The Critical Frog: Equestria Girls 3: Friendship Games

Sorry for the delay on this- there's been a lot going on for me right now (school, work,  family, etc.) and I haven't had as much time to update. But I promise I'll do more as soon as I can. In the meantime, it' good to be back. And what better way to kick off the return than with another review that people hate me for? This is Friendship Games.

Ah, the Equestria Girls series. What a mixed bag these films are. On one hand, I want to praise them for their good physical comedy, stunning animation, and phenomenal music. But on the other, they suffer from slightly lackluster story and quite a bit of limitation from the typical MLP story arcs. Despite these flaws, I gave the first EG film a 5/10 and it's sequel a slightly higher 6 (but, on closer inspection, I suppose I should have rated them a little higher). I praised the first for introducing the story and the second for having incredible musical numbers. But how does the third stack up compared to the musical prowess of the second? Well, before that, we should get into the plot.

Does anybody remember when I discussed the main plot hole in Equestira Girls 1? About the human version of Twilight Sparkle? Maybe this quote will help:

"When Pinkie said there was a twin (mentioned above), did she mean there was another Twilight Sparkle in that world? I mean, if it was a parallel universe, there would need to be a copy of her in this world as well. Did the human Twilight know anything about this counterpart? Did she just temporarily disappear from the Earth while another version of her roamed free in the world? I would love to see the actual human Twilight`s reaction to all this when she comes back to school."
-The Critical Frog, July 2014

I hope somebody picks up the phone, because I totally called it.

Yes, the third film sees the reappearance of the human version of Twilight Sparkle (that has no clue as to what happened previously) who comes to the area to investigate the strange forces nearby. And just in time, too: it is time for the Friendship Games, a sporting event that pits the heroes' Canterlot High against their arch rivals, Crystal Prep (obviously a reference to the Crystal Empire),who are led by their Headmistress and Dean of Students, who for some reason is the humanized version of Princess Miamore Cadenza. Surely the new Twilight will be able to assist. Unfortunately, human Twilight will be unable to assist Canterlot in breaking their losing streak. This is probably because she herself is a student of Crystal Prep.

Canterlot High's all-star team consists of the main characters, of course, and several favored background characters (Derpy, Lyra and Sweetie Drop.....I mean, Bonbon), with reformed villain and top-tier waifu Sunset Shimmer as the team captain. Crystal Prep's team takes orders directly from the Headmistress, and consists of the school's best and brightest, Twilight included.

But, of course, no EG movie is complete without magical shenanigans. You see, human Twilight (who I'm just going to call Smarty Pants) has developed a device that is capable of absorbing energy from Equestria, and by extension the heroes, and draining them of magic. This causes the magic to go haywire, and as such this causes havoc during the games (the likes of which include archery, roller-skating, motocross, and other such activities). It's up to the Mane 5 (and Sunset) to figure out what is causing the magic to go crazy and help Smarty Pants discover the meaning of friendship.

The Headmistress, however, has her own plans. Smarty Pants needs her approval to recieve a scholarship to Everton college (hopefully in a forest, with Zecora as the dean- seriously, why isnt she in an EG film yet?), and the Headmistress won't give it to her unless Smarty Pants decimates the competition at the games. This becomes a problem because Smarty Pants is terrible at sports.

I'm sure you get the gist of the film by now: the two teams, the Wondercolts and Shadowbolts, compete in various events whilst avoiding magical mishap, all while Smarty Pants is pressured by her teammates to unleash the magic stored in her device. This is all well and good, with a lot of tension from both sides coming up to the surface (Sunset Shimmer snaps, and it's actually pretty odd to see her angry again after her reformation), but how is the music?

My working theory is that Daniel Ingram, the composer of MLP music, has an explosive collar latched to his neck that will detonate if he ever makes a song that is less than 'good'. This is why all of the songs he has composed are wonderful. He doesn't want to take any chances.

Really, do I even have to say that the songs here are good? This is the guy who composed Under Our Spell, Welcome to the Show, and Tricks up my Sleeve. I don't think I need to say much else. (Wait a minute, those are all from the same film.......) My personal favorite here is the games fight song, sung from the points of both Canterlot and Crystal Prep. It's intense and shows the differences and similarities of each side's determination, with Smarty Pants delivering a great solo bit. I wouldn't call it the greatest pony song (Rainbow Rocks is still a thing), but it's a great tune to set up the games.

But overall, does the third Equestria Girls film match the first or second in either quality? I'm going to have to say it's in the middle. Don;t get me wrong, I'm all over it, but there's just a lot of things that seem glossed over or completely ignored (Where are the Sirens? I want more Sirens.). The concept of magic tearing into both worlds comes across as unfinished, and extremely strange. I wouldn't go as far as to call it the worst Equestria Girls- in fact, it has a lot of one-ups on the first in terms of character (Sunset Shimmer and Smarty Pants have interesting story arcs)- but it doesn't surpass Rainbow Rocks in the song department which propels it to the top of my list. It's good for an EG film, certainly not bad, but it does leave a little to be desired. Here's hoping for Equestria Girls 4.

OVERALL RATING: 6/10
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I have a few little questions. Nothing big, just some plot things.
-Shining Armor appears in the film too. He's still Twilight's brother. Did the whole Crystal Empire story arc already take place? Is Cadance Twilight's sister yet?
-Does this mean King Sombra and the Changelings are canon in the human universe? I half expect Sombra to be that teacher who constantly threatens to send you to the office, yet never works up the courage to do it. At least then he'd be like the show.
-Lyra and Sweetie......Bonbon are in this universe, and they display the same affection for each other as they do in the pony world. Are they...in some sort of relationship?
-Does this world have a Discord? And if so, where is he?

Well, back to thinking, I guess.