Heartwarming / My Little Pony: The Movie (2017)

Say it with us now... "Do you know you're all my very best friends?"

Trailers

• The shots of the redesigned Canterlot show the artists went to a great deal of trouble to quite beautifully show the equality between Celestia and Luna that the show has long preached as a goal the sisters wanted. There are emblems with a sun and moon combined, nearly identical statues representing Celestia and Luna facing each other, and a gorgeous throne room with two thrones emblazoned with the themes/colors of each sister.
• While we don't know the full context of the scene yet, the fact that Twilight feels she should face Tempest alone as to not hurt her friends shows how much she values them. Made doubly so when Rainbow Dash says they're sticking by her.
• One of the music videos has a scene where Spike and the rest of the Mane 6 all cluster around Twilight to protect her from some kind of threat. Dash in particular looks ready to kick someone's face in.

The Movie

• Crossing over into Moment of Awesome, the star that travels around the "Y" in the title ("My Little Pony the Movie") can be seen as a touching representation of how many friends Twilight and the Mane 5 have made throughout the series. If the sparkles on her cutie mark represent her friends, then look at all the sparkles that one star makes: it gives off dozens-upon-dozens of sparkles! Just goes to show, the fate of Equestria did rely on Twilight Sparkle making friends.
• Twilight's friends reassuring her that she can make the Friendship Festival perfect, accompanied by their song "We Got This Together".
• Derpy becomes a Heroic Bystander and takes the hit from a petrification grenade meant for Twilight seemingly without any reason except she can. Sure, she was literally a split-second too late as Rainbow Dash swooped in to save Twilight, but it didn't turn her gesture into a complete Senseless Sacrifice, as it distracted Tempest long enough for Twilight to make a getaway.
• A small one; Pinkie starting a game of "eye-spy" as the Mane Six begin their journey. True to her nature, the first thing she does after the traumatic attack on Canterlot is to try and make her friends smile again.
• Most of Rarity and Capper's interactions are this. Rarity fixing Capper's coat and adding shiny buttons to it is what triggers his Heel–Face Turn, and his expression implies that this is the first time in his life anybody helped him and didn't ask for anything in return. Meanwhile, Rarity is actually apologizing that the lack of materials means she can't do more. Capper's confused and touched reaction says it all. This is especially heartwarming if you know about his backstory in the prequel comic, where his so-called litelong friend Chummer betrayed him just because he wanted to give up their life of crime.
  • When asked by Tempest and her troops where the Mane 6 might've gone, Capper notices the buttons Rarity sewed onto his coat and remembers how unconditionally generous she was. This influences his choice to help the ponies and give Tempest the wrong directions to where the Mane 6 might be going.
• Rainbow Dash reigniting Captain Celaeno's passion at being a pirate, along with lifting the spirit of her crew. When Celaeno sings the line "I feel a light, stirring deep inside, it's like a tale still yet to be told", her expression says it all ("That's right, how could I have forgotten how much I loved being a pirate? And you know what? I still love it!") Nothing's more inspiring than seeing someone's passion revived.
  • When Tempest inspects Celaeno's ship to see if they're harboring the Mane 6, Twilight fears Celaeno's crew will have no choice but to betray the ponies. But Rainbow Dash doesn't think so, especially after all they've done. Just as Rainbow Dash predicts, the crew doesn't say a word about the Mane 6 to Tempest.
    • For bonus points, Celaeno grips her sword as Tempest counts down how long they have to talk before she attacks. Celaeno would rather go down swinging than sell out her new friends.
• Princess Skystar being nice enough to save Twilight and her friends from drowning.
• Queen Novo is notably one of the few (perhaps even the first ever) Queen who isn't evil or dark.
• During the song "One Small Thing", Queen Novo and Princess Skystar spending time together as mother and daughter.
  • During the song, we see Queen Novo coming out from her seaweed wrap looking confused as to what the disturbance is. But immediately as she sees her subjects having a good time, she smiles. And when Skystar looks at her, there's no words needed and her mother gives a knowing nod.
• During "One Small Thing", you can see Fluttershy going around coaxing some of the seaponies out to join the fun. Doubtless she knows that some of them might be anxious or reluctant to join in such a loud celebration, but she gets them to enjoy themselves.
  • There's also a very adorable shot of Fluttershy playing with the children during the song.
  • And when Applejack starts a conga line, there's a very young foal clinging onto the end of an adult's tail, bouncing up and down like s/he is having the most fun they've had in a while.
• At the beginning of the song, Skystar says that she knows the Mane Six have important matters to take care of, and that they should go help their home rather than waste time playing with her. Despite her loneliness and desperate need for friends, she wasn't willing to keep them from helping their fellow ponies.
• While the falling out between Twilight and her friends ranks among the biggest Tear Jerkers of the franchise, beating out a similar scene in "A Canterlot Wedding" via Chrysalis, there are a few key differences and elements that help bring out the best of the characters and their friendship:
  • First, there's Pinkie's response that she "can't talk to [Twilight] right now" after getting insulted by her. Instead of giving the impression that she wants nothing to do with Twilight anymore, she shows that she simply can't fathom what drove her friend to do and say such horrible things and leaves her be to sort out her own thoughts, wordlessly affirming that she values their friendship far too much to simply throw it all away in an instant.
  • Second, Spike actually stays behind with Twilight rather than (reluctantly) join the others in abandoning her. Even if nothing he says consoles her, he still chooses to be there for his oldest and dearest friend when she's at her lowest. What's more is that if not for him, no one would have known that Twilight was kidnapped until it was too late.
  • Finally, although the Mane Five are utterly appalled by Twilight's actions, they're seen expressing concern for her well into the aftermath of their fight, with Applejack softly suggesting they should check on Twilight after they'd spent a fair amount of time sulking. This is right before Spike tells them Tempest has caught Twilight, and none of them waste any time trying to think of a way to get her back.
    • Special mention in this scene goes to Rainbow Dash, who's clearly still sore over how Twilight continued to hold the Sonic Rainboom against her, and yet is the first to snap to attention when she learns about the kidnapping. She's the Element of Loyalty for a reason.
