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Author Topic: G1 Media Retrospective: Escape From Catrina  (Read 5773 times)

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Offline Bekuno

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G1 Media Retrospective: Escape From Catrina
« on: March 18, 2018, 01:11:29 PM »
Onto the next special! Thanks for those of you joining in on the discussions, lots of great information was learned from the RaMC thread :D

Escape from Catrina is this weeks subject. This is the 2nd My Little Pony special, and aired in 1984. Just like Rescue at Midnight Castle, it was later edited and added to the My Little Pony n' Friends episode lineup. This special has a whole new cast of ponies, but Megan makes her return.

Just like with Rescue at Midnight Castle, the special was split into two episodes, and one of the songs was cut for time constraints along with original end credits. The art style has also changed for this special.

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Summary:

The ponies are preparing for a visit from Megan, and trying to make sure everything goes just right. Sundance accidentally makes a mess while trying to catch a ball, ultimately causing it to knock poor Baby Moondancer in the water and the ball being lost in a cave. But deep in that cave we see something interesting, strange fuzzy creatures are hard at work. These little guys are called Bushwoolies, and they are grinding up Witch Wheat to make a potion for our main villain, Catrina.

Unfortunately the little fuzzballs are clumsy, and they spill what little there is of the potion, enraging Catrina. Rep, Catrina's (INSERT HERE), had already warned them to be careful. The Bushwoolies openly announce they're sick of being slaves, and they're going to escape! Catrina overhears and picks up the purple bushwoolie, planning to toss him into the pit for his insubordination. Rep and the others plead her to stop, but she throws him in anyway. Luckily he is saved by Rep. Enraged, she demands more Witch Wheat Potion before we cut back to our pony pals.

Megan is almost here, but Sundance and Baby Moondancer's clumsy antics cause a few issues. No bother in the end, as Megan arrives safely on the back of Skydancer. The ponies present her with the Rainbow of Light, once again asking her to wear it. The baby ponies are excited to meet and play with Megan, but Posey informs them they need to nap! Megan offers to babysit them, and agrees that the babies shouldn't nap ("Lets Not Take A Nap") and they play instead. It was just a ruse by Megan to wear out the kiddo's, and they quickly fall asleep.

We cut back to Catrina, also asleep, and the Bushwoolies plan to escape again. Rep tries to reason with them, but it fails. They successfully run off, causing Rep and Catrina to go to the surface in order to recapture them. She spots the ponies playing and decides they will make fine replacements. After drinking some of her potion from a small vial, she grows in size and uses magic to create a snowstorm to freeze the ponies. Powder manages to escape, but the other three are left in the snow. Megan comes to action quickly, using the Rainbow of Light to knock over Catrina and Rep and clear the clouds away so the sun can melt the snow. Catrina still insists that they try to capture the ponies to be her new slaves. Rep reminds her things used to not be this way ("The Good Old Days") but it doesn't get through to her, and she is enraged again when she realizes she's completely out of her potion.

We return to Dream Valley were the ponies are getting the last of the decor in order. Sparkler berates Sundance, and the poor pony runs off to cry. Megan comes to comforts her and reminders her that she has other wonderful skills that make her special. Then Megan goes to get the baby ponies dressed up, and helps put together an outfit for Baby Moondancer. Megan even lets her wear the Rainbow of Light! As Baby Moondancer heads for the ball, she's stopped by Rep in a pony disguise who comments on the locket she's wearing. Baby Moondancer refuses to hand it over so Rep returns to his original form and tries to force it away from her. The tough little pony fights him off, but Catrina decides to just take Baby Moondancer as well, and the two escape with the poor pony, just out of Megans grasp.

