MLP:FIM Stranger Than Fan Fiction

Welcome back everypony, it is good to be talking about new My Little Pony again. This episode was written by Josh Haber and Michael Vogal. This is the third episode Michael Vogal wrote for the other two being A Hearths Warming Tail and Spice Up Your Life. However he has worked in the development area since season 2. Josh Haber started writing for the show in season 4 and this season he became the shows story editor. This episode was storyboarded by Karine Charlebois and Thalia Tomlinson (who started on the show in Season 5). This episode also features the guest voice of Patton Oswalt. This special guest completely improvised the rant that takes place over the end credits.

This episode is just pure fun and a great return for the show. The new character is great (I'm hoping the show finds more ways to use this character in the future), the humor is spot on and the facial expressions on Rainbow Dash are fantastic. Like a Daring Do episode should be this one is full of adventure and excitement that work great here. It is also great to see Rainbow in full geek out fangirl mode again, and of course to see Daring again as well. Just a very fun episode.

This episode is also a clever parody of various conventions based off TV shows, movies and comic books, as well as lots of enthusiasts over these things. However it is done extremely respectfully and is never mean spirited about it.

-Michael J. Ruhland 

MLP:FIM Spice Up Your Life

This is the second episode written by Michael Vogal. His previous episode was this season's A Hearths Warming Tail. He has however been working on the development department since season 2. This episode was storyboarded by Mincheul Park and Ed Baker. This episode also features great design work by Charmaine Verhagen, Matt Herring, Kristen Lobb, Fernanda Ribeiro, Laura Bifano and Krista Huot. Director Jim Miller has stated on his twitter that he did the voice of the male tourist pony.

This is a very good episode. Pinkie and Rarity are at their most likable. The animation and humor is fantastic. The animation of Pinkie eating is extremely funny. There is a great song number (written by Danny Ingram and Michael Vogal). It has a great lesson that has never been done before on this show. As someone who writes reviews this is one I need to remember. Don't take my opinion too seriously, it is does not decide what's good and bad but rather what I thought of something. Overall this is an excellent episode. It is simple, sweet and very entertaining.

Well we have reached the mid-season break. So far this has been the best season since seaon 2 qnd that is a great compliment. The consitinsy of great quality episodes has been fantastic, and it has brought me at least one of my new favorite episodes (Saddle Row and Rec), and plently of other excellent episodes. I am excited to see where it goes after the break. It has been a joy writing this and I'll see everypony after the break.

-Michael J. Ruhland

MLP:FIM Flutter Brutter

This is the second episode written by David Rapp. His writing for the show began earlier this season with Newbie Dash. Judging by his writing so far he likes Pegasus. This episode was storyboarded by Kat Dela Cruz and Michelle Ku (who started earlier this season with Gauntlet of Fire).

What I really like about this episode is that it shows that episodes like Putting Your Hoof Down weren't just throw away episodes. Fluttershy did not just learn a lesson at the end of the episode and then forget it in newer episodes like as happens in many TV shows. In that episode she learns how to be more assertive and here she actually is more assertive. However despite how much more assertive she is now, she is still always Fluttershy, and never loses what made her so likable in the first place. This is great writing and is very impressive.

So for the first time we get to meet Fluttershy's family. I like them. I find it interesting that Fluttershy is the most assertive of her family. Her parents are very nice, but more than a bit of pushovers, and her brother is afraid of failure to the point where he is afraid to work. This is a nice dynamic and it works well here. I really want to see her parents again, however while I like him here I am not sure how well her brother will work in more episodes. He seems to be made for this story and he works well in it, but I don't know how they can use him again. Hopefully they can find a good way to do it because again I like him here.

Overall this is a very entertaining episode that shows how well the crew understands these characters and I hope we see more development like this in the future.

-Michael J. Ruhland

MLP:FIM AppleJack's Day Off

Sorry about the late post, I promise the next one will be up the day the next episode airs.

This episode had three writers, Neal Dusedau, Michael P. Fox, and Wil Fox. This is the third episode for writer Neal Dusedau. He had previously written What About Discord? and Princess Spike. This is the second episode for the writing team of Michael P. Fox and Wil Fox. Their first episode of this show was earlier this season, with The Gift of Maud Pie. This episode was storyboarded by Ward Jenkins (who started boarding earlier this season with On Your Marks) and  Kat Dela Cruz.

This episode is just a fun little episode. It may not be as funny as the episode before or have as good of a story as On Your Marks, but regardless it is just fun to watch. The characters are as likable as ever, the animation is great, and it never loses the viewer's interest. This episode however really shows what I love about this show. It has almost has the feeling of visiting good friends. It may not be as elaborately great as other episodes, but it is quite good in a different way. Simply by the whole episode simply being so pleasant. You love these characters so much that this episode simply let's you spend some time with them in this great world the creators made. This episode is simply relaxing and a lot of fun to watch. It may not be one of the show's best episodes, but when it is this pleasant why care?

However this is not to say this episode doesn't have any really great moments. The animation of AppleJack's extremely elaborate way of feeding the pigs is very funny. As is Rainbow Dash's attempts to cover up why she is at the spa.

