Like the first two Equestria Girls films, Friendship Games re-envisions the main characters of the parent franchise, normally ponies, as teenage humanoid characters in a high school setting. Set during the events of the fifth-season finale of Friendship Is Magic, the film's story centers around a sports competition between the students of Canterlot High School and their rivals at Crystal Prep Academy, one of whom is Twilight's parallel universe counterpart, who has been investigating the magical activity around Canterlot High.
The students of Canterlot High School prepare for the Friendship Games, an academic and sporting competition held every four years between their school's team, the Wondercolts, and the undefeated Shadowbolts from Crystal Prep Academy. Sunset Shimmer, who has been observing her friends' magical ability to "pony up" – grow pony-like ears, tails, and wings – whenever they play musical instruments, becomes concerned when Rainbow Dash transforms during a pep rally, seemingly at random. Tasked with finding the cause of this development, Sunset attempts to contact Twilight Sparkle for advice but receives no response.
Meanwhile, one of Crystal Prep's students, Twilight's counterpart in the parallel world, investigates the magical activity surrounding Canterlot High. Twilight builds a locket-like device to detect and contain the magic for further study, hoping this will secure her application for Everton, a coveted independent study program. However, Principal Cinch threatens to revoke the application to blackmail Twilight into participating in the Friendship Games and maintain Crystal Prep's victory record.
Upon Twilight's arrival at Canterlot High, her device detects Sunset and her friends' magic and leads Twilight to them; as she approaches, the device inadvertently drains Rarity's magic when she "ponies up" after making uniforms for the other girls. Sunset, initially mistaking Twilight for her Ponyville counterpart, quickly realizes the misunderstanding and considers consulting Twilight in person. When Crystal Prep's Twilight follows her to the portal to Equestria, the device absorbs the portal's magic and seals it off. The device similarly affects Pinkie Pie when she tries to ease the tension with a party and later Fluttershy when she attempts to cheer up a distraught Twilight, creating dimensional rifts to Equestria and giving Twilight's dog Spike the ability to speak.
Following Twilight's victory in the games' academic decathlon, the games continue with a "tri cross relay", a relay race between archery, speed skating and motocross. Applejack transforms after she advises Twilight, causing the device to steal Applejack's magic and create a rift that summons monstrous plants. Rainbow Dash "ponies up" to save the other competitors before losing her magic, allowing Canterlot High to win the event, but causing Cinch to accuse Canterlot High of cheating due to their perceived magical advantage. Frustrated by her failure to keep the magic protected, Sunset furiously berates Twilight for endangering her friends, regretting it when Twilight runs off in tears.
Before the final event, Cinch and the Shadowbolts pressure Twilight into releasing the magic within her device to harness it against the Wondercolts. The magic instead corrupts Twilight, turning her into a winged monster[N 3] who proceeds to destroy the statue portal and open more rifts that threaten to destroy the parallel world. As the Wondercolts and Shadowbolts work together to save their classmates, Sunset notices her friends' magical auras and realizes that their magic manifests when they exhibit the same traits as the Elements of Harmony. Gathering their magic with the device, Sunset assumes an angelic form resembling Princess Celestia,[N 4] closes the rifts, and returns Twilight to normal.
Refusing to relent from manipulating Twilight, Cinch threatens to report the incident to the school board. When taunted that no one would believe her account of the magical incidents, however, she concedes to a tie that is celebrated by both teams. Reconsidering her Everton application, Twilight realizes she is happier at Canterlot High and transfers there, where Sunset and the other students welcome her as a new friend.
In a post-credits scene, Ponyville's Twilight emerges from the portal with the counterparts of her friends gathered around it. She apologizes for her absence, explaining that she has just escaped from a time travel loop,[N 5] before gawking at the sight of her counterpart.
Tara Strong as Twilight Sparkle, the socially awkward prized student of Crystal Prep Academy (later Canterlot High School) and a member of the Shadowbolts (later the Wondercolts). Strong also voices her counterpart from Equestria in a pre-credits scene.
