G3 Reviews (includes G3.5 too)

[Deep Purple Crystal]

So, I've decided right here, right now, to start a series of reviews on this forum involving the G3 shorts, movies, and specials, because about 4,000 people are currently reviewing Friendship is Magic, AL-1701 has his G1 Episode Guide, and bobdude has the Tales reviews. I am also delving into G3.5 as well, so this means we'll get to see my thoughts on the Newborn Cuties.
Well, here goes...
                                                G3 reviews part 1: A Charming Birthday

Welcome to this series. I am reviewing the G3 series so that all the generation cartoons have been covered by someone. Please remember that I know that G3 is well hated amongst a very large quantity of people, but please remember this should not hinder you enjoying this review. If you have an issue with G3, it's best not to read this. Don't comment if you don't like.
My reviews will feature five ratings: Bad Car Accident, Take It or Leave It, Watchable, Recommended, and Must See (which you probably won't see a great deal). I really should apologize to AL-1701 for using his Episode Guide ratings, as I am a big fan of his reviews. I hope this doesn't put anyone down either.
So anyways...
In 2003, the second generation of MLP, G2 finished, and along came G3, which would mark the return of a few things and also be the first time a few other things in pony history would be seen (like the name Pinkie Pie, sighs). One of the things G3 would see returning was media (DVDs, television specials, etc.). However, all G3 videos were either direct-to-video (starting with A Very Minty Christmas) or packaged with a pony or set of ponies (such as the early specials and many of the G3 Core 7 videos). The first of these G3 videos was A Charming Birthday, a 20-minute long special released on a VHS in 2003 and packaged with the Glitter and Rainbow Celebration ponies sold that year.
The episode starts with the new G3 logo and a pony who happens to be called Minty (yes, her first appearance) running back to Ponyville from who-knows-where. The voice narrating in the background introduces herself as a pony called Razzaroo. We then jump to Ponyville, where Minty and a couple of 'nameless background ponies' (Waterfire, Candy Cane, Snowflake, and Spring Fever, also toys released this year, except for Waterfire, who would see a release next year) are playing hopscotch with a weird twist to it (five-six-seven-eight, don't be late??????). Razzaroo then finally emerges and introduces Minty, the green-loving, clumsy pony who flies balloons badly and collects socks (and has a big fandom). The Ponyville Surprise Birthday Book (used as a plot device to introduce the main ponies in the special) is then opened and we see Minty's birthday was-well, green-centric. Razzaroo and Minty then finally meet up and Razzaroo states that she's gonna surprise Kimono, although we're not meant to KNOW that until later.
We then cut to the Ice Cream Shop of G3, the Cotton Candy Café. This is where most of the characters in this special see their element. Minty resists temptation (who could resist chocolate chip checkers?) which leads us to a throwaway scene where Sweetberry builds a cake which gets too high and lands on Cotton Candy herself. After they clean up, Razzaroo establishes that it's time for another birthday, and Wysteria interrupts and we get an introduction to Wysteria via the Ponyville Surprise Birthday Book (which I will abbreviate PSBB for time conviences). Wysteria is shown here to be the gardener with a gentle nature and a passion for flowers. This scene smoothly melts away into Razzaroo saying it's Kimono's birthday (yes, even Minty gasps, although she probably already KNOWS this, but I'll excuse this mistake, if it even IS one). Some sort of supernatural wind then blows to Kimono's page on the PSBB, but it's blank. We also get the first bit of character development for Kimono (if though she is still an unseen character). Kimono is the wisest pony in the land, apparently and is the keeper of all precious pony history and legend. Her supernatural(??) powers make her difficult to surprise. The ponies then organize to make a charm bracelet for Kimono to replace the special one she lost (the plot of this special). Minty offers to make a charm bracelet that's green (no surprises there ) but the conversation is interrupted by the spectacular (but dumbly named) Sunny Daze. Then, another PSBB introduction. Sunny Daze is a sporty, energetic pony who could probably perform the entire Olympics within an afternoon. She also sees no difficulty in what she does (she did something like 20 somersaults while drinking lemonade)
After Minty resists temptation for the second time, Sunny Daze hears of her charm bracelet and decides to make one too out of sunbeams( ). Wysteria then joins in too and decides to make a third bracelet from flowers. Sweetberry then gets an introduction from the PSBB at last after a mix-up between flour and flowers. Sweetberry (also the name of a G2) is a baker who usually makes delicious treats for the rest of the ponies (unless Minty's assisting). Sweetberry then decides to make a FOURTH bracelet out of-berries (sighs). Cotton Candy and Sparkleworks then decide to join in the fun by making a fifth and a sixth bracelet, which means it's time for an introduction from the PSBB. Cotton Candy owns the Cotton Candy Café (well who knew? ) and is the storyteller of the group. Sparkleworks is a glitzy, over exaggerative pony who is obsession with glitter.
Things speed up as Rainbow Dash (G3 not G4!!!) swaggers onto the screen for the first time in her 'dahling' fashion, which means another PSBB entry. Rainbow Dash is a sophisticated, elegant pony who has a things for rainbows. Apparently, it seems she wants to join in AS WELL, so that means a seventh bracelet made of rainbows. Almost immediately afterwards, Pinkie Pie (the G3 version, not 'Smile, Smile, Smile') walks up and so that means it's time for our final PBSS introductory entry. Pinkie Pie is a levelheaded pony who knows about a lot of things and enjoys parties and pink (While saying G4 Pinkie is levelheaded is like saying that Bon Bon is an alicorn). Pinkie Pie then says her first line in recorded history explaining that everyone's gonna make eight charm bracelet, including the balloon one she's decided to make just now (and her second line involves a spout of math wisdom. 7+1=8.).
With the introductions out of the way, the ponies start arguing over which charm bracelet Kimono would wear first. Minty winds up volunteering to go see Kimono to ask her personally.
We then cut to later, where Minty is asking Kimono in her erm, temple(?) to figure out which bracelet (or in this case, welcome sign ) she should wear/look at first. We then get another introduction to Kimono (I already told you this so I'll skip it) and Kimono tries to use her powers to predict what Minty is saying. Kimono then explains that if each pony works together on ONE bracelet/welcome sign, she won't need to make that decision. Minty then tells Kimono to meet her at the castle tomorrow (yes, it's called The Castle) and we get possibly the best joke of the whole G3 series:
"That's why I live out of town."
We then cut to the café again. Minty explains what the ponies needs to do, and we go into the only song of the special, an instrumental version of the famous tune with some acrobatic visuals.
After that short scene, we jump to the next day. Razzaroo, who is managing the project, quickly sees that things aren't going so well as everyone is making GIANT charms, and Pinkie Pie is a lost soul as she flies away on balloons. Razzaroo sees the MEGA charms and predicts the worst. However, she comes up with a solution over time.
We then jump to the last scene of the special, at sunset that day. Razzaroo and the others rush inside the castle, just as Minty and Kimono arrive in a hot-air balloon (the first of three examples of Minty's bad balloon-flying skills). Minty yells some stuff, then the castle doors open and the others rush out, showing Kimono the MEGA bracelet that they used their MEGA charms for (suspended on a balloon above the castle) and then present her with a regular-sized charm bracelet and a GIANT cake with 20 candles on it, making this Kimono's 20th birthday (this is an easter egg as Hasbro was celebrating 20 years of MLP by this point) and Kimono performs the usual birthday cake regime and then eats it, closing out the special and adding some pictures to her PSBB page.
A Charming Birthday was a very strong way to start off the G3 series. It had some nice fluid animation (although I know the animation probably does bother a few people), the story was well-paced, and it gave us a good introduction to each character through the PSBB. It was also the only time we would see Kimono and Razzaroo and the last time we would really get to see Sparkleworks, Sunny Daze, Sweetberry, or Cotton Candy (although each of these characters would play very minor roles in  future specials, movies, and shorts). This was pretty sad as they could have done a lot more with Kimono. The only REAL problem was the song, which was just, as I said before, an instrumental version of the brand theme tune. However, this doesn't really matter, because I have already given this episode a rating of MUST SEE.
Dancing in the Clouds review might be coming next weekend!

