Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks is a 2014 movie from the My Little Pony franchise and a sequel to the first Equestria Girls movie. Our main characters are Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. The group, all except Sunset Shimmer, are in a band, The Rainbooms, and they have to participate in a battle of the bands at their high school. Their main enemies in this movie are three sirens, who wish to win the battle of the bands so they can feed off of the energy from the students. The main characters have to use the power of friendship to make sure this doesn’t happen, however, they have their own problems with their friendship. The members of the band are at odds with each other, and Sunset Shimmer, a reformed villain from the last movie, is constantly left out of the group. The movie has several noticeable themes throughout: it is important to work out problems with your friends and to not leave your friends out. These themes are made distinct throughout certain points in the movie, whether they say it out loud or leave the screen lingering on a worried character watching the chaos among their friends go down.
In addition, compared to the previous Equestria Girls film, this movie also has fewer problems with the plot and is more interesting. The first movie was heavily criticized for its plot holes and ridiculous-seeming plot (the rulers of the entire pony realm are principals at a school) when compared to the lore of My Little Pony. While this movie has its fair share of plot holes, I think it still holds up. The sirens are from the original pony land, Equestria, where they fed off of the negative energy of ponies and instigated conflict. They were then exiled to the human realm and are tired of being left with little magic, so they seek after the magic the main characters hold.
This film has an amazing soundtrack of original music written by Daniel Ingram and Meghan McCarthy. They feature not only some of the best villain songs, but some of the best songs from the My Little Pony franchise. The best songs are those from the villains: “Under Our Spell,” “Let’s Have a Battle (Of the Bands),” and “Welcome to the Show.” They feature impressive vocal work and catchy melodies. I also enjoyed the songs “Tricks up My Sleeve,” “Rainbow Rocks,” and “Awesome as I Want to Be,” among others.
The visuals of the film are also very enjoyable. The animation is satisfying and utilizes lots of bright colors. The main thing I love about the visuals is the character design. Each character has its own unique design. Many are dressed in bold, stylish outfits that fit the personality of the character.
This movie is similar to that of other My Little Pony episodes and movies: the main characters realize the importance of their friendship once again and use that to make rainbows that defeat a magical villain who wants to break up their friendship. However, I believe this movie holds more substance to it. There were aspects of the ending that subverted my expectations from the normal My Little Pony formula. It’s a wholesome movie with a nice message and an interesting, captivating plot and lore. It has great visual work and amazing songs. I think it’s perfect for a fun and easy watch.
