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[ShinySylvee]

kinda off topic, but im delighted about the number of Rarity Avatars in this thread.

In a way it's kinda not off-topic because some of us changed our avatars to Rarity for the trailer of the movie. Trig and Sigma have had theirs for a month or so but everyone else changed it in the past couple days for the trailer. I actually really like my new avatar though so I'll probably keep it for a while.



Realistically I anticipate Starlight having a couple lines and largely not playing a significant role in the story. Just enough so the fans of her can say "oh well at least she was in the movie" but not so much that they would actually have to characterize her. Her backstory and personality is too complicated to be explained in a couple seconds and since they've already got a ton of characters to introduce for the movie for newcomers I don't think it makes sense to dedicate so much time to establish just one character. My hope is that there'll be some massive brawl that breaks out and we can see her kicking some ass with her magic. Hopefully if there's a second movie they'll feel more comfortable giving her a more prominent role.

Also for what it's worth it's cool seeing a ton of the well-known recurring characters like Bulk Biceps and Party Favor getting some attention in the trailer. Those small bits really helped sell me that this is actually going to take place in the show's world rather then some story that technically takes place in the world of MLP but doesn't really engage with the characters and story aside from having the Mane 6.

Also apparently there's another trailer a minute long coming out sometime soon. My guess is that it's going to be the Mane 6 trailer I mentioned earlier, showing off some of them that didn't get any real recognition in the original trailer.

 

[Ogodei]

What excuse are they going to have for sidelining Tia and Luna this time?

 

[DrForester]

What excuse are they going to have for sidelining Tia and Luna this time?

Hey, it's a unicorn with a broken horn and a guy with a magic stick.

Demi-gods that control the heavens can't possibly stand up to that.

 

[Myke Greywolf]

Well, I liked it! I'll be looking forward to it. It really captures the feel of early MLP and old-school grand adventure for kids, with an updated look.

I'm slightly concerned over the prospect of most of the mane 6 being sidelined to make space for the celebrity-voiced newcomers to shine, but eh, I'm sure it will still be enjoyable.

Spent last evening drawing Tempest Shadow in my style. I'll probably draw Captain Celaeno tonight.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Well, I liked it! I'll be looking forward to it. It really captures the feel of early MLP and old-school grand adventure for kids, with an updated look.

I'm slightly concerned over the prospect of most of the mane 6 being sidelined to make space for the celebrity-voiced newcomers to shine, but eh, I'm sure it will still be enjoyable.

Spent last evening drawing Tempest Shadow in my style. I'll probably draw Captain Celaeno tonight.

Great to hear that you're making movie art. I view this as more of a "casual" thread, so you should probably post them in the season 7 OT. I plan on doing a fan art roundup there later too.

Concerning Starlight, her role is almost certainly one or two lines at the start, likely with Trixie, and some fighting during the inevitable part where the Storm King's army attacks Ponyville.

Concerning the princesses, it would be hilarious if they just don't appear in the movie at all. Though my actual hope is that they are able to fend off Storm King's armada and put up a barrier to keep them out, but it's up to the Mane Six to break the stalemate.

About another trailer coming out, I'm looking forward to it. Especially since I don't have to fret about creating a new thread on time.

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

Is Lauren Faust no longer associated with the show?

 

[SigmasonicX]

Is Lauren Faust no long associated with the show?

She left halfway through season 2, with Meghan McCarthy taking over. But during season 5, McCarthy was promoted out of that position and we've had a different show runner every season since.

Faust still gets credited in the opening, but she is no longer associated with the show. A comic adaptation of the movie lists her as a writer, but we don't know what that actually means yet.

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

She left halfway through season 2, with Meghan McCarthy taking over. But during season 5, McCarthy was promoted out of that position and we've had a different show runner every season since.

Faust still gets credited in the opening, but she is no longer associated with the show. A comic adaptation of the movie lists her as a writer, but we don't know what that actually means yet.

Interesting. I assumed she was in a Matt Groening-esque position where she still oversees production but isn't necessarily involved with the day-to-day creative process.