[Al-1701]

I have no problem with you using my ratings.  I technically got them from SFDebris' non-Trek reviews.  Though, Avoid is the mainstream worst rating in my reviews.  Watch It For the Suck and Bad Car Accident are for bad episodes that have an odd appeal.  Watch It For the Suck is for bad episodes that are so bad that the badness itself is entertaining.  Bad Car Accident is for episode that are so bad that you can't look away out of disbelief it's that bad (Like the second Bayformers movie).  Avoid is for episodes where you're honestly better off minimizing your contact with them.

[Magdalen]

Is there any place to watch this online?  I never was able to find this when it came out and I have the minty Christmas.  It's not bad (not really deserving of the hate from the certain G4 crowd) but it had some cringe worthy moments.

[Al-1701]

I've always seen G3 media as something that started out as okay but went downhill as time went on.

[NoDivision]

Just as a note to the orignal poster. You might want to break up your text a little. Paragraphs and line breaks are important. That is one massive  block of text that is probably off putting to a lot of people.

[MJNSEIFER]

I have this episode on DVD, and love it (it's actually Princess Promenade, but A Charming Birthday is included as a bonus), I thought it was a good way to start of the show.  Also for the record, I adore G3.

This scene smoothly melts away into Razzaroo saying it's Kimono's birthday (yes, even Minty gasps, although she probably already KNOWS this, but I'll excuse this mistake, if it even IS one).

