My Little Pony: The Movie (2017 film)

My Little Pony: The Movie is an upcoming 2017 Canadian–American animated musical fantasy film based on the television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic developed by Lauren Faust, as well as Hasbro's My Little Pony toy line created by Bonnie Zacherle. It is directed by Jayson Thiessen and written by Meghan McCarthy, both of whom worked on the show. The regular television cast – Tara Strong, Ashleigh Ball, Andrea Libman, Tabitha St. Germain, and Cathy Weseluck – will reprise their roles from the series alongside guest performances by Kristin Chenoweth, Emily Blunt, Michael Peña, Uzo Aduba, Liev Schreiber, Taye Diggs, and Sia Furler. The film is produced and financed by Hasbro Studios' film label Allspark Pictures and animated through DHX Media, and is currently scheduled for worldwide theatrical release on October 6, 2017 through Lionsgate.

Plot
In order to stop a threat to the town of Ponyville, the "Mane Six" – Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity – must leave Equestria, meeting new friends and overcoming challenges in the process.

Cast

 * Tara Strong as Princess Twilight Sparkle, a studious, royal "alicorn" (winged unicorn) responsible for spreading friendship and harmony across the land of Equestria.
 * Ashleigh Ball as Applejack, a hard-working and sensible apple farmer pony; and Rainbow Dash, a brash and adventurous pegasus.
 * Andrea Libman as Pinkie Pie, a joyful, party-obsessed pony; and Fluttershy, a timid pegasus with an affinity for animals.
 * Shannon Chan-Kent performs Pinkie Pie's singing vocals.
 * Tabitha St. Germain as Rarity, a ladylike fashion designer unicorn.
 * Kazumi Evans performs Rarity's singing vocals.
 * Cathy Weseluck as Spike, a young dragon who is Twilight Sparkle's assistant.
 * Kristin Chenoweth
 * Emily Blunt voices an unspecified "nasty pony" character.
 * Michael Peña
 * Uzo Aduba
 * Liev Schreiber voices an unspecified monster who opposes the ponies. On his acceptance of the part, Schreiber expressed interest in playing kid-friendly roles that his children would be able to watch, noting their exposure to his more violent, adult-oriented work.
 * Taye Diggs
 * Sia Furler as Songbird Serenade, a "pop star" pegasus. The character's design is modeled after Sia's facially obscured stage persona.

Development
At San Diego Comic-Con International in 2012, Friendship Is Magic head writer Meghan McCarthy commented on the possibility of a feature film based on the series, saying it was not in her control whether or not the film would be made. The film was announced on October 20, 2014, with Joe Ballarini originally attached as screenwriter and McCarthy as co-executive producer. Hasbro Studios president Stephan Davis said of the film that "I think it gives us an opportunity to tell a bigger story, that maybe we [can't] tell on television" and that "[it's] also an opportunity to broaden the franchise". The film is one of the first being produced through Hasbro Studios' self financing film label Allspark Pictures, which also produced the live-action adaptation of Jem and the Holograms. During PonyCon AU on February 22, 2015, McCarthy said that the movie would be unrelated to the Equestria Girls spin-off franchise, and that the crew was "going all out on it, to make sure it doesn't just feel like an extended episode".

On August 7, 2015, Lionsgate confirmed that they would distribute and market the film worldwide, with the exception of China. Series director Jayson Thiessen and McCarthy were both confirmed as the film's director and screenwriter, respectively; Michael Vogel was also signed on as co-executive producer alongside McCarthy, with Hasbro executives Brian Goldner and Stephen Davis as producers, and screenwriter Rita Hsiao later announced as co-writer alongside McCarthy.

The film was showcased at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on May 10 along with eight other Lionsgate films to help sell the movie to international distributors. On April 30, 2016, concept artwork and other information was officially revealed at PonyRadioCon in Moscow; the panel included additional plot details such as the main characters' transformation into "sea ponies" for a portion of the film.

Casting
The initial Lionsgate announcement listed the television series' regular voice cast reprising their roles as the "Mane 6" characters alongside actress Kristin Chenoweth as a new character. On February 12, 2016, it was announced that Emily Blunt joined the voice cast. By April 27, 2016, actors Michael Peña and Uzo Aduba were in negotiations to join the cast. On May 16, Liev Schreiber and Taye Diggs were confirmed additions to the cast. On June 20, Ashleigh Ball stated through Twitter that she had begun recording for the film's songs. By June 22, Schreiber commented in an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that he had finished recording for an antagonist character in the film. At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2016, singer Sia Furler was announced to be portraying a new "pop star pony" character called Songbird Serenade.

Music
The film's songs and score were composed by Friendship Is Magic songwriter Daniel Ingram, who first announced at GalaCon 2015 that he would be collaborating with a live studio orchestra for the film. On his songwriting for the film, Ingram said, "I had to challenge myself to push beyond what had been done in the TV show; to write bigger, more epic." It was confirmed through the PonyRadioCon panel that the film would have a total of eight original songs. Sia will also be contributing two original songs to the film's soundtrack.

Release
My Little Pony: The Movie was originally scheduled for release on November 3, 2017, which was subsequently moved up to October 6, 2017.

Marketing
The 2016 PonyRadioCon panel included a brief preview for some of the planned merchandise being developed for the film, including T-shirts and graphics. When posting about new Marvel toys on Twitter, Walgreens licensing manager Steven Anne released an image of prototype packaging for Hasbro's My Little Pony toy line "Guardians of Harmony" containing the film's logo. On July 27, 2016, the My Little Pony Collectible Card Game hinted on Twitter about a new set of cards based on the film releasing in 2017. Several books related to the film have been announced: My Little Pony: Annual 2018, which contains "exclusive content from the My Little Pony movie" and is set for release on August 10, 2017; and a story set before the events of the film, tentatively titled My Little Pony: The Movie Prequel, slated for an August 1 release.