As voice actor Ashleigh Ball prepares to visit Bronycon, the unusual fandom of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010) is explored.As voice actor Ashleigh Ball prepares to visit Bronycon, the unusual fandom of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010) is explored.As voice actor Ashleigh Ball prepares to visit Bronycon, the unusual fandom of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010) is explored.
- Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations total
Benjamin Humphrey
- Self - Interview
- (as Military Brony)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
The title of this film should have been, Ashleigh Ball: Attention Whore and other losers. It seems like the only people that they interviewed for the Bronies were socially inept, in other words, losers. They interviewed a "tough" mechanic and a man from the army in order to show how tough the fans are, however, both men seemed to ill-fit in a 'normal' crowd and both confessed, through their criticisms of what society expects from a boy, that they envy women and even wish they were women. Most of this I found mildly compelling. The interest ended there.
Most of the scenes in this film are of Ashleigh Ball, a voice actress who voices two of the Ponies in the My little Pony Cartoon. She bursts onto the scene, parading herself in various outfits and plugging her band. She talks about herself extensively and pretends that she thinks the Bronies are weirdos and that she thinks the interest in the show is bizarre, however, due to her poor acting ability, it is overwhelmingly obvious that this is her dream come true. She sees herself as the star of the show even tho all she does is provide the voice of two characters. She is not involved in the writing, or anything else to do with the production of the show, but she seems to feel like the most important person in the room whenever Bronies are mentioned and she reads about her characters and watches video and looks at fan made pictures for hours to feed her inner narcissism. If anything, this was a documentary about how entitled, connected and privileged Ashleigh Ball is.
I was interested to hear what the psychologists had to say until I realized that they were far from objective. Their own son is a Brony. Terrible work, No focus, hard to watch.
Most of the scenes in this film are of Ashleigh Ball, a voice actress who voices two of the Ponies in the My little Pony Cartoon. She bursts onto the scene, parading herself in various outfits and plugging her band. She talks about herself extensively and pretends that she thinks the Bronies are weirdos and that she thinks the interest in the show is bizarre, however, due to her poor acting ability, it is overwhelmingly obvious that this is her dream come true. She sees herself as the star of the show even tho all she does is provide the voice of two characters. She is not involved in the writing, or anything else to do with the production of the show, but she seems to feel like the most important person in the room whenever Bronies are mentioned and she reads about her characters and watches video and looks at fan made pictures for hours to feed her inner narcissism. If anything, this was a documentary about how entitled, connected and privileged Ashleigh Ball is.
I was interested to hear what the psychologists had to say until I realized that they were far from objective. Their own son is a Brony. Terrible work, No focus, hard to watch.
Despite not being a Brony myself, I found this documentary to be extremely uplifting. In keeping with the good vibes of the fandom, it tries to accentuate the positives without mentioning the more sinister connotations that detractors have associated with supporters of the show. And while that means this isn't a balanced cultural analysis, it does make for ninety minutes of feel good entertainment that made me smile, if only for the reason that the show brings together people who might otherwise feel lonely and marginalized. Don't underestimate the importance of that.
As a documentary it was very well made. The will she/won't she go to the conference storyline with Ashleigh Ball was a bit contrived but gave the film some forward motion and structure. The cinematography was surprisingly good and they captured a lot of interesting, varied footage from around the country on what must have been a fairly meager budget. The way they weaved in news clips, interviews with creators and fans, scenery shots, the analysis of the psychologists...it gave the film variety and it never felt stagnant or boring. The scenes with the ex-military brony added a sense of deepness and soul and were definitely the emotional centerpiece, especially the interview in the car on the way to the convention which was actually quite inspiring and didn't feel forced or scripted.
The art direction was cool and stayed true to the show, with bright block colors adding to the positivity. All in all it was a very natural, enjoyable documentary and at the very least will serve as a fitting historical reference point for this bizarre yet strangely inspirational fandom.
