S05E24: The Mane Attraction

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Re: S05E24: The Mane Attraction

Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sun Nov 22, 2015 3:43 am

Wayoshi wrote:Just because Rarity was helping her put it on doesn't mean she made it

Considering how many gemstones seem to be involved, I couldn't not see that as a hallmark of Rarity's style.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Sun Nov 22, 2015 3:46 am

I assume it was a Rarity made dress based on the number of Gems too.
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Postby Soft Snow (?) » Sun Nov 22, 2015 5:16 am

That Lady Gaga song was just great. Everything else was just icing on the cake. I knew this was going to be a great going away episode. I hope they win the Emmy for this. :allears:
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Postby Strangepony (?) » Sun Nov 22, 2015 6:01 am

This episode. :allears: Good character moments, great music. I loved it. And I haven't really loved an episode in a long time.

Is Hedwig and the Angry Inch pony-related now? :gotcha:

EDIT: Hoo boy. I already know there's gonna be an impromptu sing-a-long at the next meetup here. :fluttershock:
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Sun Nov 22, 2015 6:11 am

Strangepony wrote:Is Hedwig and the Angry Inch pony-related now? :gotcha:


:v: it's a play about Harry Potter's Owl.
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Postby Wylie (?) » Sun Nov 22, 2015 6:15 am

Watching Lena's periscope reaction video was amazing- she's just as much a fan as we are (and her niece is adorable too). Someone asked her how she found the show- she said she had been feeling down, and was sitting in front of Netflix and figured she'd watch a cartoon to cheer herself up, so started up Pony on a whim. She ended up binge-watching three seasons of :ponydrugs: and the rest is history.

The episode itself was just wonderful, for all the reasons you guys have said already said. Having her be childhood buddies with AJ just worked so well.
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Postby MurdER_weapOn '78 (?) » Sun Nov 22, 2015 9:43 am

Good episode, the best since Hearthbreakers.

I knew that the manager would turn out to be a complete twat :twiright:

I liked the Gaga-esque song as well :gotcha:

Sapphire Shores has fallen off. :cry:

I liked it when Applejack said "who's Colouratura" and everyone was just "OH MY GOD" :lol:

EDIT: Didn't notice this during the episode:
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Postby SneakHorse (?) » Sun Nov 22, 2015 3:28 pm

Very good episode. A bit rushed plot-wise but the songs made up for it.

It's weird. As a kid, watching Disney movies and whatnot, I always hated when the characters would break out into song. Probably due to some notion of :twonk: THEY'RE INTERRUPTING THE PLOT! or something; I was weird like that. But I've done a 180 on that in recent years, and I think MLP is a big reason as to why. The songs are just so consistently good that they can enhance an episode that might be a bit weak, story-wise. Daniel Ingram is a friggin' treasure, though of course Lena Hall did a superb job as well.
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Postby Dexanth (?) » Sun Nov 22, 2015 8:37 pm

Just caught this. Very impressive, kudos to the team!
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Postby Strangepony (?) » Mon Nov 23, 2015 12:51 am

MurdER_weapOn '78 wrote:EDIT: Didn't notice this during the episode:
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Purple Mane, Purple Mane...
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Postby Angel Beat (?) » Mon Nov 23, 2015 2:14 am

So I wasn't the only one thinking that? :smirk:
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Mon Nov 23, 2015 2:36 am

Wayoshi wrote:Image


That's a heck of a reference. :starity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svengali (E: lol bronies already edited it :v:)

Also neat to see that the unicorn magic auto-tuning wasn't something AKR wrote, but was a pleasant surprise for her to see how the team had handled it.