You'll soon realize this while reviewing them, but this was actually a recurring error for G3 (though it didn't happen that much), characters who weren't supposed to be speaking/reacting would still be animated as doing, especially if it was an "everyone talks at once" scene.  A Very Minty Christmas is one example, unless Rainbow Dash was supposed to be cheering for herself (which is more of a G4 Rainbow Dash thing, amiright?), still a mild error though.

After Minty resists temptation for the second time, Sunny Daze hears of her charm bracelet and decides to make one too out of sunbeams().

They never quite elaborate on this, but I think that they may have been toying with the idea that the ponies could control various things, like weather (which didn't begin in FIM), and could take and make what they wanted from them.  That's the impression I get anyway.

Pinkie Pie is a levelheaded pony who knows about a lot of things and enjoys parties and pink (While saying G4 Pinkie is levelheaded is like saying that Bon Bon is an alicorn).

Well, actually... G4 Pinkie does seem to be levelheaded in a "scratch the surface" kind of way (i.e. she likes to have fun, so appears a bit goofy, but actually knows a lot about things) at least in season 1 and 2 when they knew what they were doing with her.  That said, I do find the G3 version superior, despite "knowing" G4 Pinkie first.

Minty explains what the ponies needs to do, and we go into the only song of the special, an instrumental version of the famous tune with some acrobatic visuals.

I remember the first time I saw this episode I was all like; "WTF?!" when this part happened.  I love it now, and find it cute, but it quite litterally comes out of nowhere.

a GIANT cake with 20 candles on it, making this Kimono's 20th birthday (this is an easter egg as Hasbro was celebrating 20 years of MLP by this point)

  Wow, I honestly didn't know that.  That's pretty cool, thanks for sharing it.

It was also the only time we would see Kimono and Razzaroo and the last time we would really get to see Sparkleworks, Sunny Daze, Sweetberry, or Cotton Candy (although each of these characters would play very minor roles in  future specials, movies, and shorts). This was pretty sad as they could have done a lot more with Kimono.

I agree on this, it would have been nice to see what they would have done with these characters (I personally would have liked them to have given Sunny Daze an episode, because they made her out to be really cool in this episode, and then did nothing with her).

Regarding Kimono, I think they should have made her what they state her to be in this episode - the pony you go to for advice or to learn about pony ledgends and lore.  I'm sure you'll cross this bridge when you come to it, but in the movie "The Runnerway Rainbow" they make out that Spike is the character who they now go to for information about legends and lore, when they could have easily made Kimono that character.

Eitherway, an awesome episode of an awesome generation.  I hope you enjoy Dancing in the Clouds, as my second favorite G3 pony makes her first appearance in it (my first is in this episode).

[hathorcat]

Its great that people can enjoy the cartoons so much and put so much time and effort into reviewing them

[Deep Purple Crystal]

Well, here it goes...

