(Song Used: Crazy Little Voices by Ra)

First I want to say before I get to my thoughts let me overview a bit of my opinions of the previous films.

I didn’t like the first film. It always feels like the staff was given a list of High School movie cliches to hit and barely did anything to make them interesting. The best part of the movie was Twilight fighting with her wings in bed before everything else happens. Aside from one of the catchiest songs in the franchise there’s not much else I’d recommend about the first one. Aside just to see how Rainbow Rocks got where it’s at (Cause otherwise you may be confused on who exactly Sunset is). Because Equestria Girls for me has proven to be one of the few cases where all the sequels continue to blow the first out of the water in every single way.

Rainbow Rocks was a huge improvement, though naturally it still had some things that linger from the first movie. But it truly is a turning point where the series started to try to gain it’s own identity rather then an excuse for Hasbro to sell humanized Pony dolls and try to cash off High School Musical and/or Monster High stuff. With the focus on a battle of the bands, naturally the music is amped up and in particular every one of the songs the Siren’s are amongst some of the best songs this franchise has given us. It does kinda feel like Sunset’s personality changes a little too fast between movies but I think that’s because they didn’t know if they would make another after the first film and when faced with the Sequel had to really make things turn around for Sunset as no doubt she’d be playing a major part from now on as EQG proved successful. There’s a reason that it’s the preferred of the first 3 in most cases, time will tell how people will feel it compares to the fourth as it’s all new. But it was the movie that impressed people enough to started turning around on the series so it still deserves a good amount of credit.

Friendship Games was the movie that officially won me over however thanks in large part of the introduction of Human Twi in the series. It didn’t win over as many people as Rainbow Rocks maybe for not having as good of music and the villains that were advertised either were pretty one-note (Cinch) or didn’t have much screentime (The rest of the shadowbolts) and I admit it’s a flaw of the film. Though for what it did focus on I cherished quite a bit. I view Human Twi as our technical “villain/antagonist” but definitely not in the traditional sense. As all her actions are either not entirely her fault, and the time she does become a villain is the result of the combination of a magic power-up, curiosity, and the corruption in her mind that has resulted from her time in a terrible school environment where most students bully her and even the head of the school isn’t above blackmailing their own students to protect the school’s reputation. I think it really makes one of the more subtly mature morals of the EQG series. And for what it’s worth I feel what it does better then Rainbow Rocks is characterization and a more interesting plotline. I’ve said before that I feel Friendship Games and Rainbow Rocks are at about the same level and they have their strength and weaknesses in different areas. I just prefer what strengths FG has over RR.

But now as we get to the fourth film I think it’s quite possible it’s found a balance that manages to keep a solid quality throughout most of it and it’s now time to get as to why. Catch it after the break.

I first want to say I’m glad the whole thing with Midnight Sparkle didn’t just end after Friendship Games. As much as it was cool to see, it was pretty short-lived, and much like how I said Midnight Sparkle represents all that’s been building up within her with her old school. It shows that even when having gotten out of there, and even put in a much more positive environment. It doesn’t completely go away. It’s excellent that she has such a struggle within her own mind and is essentially afraid she’ll lash out again. That’s what I like to view this subplot to represent. An excellent choice to continue off of a pretty emotionally heavy part of Friendship Games

A bit of a return of the “No Offense” running gag from the 2nd film. However there is a general feeling that Twilight lets it get to her more then Sunset did. So none taken doesn’t apply as well for poor Human Twi. At the very least the next time this happens Sunset notices it hurts Twilight to hear she asks the others to be quiet about it.

And we get our introduction to the new characters Gloriosa Daisy and Timber Spruce. Gloriosa starts off seemingly just as the overly happy camp manager that tries her absolute best to please everybody. Though certainly what comes later for her was not something I expected but was awesome to see.

Timber Spruce on the other hand is actually a really fun character to watch for me. Though I’m sure there is going to be some tension with him within the fanbase as he is made Human Twi’s love interest. But you know what, I may not have liked Flash. But this time around, I’m good with Timber. He has a clear character from the start, he has an important role in this movie, there’s even a bit of red herring scare about him later, and I enjoy his interactions with Human Twi. He’ll probably still get some flack towards him, but know I’m not going to be one of those calling him the new Flash Sentry because he’s not. It’ll probably be hardcore SunLight shippers  (At least of the Human Twi X Sunset variety. They could still try Pony Twi and Sunset) that will have the hardest time accepting him. But either way I just love how dorky he is, anyone that tries their best to make poor Human Twi happy is good with me. The only problem is I don’t know how Timber will fit in the future since where he works doesn’t really leave him too much room to be in other plots that don’t involve the Camp. The only thing that could is if Gloriosa heads the camp by herself with Timber free to at least for a little while to move to the city so he can meet with Human Twilight again as well as do the things he mentioned when he said he’d like to see the city for himself. But at the same time they put much more effort then ever before to match this guy up with Human Twilight so that’s gotta at least be some indication there’s a plan for him. And for those concerned about the possible age difference (I did see some who felt it was rather creepy having a co-counselor flirting with a camper), while I suspected this was the case anyway the director had apparently said that Timber is around 19-20. And the absolute youngest any of the Humane 6 can be is 16-17. So at worst they’re four years apart, Timber’s definitely fairly older but certainly not to a level where it’s too alarming.