Wayoshi wrote:Image


On top of being a callback to The Last Roundup, this is an allusion to Van Halen and the brown M&Ms, isn't it? http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/vanhalen.asp


I've been feeling like the show has recently been on its best game during song-heavy or fully musical episodes. There was a period in seasons 3 and 4 when it felt like the songs were getting tired and samey, and in fact this season some of the CMC's songs (like in Crusaders of the Lost Mark) seemed like retreads of the same old ground. But sometimes it all comes together really nicely. I actually feel like it's the times when the show strikes out in new directions musically that it scores some of its best hits; the Filli Vanilli song is a great example (barbershop as pop music, how perfect is that for pony world), and of course in S1 so many of the songs from that period are still among the most memorable of the show simply because of how fresh they were at the time, and how much vibrant energy they carried through from the staff's brand-new freshly tapped wellspring of creativity. And so it was really nice to see them tackle two new musical styles/genres here, the diva-pop thing and the unplugged piano ballad. I don't know if either of them will have legs like the Flim Flam song or I've Got the Music In Me, let alone S1 perennials like Winter Wrap Up or Art of the Dress; but they felt like someone had put some real serious effort into them, and that goes a long way with me.

Downside, though: I had a real hard time getting past the "hooves on the keyboard" thing. Every time I saw it I was like whaaaaaat :amazing: In fact that whole song with the musicians in silhouette was so distracting for me that I could barely concentrate on the music. Horses playing instruments is something I can accept as a background gag, like Octavia and the tuba pony and so on at the Gala; but if you put it up so front and center I can't suspend my disbelief that far. When she sang "I am just a ponyyyyy" I was like "Uh okay if you say so, but you and your orchestra might as well be Smurfs for all the horselike you're being right now".

But then at the same time you get the unicorns lighting their horns so :pinkieshrug:
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Postby Mechanical Ape (?) » Mon Nov 23, 2015 2:39 am

A cartoon about ponies? Eh, I'll give it a shot.

  • Twilight, if Applejack had managed a concert before, it's probably a thing you'd remember.
  • Sapphire Shores is SO last year. The pop music industry grinds you up and dumps you out like a sequin-bedazzled smoothie maker.
  • Even Twilight knows who Coloratura is. And she only listens to nerdcore and whale songs on cylinder.
  • Aw, we didn't get to hear Filly Applejack's speaking voice. :(
  • Horrifying Pinkie face. If you people make a smiley out of it, I swear I will burn this place to the ground.
  • AJ, the born-and-bred farm pony, is naturally challenged by the notion that ponies might grow up to be different individuals than they were in childhood.
  • Commercial: the smuggest Starlight Glimmer ever.
  • Coloratura:AJ :: Rarity:Hayseed Turniptruck.
  • Manager Pony hit all the douchebag buttons in 15 seconds of dialogue, very efficient.
  • His cutie mark is probably the diamond that's his tie pattern.
  • And I bet he went to camp with Big Mac and his nickname was Pepperoni Face.
  • Fernando. :allears:
  • Coloratura looks uncannily like one of the sirens ...
  • I whip my mane back and forth! I whip my mane back and forth! I whip my mane back and forth! I whip my mane back and forth!
  • Ha, this is indeed pop as hell.
  • Well now look. When you're born with the name Svengallop, you are destined to be a creepy controlling manager.
  • Cheerilee is not with her students because there's a Quarterflash tribute band playing in Denver.
  • Wow, Ra-Ra is moody and defensive like crazy. But to be fair, she's been on tour for eight months and her diet is cigarettes and Vitamin Water.
  • Commercial: Pie in the Face has the best ad because it's just footage of a kid and his grandpa enjoying the product. :yay:
  • Hoof-powered apple peelers! Give the animators a raise.
  • Hang on, Coloratura already knows that Svengallop hates the school visits. There was a whole scene about it earlier. How is this a surprise now?
  • :excite: "I'm involved in shenanigans!"
  • Ha, Rarity trying to dress Ra-Ra.
  • Ha, unicorns lighting 'em up!
  • Octavia is totally playing back there.
  • "And please support our troops fighting in Griffonstone." :equestria:
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Postby MurdER_weapOn '78 (?) » Mon Nov 23, 2015 2:47 am

Re: svengali. Often used to describe people like Simon Cowell over here
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Postby PonyHag714 (?) » Mon Nov 23, 2015 2:54 am

I didn't have a problem with Coloratura playing the piano or the orchestra. I guess I'm so accustomed to the pony world that I don't even think about it, but just accept that they're doing it. It certainly didn't take away from the song for me. :allears:
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Mon Nov 23, 2015 3:16 am

Then again I suppose I've just become a bit inured to the general level of quality of the show over time. After all