Megan and the ponies venture to find their kidnapped friends and run into the Bushwoolies in the forest. They show Megan and the ponies the cave they escape to, informing them it was once their home until Catrina came along. They slide inside and come face to face with Catrina and Rep. Catrina asks them to be her slaves, and the ponies refuse. She tries again, and after another refusal she threatens to throw Baby Moondancer into the pit. Rep stops her, tell her she's gone too far, but she kicks him aside. Rep transforms into a bull and knocks Catrina into the pit as the locket and Baby Moondancer go flying. Megan catches the Locket, and Sundance catches Baby Moondancer. Catrina is clinging to the inside of the pit, begging for help, but Rep is hesitant. In exchange for being saved, they ask her to destroy her Witch Wheat machine. At first she refuses, but she knows she will die if she doesn't. Rep brings her the very last drop of Witch Wheat, witch she uses to grow in size and escape the pit. She turns to the ponies at first, but turns again and destroy's the machine as she promised.

As the story comes to a close, we return to Dream Valley. The ponies put on a costume parade for Megan ("Dressed Like A Dream"). Even Rep and Katrina join in. Our story ends with Megan giving Baby Moondancer the locket to wear once again. As the credits roll, the ponies say goodbye to Megan before Skydancer takes her back home.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Songs:
* My Little Pony Theme
* Let's Not Take A Nap
* The Good Ol' Days (uncut version only)
* Dressed Like A Dream


Ponies used: Baby Moondancer, Sundance, Sparkler, Posey, Powder, Starflower, Lickety-Split, Skydancer, Baby Surprise, Baby Cotton Candy, Baby Glory, Backstroke, Seabreeze, Sand Dollar, White Cap, Sea Mist.

Villains: Catrina & Rep

Other Characters: Spike & Bushwoolies

Humans: Megan
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Offline Ponyfan

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Re: G1 Media Retrospective: Escape From Catrina
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2018, 03:35:15 PM »
I enjoy Escape from Catrina very much but I feel like Rescue at Midnight Castle is a better story overall. It's easier for me to notice the plot holes in Catrina and I don't mind the "Good Ol Days"  song being cut as much as I do "Little Piece of Rainbow" from Rescue at Midnight Castle.


Some things I've always wondred about Esacpe from Catrina.

If this is only Megan's 2nd trip to Ponyland why doesn't she ask where Firefly, Cotton Candy, Moondancer and Glory are espeically after she meets the baby ponies?

Why do the ponies explain to Megan about the Rainbow of Light (although I realize this was probably done for children who hadn't seen Rescue at Midnight Castle to know why the ponies needed the Rainbow of Light

If Megan gives back the Rainbow of Light at the end of Catrina (we don't see her wearing it back home) how did she have it in the MLP movie when North Star and Wind Whistler came to get her.

Rep makes a very strange looking pony  :lol:


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Offline Al-1701

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Re: G1 Media Retrospective: Escape From Catrina
« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2018, 04:05:33 PM »
It's too bad Catrina was a one shot.  Her story really wasn't complete.  We saw her full of bravado when she had the witchweed, but as the saying goes, it was the drugs talking.  Without it, she was timid and unsure.  It would have been nice to see her find that confidence again in herself without the witchweed potion.

Also, does anyone else think Catrina might have started using witchweed potion because she was envious of Rep's powers?  It could explain why he looks back at the "Good ole days" so fondly while she resents them.
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Re: G1 Media Retrospective: Escape From Catrina
« Reply #3 on: March 18, 2018, 05:00:56 PM »
I really liked this special! I never noticed it was a subtle message about drugs until I came onto the Arena. The Good Ol' Days really shows that people who take drugs can change a lot because of it, and not really for the better. I too would like to see more of Catrina and want her to find her confidence!

Also, the rainbow of light is a funny thing. It can open from the top and from the left side.

