I may not be the biggest fan or “brony” out there, but I have enjoyed the new My Little Pony series, including last year’s Equestria Girls movie. With the series and movie doing so well, it was just a matter of time before the sequel came along, and now it’s here in My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks. And like any good sequel, it takes what made the first film great and builds upon it to make something even better.
Set not long after the events of the first movie in a world where the ponies are human, and Sunset Shimmer tried to steal Twilight Sparkle’s crown and become all powerful, we now see Sunset has renounced her evil ways and is trying to cope with being looked down on while doing her best to make friends and help others. Not long after her and the rest of the pony cast are getting ready for a music show at their school, Canterlot High, three evil sirens named Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk come along to raise havoc with their magic singing voices that incite anger and other negative emotions which they feed off of to become stronger. After hypnotizing the principal and her assistant into letting them make a battle of the bands contest to draw up angry competition between all of the students, the sirens plan to use this negative energy feast to become all-powerful and take over things forever.
Trying to find a way to help out and redeem herself, Sunset reaches out to Twilight Sparkle in the pony world via a magic book she can write in that shows text in another magic book there, for her help. After Twilight uses her ingenuity to make a portal machine to take her back to the human world, it’s up to her, Sunset, and the rest of the girls to stop the sirens and return things to normal. But how will they do it if no one trusts Sunset Shimmer, who just might be the hope everyone needs, and with Twilight doubting herself and the girls fighting among themselves? You’ll have to watch and find out.
I didn’t think I’d enjoy Rainbow Rocks as much as I did, but I’m glad to have watched it on Blu-ray. This movie took what made the first one great and built on it to make an even better film. From the story, the slightly darker tone, and even the songs come together better than before. I’ll admit I was a little worried when I heard there would be more songs here than in the first movie (Pony Overkill?), but they fit perfectly and don’t sound bad at all. In fact, quite a few of them were near Disney-like quality and were stuck in my head long after viewing the movie.
With this being presented in high-definition on Blu-ray, it goes without saying that the crystal clear visuals and audio served to make the experience all the better. While the film is a bit on the short side, running at a little over an hour, there’s some nice extras you can check out afterwards. There’s Audio Commentary with some of the cast and crew, eight prequel shorts featuring the girls just before things kick off in the movie, and of course sing-a-longs to some of the cool songs featured throughout the film. It would’ve been cool if they threw in some episodes from the series, but the extras here will entertain fans and newcomers alike.
My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks does in fact rock, as it’s easily one of the best family movies I’ve seen this year. Everything has been stepped up from the first film, from the story, to a slightly more darker edge, and especially the songs – ponies and bronies alike will find plenty to love here. So saddle up and gallop to your nearest store for a copy, and find out just how much rainbow rocks.
