User reviews

Depending on your age and background, you may well be aware of what 'Bronies' are. These are, usually, adult male fans of the recent animated My Little Pony series--a series intended for very young little girls. The folks who made the shows were surprised by this phenomenon. It seems that adult men are now its most rabid fans and have begun organizing giant conventions for My Little Pony which are every bit as big as you might find for Star Trek or Anime.

The purpose of Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony appears to be both to explain this fandom and to also normalize it as much as possible. Nice and very likable teenage and adult men are interviewed about their obsessions with these incredibly happy and sweet cartoon characters. And, the film features charming narration by John de Lancie (who does the voice for one of the characters on the show and is also adored by Star Trek fans for playing 'Q') and it also has many interviews including the show's creator as well as another one of the voice actors, Tara Strong. They all seem to agree that it's a benign obsession and the notion of these guy emulating the positive messages of the show isn't a bad thing at all--and the film does a great job in normalizing this fandom. However, it also seems to occasionally miss the proverbial elephant in the room. This is because two big problems really aren't addressed in the otherwise entertaining film. First, the women and children who like the show are almost completely ignored. Now I know that the film is about adult fans but the film says a Brony can be a man or a woman--yet not all that many women are interviewed and the focus clearly is on the guys. No young girls are interviewed. That is all very odd-- especially in light of the second problem. There is a far darker side of many of the Bronies. The Brony movement began on 4chan--a website often linked to some of the stranger, more militant folks lurking on the internet. In light of this, it isn't surprising that SOME of the Bronies have a much more sexualized view of My Little Pony and there are quite a few reports of inappropriate behaviors by some of the Bronies at conventions or on websites. Sexual harassment, an unnatural infatuation with children, anatomically correct pony pillows or fan art and emotional bullying are sometimes serious problems. Now I am not saying all or even most Bronies behave this way, but it IS a problem--one often addressed on the internet yet oddly missing from the documentary. Sites such as Ponies for Parents and Brony Stupidity (among others) point out many examples of inappropriate conduct that clearly indicate that not all Bronies are as nice and benign as the ones you see in the film. Try a Google search using the terms 'My Little Pony porn' and you'll come up with tons and tons of examples of amazingly twisted fan art and porn videos. Yet, inexplicably, the film never mentions any of this. When a film ignores such obvious controversies, it becomes, in a way, more like propaganda than a documentary--the big reason why I felt a little uncomfortable watching this otherwise well made movie. Watch if it you want--just be aware that there is far more to the fandom than you see in this film.

I am not a Brony. I have never seen an episode of My Little Pony. Before seeing this documentary I was aware of the Brony phenomenon, but was relatively removed from it. I watched 'Bronies' to try and learn a bit more about the people behind the fandom, and was hoping to find an unbiased account of Brony culture, warts and all. I think overall this documentary was successful in a few ways, but was mostly overshadowed by it's failures.

It's a very self congratulatory piece of film; plenty of discussion of the community aspect, the creativity and fun of it all, the feeling of 'fitting in,' but it's all at a very cursory glance. People say they like the morals and apply them to their lives? How about a few examples? You think the writing and animation are well done? Why not go a bit more in depth? There was very little that needed to be said by this documentary, yet we're consistently fed what feels like a party line.

If you're looking for an objective documentary, this is not it. There is superficial lip-service paid to the female fans of the series, but it comes in the form of a short musical number and one documentary subject who is never on screen without her male counterpart. For a fanbase which has taken up a decidedly masculine moniker, I'd expect some discussion of how it effects women who want to be involved. Additionally, there is no discussion of the darker sides of Brony culture, like the fan- produced My Little Pony pornography known as 'Clop.' The documentary goes so far out of its way to avoid this subject, that it actually even includes a reference to 'clop' in a musical number, but immediately changes the subject.

It feels at times like the documentary was never intended to explain Bronies to outsiders at all, but rather to be a celebratory exploration of the growth of Brony culture, to be viewed and enjoyed by Bronies themselves. This would be easily explained by the creative crew, and the Kickstarter funding. There's nothing wrong with this, but why phrase it as though it were intended for outsiders? Why even add the animated sequences with the professor teaching us about MLP history?

It's not all bad, honestly. The creator of this documentary clearly knows how to pace a film. Scenes go as long as they need to, dialogue is generally moving the film along, and overall it's quite well shot. Some of the characters are quite compelling, and the creative side of Brony culture is very well represented.

I think if there was one major takeaway from this film, it's that people who like MLP are producing a lot of content for the fan community, and that creativity is a major tenet of Brony culture. The film is very successful in conveying that there is a strong community, and a lot of creative content being produced. It's major failure though, and what causes the whole thing to fall flat is that it doesn't successfully convey why the Bronies become attached to MLP to begin with.