                                     G3 Reviews part 2: Dancing In the Clouds

After the unexpected success of the new G3 toy line in 2003 (Hasbro practically blew their hats off when they found out how well they were selling) they really decided to get the line going in 2004. Unlike the previous year, this year of MLP was the first to go under a unified theme, The Friendship Ball. This meant that a lot of dance-related ponies (and a few more) could be released. This year in MLP history gave us the Jewel Ponies (which raised, jeweled symbols and I THINK glitter-varnished foreheads), a full set of baby ponies in G3 form, and last but not least, the super-high tech (and pretty darned expensive) Twinkle Twirl Dance Studio, which was (I think) the only way you could obtain the dance teacher, Twinkle Twirl, for quite a few years to come. However, the biggest surprise, was, towards the end of the year, the first true Pegasus pony since 1995 (a Dutch 1995 G1 baby was a Pegasus), Star Catcher, was released. She was obviously a little girl's dream: a pony with shimmering blue deluxe fabric wings, pop-up markings all over her body, tinseled hair, and, best of all, a promotional VHS known as none other than Dancing In the Clouds. How did this video handle the year's theme and Star Catcher's introduction? Well then, let's see...
The special starts with peace in Ponyville (as always ) and the ponies are having fun. We then shift to Scooter Sprite (a pony released this year) doing some scooter tricks for way too long. Sunny Daze (wait, didn't I say in my Charming Birthday review that it was going to be the last time we would really see Sunny Daze? Well, she's on screen for about thirty seconds here, has no impact to the plot, and doesn't get to show her personality either) is randomly chasing after a kite. Pinkie Pie (who doesn't speak in this special) and Rainbow Dash are hanging up some sort of banner. Scooter Sprite and Sunny Daze then collide, causing a similar thing to happen to Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and the banner. We then see Scooter Sprite and Sunny Daze's manes all tangled up, but that gets us nowhere.
We then shift to Twinkle Twirl, the dance teacher, who is asking Skywishes (a pony released a few times this year and over the next few years) what she is doing (she's sitting by the river with her eyes closed). We then get some discussion between Twinkle Twirl and Skywishes over wishes, and Twinkle Twirl asks Skywishes to wish for an idea for the special dance she and her students are going to perform at the Friendship Ball (pretty obvious now what's this years' toy theme is ).
Okay now, it's time to talk about a certain pony, and that pony is Skywishes. With the PSBB gone, now we just gotta accept who the ponies are as characters over the course of the special. This is a problem since we get a MASSIVE cast shift during this special, due to the amount of new ponies released in toy form this year. Unfortunately, the main pony of these during this special (and sort of during the next one) is Skywishes. Skywishes is a pony who is obsessed with kites and wishing and has a voice like nails on a chalkboard. That's it. The problem is, Skywishes never really gets a proper personality throughout the special, even though she's the MAIN CHARACTER and gets most of the 20 minutes this special has to herself.
Anyway, enough of that.  So, Skywishes wishes for what Twinkle Twirl wanted, and suddenly a kite appears. The two then chant this thing about kites and wishing ( ) and pursue the kite to an amusement park (which I believe was a playset released this year, the Rainbow Wishes Amusement Park), which leads us to a throwaway scene where Skywishes, Twinkle Twirl, Fizzy Pop, and Coconut Cream (not to be confused with the Pegasus Coconut Grove, released the following year) ride a rollercoaster. Skywishes comments that they are dancing in the clouds, then the kite returns, the chant is heard AGAIN, Skywishes catches the kite, it slips out of her hoof, then the rollercoaster ride ends. When the ride is done, Skywishes wishes that everyone could feel like they are dancing in the clouds, finally giving Twinkle Twirl some inspiration.
We then shift to Twinkle Twirl's dance studio, where Twinkle Twirl demonstrates the dance she made up to her students (Skywishes, Gem Blossom, Desert Rose, Coconut Cream, Forsythia, Fizzy Pop, Scooter Sprite, a green pony that's I don't know the name of, and a pink pony I also don't know the name of) but unfortunately, her class doesn't do as well as expected (if only Minty was here, sighs). The class then starts to go crazy (excluding Skywishes). Skywishes realizes the situation is grim and makes a wish that they could all properly dance in the clouds, a kite flies past the window (oh dear), we get to hear the chant AGAIN (though it is admittedly rather cute), Skywishes chases after it, and it lands in a tree at the end of a cliff. Skywishes grabs the kite out of the tree and realizes that she is near the legendary rainbow waterfall, which means she gets to make a wish (well, she decides it, actually). Skywishes wishes that she knew how to dance in the clouds to help her friends, and then, THEN, SHE makes her grand entrance.
"SHE" is the Pegasus pony Star Catcher, a wise pony with an ability to grant wishes (what is it with the writers of this special and wishing?). She is also, technically, the star of this special, despite showing up about halfway through it.
So anyway, Star Catcher makes her first appearance and her first ever line is her famous 'Consider it done' phrase. Skywishes and Star Catcher then introduce themselves, which is followed by Star Catcher summoning clouds of butterflies to lift Skywishes up into the air. Star Catcher then explains that she came here to grant Skywishes' wish and is now going to show her how to dance in the clouds. This leads us into Star Catcher giving us a tour of the sky-in style- with the famous tune playing in instrumental form in the background, which is the only song of the special (Where're the songwriters, Hasbro? ). Star Catcher then goes through the rainbow waterfall, and, as she recommended, Skywishes follows. The two then emerge on a rainbow, and skywishes is shown Butterfly Island, home of the Pegasus ponies (finally, some world-building!). For some reason, Skywishes is still blown away by the fact that Pegasus ponies are real, not legendary. Star Catcher then gives some wisdom to Skywishes, but I can't exactly remember WHAT wisdom it was.
We then cut to the castle, where the ponies are getting ready for the Friendship Ball. Twinkle Twirl is trying to teach her students how to perform her dance for the ball with not much success. We then get a short throwaway scene where Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are having more banner troubles. The dance students, on the other hand, begin to acknowledge Skywishes' absence, and Twinkle Twirl hopes she won't be late.
Later that night, Star Catcher and Skywishes FINALLY emerge from the rainbow waterfall, and Skywishes request one more wish from Star Catcher. She tells Star Catcher about it, and she agrees, utters her famous line of 'Consider it done' and says that the most extra-special wishes are ones made for friends.
Meanwhile, back at the castle, everyone is ready for the Friendship Ball and excited, but Twinkle Twirl is worried behind the curtain, due to Skywishes' absence. Soon afterwards, the balcony curtains open, and Skywishes emerges, on a cloud of butterflies. She then picks up the other dancers and soon they are all riding on the butterfly cloud. After some nice visuals of dancing in the clouds, Rainbow Dash steps up from the audience and elegantly proclaims that she is impressed with the show. She then awards the prize for the "Best Friend Ever' to Twinkle Twirl ( ) for teaching everyone how to dance in the clouds. Twinkle Twirl is obviously honoured, but gives to award to Skywishes (now that's better ) for making the extra-special wish that allowed them all to dance in the clouds. Skywishes then lies about getting the idea for the dance, Rainbow Dash makes another elegant remark, and Skywishes states that the most extra-special wishes are the ones made for friends, while winking at Star Catcher outside, who winks back at her. The ponies then continue to party, and Star Catcher flies away into the night to close out the special.
Dancing In the Clouds was a bit of a letdown after A Charming Birthday. It was littered with throwaway scenes and the massive shift in cast made A Charming Birthday pointless, as it hardly even used any of the characters they tried so hard to introduce. The animation was also weaker than the previous special, as there are some points where the ponies look like they have modelling clay for hair, and other points where they look a little like cows. Skywishes was also rather lackluster as a character and they could have easily made Twinkle Twirl, Gem Blossom, or one of the others discover Star Catcher. Coconut Cream, who was obviously the replacement for Minty in this special, was also pretty irritating, and it would have been better if Minty was there instead of her (how fun would that have been? ). I was also rather disappointed that they still hadn't thought of an original song yet.  However, this special isn't actually BAD, weirdly. Star Catcher was actually handled pretty well, we got to see Butterfly Island for the first time, and the visuals at the end were also pretty nice. So, really, that's why I rate this a TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT. However, it comes pretty close to being watchable, and it would be, if only they had included more of the original characters.
Next time, we're up to see how Friends are Never Far Away did with introducing the rest of the Pegasus characters. How well did they do this time? Wait and find out...
(Sorry to offend those who like this special, but it really isn't BAD, it's just not AS GOOD as the previous special to me. Please try to remember this should not cause you to stay away from these reviews. Okay?)

