DVD Review: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Adventures Of The Cutie Mark Crusaders

---

I would call My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Adventures Of The Cutie Mark Crusaders my first real exposure to the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. I've seen Equestria Girls and My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Rainbow Rocks which are both part of the franchise, but those take place in an alternate dimension where the ponies are humans so I don't really count that. I know there are some hardcore fans called bronies so I was looking forward to actually seeing what the show was like.

This DVD contains five episodes, one from season 1, one from season 2, and three from season 4. Each episodes focuses on three young ponies, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, collectively known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. In the first episode on the disc, Teh Cutie Mark Chronicles, we learn that these three ponies don't have their cutie marks which supposedly appear once a pony discovers something unique about themselves, such as a talent. Our crusaders are anxious to get their cutie marks, so they are continuously trying new things. In this episode, they talk to other ponies and learn how their cutie marks came about which gives us backstories to many of the main characters. I thought this was a great episode to start off with.

The next episode, Cutie Pox finds one of the crusaders trying to use magic to get her cutie mark, and things go terribly awry! This story is not just entertaining, but it also has a very good moral about patience. Next we're into season four with Flight to the Finish. This episode finds our crusaders wanting win the right to carry the Ponyville flag at the Equestria Games and so they come up with a routine that is sure to beat out the rest of the students, but then self-doubt takes a hold which threatens not just the crusaders ability to win but their friendship as well. It's another enjoyable episode with a good moral.

Pinkie Pride doesn't exactly feature the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but they are there as background characters. This episode has special guest star "Weird Al" Yankovic as a party planning pony named Cheese Sandwich and features six different songs. Twilight Time finishes off the selection where the crusaders obtain fame because they're friends Twilight Princess, and once again it's both entertaining and has a good moral.

After watching these episodes I can understand the fan base. I wouldn't call myself a brony quite yet, but maybe if I watched a seasons or two then who knows what could happen.

Bonus features include a sing-along and downloadable wallpapers, so not much on that front.

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Adventures Of The Cutie Mark Crusaders, released by Shout Factory, is available starting February 24, 2015.