S06E03: The Gift of the Maud Pie

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Re: S06E03: The Gift of the Maud Pie

Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Sat Apr 02, 2016 11:25 pm

Morph Ball acquired.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Apr 02, 2016 11:26 pm

Speaking of Maud's facial expressions, one thing I found myself doing was waiting for her to smile. I thought maybe she would at a bunch of different points, and kept waiting, and kept waiting... when she finally did, it felt so rewarding.
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Postby PaulloDEC (?) » Sat Apr 02, 2016 11:41 pm

I really enjoyed that! Lots of laughs, nice performances and the no big structural issues that I noticed. Pinkie steered clear of the dreaded lolrandom zone, and we actually got some nice depth to her character to boot. Pleased to say that Maud hasn't worn out her welcome yet either.

It goes without saying that Rarity was great.

Also, this:

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Postby Yolostar (?) » Sat Apr 02, 2016 11:50 pm

Pretty good episode imo. Story was kind of weak but the gags, faces, and Tabitha's acting made up for it. I'd say the new writers did well enough for their first episode.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Apr 02, 2016 11:57 pm

PaulloDEC wrote:Also, this:

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Having watched several S1 episodes recently, it's almost hard to believe the show would ever go from that to this art-wise. I mean, look at how many faces Pinkie Pie makes all in the space of five seconds, or at how many unique buildings there are in the background. It's still quite the same show at first glance, something that makes it ever more remarkable that the animators and background artists found room to pack so much more into the show's look.
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 12:17 am

Fizzbuzz wrote:Speaking of Maud's facial expressions, one thing I found myself doing was waiting for her to smile. I thought maybe she would at a bunch of different points, and kept waiting, and kept waiting... when she finally did, it felt so rewarding.

This exact gag played out in her first episode. :pinkieshrug:
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Postby PaulloDEC (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 12:20 am

Fizzbuzz wrote:Having watched several S1 episodes recently, it's almost hard to believe the show would ever go from that to this art-wise. I mean, look at how many faces Pinkie Pie makes all in the space of five seconds, or at how many unique buildings there are in the background. It's still quite the same show at first glance, something that makes it ever more remarkable that the animators and background artists found room to pack so much more into the show's look.


Totally. The funny thing about it is that there's almost a symmetry there in a way; Season 1 is known for having loads of off-model poses and faces as a result of the artists still finding their groove, whereas episodes like this do the same thing but for completely opposite reasons. They've become so confident in the style now that they can bust out all kinds of crazy faces and poses without it looking out-of-step with the rest of the show. It's a fantastic evolution to observe.

The boost to background detail is great too. It's almost shocking looking back at some of the earliest episodes and noticing just how basic some of the backdrops are.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 12:25 am

Wayoshi wrote:This exact gag played out in her first episode. :pinkieshrug:

Yeah, but the key difference is that you didn't expect it then, since it was her first episode. By now you're going to expect it, so this episode now has an expectation that it can play with.
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 12:43 am

On the subject of faces:

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Postby Brunellus (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 1:02 am

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Postby Soft Snow (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 1:05 am

This was a fun and safe episode. I liked it. It made me laugh a few times. Like FizzBuzz said, it is amazing to see how much the show transformed over time. The show I loved grew into something so colorful and beautiful. Almost like watching a child grow up.
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 1:09 am

SlateSlabrock wrote:On the subject of faces:

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I've been familiar with Ward Jenkins for years. Is he actually working on the show now? :starity:

EDIT: Yep. He boarded next week's episode.
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 1:41 am

Octavia wrote:Really liked the episode. Definitely very Gift of the Magi.


If anything I actually think this is the episode's biggest weakness. Pegging it to an existing story means they had to tell it by-the-numbers, almost by rote; and it's not that complex a story to begin with, so filling 22 minutes with it means lots of padding. There's an awful lot of gratuitous repetition of the pouch premise, the PSSSD thing, and an overt focus on the party cannon that I think kind of detracts from its basic appeal as a hammerspace gag (you're not supposed to draw attention to the physical nature of the stuff Bugs Bunny pulls from behind his back, let alone spin a story around trading it away to Daffy Duck—what's he going to do with it? Why does he want it? How does it even work for someone else? It all leads to no-good places).

What's more—and I seem to be saying this more and more—I didn't laugh at all. Not once. I know LOL is a cliche and nobody actually even cracks a facial expression when they're watching a youtube cartoon on their laptop screen, but in the past nearly every pony episode has made me writhe and guffaw and giggle several times at least. Some classic gags were so great they make me chortle even now thinking back on the first time I saw them—Spike dressing up as a dragon for Halloween, Pinkie and AJ's confrontation at the barn door, the Evil Enchantress song, Rainbow Dash stomping rain out of the clouds onto the CMCs, everything Photo Finish did. But there wasn't anything in this episode that even reminded me of how those jokes felt, how effortless, how fresh, how deep the wells of characterization they were drawing from. Rarity's impression of Pinkie was the high point obviously, but it was delivered so flatly (the voice acting didn't even hint at the physical action that was going on, which is unusual for them) that I barely got a smile out of it.