[Zapper]

It warms my heart you give the G3 specials some attention. I got really sick of all the "in-depth analysis" of G4, like G4 was some knd of masterpiece of art and all other MLP media was bad by default.
I like how you review the specials for what they are
I would appreciate less walls of text, though. Some breaks between the text blocks would be nice.

[MJNSEIFER]

It warms my heart you give the G3 specials some attention. I got really sick of all the "in-depth analysis" of G4, like G4 was some knd of masterpiece of art and all other MLP media was bad by default.
I like how you review the specials for what they are

Same here; G3 needs a lot more appreciation, especially when you realize (as I keep saying) that most, if not all, of the things that make people/bronies view G4 as "some kind of masterpiece" also existed in G3.

To anonymoushoneycomb; enjoying these reviews.  I can't believe I didn't think of how good/appropriate it would have been if they had made Minty one of the dancers, I can totally see it now.  I'm sure there's a moment where they all fall over, and that moment has Minty written all over it. 

I personally thought Skywishes's voice was cute myself, especially the "you know what I mean" thing she kept doing (weirdly, I've found myself doing the same thing recently. ), but to each their own . 

My favorite voice in this episode however, was by far Star Catcher's (she is who I was talking about when I said my second favorite G3 pony was in this episode) - her voice was simply beautiful and heavenly, like it could have been an angel's voice or something.  Maybe that's what they were going for?  It's obvious that she's supposed to be more than just your simple garden variety pegasus.  Her voice remained beautiful in later episodes, but lost its angelic sound for some reason - it's still Lenore voicing her, so I guess they stopped doing whatever they did to her voice?  Shame, I really liked it.

The music that played during the Friendship Ball when all the ponies were flying around (the "Dance in the Clouds") was beautiful, and often brings tears to my eyes for some reason.  There are many things I love about G3, and one of them is the music, and not just the songs.

Looking forward to the next one.

[Dragonflitter]

Yay for G3 animation reviews! Can't wait til you get to some of the later stories, I liked those the best.

One thing in the original Birthday special that really threw me for a loop was at the tail end, when Sparkleworks is looking at the birthday decorations, she says "Excelente!" I just could not wrap my head around this when I saw it the first time. Why would they have one of their ponies randomly spout a word in Spanish?? My thought was that perhaps they were going to make her have some sort of accent, to add diversity to the cast? But then they must have changed their mind since Sparkleworks never really gets another speaking role again after this special.

[Magdalen]

It warms my heart you give the G3 specials some attention. I got really sick of all the "in-depth analysis" of G4, like G4 was some knd of masterpiece of art and all other MLP media was bad by default.

YES!  This exactly.  I am a big fan of the G3 ponies and G1, so I don't care for them to be bashed by fans who have never taken the time to really get to know them because G4 is the bestest.

