When it first debuted in 2013, the concept of My Little Pony: Equestria Girls was merely an excuse for Hasbro to sell a new line of merch. After releasing a mediocre, cliché high school story, the spinoff redeemed itself with the superior sequel Rainbow Rocks. However, it followed with a downright unwatchable sequel that forgets its own plot for the most part. Thankfully, the fourth movie seems to have gotten tired of its repetitive formula and decided to take the girls and boys of Canterlot on a field trip.
How to Stream or Download My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Legend of Everfree
To stream or to download the film from a digital store, click on the Download button at the end of this review.
The Movie Review
When the students of Canterlot High go on a trip to Camp Everfree for some fun, they’re shocked to discover that a magical force is haunting their camp. Twilight Sparkle is taunted by her darker side – “Midnight Sparkle,” who’s been making strange things happen in Everfree. Twilight must fight that evil side within herself and accept her newfound magical talents with the support of the now Mane 6, especially Sunset Shimmer, in order to save the camp.
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls’ longtime writers Meghan McCarthy and Josh Haber bowed out and welcome Johanna Lewis and Kristine Songco, both of who have collaborated on a few episodes of the Friendship is Magic series.
With Legend of Everfree, the duo has written an ambitious storyline, but it’s a shame that it becomes muddled with subplots. The writers even include a few too many camp tropes, including one that feels completely unnecessary to the bigger plot. And once again, there’s another romance story.
Legend of Everfree explores a recurring theme in the previous Equestria films, but this time it manifests within its main girl Twilight Sparkle. Even though the premise of casting off an evil version of oneself isn’t new, I always love a dark side story. For four consecutive films, the only characters that get character development are Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer, where the latter upgrades from a high school bully to one of the most entertaining characters in the brand.
On the other hand, every character is a caricature of themselves. For example, Rainbow Dash is just the fast pony, or Pinky Pie destroys everything she touches, or Rarity always finds an excuse to open up a fashion show.
There is one small detail I really loved in the film, and it’s that they’ve given Sunset Shimmer a fitting magical power – super empathy. Given her history in Canterlot High, it’s beautiful that she has the ability to see the world through other people’s eyes.
From a technical standpoint, Legend of Everfree is a major upgrade compared to the previous films. The animation is pleasing to the eye and it’s refreshing to see a story set outside of school, which opens room for new designs and more characters.
After the horrible soundtrack in Friendship Games, Daniel Ingram has done a better job with the music this time. The new supporting voice cast, Enid Raye-Adams and Brian Doe who play as siblings are decent despite playing uninteresting villains.
The Bottom Line
In conclusion, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls Legend of Everfree is better than Friendship Games, but it’s not the best. Legend of Everfree has a new setting, good animation and cast, hummable tunes, and a promising story. Unfortunately, the comedy has downgraded and the other characters don’t get any character development.
The writers have a lot of favoritism towards Twilight Sparkle and it’s completely unfair for fans of the other ponies. In my opinion, Rainbow Rocks is still the greatest movie in the Equestria Girls line-up, and it’s such a shame that the others never lived up to it.