This was ten minutes of vignette story scraped over 22 minutes of bread, and while it's perfectly serviceable as a kids' cartoon, it didn't feel special to me in the way that I'm used to.

On the plus side, I'm pretty sure the street fair location was meant to be the Union Square farmer's market :crack:
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Postby PaulloDEC (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 2:17 am

Headless Horse wrote:What's more—and I seem to be saying this more and more—I didn't laugh at all. Not once.


Wow, for real? I got a bunch of laughs out of this one. Pinkie firing her cannon in the tiny apartment, Rarity's neat line on the map being replaced by Pinkie's crayon line, Pinkie crying into the icecream sundae, various Boulder gags ("Play nice.") Plenty more I've forgotten.
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 2:50 am

I'm having trouble mustering up motivation for many freeze frames. I thought ever since this premise was confirmed that this episode had a low ceiling, and while it kinda met that... a low ceiling is a low ceiling. :pinkieshrug: Some of the best faces have already been covered in this thread... let's see here...

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boop

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... Yeah, that's all I got.
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Postby Swift (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 3:44 am

Simple but cute and fun episode. Tabitha as Rarity was excellent as usual here, and I quite enjoyed her freak-outs and Pinkie imitation. The humor with Maud is very one-note and starting to get a bit old, but was still amusing, especially alongside Rarity's exasperation. And the slow-wink was great. The story was very straight-forward and predictable, but it's still a nice moral, and the character interactions were fun. Nice to see them moving forward Rarity's story a touch by having her still expanding her business.

So, overall, a decent low-key episode. Nothing really stand-out, and not going to be one of my favorites, but nice. :flutterunsmith:

Oh yeah, and Maud sharing some of Pinkie's cartoon space manipulation powers, disappearing from one side of the screen and reappearing on the other, was a great touch. How Sans of her. :smirk:

Also Rarity asking "where's your party cannon" is rather odd when it's always off in hammerspace to begin with anyway. :v: In general, it felt a bit strange to have the party cannon acknowledged within the plot to this extent. Have they ever talked about it before?
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Postby Rainbow Crash (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 4:04 am

Anybody want a pizza roll? Post a comment on this webzone if you want a pizza roll

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Postby The Doctor (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 4:13 am

Rainbow Crash wrote:Anybody want a pizza roll? Post a comment on this webzone if you want a pizza roll

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:starity: That can't be a coincidence. He's not old. But he's a slob, and has the glasses and the hat.

:wat: Is he missing his leg like Mr. Plinket too?
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 4:32 am

Oh my god :gotcha:
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Postby Mechanical Ape (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 4:50 am

One thing I appreciated was having Rarity involved in an episode that is all about generosity.

At the same time, I also appreciate that they didn't go the obvious route and make the episode about Rarity just because generosity.
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 4:51 am

Swift wrote:Also Rarity asking "where's your party cannon" is rather odd when it's always off in hammerspace to begin with anyway. :v: In general, it felt a bit strange to have the party cannon acknowledged within the plot to this extent. Have they ever talked about it before?

I think that was the most obvious sign the writers were making their debut. In general, I felt they did a good job capturing the characters and the setting, but there were little details they missed -- like the party cannon being just a hammerspace gag, or Rarity being a seamstress who could've negated the whole conflict. I'm willing to give them a pass this time. If they come back for more episodes, hopefully they can improve on those bits of polish. Tossing in too many references can be a trap for new writers.
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 4:54 am

The Doctor wrote: :wat: Is he missing his leg like Mr. Plinket too?

It looks like he's wearing something on one leg. Also, FUTBOOOOL
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Dresses!
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Breakfast at Tiffany's!
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Pinkie, that's... that not quite right.
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Pinkie throws away her crayon, and it lands in a stallion's soup.
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But it's okay, the soup is fine.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 4:59 am

So, According to Jim ( :wat: ) the Plinkett pony appeared in Made in Manehattan.

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And I'm taking the :wink: as confirmation of the reference. Good eye, Rainbow Crash!

Mechanical Ape wrote:One thing I appreciated was having Rarity involved in an episode that is all about generosity.

At the same time, I also appreciate that they didn't go the obvious route and make the episode about Rarity because generosity.


Good point. Rarity might be the element of generosity, but not for a second does it seem out of character for Pinkie to give up one of her most prized possessions for her sister's happiness.

I think the coda at the end, that giving should be about the feelings behind the gift and not a competition don't really fit. Pinkie was never really driven by a desire to one-up Maud. It was always a desire to show her how much she cared.
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Postby Rainbow Crash (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 5:53 am

Sure enough, he's in Made in Manehattan too

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He's probably going to give the play a bad review
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Postby In West Fillydelphia (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 8:15 am

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I liked the jewelry store Rarity design. Very classical.

