DVD Review: My Little Pony: Twinkle Wish Adventure

Movie Info:
Writer: Sherri Stoner
Director: John Grusd
Cast: Anna Cummer, Janyse Jaud, Chantal Strand, Andrea Libman, Kelly Sheridan, Erin Matthews, Tabitha St. Germain, Tracey Moore, Keegan Connor Tracy
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Hasbro/Shout Factory

Release Info:
DVD Release Date: October 13, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $12.99

I am a true 80s baby. I was born in 1978, so my first memories are from the 80s. We had the best cartoons back then. Now that I’m an adult, and I have my own kids, I’m finding the resurgence of many of the cartoons I watched as a child to be very interesting. While I’m not at all fond of the new direction Rainbow Brite is going in, I am very happy to see an old favorite of mine, My Little Pony, back in cartoon form and available as a collectible toy from Hasbro. I had a bunch of different Hasbro My Little Pony ponies growing up, and now a whole new generation of little girls and boys can enjoy the newly designed ponies.

I don’t find the sleeker look to the ponies to be too different than what was offered when I was a child. The ponies I had were a little bit bulkier, but they are ponies, so they look pretty similar now to the ones I had. As much as I loved playing with the ponies, I also was a huge fan of the My Little Pony television show. I was the perfect age to watch it, when it aired. I don’t know a little girl (and even some little boys) who did not watch the show back in the 80s.

It is nice to see the cartoons from my generation re-emerging, especially since I’ve tried to share many of them (as they are released on DVD) with my own children. While nothing truly beats the originals, I have very few complaints about the re-developed My Little Pony cartoons. I feel that these cartoons better reflect the changes in today’s audiences. Twinkle Wish Adventure is the perfect blend of the innocence of the show from my youth and the interests of today’s young audiences. Interests have changed, but My Little Pony hasn’t changed enough that I can’t enjoy the new cartoon with the kids.

My Little Pony: Twinkle Wish Adventure is a darling story you and your young children will love to watch. The adventures of Pinky Pie, Scootaloo, Cheerilee, Rainbow Dash, Sweetie Belle and the rest of the ponies is the perfect way to welcome in the upcoming winter, holiday season. The ponies are preparing for their Winter Wishes Festival and they want you and your little ones to celebrate with them. With a fun story full of heartwarming lessons, your children are going to want to watch this cartoon over and over as winter approaches.

The My Little Pony: Twinkle Wish Adventure Plot
Winter is coming to Ponyville and the changing of seasons is always marked by the Winter Wishes Festival. The older ponies explain to youngsters Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Cheerilee that every year Twinkle Wish, the wishing star, is put on the Ever Forever Green Tree. This tree rests in the heart of Ponyville. All of the ponies decorate ornaments for the tree and the pony who creates the ornament that is voted the best is the one who gets to put Twinkle Wish at the top of the Forever Ever Green Tree.

The ponies are so involved in their plans to create ornaments that they forget to invite Cheerilee to go with them. As they head to Sweetie Belle’s house to make use of the special items in her collection drawer, Cheerilee heads home alone to make her ornament on her own. Teaming up, the ponies work together to create beautiful ornaments. Scootaloo is certain their ornament is the best, especially since it has a lucky, brown button on it. When the ponies realize they have forgotten Cheerilee, they abandon their ornament making celebration to go find her.

Cheerilee is disappointed that all she has found is a pine cone and some ribbon. When the other ponies find her, they help her decorate her ornament by each giving her a piece of their own ornaments. Scootaloo doesn’t want to give Cheerilee anything, but then she reluctantly lets Cheerilee take the brown button. Cheerilee now has a stunning ornament, and all the other ponies, but Scootaloo, are sure she will win.

When the mayor of Ponyville chooses Cheerilee’s ornament as the most beautiful ornament and gives her the honor of putting Twinkle Wish on top of the Forever Ever Green Tree, Scootaloo is very disappointed and jealous. Cheerilee is given the task of watching the box where Twinkle Wish is sleeping. Once Twinkle Wish is upon the Forever Ever Green Tree the star will grant the wish of the ponies. However, this is very exhausting so Twinkle Wish must remain asleep until the ceremony when the star is put upon the tree.

Cheerilee is only too happy to watch the box, but when a jealous Scootaloo steals the box and opens it for a peek at Twinkle Wish, it wakes the star up. When the star is kidnapped from Ponyville by a flying dragon and taken to the dragon’s mountain, Scootaloo’s jealousy gets the pony’s in trouble. With the Winter Wishes festival looking to be ruined, the ponies must find Twinkle Wish and get the star back from the dragon before the winter season in Ponyville has truly become a disaster.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
For a new cartoon I expect decent quality. I’m a fan of Shout Factory. They really try to be conscious of how good their animated DVDs look. Well, My Little Pony: Twinkle Wish Adventure is no exception. The picture looks clear. I didn’t notice any visual errors per se. All in all, I was really impressed with how good the cartoon looked. Your child is going to love how bright and colorful My Little Pony is.

The audio is equally as good as the video. This DVD relies a lot on music, so it is good that Shout Factory provided this DVD with a decent audio mix. There was no need to volume toggle. The dialogue sounded crisp. The music numbers were vibrantly displayed throughout the speakers. The sound was pushed a bit forward, and even the few sound effects were balanced nicely through the speakers. For a new release the audio for this cartoon was exactly what I expected.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
There are quite a few bonuses included on the My Little Pony: Twinkle Wish Adventure DVD.

Things start off with a musical prequel to the main story called “Waiting for the Winter Wishes Festival.” This is a song & dance minisode about the Winter Wishes Festival. The ponies sing about their favorite part of the winter season. This automatically plays before the movie, but “Waiting for the Winter Wishes Festival” can also be accessed later through the bonus section.

In the bonus section of the DVD, the bonuses start of with the Singalong Section. There are singalongs for the My Little Pony Theme Song, Thing-A-Ma-Do Song, Dreams Do Come True, Somewhere Super New, That’s What Makes a Friend and Wonderful Winter Song.

Next, there is a selection of Print at home Fun PDF Files. To access these, pop your DVD into your computer’s DVD-Rom drive. The PDF files are for a My Little Pony Coloring Sheet, a Pony Note to Santa, How to Make a Snowman and Cut out Pony Ornaments.

This isn’t a Hasbro DVD without a toy commercial. There is the section “More Ways to Play with My Little Pony,” which is a commercial for the My Little Pony Hasbro toy line.

There is another minisode included in the bonus section for a show called Elefun and Friends. This is an introduction to the cartoon Elefun and Friends, and it features a story called “A Tangled Web.”

Finally there are previews for Jane and the Dragon and Maggie and the Ferocious Beast.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
The story for My Little Pony: Twinkle Wish Adventure is simply adorable. I loved watching this with the kids. While the oldest wasn’t as into it as the five year old, the story is light enough to watch with just about any age group. Full of musical interludes and a great message about friendship, honesty and responsibility, you can feel great knowing your child can safely watch this cartoon. My Little Pony: Twinkle Wish Adventure is recommended and comes just in time for the holidays!

Overall Rating:

Technorati Tags: My Little Pony, Twinkle Wish Adventure, Cartoon, Pony, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Pinkie Pie, Ponyland, Hasbro, Shout Factory

Written by Ashtyn Evans - Visit Website
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Ashtyn is in her early 30s. She is a mother, writer, college student, and music lover. Ashtyn has had a successful career as a writer since 2003. She turned to blogging in 2005. Ashtyn attends Wright State where she is getting a degree in Psychology. She has extensive knowledge in SEO and Social Media Development.