 

[DemWalls]

What excuse are they going to have for sidelining Tia and Luna this time?

Well, we don't know for sure whether they will be or not. From the trailer we can guess the Mane 6 will be forced to leave Canterlot, and we'll obviously follow them, but what will those two do in the meantime? We shall see.

 

[UberTag]

Interesting. I assumed she was in a Matt Groening-esque position where she still oversees production but isn't necessarily involved with the day-to-day creative process.

Even saying that Groening still oversees production of The Simpsons is stretching things. He's a creative consultant. Outside of chipping in on the movie script a decade ago, his actual contributions have been downright minimal. He's more of a PR figurehead. Dude has too much money in the bank to bother with much else.

Well, we don't know for sure whether they will be or not. From the trailer we can guess the Mane 6 will be forced to leave Canterlot, and we'll obviously follow them, but what will those two do in the meantime? We shall see.

I'm assuming that Cadance and Shining Armor will be away at some "parenting seminar" (which will be code for a much-needed vacation getaway for their own sanity) and Celestia and Luna will be relegated to babysitting Flurry Heart while the Mane 6 and Spike are away saving the day. They'll invariably struggle in their babysitting duties until Derpy bails them out. They'll resolve that being a parent is much harder than overseeing the rising and setting of the Sun and Moon along with all of their royal duties. Many laughs will be had at their expense while DrForester vows to never watch the movie again.

 

[Trigonometrize.]

Well, we don't know for sure whether they will be or not. From the trailer we can guess the Mane 6 will be forced to leave Canterlot, and we'll obviously follow them, but what will those two do in the meantime? We shall see.

Some villain eventually needs to address the fact that they can't actually kill them because otherwise say goodbye to the day and night cycle.

 

[DemWalls]

Concerning the princesses, it would be hilarious if they just don't appear in the movie at all. Though my actual hope is that they are able to fend off Storm King's armada and put up a barrier to keep them out, but it's up to the Mane Six to break the stalemate.

They briefly appear in the trailer, so they'll certainly be present. Cadance, also. The part they'll play, though, that's something to look forward to.

Some villain eventually needs to address the fact that they can't actually kill them because otherwise say goodbye to the day and night cycle.

Not a problem, Starlight can take care of that should they, finally, depart.

 

[Myke Greywolf]

Concerning the princesses, it would be hilarious if they just don't appear in the movie at all. Though my actual hope is that they are able to fend off Storm King's armada and put up a barrier to keep them out, but it's up to the Mane Six to break the stalemate.

Celestia, Luna and Cadance show up in the trailer for a few frames at 0:29.

 

[hatmoza]

Man, there was phase in my life where I hit rock-bottom in life in 2012. Single, loner, socially awkward, no true friends, only saw the negative in people and life... MLP was all the rage then, bronies, etc. I clinged on to that show as an excuse or rather a desperate need for happiness. I easily got swallowed into the "love, friendship, and happiness" themes.
I'm rather embarrassed to have ever claimed I was a brony those brief few months before I snapped out of it.

I'm a family man now working an international job in Dubai. I kinda forgot all about the brony phenomenon. anyways, all this writing just to say I'm genuinely shocked bronies still exist.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Man, there was phase in my life where I hit rock-bottom in life in 2012. Single, loner, socially awkward, no true friends, only saw the negative in people and life... MLP was all the rage then, bronies, etc. I clinged on to that show as an excuse or rather a desperate need for happiness. I easily got swallowed into the "love, friendship, and happiness" themes.
I'm rather embarrassed to have ever claimed I was a brony those brief few months before I snapped out of it.

I'm a family man now working an international job in Dubai. I kinda forgot all about the brony phenomenon. anyways, all this writing just to say I'm genuinely shocked bronies still exist.

To be fair, we had a conversation about this recently, and apparently no one in PonyGAF actually considers themself to be a brony, haha.

I'm happy the show and the fandom brought you some comfort during that dark time in your life, though I am curious what made you "snap out of it".

 

[hatmoza]

To be fair, we had a conversation about this recently, and apparently no one in PonyGAF actually considers themself to be a brony, haha.