KillerJunglist wrote:One more bonus, because even I can't believe this was a real caption (From G1 episode "Bright Lights"):
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See, youtube screwed it up because they accidentally captioned what the audience is saying, not the characters.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Mon Nov 23, 2015 3:20 am

I touched on this elsewhere as well, but distinctly un-horsie things like Coloratura playing the piano or the way she and her backup dancers danced are totally fine by me as long as they serve to make the animation more interesting and aren't just being done out of laziness. Had the show's artists designed a piano completely playable by a creature with no fingers, while it would have been interesting to look at it also would've been a big distraction from the dramatic weight of the scene. Likewise, the animators can add a lot more energy and variety to the dancing in Coloratura's first song by letting the ponies stand upright for much of it.
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Mon Nov 23, 2015 3:34 am

Mechanical Ape wrote:
  • Horrifying Pinkie face. If you people make a smiley out of it, I swear I will burn this place to the ground.

I'll go fetch the fire extinguisher. Image
Last edited by SlateSlabrock on Mon Nov 23, 2015 4:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Mon Nov 23, 2015 3:37 am

Fizzbuzz wrote:I touched on this elsewhere as well, but distinctly un-horsie things like Coloratura playing the piano or the way she and her backup dancers danced are totally fine by me as long as they serve to make the animation more interesting and aren't just being done out of laziness. Had the show's artists designed a piano completely playable by a creature with no fingers, while it would have been interesting to look at it also would've been a big distraction from the dramatic weight of the scene. Likewise, the animators can add a lot more energy and variety to the dancing in Coloratura's first song by letting the ponies stand upright for much of it.


That's true. I'm sure they had to make a tough educated decision as to which way would have been less distracting: lampshade the fact that hooves and instruments are a difficult mix, or fudge it and hope for the best.

And considering that they put in the effort to invent cute hoof-powered apple peelers and corers, I'll give it to 'em :vogue:
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Mon Nov 23, 2015 3:57 am

Fizzbuzz wrote:I touched on this elsewhere as well, but distinctly un-horsie things like Coloratura playing the piano or the way she and her backup dancers danced are totally fine by me as long as they serve to make the animation more interesting and aren't just being done out of laziness. Had the show's artists designed a piano completely playable by a creature with no fingers, while it would have been interesting to look at it also would've been a big distraction from the dramatic weight of the scene. Likewise, the animators can add a lot more energy and variety to the dancing in Coloratura's first song by letting the ponies stand upright for much of it.


I'd agree in regards to the piano. I think it would have been neat if they figured out a way to do the dancing more horsie.
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Postby Wylie (?) » Mon Nov 23, 2015 4:34 am

Fizzbuzz wrote: Had the show's artists designed a piano completely playable by a creature with no fingers, while it would have been interesting to look at it also would've been a big distraction from the dramatic weight of the scene. Likewise, the animators can add a lot more energy and variety to the dancing in Coloratura's first song by letting the ponies stand upright for much of it.


They did the next best thing with the piano- they took pains not to show the keyboard at all. (It wouldn't be a tough thing to do to actually create a "keyboard" that a pony could play using prerecorded samples and large touch pads- Jonathan Coulton uses something like this on stage every now and then:)



Just imagine that the "keyboard" is hoof-sized touch pads that play the right chords and/or runs and everything's fine. Hell, they have unicorn-based autotune, I think the shark is well and truly jumped anyway.

Annnnd now I've thought way too much about how horses play piano. Crap.
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Postby Mechanical Ape (?) » Mon Nov 23, 2015 6:35 am



Can't sleep, horse will eat me :insomnia:
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Postby Daring Do (?) » Mon Nov 23, 2015 7:07 am

The Doctor wrote:
I think it would have been neat if they figured out a way to do the dancing more horsie.


Agreed.
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Postby PaulloDEC (?) » Tue Nov 24, 2015 5:46 am

The Doctor wrote:I think it would have been neat if they figured out a way to do the dancing more horsie.