Also, how did Moondancer not notice that Rep was not a pony? Yeesh, those colors! :silly:
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Re: G1 Media Retrospective: Escape From Catrina
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2018, 05:31:41 PM »
I really like this one and I have a theory for why they have to reexplain the rainbow -besides the obvious explaining for those who haven't seen rescue- is that maybe the moochick made her forget some of the things that she's seen. like more, the particulars, she knows there's a land of talking colorful ponies but she doesn't remember names, and who know how differently time passes in pony land vs megan land -lol-. so there wouldn't be any issue of continuity and the 'hey where's moondancer glory and the others' and be told that they died a long time ago
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Re: G1 Media Retrospective: Escape From Catrina
« Reply #5 on: March 18, 2018, 05:45:16 PM »
I never realized that the Witchweed potion was supposed to be a metaphor for drugs either. I think Catrina was so used to the Witchweed giving her such power that when she didn’t have it she wasn’t sure how to be her true self anymore. It would have been nice to see her again though.

I wonder if there were complaints about how scary Tirek was because Catrina seems like a big step down from Tirek? I do think Catrina’s motivations for wanting the ponies made sense (the Bushwoolies ran away and the ponies were close by and pretty easy to capture for new slaves until the Rainbow of Light was released)

Did anyone else notice that the Moochick isn’t in this? I guess the ponies don’t need the Moochick unless their entire world is in danger?


I love the songs except for the “Good Ol Days”  I also love the costume ball even if it’s mainly to show off Ponywear outfits.  I also like that Megan and Sundance bonded.

I do wonder why the art on the VHS box is so different from anything we see in the special. Maybe it was early concept art before Escape from Catrina became what we have today?

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Offline Leave a Whisper

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Re: G1 Media Retrospective: Escape From Catrina
« Reply #6 on: March 18, 2018, 05:49:26 PM »
As a kid, I rented this a lot.  As an adult, I don't think it's a very good episode.

 Tammy Grimes as Catrina is great.

 You kinda gotta feel for Rep, but on the other hand, he shoulda been strong enough to put his foot down against slavery with the bushwoolies.

My favorite song is Dressed Like a Dream. It's a shame we never saw those characters again. I love how bold and tough Baby Moondancer is.
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Re: G1 Media Retrospective: Escape From Catrina
« Reply #7 on: March 18, 2018, 05:59:04 PM »
Can I just say it weirds me the hell out that the nursery has the "My Little Pony" logo on it? Like I know it's marketing for toys, but still XD
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Re: G1 Media Retrospective: Escape From Catrina
« Reply #8 on: March 18, 2018, 07:41:41 PM »
I really like this one and I have a theory for why they have to reexplain the rainbow -besides the obvious explaining for those who haven't seen rescue- is that maybe the moochick made her forget some of the things that she's seen. like more, the particulars, she knows there's a land of talking colorful ponies but she doesn't remember names, and who know how differently time passes in pony land vs megan land -lol-. so there wouldn't be any issue of continuity and the 'hey where's moondancer glory and the others' and be told that they died a long time ago



That's an interesting theory. I always assumed the ponies have longer life spans compared to humans but that would explain why Megan doesn't seem to miss the original ponies that she met before.   



Can I just say it weirds me the hell out that the nursery has the "My Little Pony" logo on it? Like I know it's marketing for toys, but still XD


I never noticed the logo on the nursery. I guess whoever made the animation decided to include every detail possible from the toy.
As a kid, I rented this a lot.  As an adult, I don't think it's a very good episode.

 Tammy Grimes as Catrina is great.

 You kinda gotta feel for Rep, but on the other hand, he shoulda been strong enough to put his foot down against slavery with the bushwoolies.

My favorite song is Dressed Like a Dream. It's a shame we never saw those characters again. I love how bold and tough Baby Moondancer is.


I love how hard Baby Moondancer fights Rep and Catrina too. If Catrina hadn't stepped in Baby Moondancer probably would have gotten away and ran back to the nursery or Dream Castle.


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Re: G1 Media Retrospective: Escape From Catrina
« Reply #9 on: March 18, 2018, 08:48:34 PM »
Can I just say it weirds me the hell out that the nursery has the "My Little Pony" logo on it? Like I know it's marketing for toys, but still XD

Really? I have never caught that.
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Re: G1 Media Retrospective: Escape From Catrina
« Reply #10 on: March 18, 2018, 10:18:45 PM »
I love the episode.  But as a kid, I wondered where all the other ponies were.  It made me a little sad.  Catrina threatening to throw Baby Moondancer into the pit was pretty scary.  I never came around to her side because of that.  Though, I was glad she was better.