    • Applejack's line in particular makes in clear that this isn't a repeat of "A Canterlot Wedding" — they weren't outright abandoning her this time, merely giving her and themselves time and space to cool down. Too bad it turns out to be ill-timed.
• Capper's Rousing Speech to the Mane 5 that he knows of some heroes who have braved across foreign lands and lived to tell the tale (the Mane 5 themselves). For someone who was formerly cynical, Capper shows great admiration for these ponies, despite only meeting them a short while ago.
• Princess Skystar going out of her way to join the Mane 5 in their quest to rescue Twilight. Just earlier, Twilight had tried to steal her mother's prized magic pearl, but she forgives them because Pinkie Pie's impression on her was sincere and friendly.
  Princess Skystar: I’m gonna get so grounded, but I talked things over with Shelly and Shelldon and they pointed out that you were just trying to help your friends. So I wanna help, too! ‘Cause you know, one small thing can make a really big difference.
• Twilight expressing genuine sympathy after learning about how Tempest broke her horn. Notably, Tempest's Villain Song in which she reveals this is meant to be a Breaking Speech, but all it does is reinstate and reaffirm Twilight's views on friendship and make her resolve to help Tempest and set things right with her own friends.
  • It's a small moment, but when Tempest says "face it, princess; friendship has failed you too", Emily Blunt delivers the line in a different way to how she had spoken before. Rather than taunt Twilight or giving her another Breaking Speech, she speaks softly, almost as if she sympathizes with her. Of course she knows what it's like to be abandoned by her friends, and how awful it feels.
• Twilight trying to help Tempest despite everything she'd done.
  • When presented with a choice between taking the staff away from the Storm King or saving Tempest's life, Twilight chooses to save Tempest. When asked why, Twilight simply states that's what friends do.
    • A Fridge-Heartwarming moment: For most of the movie, Tempest's broken horn has been shown to spark erratically, as though a show of how broken her trust in other ponies is. But when Twilight says "That's what friends do", Tempest's horn stops sparking.
• During the climax, Twilight and her friends reuniting, followed by her apology for her earlier actions and for everything she said. Now that's the Princess of Friendship we all know and love. And then Pinkie Pie, happy to see that Twilight is okay, ran up to her with a hug and apologizes too for yelling at Twilight and for abandoning her over her mistake in stealing the pearl that led to her getting kidnapped by Tempest, and Twilight even returned the hug with the rest of her friends joining in to make amends.
• When it seems like Twilight might be dead (of course, she isn't), Pinkie starts crying. Applejack then quietly gives her a hug. A short but sweet moment. That is followed up as Twilight descends from the sky, fatigued and exhausted, but alive and triumphant as she has the staff in hoof and had ended the storm, to her friends' joy as they give her a group hug in relief. Twilight can only let off a happy sigh that she's with her friends again, and can reverse all the damage wrought on Canterlot at long last.
• Around the climax, after Twilight retrieves the staff, Tempest's Heroic Sacrifice (taking a bullet for Twilight and her friends and being turned to stone) counts as the first and nicest thing she's done in the entire movie.
  • In return, whilst the petrified Storm King falls to his death, Tempest's statue is caught mid-air. Twilight used the staff to keep her from falling. Kindness does not go unrewarded indeed.
    • Even before Tempest's Heroic Sacrifice, we see a brief hint that she's not completely evil from her expression right after the Storm King gets his staff and marches out onto the balcony to test it out. Twilight looks over at her in horror and Tempest — who literally sang a villain song about how kindness and trust were naive childhood beliefs — looks suddenly uncomfortable. Even before the Storm King's betrayal, Tempest knows that what she's doing is wrong, no matter how she tries to act like she doesn't care about anyone but herself. This makes the fact that her decision to save Twilight leads to forgiveness and a new start in life even more heartwarming.
• Celestia, Luna, and Cadance being freed from their stone prisons and reuniting with Twilight as the Staff of Sacanas then begins rebuilding Canterlot and restoring all of the damage dealt to the capital by Storm King's occupation.
  • Not just that, Derpy is freed from her stony state as well.
  • Overall, the fact that Equestria has been set free from the tyranny of the Storm King and his Storm Guards.
• Twilight reassuring Tempest that even though her horn may never be fixed, she can still do great things with it, namely an impressive and beautiful fireworks display.
  • Also something of a heartwarming Brick Joke. The movie begins with Twilight asking the other Princesses to create a fancy light show during Songbird's concert. In the end the Princess of Friendship does get her light show.... by making a friend.
• If the ending is anything to go by, there's the possibility that with the Storm King gone, the hippogriffs can come out of hiding and resume their true forms instead of hiding as sea ponies.
  • They do this in the main show. Some decided to become hippogriffs again and live in their old home, while others decide to stay as seaponies underwater. Each of them wear a piece of the pearl, allowing them to switch whenever they want.
  • Also, Princess Skystar reuniting with her mother Queen Novo. It's not like they've been separated by the hands of fate, it's more like Skystar is happy to see her mother in her true, familiar form.
• In the end, Pinkie Pie reacts to Tempest's real name (Fizzle-Pop Berry-Twist) not by laughing at it, but by cheering how AWESOME it is.
• The credits have a few moments if they are to be taken seriously:
  • Grubber and the rest of the Storm King's minions appear to have reformed like Tempest and are invited into the festival to party. Just shows how the ponies are willing to forgive and befriend just about anyone.
  • Tempest herself shows she's Not So Above It All by jumping in a bouncy castle with Twilight, and whacking a piñata with Grubber and several foals.
  • Princess Celestia is seen talking with Queen Novo happily. Perhaps Novo isn't holding Twilight's actions against Equestria or has already forgiven her. Either way, an alliance between the ponies and hippogriffs seems very likely now.
  • At one point, we see Gummy give a little smile. Given what we learned about him in "A Slice of Life", it's nice to see that Gummy is feeling that amount of happiness to smile for the first time.
  • Discord is having fun at the party without showing to be causing any mischief. While Twilight has the spotlight, he looks to be off to the side, cheering for her on the dance floor.

