Is it Crap?: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks

When I started writing for Game Show Garbage earlier this year, the first induction I did was My Little Pony: Equestria Girls. Reason mainly being that it felt like a particularly piss poor spinoff movie intended to try to get a new IP in the doll market being dominated by Monster High. Its plot was stupid and at times nonsensical, suffered from too many quickly resolved conflicts, had the blandest character in series history with Flash Sentry, and suffered from way too much "Twilight Sparkle fixes everyhing".

So, when in February of this year it was announced that the sequel "Rainbow Rocks" would be coming out, I was cautiously optimistic. Why? Because I know for all the flaws with the first film, most could be attributed to DHX being given this new IP to work with and with very little time to build new ideas for it. Also, being the first movie, it had to suffer from introducing and building this new human horse world.

When the film was released a month ago, i managed to see it the best way I knew how... by means of a camera rip from the Cinema release. And was my optimism rewarded?

In almost every way.

The plot to Rainbow Rocks sees it being not too long after the events of the first movie. Sunset Shimmer, the villain of the previous film, is now trying to be a good person, despite nobody but the main five giving her a chance. But their attempts at goodness are interrupted by three girls known as the Dazzlings, who seem to have musical powers that bring out the negativity in others. Their goal is to execute a battle of the bands to feast on the negativity of everyone, including our heroes. With everyone under their spell but our heroes, Sunset Shimmer sends a message to Twilight Sparkle in Equestria, who may be the only one who can find a way to put a stop to the plans of the evil sirens. But with their band the Rainbooms having a hard time getting along, can they put a stop to the Dazzings, and will it be Twilight who saves the day this time?

So, what makes this film work where the other one didn't? At a glance, the concept of a battle of the bands story is no more original than the first's fall formal story. But it does work as the backdrop to the plot. The main story within really focuses more on Sunset Shimmer, who does actually feel remorse for her past actions. You do see her wanting to change the preconceptions that everyone has about her, and without spoiling much, most of the story does hinge on her actions more than even franchise protagonist Twilight.

The mane six all get entertaining moments in this episode. They play off each other great, and feel a lot more like the pony versions you know so well. And even that feeling of "Twilight and five strangers" feels like it's gone as well. You get them at all their best traits. Rarity being fashion obsessed, Pinkie Pie being random, Applejack being the voice of reason, Rainbow Dash being arrogant, and Fluttershy... well, I think you get the point there.

The Dazzlings also make for fun villains, albeit a bit too stereotypical. You get Adagio the leader, Aria the angry one, and Sonata, the dimwitted one that everyone loves. Reminds me a lot of the Misfits from Jem. The film also features tons of humanized cameos from many of the show's most beloved side characters and background ponies, and one certain "great and powerful" one plays a bigger role in this as well.

The animation also feels like a step up from the last film. Character designs feel like they've greatly improved with the year or work since the first, and some of the effects really stand out for a cartoon animated in flash. It feels like there was far more effort put in not just the designs, but the music as well. Being a movie about a battle of the bands, there's tons of new songs, many of which feel as on par with the show, and have far more variety than the same sounding ones in the original Equestria Girls. And some of them are far more catchy as well.



And how about Flash Sentry? Surely he's gotten more interesting right?

Nah, he still sucks.

But he's barely in the film, so he's hardly a detriment to it.

So, in the end, is Rainbow Rocks crap? Not at all. It has a few flaws in parts, but everything else involved is a top notch animated film. It's definitely a sign of DHX wanting to make something of this spinoff, while also keeping the original series going strong into its fifth season (as well as a now planned MLP movie in 2017). There is a third EQG movie planned for next year, so it should be interesting to see where we go from here. But for now, this is definitely a vast improvement. from where we started

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rock will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray on October 28th.