A Brony Tale (2014, director: Brent Hodge)
I have never watched a single episode of the long-running My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic TV series and after viewing this documentary about its rabid fan following of adult men of all ages, races, waistlines and degrees of baldness, I am now terrified of catching even a glimpse of it.
My big fear: WHAT IF THIS SHOW IS AS MIND-BLOWING AS THESE PEOPLE SAY IT IS? What next?
Will I become a Brony? Am I going to say things like “Twilight Sparkle is amazing!” and “Don’t think of it as six little ponies; think of it as six friends learning from each other”? Am I going to start wearing a hat that looks like a purple pony head? Will I go to conventions? Am I going to be GROUP-HUGGING?
I don’t know. The risk seems too great. My reputation is bad enough.
This main goals of this movie are to please and defend the Brony community (one of the producers, and the likable onscreen focal point, is My Little Pony voice actress Ashleigh Ball–so this film is an inside job). It’s sympathetic. The makers didn’t seek out freaks. If there’s a sexual fetish element to the Brony experience (and there’s got to be), there’s not a hint of a whisper of it here. These are just good-hearted, regular people making friends, aw shucks! There are plenty of young, virginal, “the kids at school never understood me” types, but there’s also a married man with a child, an outgoing bodybuilder and a handlebar mustache-sporting motorcycle guy, all of whom speak with conviction about how animated pony adventures have enriched their lives in this cynical world.
The only thing that bothers me is that none of the Bronies here come off as very funny. This movie is Serious Brony Talk Time. If anyone other than Ashleigh Ball ever makes a wisecrack, it must have been edited out. As we see here, there are Brony artists, Brony DJs and Brony musicians, but what about Brony comedians? Sounds like a niche that could use some filling, if you ask me.
Also, are there opposing Brony subgroups? Do Pinkie Pie fans not get along well with Fluttershy lovers? Are there fans who’ve been around since the first season of My Little Pony and who think that the people who came later are a bunch of poseurs? Has the show jumped the shark? Are there controversies about what makes one a true Brony? Has anyone ever left the Brony community because it got “too commercial”? Who’s the most hated Brony? Are there neo-Bronies and/or alt-Bronies?
What about Bronies who are also a part of other fan groups? Are there any Brony Trekkie Juggalos that we need to know about?
A Brony Tale is pretty entertaining, but a sequel could be even better.