I'm happy the show and the fandom brought you some comfort during that dark time in your life, though I am curious what made you "snap out of it".

Admitting to myself that my mental health was at risk.

 

[Myke Greywolf]

To be fair, we had a conversation about this recently, and apparently no one in PonyGAF actually considers themself to be a brony, haha.

Well this is awkward. :|

 

[GreenMonkey]

I'm not a brony, but my kids (11 and 9) have been watching the show for years.

It's pretty decent. Esp. like Discord myself.

Especially compared to some of the other crap they watched over the years (Winx club comes to mind, ugh, or the awful barbie movies).

They've stopped collecting ponies quite so avidly, but they still like the show, and they're excited for the movie (I showed them the trailer).

 

[ahoyhoy]

I'm not a brony, but my kids (11 and 9) have been watching the show for years.

It's pretty decent. Esp. like Discord myself.

Especially compared to some of the other crap they watched over the years (Winx club comes to mind, ugh, or the awful barbie movies).

They've stopped collecting ponies quite so avidly, but they still like the show, and they're excited for the movie (I showed them the trailer).

It's kind of crazy your youngest probably doesn't remember a time before Gen 4 existed.

Like, Pinkie has been a constant their entire life.

 

[GreenMonkey]

It's kind of crazy your youngest probably doesn't remember a time before Gen 4 existed.

Like, Pinkie has been a constant their entire life.

Yeah they picked up and dropped a lot of stuff over the years.

MLP has stuck around longer than anything else.

They just picked up playing Fantasy Life again on their 3dses, so, some things come and go. Probably their most played game.

 

[SigmasonicX]

It's kind of crazy your youngest probably doesn't remember a time before Gen 4 existed.

Like, Pinkie has been a constant their entire life.

It's pretty crazy. A week ago over in the Community thread, I posted this fan animation. I thought it was alright, rough at the start but getting better as it went on. Then I discovered the animator was only 14, which made it more impressive. Then I realized that meant FiM was around for most of her life, and I was like fffffffff

 

[ShinySylvee]

Well this is awkward. :|

To be honest I feel a lot of people didn't want to identify themselves as a Brony since the term has gotten a negative vibe over the years. The word Is often associated with the more obsessive and creepy parts of the fandom and to avoid people making assumptions about them I feel most people would avoid describing themselves as one bcause they don't want any of the negative baggage that often goes with it. It's the same deal with the term "Gamer" and why a lot of people on this board don't call themselves one. I'm one of the biggest fans of the show on this board and even I hesitate to call myself a Brony, I wouldn't take that people aren't calling themselves bronies too seriously.

Another part is that people might like the show and the community built around it but don't consider it a part of their core identity and as such don't want to use the term to describe themselves

 

[Trigonometrize.]

Man, there was phase in my life where I hit rock-bottom in life in 2012. Single, loner, socially awkward, no true friends, only saw the negative in people and life... MLP was all the rage then, bronies, etc. I clinged on to that show as an excuse or rather a desperate need for happiness. I easily got swallowed into the "love, friendship, and happiness" themes.
I'm rather embarrassed to have ever claimed I was a brony those brief few months before I snapped out of it.

I'm a family man now working an international job in Dubai. I kinda forgot all about the brony phenomenon. anyways, all this writing just to say I'm genuinely shocked bronies still exist.

People are going through those phases all the time and the show+fandom are still going, so I don't think it's that shocking.

 

[UberTag]

I have far too many hobbies (and far too little disposable time to enjoy them) to subscribe to any particular fandom label.
And I could cut any of them loose from my routine and devote time to the others without so much as batting an eyelash.

Except for GAF. I NEED GAF. I'm a Gaffy.

 

[Strider_Blaze]

Looking at the trailer again, the CG is pretty conspicuous.

However, the actual character animation...

IT'S GORGEOUS! Definitely worth the wait! And not surprising given Toon Boom does a good job in animation: the 1st SpongeBob movie, the Simpsons Movie, Iron Giant, even Princess and the Frog. All films that were personally great IMO; still haven't watched the 2nd SB movie.