[Zapper]

My favorite voice in this episode however, was by far Star Catcher's (she is who I was talking about when I said my second favorite G3 pony was in this episode) - her voice was simply beautiful and heavenly, like it could have been an angel's voice or something.  Maybe that's what they were going for?  It's obvious that she's supposed to be more than just your simple garden variety pegasus.  Her voice remained beautiful in later episodes, but lost its angelic sound for some reason - it's still Lenore voicing her, so I guess they stopped doing whatever they did to her voice?  Shame, I really liked it.

Oh yes, Star Catcher's voice actress always made her sound kind of ethereal. I really love Star as a character, she's in my G3 Top 5. Sadly I could never warm up to her toys. They were all sort of overdone. She's beautiful even without sparkles and extra symbols and huge flapping fabric wings.

[Deep Purple Crystal]

Well, this might come as a nice surprise to some people, but I'm reviewing Friends are Never Far Away earlier than usual to bide some time to prepare for reviewing A Very Minty Christmas...
                                                 
                                         G3 Reviews part 3: Friends are Never Far Away
After the success of the previous two years of G3 (not to mention that Star Catcher had been quite a success both toy and media-wise) Hasbro really brought out the line in 2005 to celebrate the return of the Pegasus ponies to the toy line in the Butterfly Island theme, also this was the most productive year MLP would have seen so far, with possibly over fifty new ponies, playsets, and designs. Ponies in 2005 could now be every shade of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, white, or grey possible, they could also sport three-dimensional symbols and smell like tropical fruits. The Butterfly Island playset, possibly the largest and most lavish playset of G3, was also released this year, along with Baby Honulu-Loo, the only non-earth baby pony to be released during G3. Pegasus ponies other than Star Catcher, such as Island Delight, Cloud Climber, Coconut Grove, and of course Thistle Whistle were released this year. The line for the year was immediately successful, so in the summer of 2005, Hasbro released a deluxe Pegasus pony called Hidden Treasure with a sparkly forehead, a treasure chest... and a DVD called Friends are Never Far Away (Actually, this was the first piece of G3 media to be released on DVD first, so it was an, erm , pioneer?). Anyway, would this special introduce the other Pegasus ponies well? Would it do better overall than Dancing in the Clouds? well, let's find out...
The special starts with a zoom-in on Butterfly Island (with what looks like Star Catcher's personal swarm) and then we find Skywishes (oh boy, it's her) and Star Catcher playing together. Skywishes wishes (sigh) that the fun would never end, then Star Catcher surprises her and gives her a ride on her personal butterfly swarm. Once the fun is over, Skywishes wishes (some things never change) that her friends could meet Star Catcher, and Star Catcher replies that she would like HER friends the other Pegasus ponies to meet the earth ponies (is she the leader of the pegasi or something?), but says that her friends are very nice, but very shy (Hold it, how come Star Catcher met and befriended Skywishes, who would OBVIOUSLY at SOME point have to tell her friends about Star Catcher and the Pegasus ponies, if the other Pegasus ponies are so shy? Did Star Catcher KNOW this would cause some suffering? Was this some sort of plan Star Catcher had to establish a link between the earth and Pegasus ponies? Oh well.) Skywishes then decides that her friends should throw a big party for the Pegasus ponies to fly over to, and Star Catcher says they will join, but there should be ice cream, because Pegasus ponies LOVE ice cream (Wonder if any of them have met Lickety-Split?).  The two then make a Pegasus Promise (a strange tail ritual) and hi-five each other with their hooves (?).
We then cut to Ponyville, where Skywishes tell the rest of the earth ponies that she invited the Pegasus ponies to a party. Rainbow Dash (being her usual 'dahling' self and the other ponies are pretty doubtful, though, and at one point they look as if they're trying to say "She's gone crazy". Twinkle Twirl seems to want to prepare a special dance ('cause she's a dance teacher, sigh) and also, Pinkie Pie says her first line in nearly two years. Skywishes then says that Pegasus and earth ponies have no real differences except that Pegasus ponies have wings. Pinkie Pie then states that although she doesn't really believe in flying ponies, but she believes in Skywishes, and then agrees with the others to hold a party in honour of the pegasi. Sweetberry and Cotton Candy agree to make the ice cream (another time that breaks the rule I established in the Charming Birthday review, but they only play very minor parts here), Twinkle Twirl decides to teach her students-who-suddenly-appeared-out-of-nowhere Apple Spice and (G3) Bow Tie (both ponies released this year, Bow Tie was a plain Dazzle Bright pony, and Apple Spice was a Sunny Scent pony who smelt like, surprise, surprise, apples), although those two are among the worst choices to make for a special dance as they immediately fall over, and Skywishes and Pinkie Pie agree to make a special song together for the party.
