Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas" is a 44-minute animated short film from 2005, so this one is already over a decade old. But it is definitely not among the most known from the franchise, despite the occasion this was made for, namely the holidays. Or maybe because of the occasion as pink, sparkly ponies may not go to well with a winter wonderland. Anyway, I must say that I don't know really any people who made this film and things don't look different when it comes to the voice actors. But still, this film delivers exactly what you would expect looking at the title, namely a Christmas-themed MLP film with a plot that is never really too dramatic when one pony accidentally breaks a magic cane and they need to go on a mission to bring back the spirit of Christmas attached to said cane. Animation-wise, it is also what you could expect. It's neither particularly good or bad I would say, but while I love many other styles of animation and story-telling that may be rather suitable for kids than for adults, this one here does almost nothing for me. One reason may be personal bias as I have never been too big on MLP on general, so if you like the other stuff, then maybe you will enjoy this one too. Christmas 2017 is approaching, so it's your chance to check it out. I would rather give out a negative recommendation here, but I don't really have to as you can make up your mind very well yourself from what you know about MLP and what you have seen as chances are pretty much 0% you have not seen anything from the franchise when you consider checking out this fairly forgotten holiday special.

zsofikam I have a few different My Little Pony items including a shirt, a bath set, a blanket, some books, and some DVDs. Although A Very Minty Christmas isn't my absolute fave of my collection (that award goes to Dancing In The Clouds), but it's still a very nice film, especially for little girls who love horses (as I did and still do). Minty is so sweet and adorable, she's in my top three ponies along with Sky Wishes and Star Catcher. Plus, as I have mentioned in previous reviews, I simply adore Christmas and the vast majority of movies, episodes, books, and songs that pertain to it. It all begins when Minty accidentally breaks the glowing candy cane intended to attract Santa and goes off to find Santa to tell him what happened with the candy cane. But along the way she discovers that it's not about the candy cane but about the amount of Christmas spirit possessed by Minty and her companions and that Christmas is about giving rather than getting. This is a message I greatly appreciate given how often it seems that Christmas is about receiving when it's about giving.

georgehazard73 Oh sure it doesn't have the dangerous villains the more recent My Little Pony Incarnation has but it makes up for that by telling a charming story of how one pony is able to make up for a simple mistake and bring everyone to the magical home of Santa Clause. This movie reminds me of being a child, always excited for Christmas to come and being unable to sleep. The opening song is perhaps the catchiest song in the movie, not to mention the catchiest Christmas song I've ever heard and the moist original. The other songs may not be as good but there isn't one I hate, nor is there a character I dislike. Minty is certainly the kid in most of us, if not all of us. She knows she did a bad thing and wants to tell everyone about it to make things right but is nervous and afraid of the consequences. There are few errors in the movie but unless you know about them, you'll go right by them without even catching they were there. As a bonus, this movie reminds us what the true meaning of Christmas really is.

dalty_smilth This film... wow. How can I begin to describe it? This, Victor Dal Chele's first commercial film, is one of the best films I've seen this year. It's not quite as good, I think, as his later work on Princess Promenade, but given that it's his first movie, it's pretty good. Heck, it's better than some more experienced directors' seventh or eighth films. I thought Raiders of the Lost Ark was a pretty good movie until I saw this. I mean, the only reason that it's not as good as Princess Promenade is because Very Minty Christmas is more raw, and rougher around the edges. Dal Chele made this film in 90 days with a budget of around $600,000, and while he does his best with what he has, it's obvious to anyone who's seen Princess Promenade that he could have done more if he had more. To make a comparison, even the best, most professional-looking, most polished high school production of Stephen Sondheim's Into The Woods is still a high school production of Into the Woods. Still, the budget of a film means nothing if a dedicated auteur like Dal Chele is holding the reins.Now before I go any further, I want to address the the rumor that My Little Pony: The Princess Promenade is essentially a remake of Very Minty Christmas. Mr. Dal Chele has said in interviews that it is not. Not quite. To quote a recent interview with The Resource (Of Living Legends) published by Birnbaum and Schusster (BS) Publications, he said "It's not a remake, exactly. It's just that there were some scenes that I thought I could have done so much better with a bigger budget, so when I got the opportunity, I did so." And it's obvious if you watch Princess Promenade that it's supposed to be a sequel. Major Thorndike refers at one point to "the Christmas Incident" implying that it's something that has already happened. Dr. Dandelion later reveals that it's been five years since Flutterby's death, even though he apparently is killed at the beginning of Princess Promenade. And that may be why so many call Princess Promenade a remake, because the first fifteen minutes basically show an abridged version of the events of Very Minty Christmas. And also, while Flutterby is very much the main protagonist of Very Minty Christmas, Huggles, who is a fairly minor character in VMC, becomes the main protagonist of Princess Promenade. The reason for this, of course, is that Huggles was played by Emily Deschanel, who at the time when they were VMC was not very well-known, other than as the sister of Zooey Deschanel, but when Princess Promenade was being made, she had become known as the star of the hit series Bones, so the role of Huggles was beefed up to give Ms. Deschanel more screen time. And thankfully, her portrayal of the character in the sequel, and the fact that the sequel was written to showcase her talents only makes the movie that much better. This, obviously, is why the recap of VMC at the beginning of Princess Promenade was narrated by Huggles, who rarely spoke or got directly involved in the action during VMC.*SPOILERS* Although, despite this, and even though it's been widely reported that Inky was originally going to be the main protagonist of Princess Promenade, the end of this movie suggests that Dal Chele always intended Princess Promenade to be Huggles's story, given that SHE is the one who is chosen by the Mysterious Pony In A Business Suit after the final battle.And one more reason that Princess Promenade is erroneously called a remake of this film, in my opinion, is that both films deal with many of the same subjects. Life, death, the nature of good and evil, and whether progress for the sake of progress is a good thing.To conclude this review, let me say that while My Little Pony: The Princess Promenade stands very well on its own, and does not require your having seen Very Minty Christmas for you to enjoy it, having seen Very Minty Christmas will greatly deepen your understanding of Princess Promenade. And if nothing else you should watch My Little Pony: Very Minty Christmas because it is fine film-making.