Rare these days to see a traditionally animated film hit theaters. Won't hope that this will make bank, but I will be there for sure!

Spoiler

I bet this will be the best Hasbro film in recent memory and probably by default considering all the other films released before it.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Ugh, now that this thread is actually successful, I'm conflicted about where to put movie news.

I guess for major(ish) news, I'll prioritize this thread, and lesser news will go to the season 7 thread first, until activity here dies down at least.

Anyway, the movie will be 99 minutes! (source, click on Fact Sheet & Synopsis). Wow, that's way longer than I was expecting. Hopefully that means it won't be as cramped as we all thought it was going to be.

Also, official GIF creator for the trailer. Here is what Equestria Daily's Sethisto made.

And Entertainment Tonight briefly talked to Emily Blunt about the movie.

 

[Trigonometrize.]

Emily Blunt said Tempest "comes back"

Do we have some more thousand year shit on our hands?

And not even on the fact sheet do any of the pony actors get any mentions.

 

[ShinySylvee]

Emily Blunt said Tempest "comes back"

Do we have some more thousand year shit on our hands?

And not even on the fact sheet do any of the pony actors get any mentions.

Tempest at one point lived in Equestria before leaving for some reason. There's a prequel book) where she scouts out Canterlot in preparation for the invasion while also apparently going into her backstory and why she defected. There isn't a ton of info on it yet because the prequel hasn't been released yet but we do know for now that she's definitely from Equestria and left.

Also the reality is that no one is going to go "Oh man I wasn't that interested before but when I heard that the person that voices Martha from Martha Speaks was in it I had to go and see it." The blurbs about who's making the movie isn't about giving credit, it's about selling the movie. Hence why you haven't heard McCarthy or any of the other writers' names pop up in selling the movie either. Or the director. Or pretty much anyone that isn't the guest voice actors. Hell they don't even give Lauren Faust any credit and they always do that.

Also, official GIF creator for the trailer.

It's a cool idea but the links instead popping up in their super slow to load website kinda kills it for me. Also they need to give the ability to add captions. Really what they need to do is just make the Madden Giferator but with ponies. (Here's where I would put a picture with some Green Bay Packers guy doing a touchdown celebration with Rarity is Best Pony as the text but the website doesn't want to work for me so you're just going to have to imagine it instead)

 

[brian577]

Also the reality is that no one is going to go "Oh man I wasn't that interested before but when I heard that the person that voices Martha from Martha Speaks was in it I had to go and see it." The blurbs about who's making the movie isn't about giving credit, it's about selling the movie. Hence why you haven't heard McCarthy or any of the other writers' names pop up in selling the movie either. Or the director. Or pretty much anyone that isn't the guest voice actors. Hell they don't even give Lauren Faust any credit and they always do that.

But how are these guest VAs going to get people other kids and adult fans to see the movie? This isn't Disney we're talking about. The stereotypes about MLP are going to apply to everyone who isn't already in the know. Nobody outside the target audience is going to see the movie no matter how many celebrities they put in it.

 

[ShinySylvee]

But how are these guest VAs going to get people other kids and adult fans to see the movie? This isn't Disney we're talking about. The stereotypes about MLP are going to apply to everyone who isn't already in the know. Nobody outside the target audience is going to see the movie no matter how many celebrities they put in it.

This movie is targeting the exact same demographics that Disney movies usually target. It's trying to sell itself as a fun adventure that the whole family can enjoy. Whether or not it is succeeding in doing that is yet to be seen but they're definitely trying to target more then just the core fans of the show with the movie and given that the brand has so far proven to be attractive to both girls and boys of a wide variety of ages I don't think that's a foolish endeavor. The main point of them doing a major blockbuster movie with an extensive ad campaign is to try to expand the reach of their brand since a standalone film that anyone with access to a movie theater can check out is much more accessible then watching a 7 season TV show on a channel half the US population get and even less know exists.