A forest clearing, used both for the Friendship Is Magic episode "Bloom & Gloom" and for this film, was previewed in a background image shown online back in November 2014.[4]
The third installment was first teased by Rainbow Rocks co-director, Ishi Rudell on December 12, 2014. Brony Donald "Dusty Katt" Rhoades asked wondering about Rudell's silence on Twitter, and Rudell replied that he was "too busy working on #3".[5]
On January 29, 2015, Australian home media distributor Beyond International stated via Facebook that they had obtained distribution rights for seasons 4 and 5 of Friendship Is Magic, in addition to Rainbow Rocks and the "third Equestria Girls (film)".[6][non-primary source needed] Further confirmation was given during Hasbro's investor presentation at the 2015 New York Toy Fair, along with other products in the Friendship Games lineup.[7][8]
The concept designs for the film's ending credits were done by Katrina Hadley with Chris Lienonin and Jeremy Mah on the layouts.[9]
This was also the first film in the Equestria Girls spinoff franchise not to be directed by Jayson Thiessen and written by Meghan McCarthy (as well as the only one not to involve McCarthy in any way) as they were both busy directing and writing 2017 theatrical My Little Pony feature film respectively, which was in production at the time, although Thiessen did direct the film's companion shorts and was consulting director on the film itself.
Like the previous two installments, the songs were composed by Daniel Ingram with lyric writing shared between Ingram and screenwriter Josh Haber; except "Friendship Games", "ACADECA" and "Right There in Front of Me" which had lyrics solely by Ingram. Even though it wasn't listed in Discovery Family's televised broadcast of the film's ending credits, "What More Is Out There?" can be heard in the film. Although "Right There in Front of Me" is listed in the credits, it is absent in Discovery Family's broadcast. Song production was done by Caleb Chan with vocal arrangements by Trevor Hoffman.
"ACADECA" (Academic Decathlon) – Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and full company (voiceover)
"Unleash the Magic" – Principal Abacus Cinch, Twilight Sparkle, and the students of Crystal Prep Academy
"End Credits Song: Right There in Front of Me" – Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and ensemble (voiceover)
"Right There in Front of Me" plays over the closing credits on the film's DVD and Blu-ray versions.[10] According to Rudell, the song "Dance Magic" is unrelated to the film.[11]
The version as heard in the film.The original cut of the song, originally conceived as a duet.
One of the deleted scenes included in the Blu-ray and DVD set is an alternate version of the song "What More Is Out There?", featuring both Crystal Prep's Twilight Sparkle and Canterlot High's Sunset Shimmer.[12] The song was originally intended as a duet for the two characters, but due to time constraints and the removal of a subplot involving Sunset questioning if she belonged to the parallel world or Equestria, it was ultimately rewritten as a solo for Twilight.
Friendship Games had a limited theatrical release in select Vue Cinemas theaters in the United Kingdom between October 24, and November 1, 2015.[18] The film had a limited theatrical release at various Hoyts theaters in Australia between October 31 and November 10, 2015.[19] In Mexico the film had a limited theatrical release in various Cinépolis theaters between October 9 and 18, 2015.[20]
In the United States and Canada, Shout! Factory released Friendship Games on DVD (Region 1), Blu-ray disc, digital download release,[21] and in a box set alongside its two predecessors on October 13, 2015.[22] DVD and Blu-ray special features consist of four storyboard animatic deleted scenes, audio commentary, sing-alongs, and five animated shorts.[23] Primal Screen released a Region 2 DVD on November 2, 2015, and includes the five animated shorts and a recap of the first two Equestria Girls films.[24]
On November 30, 2015, the My Little Pony Facebook page posted an advertisement promoting that the film will be added to Netflix on December 1, 2015.[25] The version used on Netflix is the same as the one found on the DVD and Blu-ray versions of the film with the end credits song, "Right There in Front of Me", playing over the film's end credits.
The film is a part of the sport-themed Friendship Games lineup, a third installment in the My Little Pony: Equestria Girls toy line and media franchise, which was first displayed at London's 2015 Toy Fair in January,[26] and mentioned with other supporting products, alongside this film, during Hasbro's investor presentation in February that year.[7]LB Kids published a novelization of the film.
Animated shorts
A series of animated prequel shorts for Friendship Games, similar to those produced for Rainbow Rocks, was announced on February 13, 2015.[27] On July 31, 2015, the My Little Pony Facebook page posted some instructions for playing in the "Friendship Games Fantasy League" and indicated that a new short would be released every Saturday during August 2015.[28][non-primary source needed] Like the Rainbow Rocks shorts, these are also separate from the film.[29] A total of five shorts were released; the first four of these, paired with a 10-minute preview of the film, aired on Discovery Family on August 29, 2015.[30]
No.