The only real complaint is I would have liked to see more of Twilight and Spike. But again when an episode is this pleasant why care?

-Michael J. Ruhland

MLP:FIM Saddle Row and Rec

This is the fourth episode written by Nick Confalone, and wow I really like this writer so far. His previous episodes were Party Pooped, Hearthbreakers, and No Second Prances. This is tied with Hearthbreakers as my favorite episode  of his so far, and is definitely my favorite episode of this season so far. Today's episode was storyboarded by Dave Wiebe  and  Cory Toomey (who has been boarding since the second season).

This is an episode that proves this show is not only just for kids. This episode has plenty of humor and a storytelling style that is more adult aimed. However unlike many other shows, this is not done through any hidden crude humor, but more through a different type of storytelling and clever parodies of movies that the average kid wouldn't have seen.. However I am not saying kids wouldn't enjoy this episode it is not the pony equivalent of a hard to get art film. In other words a kid would enjoy it, but I think an adult would get more out of it.

For an episode that depends so much on editing and direction, these things are done so well in this episode. I feel watching an episode like this that I don't talk about the directors of this show enough. Jim Miller, Denny Lu and Tim Stubby are great directors and really brighten up an episode like this. This whole episode is timed beautifully and features some fantastic film making.

The humor of this episode is definitely  spot on. Nearly every joke works and the very few that don't seem to lead to a great joke later on. The interviews with the characters are laugh out loud hilarious. Pinkie's comments about cloning herself, Fluttershy having the raccoons sitting with her and Applejack liking the idea of spoon clothes are definite highlights, though all of these interview scenes are fantastic. There is also a lot of great humor in the main story itself like Pinkie asking herself what Rarity would do, Rainbow giving interviews to new employees, Twilights excitement about organizing and Rarity's reactions to all the problems she is having.

The only problem I have with this episode is the lack of Starlight Glimmer. I love this character and am excited to see what they do with her in the future. However this an an extremely minor complaint to such a great episode.

Overall this episode is just fantastic and easily the best of this season so far.

-Michael J. Ruhland

MLP:FIM A Hearth's Warming Tale

This is the first episode written by Michael Vogal. Michael Vogal has been part of the production crew since the second season, but this is the first time he ever written an episode. This episode was storyboarded by Megan Willis (who started storyboarding earlier this season) and Sabrina Alberghetti (who has been boarding for the show since the first season).

This episode is a Christmas episode. This may be a weird time for a Christmas episode, but I never complain about getting more Christmas into my life. This episode is the obligatorily A Christmas Carol episode. Which is strange considering For Whom the Sweetie Bell Tolls was essentially A Christmas Carol episode as well. While I like that episode a bit more, I still quite enjoyed this episode.

Probably my favorite thing about this episode is the song numbers. This songs were written by Michael Vogal (lyrics) and Danny Ingram (music). These songs are excellent. Applejack's song is a country song. I mention this because whenever this show does a country song it is fantastic and this is no exception.

Also the humor in this episode is spot on. Pinkie as the Ghost of Hearths Warming Presents is very funny. The ponies setting up for the big day leads to some great visual humor, especially with Derpy.

The only real problem with this episode is that it seems quite rushed. To do A Christmas Carol with a framing story just could use more time. All the spirits seem to go as soon as they come. The reasons this is a problem are that the we have seen some many great cartoon versions of A Christmas Carol and that this episode was so entertaining we wish it could have spent more time with each little thing. However everything else is quite good so you can easily get over this fault.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hearths Warming.

-Michael J. Ruhland

MLP:FIM Newbie Dash

Today's episode is the first episode to be written by David Rapp, and he has already proven himself to be a good writer for this show. He co-wrote this episode with Dave Polsky, who has been writing for the show since season one. This episode was storyboarded by Emmett Hall (who started storyboarding for the show in season 2) and Thalia Tomlinson (who started storyboarding for the show last season).

For such a big deal as (slight spoilers, it happens before the theme song) Rainbow Dash becoming a Wonderbolt, this episode feels like a smaller episode. After the theme song there are no big reveals, and no huge plot points. While this might disappoint some I think it is the perfect way to do this episode. They have been building up to this for so long, that would be hard for anything really elaborate, or anything that feels big, to be anything but a let down. The relatively small feel of this episode also works so well, because it is handled so great. Rainbow is at her most likable in this episode, and it is obvious that both Dave Polsky and David Rapp really understand her character.

One scene that needs an especial call out is when Rainbow imitates her friends in front of the Wonderbolts. The animation and voice work in this scene is fantastic. She not only sounds like the other ponies, but she looks and moves like them too. She adapts the way the other characters walk. Vocal wise they don't sound like Alisha Ball imitating the characters, but rather like Rainbow Dash imitating the characters. Even when she does Applejack (who is also voiced by Alisha Ball) it doesn't sound like Applejack, but rather like Rainbow Dash imitating Applejack. That is really impressive and must be hard to pull off. This scene is truly a fantastic scene in a quite good episode.  

-Michael J. Ruhland