My personal theory is that them parading around the celebrity voice actors that they got is more of a status thing then actually trying to get people to go due to a celebrity being in it since aside from Sia I don't feel like any of the talent is an S tier actor that would single-handedly sell tickets. For most people hearing there's an MLP movie coming out I think they'll assume it's some low-key movie aimed at little girls that like horses or the fans of the show, especially since it's 2D and all the big animated movies these days are 3D. (Like it or not I think a lot of moviegoers think that 2D animation is only for TV and that 3D is more legitimate, or at least that's what investors clearly think given that there's barely been any major 2D movies in the past decade) But them shelling out for these fairly well-known actors and actresses gives the movie an air of legitimacy. They wouldn't be paying for these big names if they didn't think this movie was going to be a big deal.

Now you could argue that going around showing off how much money you spent on voice actors in an attempt to legitimize your movie at the expense of the core cast that have made the brand what it is today is a bit disrespectful and I'd be inclined to agree. But I feel like their strategy makes sense to me, at least from a business point of view.

 

[Trigonometrize.]

I think they know they're not getting asses in seats because people really want to see Michael Peña as Grubber. It's more about giving off the impression that the movie is a big deal and attract some people otherwise on the fence. So yeah I agree with Shiny.

 

[UberTag]

Frankly, we should consider ourselves lucky they didn't recast established characters WITH celebrity voice actors for marketing purposes.
The fact that they're not getting acknowledged in the marketing materials doesn't phase me much given that alternative.

 

[DemWalls]

I for once would've loved Patrick Stewart as Princess Celestia.

 

[Trigonometrize.]

I for once would've loved Patrick Stewart as Princess Celestia.

For one or for once? Because if for once, are you saying you don't want Patrick Stewart voicing Celestia all the time? I sure do.

 

[DemWalls]

For one or for once? Because if for once, are you saying you don't want Patrick Stewart voicing Celestia all the time? I sure do.

Sorry, don't know where that c came from

 

[SigmasonicX]

It's weird but unfortunately understandable that the actual main character VAs aren't being called out in trailers and posters. The best bet is the inevitable Mane Six trailer, but it's possible when they list the character names, they don't have the VAs.

The German trailer has some different footage!
* Everyone being fired out of a cannon by the bird pirates in order to get past a tornado.
* A tornado attacking Canterlot. My mistake, was in the US trailer.
* No section calling out guest stars, because it's a German dub.

 

[DrForester]

Liking the changes in the German trailer.

 

[Cheerilee]

Anyway, have you watched the movie trailer yet? I notice you didn't make a post in the trailer topic about it yet. Make sure to post it in that thread instead of making this thread too pony-focused >_>

I saw it as soon as you posted it, and then I sort of opened my mouth (flexed my fingers, whatever) as if I had something to say, before realizing that I really had nothing to say about the trailer.

It's a trailer for a theatrical MLP:FIM Movie. I'm still kind of amazed that it's reached this point, but that's not a new thought.

The visuals look weird, but... entirely right and normal?

There are sparkles and pop music, and celebrity cameos are namedropped in this trailer.

I'm kind of surprised that they're Thor Ragnarok-ing Equestria for the Movie, and I'm not sure how such a thing is supposed to be possible when you have three or four God-Princesses protecting the city, but nerfing Celestia and Luna for the sake of conflict is old news by this point... and I'm even a couple of seasons behind in watching MLP:FIM! (Hey Dr F, give me a non-specific hint, have they been doing Celestia justice lately?)

 

[DrForester]

I saw it as soon as you posted it, and then I sort of opened my mouth (flexed my fingers, whatever) as if I had something to say, before realizing that I really had nothing to say about the trailer.

It's a trailer for a theatrical MLP:FIM Movie. I'm still kind of amazed that it's reached this point, but that's not a new thought.

The visuals look weird, but... entirely right and normal?

There are sparkles and pop music, and celebrity cameos are namedropped in this trailer.

I'm kind of surprised that they're Thor Ragnarok-ing Equestria for the Movie, and I'm not sure how such a thing is supposed to be possible when you have three or four God-Princesses protecting the city, but nerfing Celestia and Luna for the sake of conflict is old news by this point... and I'm even a couple of seasons behind in watching MLP:FIM! (Hey Dr F, give me a non-specific hint, have they been doing Celestia justice lately?)

