Fillies, Gentlecolts, and foals of all ages, welcome once again to another edition of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Recap/Review… Or at least that would be the case were there a new episode. Sadly, it’s one of those weeks where there’s an unfortunate gap. But thankfully, we’re back next week with a new episode, and one that will finally star Fluttershy. But that leaves us with nothing FiM related to review this week. So, I figured why not do something a little outside the norm for once and go all the way back to the beginning. And not just the beginning of Friendship is Magic, but the beginning of My Little Pony in general. This week, we’re going to look at the 1984 television special “My Little Pony: Rescue at Midnight Castle”
We open the special to the classic My Little Pony theme as we see the many multicolored ponies frolicking, sliding down rainbows, and being as saccharin and adorable as possible. Especially one pink pegasus named Firefly, who enjoys flying like a daredevil and being ever so reckless (Hmm, sound familiar?). But the fun doesn’t last long as the sky turns dark, and an evil winged beast riding a dragon appears. He sends his dragon minions to capture the ponies. He manages to capture two of them and leaves, warning the rest of the ponies that they will soon belong to Tirak, the master of Midnight Castle. The rest of the ponies enter the dream castle for safety, except for Firefly, who flies off to find help.
At Midnight Castle, the beast known as Scorpan locks up the ponies. He gets pestered by Spike (yes, THAT Spike), who wants to go with him next time. Scorpan tells him no, and then goes to meet with Tirak, who is stroking an ominous bag. Scorpan tells him of his capture of two ponies, and gets scolded by Tirak because he was supposed to capture four for Tirak’s chariot. Spike tries to defend Scorpan, but Scorpan manages to stop the baby dragon from getting himself into too much trouble. Tirak sends Scorpan back out to do another pony raid.
Firefly heads to the farm of a young human girl named Megan, and of course being the crashing pony she is, ends up falling into a well. Megan saves her, and the two introduce themselves. Firefly tells Megan that she’s the only hope to rescue her friends because… I have no clue. She just is. The two fly to Ponyland as Firefly sings a song about the Ponies liking Megan, and that she’ll be great.
And as expected, all the ponies instantly befriend Megan. But the budding new friendships don’t take too long, as a swarm of giant dragons once again go on the attack, and capture Megan and a couple ponies. Megan gets knocked off, and almost falls to her death, if not for Scorpan saving her. Scorpan leaves, and Megan and the rest of the ponies go off to rescue their friends.
Back at Midnight Castle, Tirak has the four shackled ponies presented in front of him, but has the youngest one, Ember, removed due to being too small for the chariot. He opens the ominous bag which releases a surge of dark energy. It turns the ponies into giant dragons. He then tells Scorpan that if he doesn’t get a fourth pony before midnight, he will behead Spike. Meanwhile Megan and the other ponies set out to find the Moochick, who can help them save the others. But when they cross a rope bridge, Applejack falls off and into the water below. Megan dives in after her. And then, it happens. The world is introduced to the greatest thing ever in the history of My Little Pony… THE SEA PONIES!
SHOO-BE-DOO! SHOO-SHOO-BE-DOO!
After singing their most epic song, they help Megan and Applejack get back on dry land. After that encounter, they find themselves surrounded by giant mushrooms, and are greeted by a strange little man named the Moochick (Voiced by Tony Randall). He tells the group that Tirak is planning to create a night that never ends, and they have to destroy his rainbow of darkness, the dark energy he used earlier. He tries to give them the item called the rainbow of light, but forgets where it is. After another song about looking for it, he eventually finds the rainbow of light, which is contained in a tiny locket. He gives it to Megan, and with the tool needed to combat Tirak, the group sets off to Midnight Castle.
With the help of the sea ponies, the group cross a dangerous river, and gain entry into Midnight Castle. Meanwhile, Scorpan has finally had enough of Tirak’s villainy, and helps Spike and Ember escape. But while that happens, Applejack gets captures, and the others make it to Tirak’s throne room, where they get captured as well. Applejack is turned into a dragon, and it seems that Tirak has finally won. But Scorpan shows up to rescue them.
But it seems too late, as Tirak begins to activate the rainbow of darkness. Scorpan does battle with Tirak, but is quickly defeated. Megan and Firefly manage to make Tirak drop the bag containing the rainbow, but Tirak quickly gets it back. Megan then uses the rainbow of light, but it doesn’t do anything. Tirak covers it with the rainbow of darkness, but the rainbow of light fights back, destroying it. The rainbow of light destroys tirak and Midnight Castle, and turns everypony back to normal. Scorpan even turns back into a human prince, since that was apparently his original form before being captured by Tirak.
And so the day is saved, and the special comes to a close.
So, that’s “Rescue at Midnight Castle”. How does it handle? Surprisingly well. But, like MLP Episodes before it, let’s break down why with some old school Pros and Cons:
PRO: For a cartoon based on a girl’s toy, this special is pretty action packed. Filled with monsters, adventure, and even some okay character development with Scorpan. It makes for 22 minutes that don’t feel too slow, or not even all that cutesy compared to other cartoons of the time. I love the design for Scorpan and Tirak. Tirak especially comes off as a really good villain, perhaps unfairly lost in an era that gave us so many classic cartoon villains. Sure, maybe being beaten by cartoon horses isn’t exactly the best thing in a villain’s resume, but he’s still awesome in my book.
Sea Ponies. That is all.
The animation was pretty decent as well. Nothing super incredible, but pretty solid for an early 80’s cartoon, especially during the time when cartoons like Transformers and G.I Joe were starting to gain prominence.
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CON: Other than Firefly, none of the ponies had any personalities, or defining characteristics. They were really all just interchangeable, and forgettable. Even Applejack, who despite being focused a little more on than the rest, had no special traits about her.
A few things didn’t exactly make much sense, and certain plot twists seemed to come out of nowhere. Why was Megan, out of all the girls in the world, the chosen one? How did Firefly know to get her for help? How did firefly make it to the human world? Is the human world and Ponyland in the same dimension? Did they really need the whole “Scorpan was a prince all along” ending? I get that it’s a kid’s cartoon, with only 22 minutes to work with, but a lot could’ve been handled a little better.
I enjoy the work of Charles Adler, but for the love of Celestia, his Spike voice is awful. Raspy, scratchy, and very whiny sounding. Makes you appreciate how great the current voice sounds. And most of the songs, save for “Call Upon the Sea Ponies” were rather forgettable. Not that they were bad, but none of them really leave much of a lasting impression. They could have easily been left out.
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Rescue at Midnight Castle was a solid reminder that Friendship is Magic wasn’t the only good thing My Little Pony has had. It’s a solid half hour cartoon that in itself would spawn the decent at best G1 era. And that G1 era would soon have a big impact on a young girl named Lauren Faust, who when working on her own spin on My Little Pony, would base her own characters on those G1 characters. That’s right, Rainbow Dash was almost Firefly. But due to copyright issues with the names, the only ones she could use were Applejack and Spike, and the rest became G3 characters modified with their own updated personalities, and personally I’m thankful that’s how things went.
If you’re looking for something different, or looking for something different to satisfy your brony hunger, then give this cartoon a watch. You’ll probably enjoy it.
And next week, we finally return with a new Friendship is Magic episode. Fluttershy is tired of being pushed around, and with the help of a guru named Iron Will, seeks to be more assertive. What will happen to Fluttershy when she learns a lesson in “Putting Your Hoof Down”? Find out in seven.
Until then, see you in a week bronies and pegasisters.