Eager to leave the chaotic events of the Friendship Games behind them and take a break from Equestrian magic, Twilight, Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash and the rest of the “ponies”, embark on the school’s annual field trip to Camp Everfree. Twilight has been having nightmares about all the damage she caused and still feels guilty, so she is anxious to go somewhere that is free of Equestrian Magic.
When they arrive they are greeted by a rather bubbly, energetic and eager-to-please camp director named Gloriosa Daisy and her brother Timber Spruce, who own/run the camp. Everyone is excited to partake in different camp activities. The campers quickly start to settle in, have fun and get to work on their “camp gift”.
One night Timber frightens the campers with a spooky tale of the legend of a spirit named Gaea Everfree. He tells them that many years ago, he and Gloriosa’s grandparents came to the forest and (delighted by what they saw) they decided to build a camp. However when they started to break ground, magical vines started cropping up everywhere destroying their cabin and a giant creature, an ancient spirit named Gaea Everfree, appeared telling them they had trespassed on her forest The two begged Gaia Everfree to let them stay and build their camp. She eventually agreed , but said it was only temporary and that she’d be back one day to reclaim the forest for herself.
After a number of strange occurrences the campers started to fear that Gaia Everfree was back to claim what was hers. However Sunset and Twilight start to get suspicious of Gloriosa, who is acting strangely, and when they overhear a conversation she is having with her brother, they think she is hiding something and follow her into a forbidden part of the forest to find out exactly what she’s up to. They soon discover the magical secret that Gloriosa is hiding and they must once again embrace their own magic in order to put a stop to Gloriosa’s well-intentioned, but dangerous plan.
The Legend of Everfree is the fourth film in the Equestria Girls franchise, and once again they’d done an excellent job of combining an interesting story which shows the characters not only working together toward a common goal, but embracing their differences and learning valuable life lessons. This time around, the story seems to focus mostly on Twilight Sparkles, Sunset Shimmer and new characters, Gloriosa and Timber. However all of the Mane 6 have screen time and Pinkie Pie has some hilarious one-liners which had my girls giggling for days.
Both of my daughters (ages 7 and 9.5) really enjoyed the film and the 5 new songs by Daniel Ingram. Both of their interests have waned a bit on the animated TV series, but both continue to really enjoy the Equestria Girls film franchise.
We received the Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Download combo pack of My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Legend of Everfree for review (there is also a DVD/Digital Download combo pack). As usual, the picture quality is fantastic. The DTS 5.1 surround sound well mixed, dialog is easy to hear and musical numbers sound great. This time around the commentary track features Meghan McCarthy (Co-Executive Producer), Ishi Rudell (the Co-director of the film) , Katrina Hadley (Assistant Director), Jeremy Tin (Art Director) and Daniel Ingram (Songwriter). I don’t tend listen to commentary tracks as much as I used to (I just don’t have the time to), but I always find these Equestria Girls commentaries entertaining and informative; this one was no exception and it was nice to hear some returning voices from the previous commentary track.
Other extras include a short blooper reel and 3 sing-alongs for the songs “The Legend of Everfree”, “The Midnight In Me” and “The Legend You Are Meant To Be”. Both girls loved the blooper reel and enjoyed the sing along songs.
My younger daughter Claire has watched the film AT LEAST 10 to 15 times since its release. In fact, one afternoon she had a friend over who hadn’t seen it yet, so they started watching it on Blu-ray and then it was time to bring her friend home. So they hopped in the minivan and watched the rest on DVD in the car while my wife drove them home. When she isn’t playing some game on her iPod Touch, Claire is watching Legend of Everfree again (thanks to the included digital copy).
One neat final bonus that comes with the film is a tangible item which comes right in the case. For a limited time, MLP fans ordering their copy directly from Shout Kids get a free 18″ x 24″ poster of the cover art, while copies purchased from Walmart include a pair of Twilight Sparkle barrettes, and copies at all other retailers come with an adorable “Camp Everfree” sew-on camp patch, which can be used to make your very own Camp Everfree uniform. This is a cool extra, though I wish that maybe there had been a little more in the way of video extras, like some delete scenes like we’ve seen in the past.
What’s Included:
Film: (74 min)
-
Blu-ray:
- 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio
- 480p / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
- Closed Captions
- Downloadable Digital Copy
DVD:
Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline 11/01/2017):
Extras:
- Audio Commentary
Feature commentary by Meghan McCarthy (Co-Executive Producer), Ishi Rudell (the Co-director of the film) , Katrina Hadley (Assistant Director), Jeremy Tin (Art Director) and Daniel Ingram (Songwriter). - Blooper Reel (2 min)
- Sing-Alongs (7 min)
Sing along to “The Legend of Everfree”, “The Midnight In Me” and “The Legend You Are Meant To Be”.
Final Thoughts:
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Legend of Everfree continues the adventures of the human versions of the ponies, expanding this alternate universe with new locations, characters and infectious new songs. While the film focuses a little less on some of the Mane 6 than others, each of your favorite “ponies” gets some screen time with some fun and memorable moments. It was a huge hit with my younger daughter, and though enjoyable, it personally wasn’t my favorite of the Equestria Girl films. If you have a child that enjoys My Little Pony or the Equestria Girls then this is really a no-brainer to pick up, I’m sure you’ll get your money’s worth with numerous repeat viewings. We can’t wait for the next Equestria Girls adventure.