She's been more present in the show as of S7, but she and Luna are still totally irrelevant any time villains shows up.

 

[SigmasonicX]

I saw it as soon as you posted it, and then I sort of opened my mouth (flexed my fingers, whatever) as if I had something to say, before realizing that I really had nothing to say about the trailer.

It's a trailer for a theatrical MLP:FIM Movie. I'm still kind of amazed that it's reached this point, but that's not a new thought.

The visuals look weird, but... entirely right and normal?

There are sparkles and pop music, and celebrity cameos are namedropped in this trailer.

I'm kind of surprised that they're Thor Ragnarok-ing Equestria for the Movie, and I'm not sure how such a thing is supposed to be possible when you have three or four God-Princesses protecting the city, but nerfing Celestia and Luna for the sake of conflict is old news by this point... and I'm even a couple of seasons behind in watching MLP:FIM! (Hey Dr F, give me a non-specific hint, have they been doing Celestia justice lately?)

Many people think Celestia got a good episode recently. DrForester doesn't.

 

[Cheerilee]

Many people think Celestia got a good episode recently. DrForester doesn't.

I was basically asking a rigged question that I already knew the answer to (I haven't posted anything lately, but I've been keeping half an eye on the MLP threads).

 

[SigmasonicX]

While preparing a big follow up post for the trailer in the season 7 OT (containing fan art and such), I came across these comparisons. The Trixie one is singled out below.

I thought the German trailer looked better for some reason! But when I directly compared the videos, I couldn't be sure what was different. Now we know for sure that the shadows and other aspects are actually better in the German trailer! It's very likely that, just like the teaser trailer, whoever made the American trailer screwed up the compression somehow. Amazing that they'd mess this up twice, though the effect isn't as bad as it was in the teaser. The German trailer likely better reflects how the movie actually looks.

This comparison (German on the left this time) also shows a larger change in a scene's layout.

 

[PaulloDEC]

While preparing a big follow up post for the trailer in the season 7 OT (containing fan art and such), I came across these comparisons. The Trixie one is singled out below.

I thought the German trailer looked better for some reason! But when I directly compared the videos, I couldn't be sure what was different. Now we know for sure that the shadows and other aspects are actually better in the German trailer! It's very likely that, just like the teaser trailer, whoever made the American trailer screwed up the compression somehow. Amazing that they'd mess this up twice, though the effect isn't as bad as it was in the teaser. The German trailer likely better reflects how the movie actually looks.

This comparison (German on the left this time) also shows a larger change in a scene's layout.

I sure hope it's a mistake. Here's one of the most stark comparisons I could find:

The German version looks very similar to the show, while the English version looks like Twilight's had a stock Photoshop bevel/emboss effect applied to her.

 

[ShinySylvee]

Been a while since we've had some posts in this thread. We've been posting all of the news that has come out about the movie over in the Season 7 and Movie OT. However, since there's a lot of people that don't want to have to sift through all of the show stuff to get to it I thought it might be a good idea to do periodic recap posts here so it can be easy for you to keep up to date on all the new info coming out. Without further ado:

Supplementary material

There's a ton of supplementary material coming out for the movie. There are several comics and a novel or two that are focused on expanding on several of the characters that will appear in the movie. To my knowledge all of them will end up being prequels so they won't directly spoil things that happen in the movie but they likely will hint at things so if you want to go into the movie with a completely fresh unspoiled experience I guess you might want to wait until you've seen it until checking them out. The first one has already been released and it's a prequel comic focusing on the Storm King, the main villain of the movie. You can check out a preview for it here.

The next comic will be focusing on Captain Celaeno and her band of pirates. The comic itself will be dropping on July 26th but they've already released a preview for it which you can find here.

There's also been a comic focused on Capper and a novel showing Tempest Shadow's backstory back when she lived in Equestria that have been revealed to be coming out as well. The comic should be coming out August 23rd and the book will be out August 29th I believe. There's a couple others coming out as well but I'll post about them as we get more details and get closer to their release.