So I just downloaded the digital copy of this for $12.99 and I'm assuming the reason you're reading this right now is probably because you're wondering if this documentary is worth it. In my opinion, it is if you are a brony yourself.

Outsiders will not find anything here that will interest them, or keep them hooked for 90 minutes. This was definitely a love letter to the bronies, from the bronies. This doesn't mean that it's a bad movie, but you should know that going into it. Now unto what did and didn't work for me.

My biggest issue was with pacing. The movie seemed to jump from one thing to the other with almost no transition at points. I would sit there wondering to myself "did they really need to include that clip?", but this is only a big problem in the first half hour or so. It's when the movie actually makes it to the conventions that I began to really enjoy it.

There were a couple other problems, but that was the one that really stuck out for me. Now unto the good. One great thing that the filmmakers did that I really enjoyed, were the portions at Bronycon. These sections of the movie did a good job at showing off exactly what it is that we do as a fandom. I found myself smiling at a couple things said in interviews that only a brony would understand. I was not in attendance at this particular convention, but this movie made me want to be there. It looked like a fun time. The other conventions weren't handled as well as Bronycon, but I still enjoyed them.

Anyways, buy this if you're a brony. Be free to skip right over this is you aren't

Overall, I enjoyed this film. It follows some good individual stories, and I really enjoyed the original animation created for it by JanAnimations and others. One of the things I enjoyed about this film isn't even in the film itself - it's how responsive the filmmakers have been to input. The film was funded through Kickstarter, and all through the production process, backers were given details about how things were going, and the crew took suggestions and feedback. Not only through Kickstarter, but through their Twitter accounts, YouTube replies, and e-mail.

I look forward to the day that this film becomes available on Blu-ray, film festivals, and perhaps more! Go buy this film now at their website if you're curious, or wait a bit for those other methods of distribution! /)

Just when you thought that "A Brony Tale" didn't meet too many expectations, this documentary will go down a treat. It heavily relies on the bronies and the convention, rather than being slow- burned and relying on ONE person making part of this fandom possible: Ashleigh Ball. Would recommend for the whole family. In spite of some profanity - the movie would've been given a PG- rating either way.

My biggest disappointment is that this film isn't at all funny.

It's primary reason for existing seems to be to proselytize the virtues of the cartoon and justify the reasons grown men are fascinated by it. If you aren't a brony, you aren't going to find much in this film, because it doesn't have a sense of humor about itself.

There is room in the market for a film like this, and because it was for a group of fans that seem a bit obsessive, it will probably make a profit. I can't really say it shouldn't have been made, simply that it does not speak to a broader audience.

The one thing that I did take away from the documentary was that even simple stories, if made with quality, can find an audience. People that have trouble relating to one another and develop real world friendships find a lot to love about a show that explains why friendship is magical. At least that's what I saw as the plot of this film.

Okay, now why the summary headline. . . I found this movie a bit disturbing for one main reason. Every My Little Pony obsessed man in this film felt they needed to tell us "I'm not gay." Like that makes their passion socially acceptable. They might as well be saying, "Sure, I like pink unicorns, but it's not like I like men! THAT would make me weird a pariah!" It's a rather homophobic view, in my opinion, and totally undermines the movie's supposed message of acceptance.

So it's not entertaining, particularly educational, or social conscious, but if you obsessively collect everything with a pony on it, you'll probably like it.

This film presents itself as a documentary, but it is more of a one-sided fluff-piece that celebrates Bronyism as purely magic, devoid of discord.

Notably missing from this fluff is the more provocative, dark side of adult MLP worship. Sure, one could technically divide MLP adult fans up into two separate categories, but this misses the point. Bronies misses the opportunity to present this odd realm of adult fandom in all of its dimensions, so is shallow and boring.

The film avoids the truth in favor of the magical, and as such seems more childlike than MLP itself.

This documentary does an excellent job describing what the brony community is like. A lot of it is from the view of other bronies, but you get to see or hear a lot of what other people think.

There's no shortage of heartwarming moments, and plenty of funny situations as well. The animations made for this documentary are very professional and look like something out of the show itself, not to mention the music that fits so fluidly with the animation.

They did a great job capturing the real antics of the bronies who were interviewed during the documentary. It didn't feel like they had a camera crew following around.

In all, it's a pretty entertaining documentary and also pretty informative even to bronies, but you certainly don't have to be a brony to enjoy and learn a lot from this film.

"Isn't it amazing how a group of adult men can completely take over a show meant for little girls; making it virtually impossible to search or do anything related to the show without being exposed to over-sexualized, misogynistic, sexist crap, and they get a documentary that praises them for stepping outside of their perceived gender roles? Meanwhile 45% of the gaming community is comprised of women and I get dick pics and rape threats if I try and go on xbox live."

