I saw a full upload of it on Youtube, I think today was the day it was supposed to premiere?
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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!
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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?
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 :biggrin:
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. :P 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!
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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. :biggrin:
Ironic, Flim and Flam's part, though, what were the writers trying to tell Hasbro...? :P
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.
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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! :P (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. :P 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!
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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
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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 :huh:
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?
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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.
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.
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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.
Highlights for me were:
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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.:inlove: 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! :heart: I love my nerd-family so much :P
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. ^.^
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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.
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A Very Minty Hearth's Warming better be next year's Christmas-themed episode. :P
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?).
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I think the Discord/RD and Rarity gift searching were my favorite bits. Though I loved Pinkie’s gift search, too. As much as I’m not a fan of non-pony characters in MLP, the reindeer worked for me. Especially the yellow/green one. So pretty! It was also nice seeing some interaction between Shining Armor, Cadance, and Flurry Heart as a family. That was sweet! Oh, and Spike’s song to Rarity was so stinkin’ adorable!
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Applejack actually had something to do! She'smy favorite of the mane 6, when she gets to actually do something and not be stuck in the background. Also nice to see Muffins again. I have lazy eye, too!
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I really enjoyed it but I could see from a mile away that something was going to go wrong with the ponies trying to find the perfect gift for each other. I loved seeing Rarity’s generosity shine as I feel that the show doesn’t show her being generous often enough. For once I didn’t find the Yaks annoying. :) The reindeer were cute and I like the pun on their names. I sort of expected them to have more screen time though. It was nice to see Shining Armor, Princess Cadance and Flurry Heart again and I enjoyed watching Shining Armor and Princess Candance try to fight the enchanted pudding.
I was dissapointed with Spike putting so much effort to in to trying to get Rarity’s name and then deciding he didn’t know what to get or make her. I liked that they got names of someone that they might not have the perfect gift already in mind for.
I liked seeing Grand Pear included. :) Discord didn’t annoy me as much as usual although I didn’t like his plan of putting ponies in danger just so Fluttershy could feel important. I was surprised to see Flim and Flam selling Holly dolls but it was fun seeing Applejack and Fluttershy put them in their place.
Ponyfan