Speaking of books we got to see some artwork for the upcoming Art of the My Little Pony Movie book coming out August 29th. You can check out all of the art released here, although it's in extremely low quality and the blurbs about each of the characters at the end is a little bit spoilery. Keep in mind that the following picture and much of the art in the article is hinted at not being in the final version of the movie.

Larger version

Story info

The last thing I want to talk about for now is some character descriptions that were found the past couple days, the first being from a Polish source and the other being an English one that had apparently been up since July 5th. Equestria Daily has since taken down both of their articles for them so unfortunately all I can really do is just quote them here. Keep in mind that these descriptions either directly or greatly imply each of these characters' arc through the movie and so I would consider them fairly spoilery. As per usual avoid them if you don't want it and any discussion about this info should be used with spoiler tags.

Spoiler

Songbird Serenade is THE biggest performer in all of Equestria. She uses her angelic voice and incredible performing skills to celebrate the magic of friendship. What really makes Songbird so beloved in Equestria is her deep belief in the values about which she sings. She donates her time and effort to any cause, and is always willing to give back to her adoring fans that make her a star. She's beyond excited to debut a big new song at the biggest festival in the history of Equestria.

Once brash and bold explorers, Captain Celaeno and her crew are now relegated to serving as mere messengers for the Storm King. But all that changes when Captain Celaeno discovers the ponies aboard her ship. They remind her of how awesome she once was and encourage her to return to her adventurous and courageous ways. In the end, the Captain and her crew play a vital role in helping Princess Twilight and her friends save Equestria from the Storm King.

Capper, a smooth-talking (and singing) con-artist, was once a swanky aristocrat living the high-life with pride and dignity. That is, until Storm King came into power. A deal gone wrong turned Capper's threads on fleek into colorless rags, leaving Capper penniless and in a lifelong debt with the Storm King. To make ends meet, he relies on his wit and charm, distracting unsuspecting victims from his quick hands and swift tail. Capper’s crimes aren’t driven by malice. At his core, he feels a deep insecurity at his fall from grace, and believes his appearance dictates his status.

Bubbly, chatty, curious and forever bored, young Princess Skystar passes the time in Seaquestria by making friends out of shells and giving them names like Shelly and Sheldon. Desperate to discover new friends and adventures, Skystar is thrilled when the Mane 6 discover their world and is ultimately the reason that they agree to help the Ponies in their quest.

Grubber, a pug-faced hedgehog soldier, hails from a tribe of hardened warriors. Unfortunately for Grubber, he lacks the size of his kinsmen. But that doesn't stop him from talking tough and rough like the others. He's earned his place of honor as the assistant to the nefarious Storm King through his wise-cracking and cunning. Though he’s quick with joke and a battle-strategy, he’d probably be much happier just relaxing in the sunshine with some tasty treats. At his core, Grubber is just a good guy put in a bad situation.

Tempest is a unicorn from Equestria who has lost her way (and her magic) and joined the wrong side of the fight, acting as a henchman for the Storm King. Jaded, angry and feeling betrayed by her friends in Equestria, Tempest has become the Storm King's second-in-command and chief bounty hunter, tasked with tracking down and capturing the Mane 6. She has agreed to this mission in exchange for the return of her magic.

Once the majestic Queen of the mighty Hippogriff Kingdom (magnificent creatures who are half horse/half bird), Queen Novo and her subjects were forced to flee when the Storm King invaded their land, using Hippogriff magic to transform into Seaponies (half horse/half fish). Now, hiding far beneath the ocean, Queen Novo rules over the beautiful underwater kingdom of Seaquestria and enjoys the finer things in life, like Coconut Martinis and massages from an Octopus named Jamal. But even though Queen Novo claims that she and her subjects made the right decision to flee their beloved home, she secretly yearns for the life she once knew above the waves. She is the mother of the chatty undersea Princess Skystar.

The Storm King is the evil and iron-fisted ruler of all the lands south of Equestria. He spent the past several years expanding his empire and now he has his sights set north on the homeland of our little ponies. Loud, angry, and a little bit crazy, he has defeated all potential threats to his kingdom with his vast army of fearsome Storm Creatures.