Other

• A minor moment, but Grubber reacting to Tempest's unstable magic with amazement rather than fear in The Stormy Road to Canterlot. He even calls her a "very special unicorn".
• At the end of The Great Princess Caper (which follows the events of the movie from Grubber's point of view), the post-Heel–Face Turn Tempest apologizes for being so harsh towards Grubber, pointing out that while he failed to be an evil sidekick, he is still a loyal friend who can make others laugh. She even gives him a cupcake with the word "sidekick" written on it, and playfully boops him on the nose.
  • The ending of The Great Princess Caper also suggests what Tempest does after the events of the movie, which is confirmed in the premiere of Season 8: set out to spread the word of friendship beyond Equestria.
• The Adventure Awaits journal is packed to the brim with heartwarming moments, as the Mane Six, Spike, and even a few of their new friends (including Tempest) happily look back on their adventure and how it made their friendship stronger.
  • There's the fact that Pinkie and the rest of the Mane Six allow Tempest and Capper to contribute to the journal, despite being enemies for varying durations of the adventure. With Capper, Rarity acknowledges that his early betrayal wasn't his "finest moment", but it was still vital to how things worked out in the end. The Mane Six even look back fondly on his hospitality, despite knowing in retrospect that it was all just a part of his trap, and Capper nicely caps off his involvement in the journal by thanking the ponies for letting him be a part of their circle. As for Tempest, she and Twilight take a break mid-story to discuss how deeply the former regrets her actions, rather than wait for when it was relevant to the adventure. Pinkie is quick to call them out for interrupting.
  • Throughout the journal, several of them make it clear that they completely regretted the questionable to downright terrible decisions they made, and are still kicking themselves even in their entries. That just makes it all the sweeter when their friends reassure them that it's all in the past.
    • Special mention goes to the book allowing the Mane Six to properly reconcile over their falling out, which was cut short in the movie: Twilight gives her friends a Heartfelt Apology for using them all and lashing out at them, and her friends admit they were equally wrong to just leave her completely defenseless like that. What's most heartwarming is that Pinkie — in one of her few serious moments in the book — forgives Twilight for everything in earnest.
      Twilight: I was sorry the second I said that I'd be better off without you. I knew it wasn't true.
      Pinkie Pie: It hurt a lot...but you know that I never stopped being your friend, right? Not for a second.
  • Another minor one that happened in a livestream to promote the movie is Pinkie Pie's voice actor fell asleep while she was live, and yes. This actually happened. Still, she sounds pretty cute when snoring though.

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