My Little Pony: Make Your Mark chapter 1 review: A visually enchanting, delightful children’s story that imparts pertinent life lessons

3/5

Story:

Zipp, Sunny, Izzy, Pipp and Hitch are pony friends staying in the town of Maretime Bay, Equestria. The town is powered by a set of unity crystals whose magic enables different kinds of ponies to co-exist in the town, including Earth ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi. The crystals’ magic also gives the town’s residents magical powers, although harnessing the same proves to be easier for some than others. As the town’s annual Maretime Bay Day Festival is about to begin, strange events soon start to bring about glitches in the residents’ powers and Zipp decides to investigate.

Review:

My Little Pony has earned its place as one of the most popular children’s franchises in the world. In Make Your Magic, the franchise brings with it its trademark bright colours, magic and of course, ponies. The series is a follow up to the 2021 film My Little Pony: A New Generation, and continues the adventures of Zipp, Sunny, Izzy, Pipp and Hitch.

The series continues the story from the film, after the pony friends had managed to reunite the three pony races- Earth ponies, Pegasi and Unicorns, who now co-exist in Maretime Bay. The town now thrives under the power of the unity crystals which allow the residents to live in the town, previously inhabited by Earth ponies only. The crystals also accord its residents magical abilities.

Through its story, the writers have managed to address very sensitive topics, which are pertinent social issues prevalent even today, in a simplified way that is palatable to young children across ages. A certain number of them had also been addressed in the previous film, which wrapped up with the three races, which were previously in conflict with each other, living together harmoniously. But peace is forever a work in process, and unsurprisingly, clashes start to arise between the different races.

The first chapter of the series does a good job of striking the right balance when it comes to making the story engaging and imparting crucial lessons along the way. It's definitely inspiring to see how children's stories do not shy away from addressing sensitive issues, albeit in an oversimplified way, through its beloved protagonists. In addition to exploring issues that plague the community at large, the show also tries to address inner conflicts one might have in one’s personal life as well, through Zipp’s story.

As heir to the throne of Zephyr Heights, Zipp is nagged by her mother to fulfill her royal duties and prepare to take on the mantle of the throne from her mother, the queen. But the young pony’s heart lies elsewhere, wanting to stay in Maretime Bay. The show does not portray her as someone who definitely knows what she wants out of life. Instead, she is made all the more relatable by being depicted as someone who is still figuring things out, burdened by her responsibilities and faced with the choice of being who she is, or conforming to standards set by her loved ones.

The other pony characters too are well written, having their own set of flaws and in no way perfect despite being magical beings. Sure, the characters undeniably have their entire personalities centred around one or two personality traits, but that's the common form when it comes to any children’s tale.

Verdict:

My Little Pony: Make Your Mark definitely brings along the visual appeal of the franchise and weaves it into a children’s story that offers pertinent life lessons.