Story
In the seaside earth-pony town of Maretime Bay, researcher Argyle Starshine (voiced by Michael McKean) teaches his daughter Sunny Starscout (voiced by Vanessa Hudgens) about old Equestria, when earth-ponies, pegasi, and unicorn-ponies lived together in friendship and harmony.
Unfortunately, the other earth-pony townsfolk believe that unicorn-ponies are earth-pony-eating, brain-zapping monsters. With the help of anti-unicorn products built and sold by Phyllis Cloverleaf (voiced by Elizabeth Perkins) and the protection provided by Sheriff Hitch (voiced by James Marsden) and Deputy Sheriff Sprout (voiced by Ken Jeong), the townsfolk feel safe from the other pony races.
One day, an unexpected unicorn guest called Izzy Moonbow (voiced by Kimiko Glenn) arrives in Maretime Bay, sending the town into a panic. Izzy and Sunny become fast friends but must escape the town before being captured by the Sheriff.
After discovering that the unicorn-ponies have lost their magic, Sunny leads them on a quest to find their magic and bring the three pony races together once more. Along the way they befriend Zipp Storm (voiced by Liza Koshy), a pegasi princess. They also join forces with Sheriff Hitch and ‘borrow’ the unicorn and pegasi magic crystals. Meanwhile, Deputy Sheriff Sprout (and son of Phyllis) dubs himself ruler of Maretime Bay and builds a machine that can stop the unicorns and pegasi from attacking the town.
The crew of ponies must convince the three races to come together in harmony and find their magic before it’s too late.
Themes
Death of a parent; friendship
Violence
My Little Pony: A New Generation has some violence. For example:
- To prevent the ponies from uniting, Sprout attacks Sunny’s lighthouse home with his machine.
- Izzy is thrown out a window and nearly falls from a great height. The building crumbles, leaving ponies in a pile of rubble. No-one is hurt.
- A military-style robot attacks defenceless ponies.
Sexual references
There are no sexual references in My Little Pony: A New Generation.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
My Little Pony: A New Generation shows some use of substances. For example, the ponies go into a tea room that looks similar to a bar (but with tea).
Nudity and sexual activity
There’s no nudity and sexual activity in My Little Pony: A New Generation.
Product placement
The following products are displayed or used in My Little Pony: A New Generation:
- smartphones
- well-known brands with off-brand names like Amplify/Spotify, Z-Mobile/T-Mobile and so on
- My Little Pony merchandise.
Coarse language
There’s some mild coarse language in My Little Pony: A New Generation, including ‘Kick their butts’ and ‘stupid’.
Ideas to discuss with your children
My Little Pony: A New Generation is an animated musical movie based on the My Little Pony movie and TV franchise.
My Little Pony: A New Generation has a simple story line, bright and fun characters, and strong themes of friendship, hope, kindness and respect. It also has some scary scenes and visual image, which means it’s best suited to children aged over 5 years.
The main story of My Little Pony: A New Generation can be seen as analogy for racism. Its main messages also relate to this:
- Stand up for what you believe in.
- Choose friendship over fear.
- Be open and compassionate to people with backgrounds or beliefs that are different from yours.
Values in My Little Pony: A New Generation that you could reinforce with your children include:
- working together as a team
- getting along with others despite your differences.
My Little Pony: A New Generation could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like the following:
- Power – for example, Sprout becomes a militaristic dictator and incites an angry mob to attack the ponies.
- Uncritical consumption of misinformation and media – for example, Phyllis boosts sales of her anti-unicorn products by making townsfolk afraid of unicorns.