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.
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.