My Little Pony – Der Film

Vorlage:Use American English Vorlage:Use mdy dates Vorlage:Infobox film My Little Pony: The Movie is an upcoming 2017 American–Canadian animated musical fantasy film based on the television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, which was developed as part of the 2010 relaunch of the My Little Pony franchise by Hasbro. The film was directed and written by Friendship Is Magic veterans Jayson Thiessen and Meghan McCarthy, respectively, and stars the series' regular voice cast of Tara Strong, Ashleigh Ball, Andrea Libman, Tabitha St. Germain, and Cathy Weseluck, with guest performances by Emily Blunt, Kristin Chenoweth, Liev Schreiber, Michael Peña, Sia, Taye Diggs, Uzo Aduba, and Zoe Saldana.

The film is produced by Allspark Pictures and DHX Media, and is scheduled to be released theatrically on October 6, 2017 in the United States by Lionsgate.

Synopsis

In order to stop a threat to the town of Ponyville, the "Mane 6" – Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity – embark on a journey beyond their home kingdom of Equestria, meeting new friends and overcoming challenges in the process.

Cast

• Tara Strong as Twilight Sparkle, a princess alicorn who leads her friends in spreading harmony and friendship across Equestria.
• Ashleigh Ball as Applejack, an honest apple farmer pony; and Rainbow Dash, a loyal and adventurous pegasus.
• Andrea Libman as Pinkie Pie, a joyful, party-obsessed pony; and Fluttershy, a kind, animal-loving pegasus.
  • Shannon Chan-Kent performs Pinkie Pie's singing voice.
• Tabitha St. Germain as Rarity, a generous fashion designer unicorn.
  • Kazumi Evans performs Rarity's singing voice.
• Cathy Weseluck as Spike, a baby dragon who is Twilight Sparkle's assistant.
• Emily Blunt as Tempest Shadow, a broken-horned unicorn and lieutenant to the Storm King.
• Kristin Chenoweth as Princess Skystar, an energetic, royal seapony. Chenoweth said of her character, "Let's just say she's been locked up for a while and is longing for friends." She joked that she dabbled in method acting for the role, making sure her hair was "on point for every recording session".
• Liev Schreiber as the Storm King, a satyr-like monster who threatens Equestria. On his acceptance of the role, Schreiber said he was eager to appear in a film he would be able to take his children to see, noting his repertoire of violent, adult-oriented films. He also considers the character to be "one of the more intense roles [he's] played".
• Michael Peña as Grubber, the Storm King's minion.
• Sia as Songbird Serenade, a pegasus and rising pop star in Equestria. The character's design is modeled after Sia's facially obscured stage persona.
• Taye Diggs as Capper, a humanoid cat and reformed con artist.
• Uzo Aduba as Queen Novo, the seaponies' ruler and mother of Princess Skystar.
• Zoe Saldana as Captain Celaeno, a humanoid parrot pirate.

In addition, Nicole Oliver voices Princess Celestia, an alicorn who rules over Equestria.

Production

Development

At San Diego Comic-Con International in 2012, Friendship Is Magic head writer Meghan McCarthy commented on the possibility of a feature film based on the series, saying it was not in her control whether or not the film would be made. The film was announced on October 20, 2014, with Joe Ballarini originally attached as screenwriter and McCarthy as co-executive producer. Hasbro Studios president Stephan Davis said of the film that "I think it gives us an opportunity to tell a bigger story, that maybe we [can't] tell on television" and that "[it's] also an opportunity to broaden the franchise". The film is one of the first being produced through Hasbro Studios' self-financing film label Allspark Pictures, which also produced the live-action adaptation of Jem and the Holograms. During PonyCon AU on February 22, 2015, McCarthy said that the movie would be unrelated to the Equestria Girls spin-off franchise, and that the crew was "going all out on it, to make sure it doesn't just feel like an extended episode".

On August 7, 2015, Lionsgate confirmed that they would distribute and market the film worldwide, with the exception of China. Series director Jayson Thiessen and McCarthy were both confirmed as the film's director and screenwriter, respectively; Michael Vogel was also signed on as co-executive producer alongside McCarthy, with Hasbro executives Brian Goldner and Stephen Davis as producers. Rita Hsiao and Vogel were later announced as co-writers alongside McCarthy.