Though it wouldn’t be an EQG film without at least some cliche in the story it’s telling (EQG1 was full of them, Rainbow Rocks had the selfish band member that acts like it’s their band until the very end, and Friendship Games had that rival school that was so much better then the protagonist’s school). And of course it’s a camp that’s in trouble of being taken over by a Rich CEO looking to place some sort of resort and/or factory that will probably be harmful for the environment. At the very least it doesn’t take too much time of the movie, but it’s certainly something you can say is “Yeah, this is something we’ve seen too many times of”.

With the scene where Twilight levitates stuff. It makes you wonder that if EQG was a much more mature series there would literally be a threat of Human Twi becoming like Carrie from the Stephen King Book and/or Movie. Carrie’s a nice girl that has telekinetic powers that got bullied a lot has at least one friend and even a love interest later on but at the dance things go haywire and she ends up killing a lot of people. The only thing that’s missing from Human Twi’s side of things is she doesn’t have a mother that’s a religious freak (At least I wouldn’t think Human Twilight Velvet would be like that). I could definitely see someone make a grimdark version of Legend of Everfree in this way though. The dance at the ball could even be the place where the infamous scene could of taken place.

The poor dock in this film, it’s similar to the Apple Family barn in it practically being a running gag that it gets wrecked multiple times over. Rainbow even says later she’s lost count. So for just a bit of fun I’ll count how many times. I’ll even count the first one as when they wreck the old one to start building the new one so: 1

I am kinda glad that Gaia Everfree was not herself the antagonist. (Even if she kinda is but not really when we get to that part) though perhaps even if this spirit herself was involved it’d probably be something like this Spirit is just protecting the forest. Heck even the story itself kind of shows that, showing that she at least has some mercy to allow others to settle a camp there. But this is certainly one case where I’m glad we had a Trailer Always Lie sort of thing.

That’s dock destruction #2

And now we get to my favorite song in the movie. Midnight In Me, it’s a really beautifully done solo from Human Twi. A large improvement over her solo in Friendship Games which wasn’t too bad but it did have a bit too much of the typical “I Want” song you get from Disney Princesses. Not to mention that wasn’t the original plan to be a solo since it was once going to be a duet with Sunset. But this one definitely feels like it was more focused and it’s really well done. Wonderful job to Daniel Ingram and of course Rebecca Shoichet here.

Now each of the HuMane 6 gets a new magic ability in this. Twilight earlier got the levitation, Applejack gets super strength, Rarity gets a diamond shield, Pinkie gets explosives, Fluttershy gets an Aquaman-esque control of animals, and Rainbow gets Super Speed. They for the most part make sense for each of them. And later Sunset gets a bit of a mind reading power, which may be a bit of a stretch (And as some of my friends who I’ve talked about not a good power to fight villains with exactly) but I think they work it in because otherwise the story becomes hard to conclude, as Human Twi would of remained secretive, and it helps reveal how the real villain has been doing behind the scenes, not to mention the time she reads Pinkie’s mind was really funny.

I do got to say that the red herring that Timber is behind some scheme to run everybody out actually kind of scared in me that I was really hoping that wasn’t the case. I suppose it’s a compliment to how he was written that I desperately didn’t want it to be the case that Timber was actually a jerk not just for the sake of how heartbroken Human Twi would of been but also it may have ruined how I actually ended up really liking him as a character on his own merits. So consider me relieved when it was all a red herring.

The song “Embrace the Magic” is while not my favorite is a pretty sweet song itself. And I’m sure people have been waiting for a Sunset solo to actually make it into the film itself. As the only time we’ve seen a Sunset solo is “My Past Is Not Today” which was a short for Rainbow Rocks. Other times it was just Sunset getting a part of the song.

Ok for a moment I’ll address what we get from Flash this movie. It seems that this time they really settle that whole thing this movie. With Sunset telling Flash it’d be best to start getting over Twilight since both in-universe and the way things are going show-wise it won’t go anywhere. I appreciate they took the time needed to canonically end this subplot that has pretty much been a pain since the first movie aired. Flash does try to maybe ask if Sunset would be willing to reconnect, but it doesn’t look like it could go that way. I do have a feeling Sunset never really had too much feelings for him considering their relationship was when she was still evil so I’m not sure what the likelihood is that they’d reconnect. Maybe Flash should just try Human Derpy, after all she has been there to pat him on the back a few times when he feels he’s been rejected. This is probably Flash’s most screentime since the first movie but this time it’s needed screentime to put an end to what’s been a weakness of the series for as long as it started. Not only do they end Flashlight, they have a much improved relationship in the EQG series for Twilight. Because for one this Twilight is actually born and likely living in this world, and the person she has a relationship is actually someone with character that has cute and/or funny interactions with them. The EQG series continues to not only improve in some way with each following part of the series, but effectively get rid of or at least lessen some of the most awkward things of previous films.