This is my first time making one of these style of posts so feedback would be appreciated, both in terms of formatting and what kind of content you're looking to see in it. For more discussion on the upcoming movie, check out the Season 7+Movie OT

 

[SigmasonicX]

We have a clip! It's from the end of one of the beginning songs, which is probably used to introduce the main characters. Includes a Derpy sighting, along with many other side characters.

Movie is rated PG.

Prequel book The Stormy Road to Canterlot has been released, with a 34 page preview. A summary can be found here. Apparently it isn't good, and filled with continuity errors.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Trailer 2, focusing on one of the villains, Tempest Shadow, voiced by Emily Blunt.
EDIT: YouTube

Not a huge fan of the way the trailer was edited, but holy crap, the animation looks amazing! I didn't notice any of the weird shading from the previous trailer, and the lighting and effects are great! The ship still looks rough, but I think it looks better than before. Maybe? We get a bit of one movie song, and then an unfitting "We Got the Beat". Rarity has some fun moments, though they're definitely struggling with how FiM isn't that conducive to "trailer humor".

In older news, the junior novelization was released a while ago, so we already know the general story. The Art of MLP the Movie also came out, and it looks amazing. I'll definitely pick it up after I see the movie.

 

[SigmasonicX]

San Francisco Chronicle is holding a raffle to see the movie on September 30, available only to subscribers. Attendees will be photographed for use in a possible article about the event. Visiting the page will make a registration pop up appear, blocking the article, but you can prevent that by pressing stop in time.

Theaters in France and Germany are also holding early screenings on October 1, and others are sure to pop up.

Sia's song for the movie, "Rainbow", is available for purchase.
Spotify
iTunes
Google Play

 

[SigmasonicX]

There will be a World Premiere showing of this movie on September 24 (Sunday) in New York City, with other early showings on September 30 and October 1, as noted. As such, I will create a spoiler thread for the movie this weekend, and ask people not to discuss movie spoilers in the season 7 OT. This trailer thread can be used for non-spoiler discussion for people who don't want to do so in a thread filled with show discussion.

As of today, the soundtrack is available for purchase at
Amazon
iTunes
Spotify
YouTube
and other places

1. Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Granny Smith, Apple Bloom, Big Mac “We Got This Together”
2. Capper (Taye Diggs) “I’m The Friend You Need”
3. Captain Celaeno (Zoe Saldana), Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, Boyle, First Mate Mullet, Lix Spittle “Time To Be Awesome”
4. Princess Skystar (Kristin Chenoweth), Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity “One Small Thing”
5. Tempest Shadow (Emily Blunt) “Open Up Your Eyes”
6. Songbird Serenade (Sia) “Rainbow”
7. Lukas Graham “Off To See The World”
8. Rachel Platten “Thank You For Being A Friend”
9. DNCE “Can You Feel It”
10. Jessie James Decker “I’ll Chase The Sky”
11. CL “No Better Feelin’”
12. Palmer Reed “I’ll Be Around”
13. Lukas Nelson “Neighsayer”

The first six songs are known to be in the movie, with the first five done by the show's composer. Others are just for the soundtrack, including the trailer song from Lukas Graham, and yes, the one after that is a remix of the Golden Girls theme.

TV spots started airing earlier this week. Quoted due to laziness.

TV spots for The Movie:

TV Spot #1
TV Spot #2
TV Spot #3

Mostly stuff we've seen, and the middle has forced "LOOK AT THESE ACTORS" stuff. Oddly, it edits the cake scene to make the entire thing fall at once. You can tell it's an edit and not an actual change from how ponies and background objects teleport a bit.

The music video for "Rainbow" by Sia is officially up, but note it contains shots from the end of the movie. Those scenes look really pretty, though.

Voice actor sizzle reel from HasCon. Not much to say about the voice actor segments (other than it still being weird to see Rainbow Dash's voice come out of Ashleigh Ball's mouth), but the movie clips are neat.

Preview aired after America's Got Talent, not much we haven't seen here either, but it does have a new desert scene.