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Postby PaulloDEC (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 8:44 am

SlateSlabrock wrote:I think that was the most obvious sign the writers were making their debut. In general, I felt they did a good job capturing the characters and the setting, but there were little details they missed -- like the party cannon being just a hammerspace gag, or Rarity being a seamstress who could've negated the whole conflict. I'm willing to give them a pass this time. If they come back for more episodes, hopefully they can improve on those bits of polish. Tossing in too many references can be a trap for new writers.


I dunno, I think the writers were very aware of the party cannon being essentially a gag; hell, they use it that way about half a dozen times in the first half of the episode. I actually found it pretty funny and surprising the way they pulled it back from beyond the fourth wall and made it concrete; it's like, she's used this thing in the presence of other characters literally dozens of times now, so why shouldn't it be real? It's hardly the strangest way Pinkie's influenced the fabric of reality.

As for Rarity making the rock purse... I thought of that while watching, but then it kinda stops being Pinkie's gift, doesn't it?
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 11:52 am

Headless Horse wrote:
If anything I actually think this is the episode's biggest weakness. Pegging it to an existing story means they had to tell it by-the-numbers, almost by rote; and it's not that complex a story to begin with, so filling 22 minutes with it means lots of padding.

Is this really that bad? Even with FiM's audience growing up as it is, it still seems rather likely to me that they'll never have experienced these sorts of stories before. As such I think FiM should get a lot of leeway in this regard. Sure, it's a bit rote for us, but the show is for kids first and not us.

The only time I think that's a major problem is if writers use that as an excuse to be lazy (or if production circumstances force them to cut corners) and just paste a story into the show without actually telling a story using their characters. That's happened precious little with FiM; Games Ponies Play is the main example that comes to mind.
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Postby MurdER_weapOn '78 (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 3:02 pm

I'm 37 and I'd never heard of Gift of the Magi before this.

Very good episode.
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Postby Aramek (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 3:34 pm


The stallion on the left in the headphones looks like he's supposed to "be" somebody. Maybe a staffer's ponysona?

Also, 99% sure that's muggin' the camera.
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 5:32 pm

I was a bit put out by "hand-stitched" :seethe:
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 5:37 pm

Headless Horse wrote:I was a bit put out by "hand-stitched" :seethe:


I missed that line. That's good enough to mark "hoof hands" for me!

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Postby Bremen (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 5:50 pm

Headless Horse wrote:I was a bit put out by "hand-stitched" :seethe:


Imported from the minotaur lands, clearly.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 7:07 pm

Headless Horse wrote:I was a bit put out by "hand-stitched" :seethe:

I didn't even catch that. Maybe "hoof-stitched" would've stopped us and made us think about the human equivalent for a second, at which point we'd also consider that something sewn by a creature with no fingers would most likely be of crap quality, something which would run contrary to how Pinkie was describing the pouch. "Hand-stitched" doesn't make sense in the other direction, but it does sound natural to us, and Pinkie was going a mile a minute when she said that so we didn't really have time to think about how ponies don't have hands.
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 7:36 pm

Hoof-stitched has been used a number of times in the show already, starting with Luna Eclipsed.
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Postby Sailor Yue (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 8:31 pm

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Postby LardLad3545 (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 9:34 pm

Wow Headless, I'm a little surprised at your reaction. We're usually at least close to being on the same wavelength with feelings about episodes. :pinkieshrug: I absolutely loved it. Big surprise, amirite? This ep just clicked with me. I thought it was legit funny, and it was super warm and fuzzy. For them being brand new writers (to the series obviously, not writing in general), The Fox brothers sure (at least for me) nailed the feel of the show and the characters. I dunno, I'm pretty terrible at episode analysis. I just know I loved it to death.
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Postby Soft Snow (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 11:36 pm

I thought the episode was funny. But Headless Horse didn't find it funny. And I value and cherish his opinion. Now I'm questioning if I even did find it funny at all.
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 11:53 pm

I didn't mind the party cannon taking on some value in the plot, but I do understand the criticism some have over it. Like, NYC mafia pony really shouldn't have any use for the party cannon he's lovingly shining up at the end, but at the same time he shouldn't have much use for a rock pouch either, so whatever. :pinkieshrug:
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 11:54 pm

:cry:


Not my intent. It could always be that I was not in the right mood for it this time around? Or that my sense of humor isn't the same as everyone else's, or that what I want out of the show isn't the same as what you all do.

I mean, usually the overlap is pretty heavy. :cheese: But not always.
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Postby VoidChicken (?) » Sun Apr 03, 2016 11:55 pm

Wayoshi wrote:I didn't mind the party cannon taking on some value in the plot, but I do understand the criticism some have over it. Like, NYC mafia pony really shouldn't have any use for the party cannon he's lovingly shining up at the end, but at the same time he shouldn't have much use for a rock pouch either, so whatever. :pinkieshrug:

Maybe the guy likes rocks. We don't know his hobbies. Maybe he's a cannon collector, too.
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