"Campfire Tales" concept was a fascinating one and was quite different for Season 7, which was mostly very, very good up to this point (after this point the season began to vary). It was a lovely idea to focus on just three of the Mane 6 ponies (here Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash) and their younger sisters and to have enough of the episode dedicated to the stories that are told to the Cutie Mark Crusaders made up of Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo by their sisters.
It turned out to be a pretty decent episode and a pleasant one. Do think though that such a great concept could have been done a lot more with, it was not always as interesting as it could have been and could have been more imaginative. Actually generally found myself more interested in the bonding and interactions between the six ponies than the stories that are told, of which only one completely works and the other two left me a little more mixed.
There are a lot of good things about "Campfire Tales". The animation is bright and colourful with beautiful, rich attention to detail in the backgrounds and the character designs. It is especially good in the three stories, where a big effort was made making the three worlds as creative and immersive as possible, with the standout animation going to the character design of Mistmane. The music has atmosphere and groove, always fitting the action beautifully. The voice acting is perfectly pitched from all, Tabitha St Germain and Ashleigh Ball always delivered even when their material didn't.
Absolutely loved the bonding and interaction between the six ponies, which was very funny and heart-warming. Could really feel the friendship and love between them and the Cutie Mark Crusaders are very cute while having personalities that are a lot more than just that. There are also some nice little touches in their scenes, such as the sight of Rarity shadow puppeting Twilight. Of the three stories/fables, the best is by far Rarity's Mistmane one. Mistmane is by far the most interesting of the three pillars and the only one to not be too perfect, it also has the best and most realistic lesson (a relatable one too), the most dramatic conflict, was the most personal and the consequences here are quite daring. Really did like that Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash all had personalities that fitted their respective pillar characters to a tee.
Did feel that the other two stories were not as strong, a bit too safe and predictable. Not to mention that it actually takes a lot of time and effort to achieve goals rather than getting them just like that as indicated in Rockhoof's story. Rockhoof and Flash Magnus are also not as interesting as characters, Rockhoof especially is pretty bland as a result of being too one-dimensional perfect (all strengths and no flaws, unlike the characters that are telling the stories of them).
In summary, not the great episode that was in there somewhere but a good one. 7/10.
