I feel compelled to point out that there's a pretty big difference between a made-for-tv special and a theatrical release. Really, the only difference is length. They aren't necessarily going to pull stuff like theatrical releases usually do; those often have to escalate things in order to draw in viewers. In this case, they don't have to do that. They're just making an extra-long episode. And given that the most common issue with the show is that they try to cram too much into a short space, there's no reason this won't work.

As Jteeth mentioned, every single bloody time the TV show has done a remotely "epic" episode, the fandom has complained that the pacing was off. Because there was just too much plot to fit into 22 or 44 minutes.

Giving the writers more time to work with seems like the obvious solution.

Honestly, it seems like a pretty... I dunno, faithless? Move to assume that the movie is going to be bad simply because it's a movie. So far as we know, the movie is still probably gonna be proudced by the same people.

As our lord and saviour Niggertron doth say, "We went through this same shit with Discord, and this same shit with Chrysalis, and this same shit with Sombra, and this same shit with Trixie's return and with Discord's return, and we're gonna go through this same shit with whatever the hell the next thing is."

Ahem. To leaven the mood, I'd like to point out I'm currently vicariously threatening to throw a potato at my boss.

>>Giving the writers more time to work with seems like the obvious solution.

This is one of those problems the solution is obvious for everybody, yet nobody takes the obvious solution.

edited 8th Feb '13 11:49:10 AM by osias

Well, I could see them still not getting the pacing right. After all, they've done how many two-parters and still haven't been able to get it right? I'm beginning to think that they just might not know how to handle more time.

I'm totally looking forward to seeing it though. I'm pretty sure that whatever it is, it's gonna be awesome.

Uh... the obvious solution is "give them more time to work with" and that's exactly what they're doing. How are they not taking the obvious solution?

I can't quite say that the problem in the 2 parters is pacing per se. The issue to me is less that they utilize their time badly and more than they just don't have enough time total to address everything. Like in the Discord episodes, I think the pacing was fine; they didn't dwell too long on anything and didn't rush the end. The issue was that because they only had 40 minutes, all of those scenes had to be simplified. Basically keep the proportions but extend most scenes by like 50%. Like drawing out the corruption scenes more.

edited 8th Feb '13 12:06:26 PM by JapaneseTeeth

Ugh, more bitching from the fandom? Sheesh, it's just as bad as Sonic the Hedgehog, there's just a few more people who want to be polite about it.

Wait, what?

This is either really good, or really bad, depending on how they do it... I wonder if DHX is animating the new IP as well? (If it is a new show at all, it may not be.)

That reaction came from one person. I think you people need to calm down everytime someone expresses a less then positive reaction.

At the cost of sounding more like a newb than usual, what's an IP?

One of the biggest criticisms of the show is that the short episode format doesn't allow them to pace things properly. Why wouldn't you like a movie?

Intellectual Property. Friendship is Magic is an IP, so a new one suggests either a spinoff or a separate continuity of some kind.

I don't get it.

Well then, I slept in late and had to give my dog a bath (who knew chow-mixes loved playing in the mud so much?) and I just heard the news, TV Movie! So that is the 66 minute episode!

Though this is apparently to tie in to the "new IP" Hasbro is launching, which may Joss my hopes that its an Anniversary Special choke full of Mythology Gags. If this is the pilot for a spin-off series, it may not affect the main show that much.

Consider that Transformers Prime has a spin-off show, Transformers Rescue Bots, marketed at a different demographic. They're in the same universe, but the only crossover thus far is that Optimus Prime gives out missions via computer screen and Prime!Bumblebee shows up for a couple of episodes, I'm pretty sure Rescue Bots hasn't been brought up once in the "main" show, and the two shows are very different in style and tone. Actually, considering what happens in Prime's Season 2 finale, I wonder what this means for Rescue Bots...but that's for a different thread, I suppose.

So! New MLP IP, "older" demographic. Teenage girls and up. I know what a cartoon aimed at teenage boys is like (most superhero shows), what does a cartoon aimed at teenage girls look like? And how do you add ponies to the equation?

@Story: I think it means the stance of "I'm going to withhold any reaction until we actually get the thing in question"

That's the important part, really. Usually the YAY BIG MOVIE is done by either a completely different team from the original as a zero-effort cash cow ploy (often years after the fact, see Disney direct-to-video sequels), or for a series that was dull in the first place. FIM tends to have so much substance in its bigger stories that it's actually crimped by 22 minutes.

Honestly, the new IP makes me more nervous. Half the fun of this show is that it picks up older fans just by being that good. Specifically targeting an older audience with a spinoff makes me think some focus group decided it'd be a good idea to target their demographics separately, which runs the risk of FIM turning into 3.5 and the new one turning into Disney high school bullshit.

edited 8th Feb '13 1:11:02 PM by Pykrete

@Pykrete: Honestly, it depends who ends up writing for it. MLP is good because the writers and animators know what they're doing. If a new IP gets a similarly talented group of writers, great.

Huh, new spinoff show? That could be very good or very bad. On the one hand, more ponies! On the other hand, everything that could possible go wrong with this. Will it be by an entirely different team? Will it suddenly be full of romance to try to snag the teen girl market? Will it feature Derpy? So many questions!

Yeah. I'd hope Hasbro has the good sense to staff a new IP with like minds, but...well, most of the good things this show has pulled off has been in spite of the people upstairs.

Heck, lets just bring Faust back and give the new show to her.

I interrupt this thread to post a random (old) picture.

Good day.

*entire thread pauses to squee*

O w O

Yeah she's adorable now. Wait till she gets obese on sugar cubes and lack of exercise and starts dating a murderous supervillain wizard.

Worse case scenario the spin-off ends up being a dud and Friendship is Magic will go on.