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original airdate
1
"The Science of Magic"
Jayson Thiessen
Natasha Levinger
August 1, 2015 (2015-08-01)
Sunset Shimmer studies her friends' pony hybrid transformations to better understand how magic works in the parallel world.
2
"Pinkie Spy"
Jayson Thiessen
Natasha Levinger
August 8, 2015 (2015-08-08)
Rainbow Dash tries to spy on Crystal Prep Academy's sports team, but Pinkie Pie ruins her attempts to remain unseen.
3
"All's Fair in Love & Friendship Games"
Jayson Thiessen
—
August 15, 2015 (2015-08-15)
Lyra Heartstrings (Ashleigh Ball) and Sweetie Drops (Andrea Libman) compete to earn a spot on the Wondercolts team in the Friendship Games tryouts.
4
"Photo Finished"
Jayson Thiessen
Ishi Rudell and Jayson Thiessen
August 22, 2015 (2015-08-22)
Photo Finish (Tabitha St. Germain) gets carried away when Vice Principal Luna asks her to take pictures for the Canterlot High yearbook.
5
"A Banner Day"
Jayson Thiessen
—
August 29, 2015 (2015-08-29)
Flash Sentry, Micro Chips (James Kirk), and Sandalwood (Vincent Tong) have conflicting ideas on their welcome banner for Crystal Prep Academy.
Apart from the shorts above, a Friendship Games "blooper reel" was posted on the official Equestria Girls website on May 3, 2016, containing fictional outtakes of various scenes from the film.[31]
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack was released on September 17, 2015 on iTunes Store[32] and on Amazon on September 18, 2015.[33] The first three singles, "Friendship Through the Ages", "My Past is Not Today" and "Life Is a Runway" were first released by Hasbro's YouTube channel on March 31, 2015; later re-uploaded on April 2, 2015.
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Performer(s)
Length
1.
"Friendship Through the Ages"
Daniel Ingram, Katrina Hadley, Brian Lenard, Jayson Thiessen, and Michael Vogel
Shoichet, Ball, Chan-Kent, Libman, Evans, and choir
2:41
6.
"CHS Rally Song"
Josh Haber and Ingram
Ball, chorus
2:30
7.
"What More Is Out There"
Haber and Ingram
Shoichet
2:48
8.
"ACADECA"
Ingram
Full company
2:42
9.
"Unleash the Magic"
Haber and Ingram
Iris Quinn, Shoichet, and choir
3:09
10.
"Right There in Front of Me"
Ingram
Shoichet, Ball, Chan-Kent, Evans, and Libman
2:59
Total length:
25:19
Reception
Television viewership
When the film premiered on Discovery Family on September 26, 2015, it was viewed by 436,000 viewers. According to the Nielsen ratings, it was watched by approximately 120,000 adults 18-49.[34]
Critical response
The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. Daniel Alvarez of Unleash the Fanboy gave the film a score of 8 out of 10, calling it "another quality installment in the Equestria Girls series." He praised the film's characters, calling Sunset Shimmer "a great focus", as well as the film's songs and "epic climax." However, he noted that several negatives "hold it back from being near perfect", such as Principal Cinch, whom he called "the worst antagonist."[35]Geekscape's Adam Lemuz praised the film as "a great follow-up to Rainbow Rocks." He further complimented that "fans of the previous films will get a lot of enjoyment out of it as it delivers plenty of solid laughs and noteworthy songs."[36] Ed Liu of Toon Zone (now Anime Superhero) called the film "solid addition to the Equestria Girls franchise", but felt it was "overly familiar" and "a little padded" when comparing it to the first film's story. He also praised Sunset Shimmer's development from "a vintage mean girl to a strong, assertive character in her own right", calling her character arc initiated from the first film "a wonderful long-form story".[37] Mike Cahill of The Guardian gave the film two out of five stars, calling it "craven commercialism", but adding that "it's not unattractively designed, and its peppy collegiate spirit trumps the sappiness of Disney's Tinkerbell spin-offs".[38]
Notes
^ Making this the first Equestria Girls film not to be directed by Jayson Thiessen, who was consulting director.
^ Making this the first Equestria Girls film not to be written by Meghan McCarthy, who was not involved in making the film.
^Identified outside the film as "Midnight Sparkle".
^Identified outside the film as "Daydream Shimmer".[3]
^Caesar, Phil (November 2014). "Untitled". phils portfolio. Blogger. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
^Rudell, Ishi (December 12, 2014). "#3 confirmation tweet". Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2014 – via Twitter. (Archived locally)
