Emily Blunt Jumps On ‘My Little Pony’
Hasbro’s attempts to turn its toys into movies have yielded mixed results. For everyTransformers, there’s aBattleship— or worse, aMonopoly, whichstillhasn’t managed to pass Go despite years of efforts. But there’s a lot riding onMy Little Pony, based on one of the hottest properties in its stable. So Hasbro and Lionsgate have enlisted a big-name star to guide the film to success. Fans will get to seeEmily BluntinMy Little PonyalongsideKristin Chenoweth.
In addition to Blunt and Chenoweth,My Little Ponywill feature the voice cast ofMy Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:Tara Strong,Ashleigh Ball,Andrea Libman,Tabitha St. Germain, andCathy Weseluck. The story follows the “Mane 6” (i.e., Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity) as they face a new dark force threatening Ponyville. To save their home, they embark on an unforgettable journey beyond Equestria.Deadlinereports Blunt and Chenoweth are both voicing new characters, and details on their characters have not been released.
Blunt has shown an admirable willingness to mix things up over the course of her career. She’s lately developed a reputation as an action hero, thanks to films likeSicarioandEdge of Tomorrow, but she also does indies (My Sister’s Sister), comedies (The Five-Year Engagement), musicals (Into the Woods), and thrillers (The Girl on the Train). Heck,the last time we saw her, she was dressed up like a “gritty reboot” version of Elsa fromFrozenand riding through CG landscapes on a freakin' polar bear. Why not add aMy Little Ponymovie to her eclectic resume?
Hasbro first launched its My Little Pony toy line in the 1980s. They were immediately successful, and over the years have spawned multiple animated series, direct-to-video features, video games, comic books, and the like. The Ponies have even hit the big screen once before, in 1986’sMy Little Pony: The Movie. Featuring the voices of Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman, it was a critically savaged flop.
While the My Little Pony franchise has never really gone away, it did get a big boost in 2010 with the debut ofMy Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. The series was a big hit with its target audience (little kids, especially girls), but it also gave rise to the “brony” fandom consisting of adult male devotees. And because this is the age of the internet, Rule 34, sadly, applies. ensure your Safe Search is on if you’ve got little kids who might take a deep dive into Google’s “My Little Pony” search results – or, heck, if you’re just an adult who’d rather not have his or her day ruined.
Friendship Is MagicdirectorJayson Thiessenhas taken the reins of theMy Little Ponymovie, which has a script byFriendship Is Magicwriter/producerMeghan McCarthy. Paramount will releaseMy Little PonyonNovember 3, 2017.