While the backup dancers do spend a fair bit of time on their hind legs, I thought the animation on Coloratura herself was pretty great:

Image

That's just a couple of snippets from the song, but she's almost always doing something interesting, and about 90% of it is on all-fours (or rather, not just standing on her hind legs trying to look like a human).
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Postby Lhet (?) » Tue Nov 24, 2015 6:03 am

I thought this was the finale for whatever reason, and it was really weird because it just didn't feel like a finale at all, but was still really good. Then I realized I was wrong. Still a good episode.
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Postby Daring Do (?) » Tue Nov 24, 2015 6:27 am

Lhet wrote:I thought this was the finale for whatever reason, and it was really weird because it just didn't feel like a finale at all, but was still really good. Then I realized I was wrong. Still a good episode.


The episode's name might have something to do with it. Plus the fact it was just a week before the *actual* finale.
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Postby Adelor Lyon (?) » Tue Nov 24, 2015 6:14 pm

I was rather pleased the "fan stamp" Rara was using is the Equestria Girls logo. :gotcha:
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Postby Durandal (?) » Tue Nov 24, 2015 10:38 pm

"Who wants more hoofsies?" still sounds really weird imo
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Tue Nov 24, 2015 10:41 pm

PaulloDEC wrote:
While the backup dancers do spend a fair bit of time on their hind legs, I thought the animation on Coloratura herself was pretty great:

Image

That's just a couple of snippets from the song, but she's almost always doing something interesting, and about 90% of it is on all-fours (or rather, not just standing on her hind legs trying to look like a human).


Just going to say it...

Pop Coloratura is ugly...
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Tue Nov 24, 2015 11:22 pm

Despite all the hoofhands and two-legged dancing and all that, the only thing that really bothered me in this episode was THE SCHOOLCHILDREN.

Not the kids, just the way they kept saying THE SCHOOLCHILDREN.

Kinda reminded me of THE YOUNGLINGS

THE SCHOOLCHILDREN
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Postby Eurocoin (?) » Tue Nov 24, 2015 11:47 pm

SlateSlabrock wrote: THE SCHOOLCHILDREN


Splitting hairs here, but actually the term was "school ponies".
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Tue Nov 24, 2015 11:49 pm

Does that make it better or worse?
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Postby Adelor Lyon (?) » Wed Nov 25, 2015 12:30 am

Headless Horse wrote:Does that make it better or worse?

Better (slightly) because it keeps it in universe.

Slightly.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Wed Nov 25, 2015 12:43 am

Maybe if she'd just been saying "the children" then it would've sounded like Coloratura had children of her own? Even though the animation would've immediately shown that she was referring to the CMC and their friends and similar, perhaps it still sounded odd in the script.
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Wed Nov 25, 2015 4:56 am

Just... try not to repeat yourself so obviously.

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SCHOOLPONIES
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Postby Wildfire (?) » Wed Nov 25, 2015 7:14 am

Headless Horse wrote:
Image

On top of being a callback to The Last Roundup, this is an allusion to Van Halen and the brown M&Ms, isn't it? http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/vanhalen.asp



The only thing missing now is a Spinal Tap reference. :gotcha:


What Twilight projected in front of Swen sprouted a photoshop meme:


The blank:
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I get a Jetsons vibe from this one. :-P
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Postby MurdER_weapOn '78 (?) » Wed Nov 25, 2015 12:10 pm

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Inspiration can strike anywhere :amazing:

And (random thought)I would put Svengallop in the same bracket as Suri Polomare and Spoiled Rich, and probably pre-Griffonstone Gilda as well. :rage:
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Postby PonyHag714 (?) » Thu Nov 26, 2015 3:13 am

Realistic pony piano playing. :starity:

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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Fri Nov 27, 2015 3:31 am

Good gravy, I just watched (the first minute of) that video and it was awful and hilarious. :lol:

Now that I think about it, don't pianos usually have pedals as well? I guess the redone version in that video had to account for that as well.
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Postby Frith (?) » Sat Nov 28, 2015 5:25 pm

I think this was nice episode.

AJ was great in this episode. It was also nice to see AJ to have friends outside of the mane6 and outside of her family. Rara was adorable and Lena Hall's voice portrayal was great.

The main problem with the episode was Svengallop. He was a bit too over the top and because of that, the conflict felt a bit forced.

About the song: I didn't particularly like "The spectacle" but I think that was the point. "The Magic Inside" was lovely.
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