Meanwhile, back on Butterfly Island, the rest of the Pegasus ponies make their grand entrance as Star Catcher (basically) tells she spilled the beans on them and that they're going to a party in Ponyville. but the rest of the Pegasus ponies are a little nervous on this matter and Thistle Whistle says her first line ever about not wanting to go to Ponyville. Star Catcher then tells Coconut Grove, Island Delight, Thistle Whistle, and the rest of the pegasi about the earth ponies, and tries to squeeze convincing them into coming about it, and MOST of the Pegasus ponies agree, but Thistle Whistle just wants to send a postcard ( ).
We then cut back to Ponyville, in the Cotton Candy Café (it's been a while since we saw THAT, hasn't it been?) where Sweetberry, Cotton Candy, and their new assistant Triple Treat (actually a pony released the previous year) are debating about what KIND of ice cream they should make. Triple Treat suggests a MEGA sundae (and I mean MEGA) which the three agree on.
We then travel back to Butterfly Island, where Star Catcher is going away to Ponyville to see the earth ponies to make them believe in her, and so makes Island Delight and Coconut Grove her personal minions. They both establish that although they don't really believe in ponies without wings, they believe in Star Catcher (Now where have we heard that before?) and make another Pegasus promise about it. Star Catcher then leaves to make the earth ponies BELIEVE.
Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, everyone is getting ready for the party, and we get some conversation between Sparkleworks and Wysteria. (Yes, Sparkleworks is a VERY minor role here). Apple Spice and Bow Tie, meanwhile, are falling over like crazy, and Pinkie Pie and Skywishes are having some problems composing a song for the party (If only Skywishes had a nicer singing voice). Then, Pinkie Pie falls off a ladder and is caught by Star Catcher. Pinkie Pie seems to comprehend the situation pretty quickly and Skywishes introduces Star Catcher to the rest of the earth ponies. (Now they BELIEVE ). Star Catcher then says that her friends are on the way (she hopes).
We then return to Butterfly Island, where the Pegasus ponies are flying above the rainbow, deciding whether or not to go to the party. Island Delight and Coconut Grove seem to be doing Star Catcher's bidding pretty well as they get all the pegasi to agree with them except for Thistle Whistle, who is a little worried as usual and says that they've never been through the rainbow waterfall before (Wait, if it's a rainbow BY a waterfall on the Pegasus side, and the pegasi have never gone through it before, how does Thistle Whistle know it's a rainbow waterfall?). Strangely enough, the other pegasi (excluding Island Delight and Coconut Grove) then agree with Thistle Whistle. Island Delight then says that they can all go through it together and says she promised Star Catcher to (basically) get the rest of the Pegasus ponies through that waterfall. They then all make a MEGA Pegasus promise (sigh), and Coconut Grove MAKES THE VENTURE. Coconut Grove then comes out (quite literally) three seconds later, finds it's okay, and the Pegasus ponies (along with Star Catcher's personal swarm) also MAKE THE VENTURE, except for Thistle Whistle, who refuses to go through and says that NOTHING will make her go through, until she sees a MEGA sign foretelling none other than... ICE CREAM, and Thistle Whistle has second thoughts. (Oh, Thistle Whistle, you make up for Minty's total absence in this special ).
Later, on the other side of the rainbow waterfall, it's sunset above Ponyville, and the Pegasus ponies have their heads in the clouds (literally). After they realize that Ponyville looks like a nice place, Thistle Whistle decides she's had enough and wants to go home. Coconut Grove tries to play the convincing card, but all the other pegasi are tired and so decide to meet their new friends tomorrow morning.
The following morning, the earth ponies are all pretty much ready for the party, Apple Spice, Bow Tie, and Twinkle Twirl have got the dance covered, and G3 Applejack makes her first of many cameo appearances. Pinkie Pie and Skywishes, however, are still stuck on their song and wander around outside Ponyville trying to think of SOMETHING. However, Skywishes' awful singing disturbs the Pegasus ponies from their sleeping place in a tree and they fly away. Pinkie Pie and Skywishes pursue them, but the only ones who seem to get the idea that the party is the opposite way is Star Catcher's personal swarm. Pinkie Pie and Skywishes then head off to the castle to fetch the balloon (This scene has a Minty-written-all-over-it in it).
We then cut to some random house in Ponyville, where Sweetberry, Cotton Candy, and Triple Treat have finished the MEGA sundae. Unfortunately, they need to put a pumpkin-sized cherry on top of the MEGA sundae to complete it, but they can't because, well, they're not THAT tall. Star Catcher, meanwhile, if flying through the atmosphere wondering where her friends are, but she collides with the MEGA sundae (yes, it's THAT tall) and ends up coated in ice cream. She shakes it off but volunteers to put the cherry on top of the MEGA sundae. Then, Star Catcher's personal swarm finds her and inform their leader that Skywishes and Pinkie Pie fllowed the Pegasus ponies home (who ran off). Star Catcher then whispers an ord- I mean a plan to them, and the swarm agrees.
