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| We made it everyone! |
If someone were to go back by half a decade and tell the me of 2010 that I would become a fan of My Little Pony in October of that very same year, I would have raucously laughed in their face while simultaneously lecturing them of the dangers messing with the time-stream can incur. Even without a flying DeLorean, it amazes me how different things are now. Change can come in so many ways if we simply give it the chance it needs. A mere five years ago no one could have predicted that something like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic would become the pop-culture sensation/phenomenon it is today. Now we have conventions for it all over the globe. There are near infinite amounts of fan works to coincide with the almost countless amounts of memorabilia. I guess it turns out the world was far more ready to venture into the whimsical lands of Equestria than I would've ever initially given credit for. Seldom have we looked back since those inaugural days of sharing memes/screen caps on various image boards, so let us take pause to soak in all that has happened.
I honestly didn't think the show, or the fandom for that matter, would ever make it this far. It feels totally surreal to me that I'm even writing about this singular episode of the now long-standing series that is MLP. Words almost completely fail to convey the level of joy this episode brings to my heart. In all my years of being a part of nerd culture, I've never seen a love letter to a fan base quite like this. This is a beautiful celebratory moment of cross-pollination between the creators and the fans. As a self-admitted brony, I'll be upfront in saying that I couldn't be more satisfied with MLP than I am this very instant. We've come a long way, and hopefully there's more road to come.
To clarify, most situations in regards to fandom are simply a matter of the source material (in this case the MLP cartoon) influencing the fandom's works (such as music/fan fiction/ etc.) which conventionally is as it should be. For most media out there, while the sentiment of fan art and fan fiction are appreciated, that sort of material is never truly acknowledged in the official works themselves. With this one hundredth episode though, we now have a case where not only is the fandom's own material now acknowledged, but it is now informing developments within the very show itself. As far as I know, this sort of thing has never really happened before with a major franchise, let alone to the degree it has here. For lack of a better term, we just witnessed the fandom's agreed upon head cannon about certain background characters get canonized in perhaps one of the most amicable ways possible so that we can all walk away winners.
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| Strap in, because it's time for hype! |
Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda are set to be married, but there's just one problem, the invitations that were sent out have the wrong date. Instead of holding the wedding when they planned, they now have to do it today. With little time to spare, and none of the Mane Six available to help, Cranky and Matilda team up with the many colorful denizens of Ponyville to make sure the ceremony happens on time.
For those not in the know, episode one hundred (titled Slice of Life) pretty much exclusively follows background characters that the fandom has latched on to since the show's very beginning. In much of the same spirit as 22 Short Films About Springfield (episode twenty one, season seven) from animated sitcom The Simpsons, Slice of Life tells multiple micro-stories that eventually coalesce into one over-arching narrative. This episode easily stands as not only one of the most outright clever, but also downright heart-warming episodes the series has had up to this point. While some could see this episode as nothing more than blatant fan-pandering/fan-service I see it as nothing more than what it is. This is an acknowledgement from the show's creators to the (seemingly ever-growing) brony community. A deliberate nod that simultaneously brings a new story to show, while also fundamentally saying "We couldn't have made it this far without you guys!"
There almost isn't a single reason to dislike this episode as far as I'm concerned. Everything from the premise, to the characters, to the pacing, all of it just works. I won't lie that I have a degree of some bias here, as I am a huge fan of the background character Muffins (aka Derpy Hooves to the fans) and getting to hear her speak, let alone play a major role in this episode's plot, made me giddy as could be. Regardless, even with fans of the regular cast I'm sure everyone can appreciate the setup. If anything else we get to see the cast expanded, and the world further explored; which seems to be one of the major ongoing themes this season. Personally I'd like to think that we could be seeing a potential alternate cast for future episodes, but more than likely this is just a one-time deal. Perhaps with positive enough reception though (which probably isn't going to be an issue) we could see every character here return for another go around.
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| All together now! |
In regards to the animation, I've never considered MLP to have the most impressive of animation (due to it primarily being created in flash) and this episode is no exception. While I could go into why I think flash animation isn't that impressive to me, I do want to clarify that I fully understand why most studios use the program for animation today. It creates serviceable character models, and most certainly saves on time and money. I do like seeing newer character models being used this episode, as well as seeing some new expressions crop up. I also like all the visual gags this episode injects ranging from the big ones directly in the foreground, to the (in true series tradition) small ones in the background that you have to be paying close attention to notice. Trust me when I say that some of them are totally gut-busting funny.
Performances with the voice actors is top notch as has come to be expected from the show. While this is the first time some of these background characters have been given a voice, the actors feel like they're pitch perfect. Every character feels natural, as if they had always had a voice and been a regular on the show. I feel like special mention should go to actress Tabitha St. Germain, for her performance as not only Muffins, but also at least three additional voices throughout the episode. At no point does she ever make her multiple roles blend, so each time you hear her, she's a completely different character. I could go on and on about how great everyone in is in this episode, but frankly it must be heard to really be appreciated. If I only had one gripe with the voice work, it would be that Vinyl Scratch didn't say a word. While I understand that Hasbro didn't want to ruin the voice that's already been created for the character by the fandom, I also feel that hearing her speak would've only made a great episode even greater.
Daniel Ingram once again creates a stupendous score for the episode. While Vinyl may not speak, her and Octavia create one of the coolest tracks to ever be featured in the show. I'm fairly certain that the fandom will be doing remixes of this one bit for the next several months to come. Sadly it's also the only real new track made. As much as I could chalk that up as a negative, this is still just another episode, in spite of the milestone. I'm really not going to complain about the music. It's everything we've come to expect from the show so far and more.
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| This just feels right. |
Overall, this is easily one of the best episodes to come out of this series yet. Even with the blatant fan-pandering that some are already accusing this episode of, I honestly don't think it matters. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has essentially come full-circle with its fans in Slice of Life. I mean it when I say that this is one of the best love-letter pieces I've ever seen for any franchise. Hopefully with the remainder of season five still ahead of us, we can see more episodes like this. If anything else the door has been opened for a potential new cast, even if that potential is small. At least it's something the fans will always remember. Cheers to an incredible hundred episodes!
Positive Factors
- One of the best love-letter pieces to fans that I've ever seen.
- Background characters from all across the series finally get their moment to shine.
- Sports some of the more impressive animation for the series so far.
- Voice actors bring their A-game to the table. Tabitha St. Germain knocks it out of the park with her multiple roles.
- Daniel Ingram's score is great as usual. The new Vinyl/Octavia track is one of the coolest additions to the series.
Negative Factors
- With every other character getting a speaking role it would have been nice to hear Vinyl speak for once.
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