Three stars instead of one because it's rather impressive that the documentarian could create something so smarmily self-congratulatory, yet riddled with homophobia and much less flattering to "bronies" than he'd like to think.

This is quite possibly the most cringe worthy thing I have seen in a long time. I seriously think the people in it suffer from severe autism, but I could just as easily be wrong.

Only positive is that watching it with a friend will get some good laughs during some parts.

I highly do not recommend watching this. The people interviewed just make you cringe beyond belief, it is poorly edited even for a documentary and is based on a topic that is extremely pointless. I honestly don't even know how this got made with how bad it is imo. Think very carefully before contemplating watching this 'documentary'. If you are a sadistic prick, watch it and laugh at all the cringe moments.

I almost decided to not buy this documentary after hearing relatively mixed reviews about it. I decided to give it a shot to at least support the people behind it such as John de Lancie and Lauren Faust. After watching it, I'm so glad I decided to give it a chance.

"Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony" (rolls right off the tongue) is a documentary following the stories behind several bronies, their discovery of the show, and the impact it has had on their lives, for the better or worse. It also includes much footage from various pony cons from around the world, namely Bronycon. As the movie goes on, we see how these cons bring people from all over the world, with different backgrounds, together with a common interest.

As a Brony myself, I was curious to see how my story of discovering the show and having this hobby would relate to others. While I did see a bit of myself in these young men, it was actually far more interesting to see what was different in our stories. Some of the events they describe, without spoiling anything, genuinely made me feel sorry for them, and at other times, proud of them. As the documentary continues, we see their lives intertwine at the Cons, and it really made me feel great to know that these previous outcasts now have people to share their interests with.

The interviews with John de Lancie, Lauren Faust, Tara Strong, and a few other people in the Brony community are very intriguing, since it's not all that common to hear opinions on a fanbase from the people the fanbase hails. It made my day to hear support from such well known people, especially since taking such a positive outlook on Bronies is often seen as risky in the media.

Also included is an animated song about the types of bronies sung by none other than de Lancie himself, however here he appears as his ponysona (the pony version of yourself.) The animation is top notch and is actually on par with the show itself. The only problem with it is that it is chopped up and spread out throughout the movie, when I feel it should have just been one whole piece like I originally saw it on Youtube.

By the time the credits were rolling, I was feeling prouder than ever to be a Brony. The movie clearly establishes that the stereotypical fat neckbeard basement dweller is not your typical Brony, in fact quite the opposite. Not only that, but seeing the charity work Bronies do, as well as just supporting each other and trying to create a "kinder, gentler" world, as Lauren Faust put it, really warmed my heart. I haven't felt much shame for being a Brony for a long time, but now there is none whatsoever. It even inspired me to find someway to get more involved in the community.

The only fault with the movie is that it is extremely one sided. Not that there is anything wrong with the Brony community in itself, but it doesn't mention that many online Bronies have become trolls and are a huge part of the reason that people have negative connotations with MLP.

Overall, this documentary stands as a tribute to the Bronies, and a great informative video to everyone else interested in learning about this cultural phenomena. If you're a Brony who feels alone or ashamed, watch this and you will no longer feel so down in the dumps. Definitely worth the price of admission.

First, I am brony and I think this film did a very good job of showing how the "brony phenomenon" is a positive thing. And that is important in a world where people with spout off their opinions with knowing hardly anything about the subject they are talking about.

The documentary highlights importance of friendship, fellowship, and all the good things the show instills in the brony community. It is a positive and uplifting film that demonstrates how the show and its fans have helped people be more comfortable with themselves and others.

There is definitely more to the bronies than is presented here, but I think it is a great introduction for people seeking to learn more about the community. You can only fit so much into a 90 minute film.

I highly recommend showing this to non-bronies. For bronies it may be preaching to the choir, but it helped remind me of the best qualities of the fans.

I don't think that there has ever been a documentary that has ever been filmed that displays the heroic courage necessary for a grown man to accept something so pure and majestic as his love for a cartoon pony. Never before has such a visual spectacle made such a deep impact upon my life. Witnessing the bravery of these individuals has given me the courage and strength to escape the dark, oppressive basement of my deeply authoritarian parents. Which is a burden that I would wish upon no one. Watching this movie has given me the strength to soar like an eagle, move out, and acquire my new job as a brewista at a local coffee shop. Every time I rewatch this documentary I weep tears of joy as I reminisce on how far I've come but yet how far I still have to go. This is why I relate so much to rainbow dash and the trials and tribulations that she has faced as a pony. I also credit this movie for meeting my life partner at our local Bronie support group which holds weekly meetings at the coffee shop that I work. Although I deeply love my life partner they erroneously identify with the pony rarity, which seems strange but opposites do attract. Anyway I'm sorry for being so long winded but I just want everyone to grasp how much this film has impacted my life. I hope to make it to broniecon 2017 and with any luck I will.