The film was showcased at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 10 along with eight other Lionsgate films to help sell the movie to international distributors. On April 30, 2016, concept artwork and other information was officially revealed at PonyRadioCon in Moscow; the panel included additional plot details such as the main characters' transformation into "seaponies" for a portion of the film.

Casting

Vorlage:Quote box The initial Lionsgate announcement listed the principal voice cast of Friendship Is Magic – Tara Strong, Ashleigh Ball, Andrea Libman, Tabitha St. Germain, and Cathy Weseluck – reprising their roles alongside actress Kristin Chenoweth as a new character. On February 12, 2016, it was announced that Emily Blunt joined the voice cast. By April 27, 2016, actors Michael Peña and Uzo Aduba were in negotiations to join the cast. On May 16, Liev Schreiber and Taye Diggs were confirmed additions to the cast. On June 20, Ashleigh Ball stated through Twitter that she had begun recording for the film's songs. At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2016, singer Sia was announced to be portraying a new "pop star pony" character called Songbird Serenade. On January 11, 2017, it was reported by Variety that Zoe Saldana had joined the cast. Friendship Is Magic voice actress Nicole Oliver confirmed via Twitter on January 23 that she was a part of the film's cast, reprising her role as Princess Celestia.

Animation

Animator Michel Gagné, after receiving an email from Jayson Thiessen on June 10, 2015 and being pitched the project in early 2016, joined the film as an effects animator on April 2, 2017, taking an eight-month hiatus from an animated Spider-Man movie made by Sony Pictures Animation.Vorlage:Specify In early October 2016, Gagné reported that Nik Gipe was hired onto the film's staff as his assistant. He also mentioned that the film was being animated using Toon Boom Harmony instead of the usual animation software Adobe Flash, that was used in the television series.

Music

The film's songs and score were composed by Friendship Is Magic songwriter Daniel Ingram, who first announced at GalaCon 2015 that he would be collaborating with a live studio orchestra for the film. On his songwriting for the film, Ingram said, "I had to challenge myself to push beyond what had been done in the TV show; to write bigger, more epic." It was stated through the PonyRadioCon panel that the film would have a total of eight original songs. At Hasbro's Toy Fair investor presentation on February 17, 2017, it was announced that there would be seven songs. Sia will be contributing an original song to the film's soundtrack.

Release

My Little Pony: The Movie was originally scheduled for release on November 3, 2017, which was subsequently moved up to October 6, 2017. The theatrical release will be accompanied by an animated short from the Hasbro Studios web series Hanazuki: Full of Treasures.

Marketing

A large amount of toys based on characters, sets, and props from the film were made by Hasbro, and a vast majority of the products are planned for release on August 1, 2017. The 2016 PonyRadioCon panel included a brief preview for some of the planned merchandise being developed for the film, including T-shirts and graphics. On July 27, 2016, the My Little Pony Collectible Card Game hinted on Twitter about a new set of cards based on the film. Hasbro's toyline for the film was shown and promoted at Toy Fair 2017 and various other toy conventions. Entertainment Earth has produced plushies for the film, and started releasing them in waves on their website.

Several books and comics related to the film have been announced: My Little Pony: Annual 2018, which contains "exclusive content from the My Little Pony movie" and is set for release on August 10, 2017; and a "prequel" story slated for an August 1 release. On January 23, 2017, Hachette Book Group listed five different books for the film, all set for release on August 29, 2017. Books based on the film will be showcased at BookCon 2017 on June 4, with guest appearances by Andrea Libman and Ashleigh Ball. In addition, IDW Publishing will publish a comic book miniseries titled My Little Pony: The Movie Prequel, with the first issue to be released in June 2017; and Viz Media will release an art book for the film, planned for release on August 29, 2017.

A teaser trailer and promotional poster for the film was released online on April 6, 2017, and debuted in theaters alongside Smurfs: The Lost Village.

External links

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