttershy when they found her crying.

And when Fluttershy was going off on Rarity after getting lessons from the minotaur, she stood up for Rarity!

One of her most positive traits is that she cares for everybody around her! She's not this callous!

Like I said, it's inconsistent writing. What more can we say? She was badly written in that episode.