Finally got off my lazy tush to post the review I promised! Sorry it took so long, but here it is.
The DVD itself couldn't have been any simpler. There were just two choices: play the movie and a sub-menu with the five bonus sing-along songs, and there were *no commercials or previews at all*, which I appreciated! A chapter select feature would have been nice, but maybe this is meant to be seen in one sitting and just paused at the intermission.
Video and sound quality: Perfect from the theme song at the start to the reprise at the end. I never percieved the camera was out of focus or the stage sound was screwy. My hat is off to whoever had one chance to get it right...and got it right. And rather than just showing the actors they made sure to include shots of kids/families reacting to the performance, which really does add to the enjoyment. Because about the second time you see a darling little girl with pony wand in hand and that precious 'twinkle' of amazment in her eyes, you can't help but go "d'aww"
Example: in the scene where the ponies are sending out invitations to the tea party, the ladybugs gather up armfuls of invitations, walk right down to the front rows and start passing them out. There's a few short shots of kids just lighting up when Miss Ladybug hands them their invitation. Way to go, Hasbro!
Scenery/props: Very well done. The set designers kept everything from looking like big tacky Playskool toys, which I've seen happen elsewhere. Everything looks like it belongs right where it is.
Play storyline: One sticky spot: the scene with the breezies. Now I don't know what all could be done for that scene, but they ended up painfully obviously waving the breezies on sticks. Kinda broke the 'pony immersion' IMHO. Lots of songs, all beautifully sung. A couple less wouldn't have hurt anything, but then again kids shows/tapes have been having "30 seconds of story then another song" since I was a little foal.
There was a good mixture of humor with 'friendship lessons' plus some absolutely hilarious scenes. The VERY BEST was where Spike dressed up like a DJ, complete with gold chain, brought out one of those two-record DJ tables and then had a song with the line "shake, shake, shake your cutie!". Kids with toy ponies shook them, kids without shook themselves. I had to stuff my face in my shoulder (midnight viewing) because I really truly was laughing out loud. And if you look carefully, one of the songs in the credits is "shake your b00ty" I still can't believe they got away with that!
Pony costumes:...my goodness...I don't know how they did it. Now your milage might vary depending on how you personally imagine ponies would look 'in person' instead of in cartoons. But though it's physically impossible for actors in costumes to move exactly like a real pony, they did so darn well even grown-ups like me can imagine they're the real deal. The facial expressions, the dancing, and the body language - all well done. Spike was just a tiny little bit less convincing, but when he was on he did very well.
Overall I'm just astounded at how well this was pulled off. This DVD was worth every single penny and every day waiting for the Postal Service, which took its good sweet time. They say time flies when you're having fun, so when I say that when the final song started I went "Aww! It's over already?" you should get a good idea. The show even managed to boost my spirits in a special way which I'll post on a bit later.
FINAL SCORE: 10/10
The things I didn't like were so few that awarding a 9 would just be petty. If you ever wanted to go to the live shows but couldn't make it, this DVD is a great 'second-chance showing'. Sit down with a bag of popcorn and your favorite ponies. I know you'll be delighted when you're cordially invited - to the world's biggest tea party!
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