Best Gift Ever FiM Special

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I saw a full upload of it on Youtube, I think today was the day it was supposed to premiere?

Spoiler

All in all, I enjoyed it. It's got all the Christmas special tropes, although it leaves out a Santa as they have been doing for these episodes.
I liked watching the ponies all buy gifts for each other, it was nice and relaxing. I also love the Applejack/Fluttershy crime/immorality-busting duo. Seeing Flim and Flam again was neat and totally unexpected.
I think the song at the beginning was pretty good, and the last song isn't my favorite but I tend to like to more upbeat songs anyway. I'm gonna have that first song in my head during November and December for sure.
I think it was super sweet of Rarity to let that kid have AJ's gift, and it was fun watching Pinkie and Twilight have some interaction. I feel like they haven't been having much as of late, but I'm probably completely wrong. I loved watching them stress over the gifts.
Also poor Marble! Sorry girl, you weren't quick enough!

[Sunset]

Just got done watching it.

Spoiler

I kind of liked watching each pony fail at getting their gifts.  The end was totally predictable but I expected that.  I mean with a title like that you kind of have to know immediately how it’s all going to turn out.  When it opened with a song, I was looking forward to it being more of a musical but was disappointed when it wasn’t.  Also, as you said, the last song was very “meh”.  The raindeer where interesting and kind of cute.  Definitely channeling A Christmas Carol there.  Which is interesting since they have already gone there before in a past episode.

Over all, a cute episode but not nearly enough music for me.  I might watch it on occasion during the holidays but it’s not on my must see list of Christmas shows.


Oh, but edited to add.  It was really really nice to see Rarity shine in this episode.  It’s one of the few times when you actually see her embody her element and not just be the fashionista drama queen.

And one more thing.  I don’t keep up with voice actors and who does what.  But I was hearing tones of Minty in Muffin’s voice.  Is it the same actress?

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Tabitha St Germain voiced Muffins in both the first clip she appeared in and subsequent showings, so I'm assuming she voiced her here! Germain also voiced Minty in G3, so it is possible she channeled her to voice the new Muffins. 

[Sunset]

Tabitha St Germain voiced Muffins in both the first clip she appeared in and subsequent showings, so I'm assuming she voiced her here! Germain also voiced Minty in G3, so it is possible she channeled her to voice the new Muffins. 

Good, I’m not crazy.  That one point where she giggled and the line right after just sounded exactly like Minty.

[Ragamuffin]

I knew it was coming out today and completely forgot about it! I saw the preview for it, I'm a little excited. The other Christmas specials were a bit underwhelming for me but when I saw The New Characters I knew I HAD to see it!!

I'll have to watch it, tomorrow maybe. No spoilers, how did this hold up compared to the other two Hearth's Warming episodes? The first one was alright but anything Christmas Carol in my opinion is overdone and makes me go "you couldn't think of anything else?". To be fair "we gotta save Christmas!" stories are overdone too, but I'm a sucker for those

During the uhhh Slice of Life or whatever episode with Muffins, I remember her sounding more like Wysteria iirc imo? Wysteria is voiced by Tabitha too isn't she? And Coco Pommel sounds just like G3 Rarity. It's a small thing but I like hearing familiar voices. (I didn't notice Zipzee and Pinkie Pie having the same voice until rewatching Princess Promenade a couple years back)

Post Merge: October 27, 2018, 10:47:58 PM

NOW I can give my thoughts!

Spoiler

It was cute! And definitely my favourite of the three specials. I like how they brought back old characters too, it didn't feel too fanservicey. Rarity is my favourite of the Mane 6 and I love how her part turned out.
Ironic, Flim and Flam's part, though, what were the writers trying to tell Hasbro...?

The preview for the episode hyped up the reindeer a lot for what little screentime they had. I loved Christmastime as a kid, still do, loved reindeer, still do, so I was looking forward to their inclusion. But I loved them still! The pun on the names are super cute.
 

[Minty_Magic]

I'm not quite in the mood for holiday stuff yet, but I wanted to watch this before I got hit with too many spoilers!

Spoiler

Overall I thought it was a really cute special! Definitely my favorite holiday episode they've done so far!
I really liked the interactions between the mane 6 throughout the show, its the first time they've really felt like a genuine group of friends in a while. The dialogue in general felt a lot more natural here than it has in some of the most recent episodes, I'm not sure why. Maybe I'm just a sucker for Christmas stuff but I really felt like everybody got at least one really good moment! I also felt the fan service was done really nicely in this episode, it was a nice nod but didn't take away from any of the story line! I actually really loved seeing muffin pony get to speak again! I thought I was going crazy with picking up Minty inspired vibes from her, I'm glad some of you noticed it too! Muffin pony really just sounded like Minty on about half speed! (why couldn't Minty have just been in the episode though?? It would have been perfect! Give her a background appearance if nothing else!)

I adored the song that opened the episode! I also was kinda hoping it would be a more musical episode, despite the fact the songs in FiM can be kinda hit and miss. Spikes song was uncomfortable for me honestly, but that's probably because I think his crush on Rarity is just kinda weird anyway. The last song was also just okay for me, I don't really remember it that well.

I wish we could have seen more of the reindeer! They were super cute and I love the idea that they have magic antlers to help them fly? Its so fitting for the mlp world! It really seems like they should have had a bigger role somehow.

The message was predictable, I mean I think anyone who's seen the show would have been able to call the end right from the beginning. The moral feels kind of mixed though? We get a big long special emphasis the importance of friendship and how the holidays aren't about giving gifts + Flim and Flam getting busted for being overly commercial...yet this whole episode was made to sell toys? Not just My Little Pony in general but...a specific toyline based on this very special that will be labeled "The Greatest Gift" right on the box. It just feels a little off to me.
With hat being said though, I really wish we could get toys of the reindeer! I miss the holiday themed ponies that G3 had!