As a documentary it was very well made. The will she/won't she go to the conference storyline with Ashleigh Ball was a bit contrived but gave the film some forward motion and structure. The cinematography was surprisingly good and they captured a lot of interesting, varied footage from around the country on what must have been a fairly meager budget. The way they weaved in news clips, interviews with creators and fans, scenery shots, the analysis of the psychologists...it gave the film variety and it never felt stagnant or boring. The scenes with the ex-military brony added a sense of deepness and soul and were definitely the emotional centerpiece, especially the interview in the car on the way to the convention which was actually quite inspiring and didn't feel forced or scripted.
The art direction was cool and stayed true to the show, with bright block colors adding to the positivity. All in all it was a very natural, enjoyable documentary and at the very least will serve as a fitting historical reference point for this bizarre yet strangely inspirational fandom.
Being as I'm a brony myself, I went ahead and had a look at this documentary. Managed to endorse the whole thing and best off, it was never boring. I even saw some familiar faces in there! Would be good for the whole family to watch; just has some thematic material so it would've most likely gotten a PG-rating by the MPAA (as the movie's not been given such a rating).
Like the one Ashleigh Ball said: "As long as My Little Pony exists, there will be Bronies."
Like the one Ashleigh Ball said: "As long as My Little Pony exists, there will be Bronies."
I think the real star of the show is Ashleigh Ball, who ends up being our vessel, essentially, for exploring this quirky fandom of grown men who like a cartoon for little girls. I even gave My Little Pony a shot after watching this doc and while it's not for me, I now understand the appeal. It's definitely a well made cartoon show (I only watched the first three episodes, mind you). Well done to Hodge and company.
The film doesn't try to ride on the shock factor of 18-30 year olds liking My Little Pony and it doesn't push these bronies away as if they are a zoo exhibit to be looked and laughed at. You see these bronies and you see people who just happen to like a cartoon that is well made.
From the opening credits to the end credits the film is upbeat and it doesn't let up. We meet voice artist Ashleigh Ball, voice of Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who is just as shocked as the audience is to find out that there are dudes that like her show about intrepid, magical cartoon ponies. Ashleigh is invited to BronyCon, a yearly convention for bronies, and decides to go.
Along the way we meet bronies from different walks of life, while occasionally coming back to Ashleigh. Ashleigh is just fun to watch. We meet her band, Hey Ocean, who just knows how to make great music... there music is great.
The directing from Brent Hodge is fantastic, the soundtrack is amazing and the conclusion is satisfying. Definitely recommend checking this one out.
From the opening credits to the end credits the film is upbeat and it doesn't let up. We meet voice artist Ashleigh Ball, voice of Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who is just as shocked as the audience is to find out that there are dudes that like her show about intrepid, magical cartoon ponies. Ashleigh is invited to BronyCon, a yearly convention for bronies, and decides to go.
Along the way we meet bronies from different walks of life, while occasionally coming back to Ashleigh. Ashleigh is just fun to watch. We meet her band, Hey Ocean, who just knows how to make great music... there music is great.
The directing from Brent Hodge is fantastic, the soundtrack is amazing and the conclusion is satisfying. Definitely recommend checking this one out.
Did you know
- TriviaThe film was self funded by Hodgee Films.
- GoofsAt one point in the film, Mike Bernstein says that the fandom started on 4chan's "/b/" (random) board. While it is true that the fandom did get its start on 4chan, and started to pick up steam on "/b/", the show first started getting noticed on "/co/" (cartoons and comics). Additionally Mike says that the word "brony" comes from "/b/ + pony", when really, this is not entirely true, either. Contrary to what Mike says, "brony" is widely accepted as having come from "bro + pony".
- Quotes
Ashleigh Ball: As long as My Little Pony exists there will be Bronies.
- Crazy creditsNo Ponies or Rainbows Were Hurt During The Production Of This Film
- ConnectionsFeatures Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island! (2005)
- SoundtracksBig Blue Wave
by Hey Ocean!
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $100,000 (estimated)
- Runtime
- 1h 19m(79 min)
- Color
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content