“Let’s Not Take a Nap” is one of my favorite songs in My Little Pony. And Baby Moondancer was adorable and feisty.  Love her.
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Re: G1 Media Retrospective: Escape From Catrina
« Reply #11 on: March 19, 2018, 07:10:55 AM »
Can I just say it weirds me the hell out that the nursery has the "My Little Pony" logo on it? Like I know it's marketing for toys, but still XD

Meh, I never noticed, but I'd suggest that the kids of the 80's (like myself) who are into MLP would have actually noticed if something was missing....as in HAY that doesn't look like my nursery it's missing (insert item here).

The MLP were marketed as collectibles even going back to 1986, I have a letter from the 'my little pony'. It discusses the original 6 'collector ponies', which were being called collector ponies even back then. It's signed Love from, My Little Pony.

So MLP's do a kinda 4th wall break in the 80's universe. (They're like Deadpool and talk to the audience). They know they are My Little Pony, and they're okay with that and so am I.

I've noticed that a lot of people belittle the original cartoon to insist it was made to sell toys, but so is FIM.

I think looking at MLP from my standpoint, I've said this many times but the cartoon was a accessory to the toyline. The cartoon wasn't looked at as being superior to the toys, it was something you could enjoy if you were into MLP but in the 80's the toy line was king, not the cartoon.
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Re: G1 Media Retrospective: Escape From Catrina
« Reply #12 on: March 19, 2018, 08:21:41 AM »
I like this special, but boy was I disappointed by Catrina after she turned good.  Just because she's 'good' doesn't mean she should be simpering and unassertive.

This special is where I started to dislike Megan.  "Everyone goes through a clumsy phase--even I did."  Wow Megan, I wish you had not come back to Ponyland.
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Re: G1 Media Retrospective: Escape From Catrina
« Reply #13 on: March 19, 2018, 08:56:22 AM »
Can I just say it weirds me the hell out that the nursery has the "My Little Pony" logo on it? Like I know it's marketing for toys, but still XD

Meh, I never noticed, but I'd suggest that the kids of the 80's (like myself) who are into MLP would have actually noticed if something was missing....as in HAY that doesn't look like my nursery it's missing (insert item here).

The MLP were marketed as collectibles even going back to 1986, I have a letter from the 'my little pony'. It discusses the original 6 'collector ponies', which were being called collector ponies even back then. It's signed Love from, My Little Pony.

So MLP's do a kinda 4th wall break in the 80's universe. (They're like Deadpool and talk to the audience). They know they are My Little Pony, and they're okay with that and so am I.

I've noticed that a lot of people belittle the original cartoon to insist it was made to sell toys, but so is FIM.

I think looking at MLP from my standpoint, I've said this many times but the cartoon was a accessory to the toyline. The cartoon wasn't looked at as being superior to the toys, it was something you could enjoy if you were into MLP but in the 80's the toy line was king, not the cartoon.

I totally agree with this and it really annoys me, the hypocrisy, when FiM fans call out previous gens for doing things that FiM is every bit as, if not more, guilty of.  Like throwing parties or having tea or having fashion shows.

I don't have any particular thoughts on this special.  I'm certain I saw it as a kid.  I feel certain I saw it as the video store along with the movie but the first special was always the one I went back to.

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Re: G1 Media Retrospective: Escape From Catrina
« Reply #14 on: March 19, 2018, 10:42:27 AM »
I think this may be the G1 non-MLPT episode I have watched. I love the costume parade at the end showing all the pony wear and Megan wearing her US release dress. That and the baby ponies. Kin of a cheesy storyline but that’s ok. It’s witch weed though, not witch wheat, right?
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