But now we get to the reveal that Gloriosa is behind all this and not Timber. Watching it again there were definite foreshadowing for Gloriosa to be the one before this but there was also a decent amount for Timber and even for a time that’s Sunset’s main suspect. But I was still caught by surprise and it’s another thing that’s a plus about this film is that it’s not as predictable as previous films are. Even if you initially suspect Gloriosa the first time watching the whole Sunset suspects Timber leaves a seed of Doubt. All others get fooled by the red herring. Even if of course the mystery only goes down to two suspects it’s a decent mystery of “Which one?” that really hits home. And with the memory reading Sunset gets, it’s where we see her motivation as a result of the danger of Everfree being closed down and replaced with Filthy Rich’s resort. Which while this means this started out with a cliche, it’s used in a great way to influence the actions of what’s really going on. Certainly a villain that is more entwined within the story then the Sirens were since they were just banished from Equestria. She’s probably not quite as much of a sympathetic villain like Human Twi technically was, but it’s great that while the trailer might of made us think that Gaia Everfree herself might of been the villain. But instead we get one that’s at least a little bit of a surprise with clear motivations and everything. If you don’t count Human Twi in Friendship Games, she’s probably the most fleshed out villain/antagonist of the EQG series. As the Sirens were fun and all, but they weren’t that deep in character.

Stand for Everfree is another excellent villain song from Ingram. Probably my 2nd favorite song of this film. I’ve always wondered what it is about villains that seem to really get a good song going in many an animation. But whatever it is from This Day Aria to this one, FiM has some pretty good ones. Oh and of course before I forget. Dock Destruction: 3

Can someone tell Rarity that there is such thing as Natural Springs? Not sure if Everfree actually has something like that but that would technically be all she needs for her Spa. It actually took a 3rd watch to realize that Gloriosa wasn’t mad about how petty Rarity’s reasoning was, cause I didn’t realize Filthy Rich said he was going to make the camp a Spa Resort. So Rarity mentioning the spa was like the absolute worst thing she could of said in front of power-crazy Gloriosa.

There is kind of a part of the movie leak that got technical difficulties and we thus miss a few seconds. As it turns out (After seeing the netflix version) it’s mainly just more of Timber trying to speak out to his sister and failing before Rarity puts a shield around the HuMane 7

And thanks to Sunset and the others Human Twi overcomes Midnight. And manages to save the day. Pointing out that friends can help you along as you struggle coming to terms with the past and/or something that’s been fighting inside you. One thing about this scene yet another part of this franchise where the Magic of Friendship (It’s even once again name dropped as Twilight regains control) wins the day but we should be pretty use to this by this point as even the stronger parts of the show can get a little cheesy in that area.

By the way, I wouldn’t have minded if Timber and Human Twi actually had kissed at the end. Contrast that to my thoughts in the scene where Flash and Pony Twi almost kiss in Rainbow Rocks and you can really see how Timber managed to win me over in a way Flash never did.

On a small note, I thought the Timber X Human Twi Macaroni art we see in the credits sequence really sells him for me. It’s so dorky, but throughout what I saw of him it really works and I can imagine him showing this to Human Twilight. Either making her laugh, go d'aaw, or both at the same time. It’s a perfect testament to how they made it work this time. I won’t mind at all if the next movie or so on did more between the two. I think Timber will still be hit with controversy similar to Flash but I do think there’s much more room for people to like him. There are people who liked Flash despite his lack of character. So I definitely think in the end there will be some support. Most people who won’t be impressed may mainly people who just don’t like Romance in general, or at least being mixed up in Pony-related things, or they’re adamant shippers that would prefer Human Twi with someone else (Likely Sunset).

And with one more dock destruction after the credits that’s 4.

And that was Legend of Everfree. It continues on what was a pretty strong plotline of Friendship Games and provide it’s own flavors. Even the little things feel like it improves it over the other films like this being entirely outside of the school for once. Sure it’s a field trip but it’s a breath of fresh air to be out of a high school so they can get a little more varied with the setting. The inside of the cave in particular was beautiful. I also gotta say the outfits throughout the film were certainly done well too. No longer were the girls all wearing skirts. There’s also a lot more mystery both with reveals within the film and perhaps some that still linger to answer later or just to keep us guessing. Maybe there’s some awkward moments here and there, but overall I think this film managed to have less of the flaws of the previous films. It isn’t full of cliches like the first, it has more interesting plotlines then much of Rainbow Rocks with a villain with more noticeable character and motivations, and it gives the proper screentime needed for the important characters that Friendship Games wasn’t exactly the best at. I must also say is there is plenty of good humor, there were plenty of moments I chuckled throughout. There will probably be some things pointed out but I certainly think each one has been better then the last in some fashion. And LoE is no exception. The series has grown to it’s own identity that’s thrown out pretty much most of the problems that came from the first movie. If there’s still more movies in the future I won’t mind, the end of the movie doesn’t seem like an end to the series just yet as heck it even ends off with a question that could possibly be answered later on. It takes the series out in the open in more then one way.

So nice job DHX on another solid EQG film. With each subsequent film they’ve basically grown on me to the point that I’m pretty much a fan now. So I’m interested in whatever they do next.