[CloudyGlow]

Spoiler

I wasn't blown away by anything in this special, but I enjoyed it. There were many cute pony faces and I like Pistachio (The new pony who got the hat). But my favorite part was the chemistry between Cadance and Shining Armor during the pudding fight scene. Such a cute couple

[Luxrayx]

Spoiler

Was anyone else slightly grossed out by the ship teasing in this episode (and show in general)? First Marble and Big Mac (relatives), then Spike and Rarity (an adult and a child). I guess it's sort of ok since they're both one-sided crushes, but I wish the show would lay them to rest

It was a cute episode! A bit too predictable for my tastes, but I enjoyed seeing the mane 6 acting like actual friends. Also, this is the second Hearth's warming eve since the introduction of Twilight's school, which means it's been more than a year in-universe. Time flies, huh?

[Zapper]

This comes a bit early, doesn't it?

Spoiler

The first song was cute but the focus on Discord putting all of them in danger once again, non-background Muffins and Spike's ever so cringeworthy crush on Rarity were low points for me as someone who dislikes all three of those things.

The actual plot was perfectly suitable for Christmas. Reminded me a bit of the episode with Pinkie trying to get a gift for Maude.
Rarity is such a sweetheart.
I love that they showed Starlight with Trixie, making sure she wasn't left out.

[Sunset]

Re: too early.  I guess since the point of this special is to sell a whole line of ponies that they have to get it out early so kids will be primed to buy the toys (and probably a dvd) when they start appearing in stores. 

Spoiler

Re: crushes.  I agree that the Spike crush has just gone on too long.  But I don’t find anything wrong with the Marble crush, though I do find it odd to include a mention at this late a date.  Whether the Apples and Pies where related was always very tenuous.  Even if they are actually related, it’s so distantly that I wouldn’t find it odd even if Marble and Big Mac where together.

[Zapper]

The Marble/Mac thing was probably just a shoutout to their shippers. The writers tend to do that.

[scifipony]

Just finished watching it. I loved it! It was so cute and heartwarming, I was grinning the whole way through.

Highlights for me were:

Spoiler

1. The friendships between the mane 6. It seems like their friendship hasn't really been explored onscreen in a long while.
2. Discord was great in the episode as always. I love what he did for Fluttershy -- their friendship/whatever is so adorable. I also liked that he gave Rainbow Dash half-credit for the gift, it seemed uncharacteristically thoughtful of him.
3. Derppony was allowed to speak! Even if her voice keeps changing with each appearance, it's so great to see her uncensored for a change. As someone who is both clumsy and has several mental disorders, I relate to her so much and hate how she's been forced into the background.
4. Shining, Cadance, and Flurry! I love my nerd-family so much

Overall, I enjoyed this special so much more than I thought I would. I didn't really have any complaints about it. It was cute, it was fun, and it left me really wishing Christmas wasn't so far away, lol. 

[Rainbow Dash]

Spoiler

why couldn't Minty have just been in the episode though?? It would have been perfect! Give her a background appearance if nothing else!

This sums up my thoughts perfectly.

Spoiler

A Very Minty Hearth's Warming better be next year's Christmas-themed episode.

And speaking of Marble & Big Mac... less than two minutes into a holiday special and they just break Marble's heart like that?  Not cool.  I don't even ship them (nor anypony else), but that seemed... unnecessarily cruel.  Sure, he's dating Sugar Belle now, but maybe just leave it at 'turns out we're really related after all' and let them laugh about it instead (and yeah, it's such a distant relation it wouldn't matter anyway, but still, this is a show for kids) or just ignore it entirely.  Real life may not work that way, but this is MLP.  I guess she got over it pretty quickly though since she seemed fine in the next scene (mood whiplash much?).

[Zapper]

Spoiler

3. Derppony was allowed to speak! Even if her voice keeps changing with each appearance, it's so great to see her uncensored for a change. As someone who is both clumsy and has several mental disorders, I relate to her so much and hate how she's been forced into the background.

She was never "forced into the background". She was always a background pony and because of an animation mistake that gave her a lazy eye she was elevated by the fandom and characterized as clumsy and slow and the show writers ran with it.

Nobody "censored" a character with mental disorders. The reason why she didn't speak for a while is because Tabitha was given direction to voice her like a slow oaf and many people took offense to that. Tabitha tried to cover for them by saying she was told the character was a boy and that's why the voice was deep. But that was an obvious lie. She voiced her like a Downs stereotype and not a boy.

That's why Tabitha has done her differently over time. Nobody could decide what she should sound like.

[Leave a Whisper]

What happened to having Christmas specials around Christmas? Bad enough I'm seeing Christmas stuff at stores mixed in with Halloween and thanksgiving.

Post Merge: October 30, 2018, 09:58:01 AM

Spoiler

3. Derppony was allowed to speak! Even if her voice keeps changing with each appearance, it's so great to see her uncensored for a change. As someone who is both clumsy and has several mental disorders, I relate to her so much and hate how she's been forced into the background.

She was never "forced into the background". She was always a background pony and because of an animation mistake that gave her a lazy eye she was elevated by the fandom and characterized as clumsy and slow and the show writers ran with it.

Nobody "censored" a character with mental disorders. The reason why she didn't speak for a while is because Tabitha was given direction to voice her like a slow oaf and many people took offense to that. Tabitha tried to cover for them by saying she was told the character was a boy and that's why the voice was deep. But that was an obvious lie. She voiced her like a Downs stereotype and not a boy.

That's why Tabitha has done her differently over time. Nobody could decide what she should sound like.

Which is rather weird since lazy eye has nothing to do with mental disorders.