Later, the Ponyville ponies are all in balloons and Star Catcher and her swarm are flying by their side (Rainbow Dash is being her 'dahling' self again). Apparently, Star Catcher's plan is that if the pegasi are too shy to come to Ponyville for the party, then they'll have to bring the party (and themselves) to Butterfly Island. Sweetberry, Cotton Candy, and Triple Treat are handling the MEGA sundae too IN FLIGHT (Ladies and gentlemen, the biggest thing to ever get off the ground).
Back in Butterfly Island, it looks like Skywishes has taken after Minty as she has successfully CRASHED the balloon and is now hanging precariously over a river. Skywishes apparently can't land a balloon to save her life AND forgot the manual which tells them how to use the landing gear, so... they're stuck (They don't even have the landing gear!!!).
Meanwhile, the balloon procession lead by Star Catcher and her personal swarm are ready for the Pegasus pony party (one of the balloons even has Pinkie Pie and Skywishes in, even though they're meant to have crash-landed ).
Back on Butterfly Island, Coconut Grove, Island Delight, and Thistle Whistle have noticed the crashed balloon and want to ask them if they need help, but Thistle Whistle is a little unsure about this. However, Pinkie Pie and Skywishes are even more stuck than before as the balloon basket breaks off, causing the two to plummet down towards the river. They manage to hang on a palm leaf, but they are slipping. When the Pegasus ponies see this, surprisingly it's Thistle Whistle who says they must be helped, and so the three pegasi bring out a GIANT leaf that Pinkie Pie and Skywishes land on when they slip off the other leaf. the two earth ponies are taken to the beach, where they wonder where the Pegasus ponies who rescued them have gone. Pinkie Pie decides to show them there's noting to be afraid of, and so we break into the first original song in G3 (squee of delight) and the first original song MLP had seen for thirteen years, Make a New Friend Every Day. While not the best song of the generation, it's certainly cute and catchy, and would be used again in the Meet the Ponies shorts three years later (which will be acknowledged when we come to that). While the song goes on, Star Catcher and the procession arrive, the party begins, and the earth and Pegasus ponies become good friends.
After the song, Sweetberry, Cotton Candy, and Triple Treat make their grand entrance with the MEGA sundae. Star Catcher and the rest of the pegasi come to aid the three in balancing the TITANIC ice cream. However, the pumpkin-sized cherry falls onto Star Catcher's head, but- at times like this, who could care?
While both the earth and Pegasus ponies are digging into the HUMONGOUS sundae, Skywishes and Star Catcher are happy that they have united the two groups of pony, and Star Catcher says it's good to make new friends all the time. Star Catcher then finally introduces Skywishes to Baby Honulu-Loo (remember her?) who is absolutely ADORABLE, and 'Aloha's Skywishes when she meets her. When she sees the MEGA sundae though, Honulu-Loo (who can't fly that well) flies towards it, but collides with it and falls down it, but Skywishes catches her. (Either the pegasi need air radar or the earth ponies must stop making MEGA ice creams like this). Honulu-Loo then thanks Skywishes and flies off, while Twinkle Twirl and some other ponies are dancing in a conga line. Skywishes and Star Catcher join the conga line, and dance around the island waterfall along with Star Catcher's personal swarm to close out the special.
Friends are Never Far Away was a big step up from Dancing In the Clouds. It had better writing, more old characters like Pinkie Pie and Sweetberry, and it was nice to see more Pegasus ponies (especially in the cute way they were introduced here). Thistle Whistle was funny, and made up for the severe lack of Minty in this special, and Baby Honulu-Loo was the only baby G3 to ever appear in the cartoons (and she was ADORABLE!!!). This special also had the first original song of G3 in it. The only problems were that the animations kept switching between the old style and the new, digital style, and that it was strange how this special didn't have Minty in; it would have been cute if Pinkie Pie and MINTY had sung the song (Luckily, the NEXT G3 video would be more than enough to satisfy our Minty cravings). Even Skywishes in this special had her moments. However, the strangest thing was that Hidden Treasure, the pony packaged with this video, was NOT IN THE SPECIAL ITSELF AT ALL. Why package a DVD with a pony that's not even it in? No one knows why Hasbro chose to have it this way, they easily could have bundled this with a set of ponies, like the Dazzle Bright, Sunny Scent, or Dream Design ponies, like A Charming Birthday. But let's put that out of the way, as it doesn't actually AFFECT the special itself. So now, upon this spot, I give this episode a rating of RECOMMENDED.
Join us next time as we review A Very Minty Christmas-my first movie review!

[hathorcat]

Another great review