Okay before reading this first look, you should probably watch this . And alternatively, watch this. Now you know what you're into. You might think that that's a little trippy, but let me tell you right now, trippy for three minutes is nothing compared to 30 minutes of the first full length fanmade project. It's nothing like this...nothing like...
Now this was very well anticipated as the first-ever fan-made episode (as the picture above gloats) and everyone was excited for it. Me personally, I was about as excited to see this as I would be seeing old people in a nursing home. But that didn't mean I thought it would be bad, I just didn't really care. But after watching the premiere, I think I owe it to you guys to give my impression of on it...but I can't do it in a sober state of mind, so I'm gonna get in the appropraite double rainbow mood. So if you see it in italic, that's me during the episode all mellow like. With that said, lets get started.
Act 1[]
If there's one thing that's phenominal about this is the animation. Whoever these kids are from SCAD should probably try using this as a demo real for a job if they plan on it. Twilight is doing something we rarely ever see her do anymore...act like a scientific egghead.
Oh cool that machine from season 1! Why they no use that no more?
But the fun soon starts to halt a bit when RD shows up. And then, the problem comes in..
Why does it take like 20 seconds for them to respond? I can eat this bag of hot Funyons by the time they continue.
It's incredibly slow paced and because of that the 30 minutes feel like padding, unnecessary padding. So when Twilight finished the potion, it explodes and an angry evil face shows up? Yeah, an evil smiling face shows up and
I know what you're thinking...now stop it.
goes back into the bottle. Yeah, and that's not the weird part. The weird part is that RD drinks it.
Oh no Twilight, RD is going to drink the last drop after already drinking it. Time to slow down the scene on the tiny droplet!
So after Twilight whines in the most OOC way (even Rarity's ears bleed) and as it's explained what happens when you possibly drink the potion (in the slowest way possible of course) Rainbow Dash learns her flying is amblified and she bust through the roof getting ready to show off her skills.
Are you going to pay for that ceiling?
Act 2[]
Now act two is where the thing loses a little more steam, as a lot of the jokes revolved around memes. There is a Scootachicken joke...
Oh great another one
...a Derpy's eyes getting back in position joke...
Poor girl, she lost her muffin and got a false sense of normallity.
...and even an unnecessary cameo from Roid Rage with bad timing to boot.
Oh hey look, a pointless meme that died in season 2! Hello mate.
The only real joke I kind of liked (except Derpy's) was the Spike/Rarity joke. At first I thought it made Spike look a little shallow but after a quick thought it made sense. Who wants to be in love with someone who looks like your sister?
So after about 10 minutes of meme's (and Derpy torture) we finally get to see the rainboom, which is so powerful that it shrouds RD in a cacoon of rainbows.
Whoa, Rainbow Dash became the rainbow!!
And crashes into the ground, which nukes the town and leaves a swirling black and white vortex into the ground, similar to that of Samurai Jack...speaking of...
Act 3[]
This was kind of cute admittingly
You thought that the memes were unnecessary? How about a whole third act where it's a Cartoon Network (Powerpuff Girls) reference. You think you're getting a full 30 minute pony thing but nope, apparantely they wanted to pull an Elizabeth from Bioshock and take you to another dimension. So with RD now in Powerpuff Girls universe, they take advantage of the chase scene and have the girls chase after RD to keep her as a pet.
So wait are you telling me they just pulled an Alien Colonial Marine and added something that doesn't even make sense....huh, plottwist.
After Rainbow's wings cramp up after the potion loses it's potency (if you even remember she drank it in the first place) she is seemingly surrounded. That is until Pinkie breaks the fabric of time and space and brings RD on home leaving the three girls all sad.
Would people be mad if I said the PPG's reasoning for not wanting the talking dog is because it's not a pony is simular to almost every brony in existant...naw I don't care (munch on more Funyuns).
And with the potion worn off, and the girls gone, RD can finally go back home and is safe from harm. Not that they care back in Ponyville where they are still dealing with property damage and the mayor having to pay probably
Trust me, these weren't the only two with this reaction
millions to fix it, but hey if you can forgive a dragon from rampaging a city, you can forgive them all. The lesson was kind of lame...
Oh yay greedy lesson
...and I kind of wished they didn't do it since it hasn't been relevent for a while, but hey what are you gonna do.
Conclusion[]
This is a very conflicting thing. On one hand the animation and voice is solid and on the other the story and pacing is lackluster and kind of generic. If this was an actual episode (and if this also was a real review) this would probably earn a 6/10. However, as a fan animation goes it's not half bad, it just could have been done a little better. And you might say "oh it's a school project that was a 30 minute thing, cut them some slack." Yeah the time it takes to make something doesn't automatically make it better. Example, Snowdrop wasn't that long and it was emotionally captivating (note to self, Horde or Trash that sometime later). Double Rainboom had promise but really didn't live up to the hype. It is however creative and they did do a good job in the animation department (like I said someone hire these people), but their storytelling could be better.
But that's okay cause I was in a trippy state when watching it.
Whoa the animation and the effects are so awesome...ooh Double Rainboom, interdimensional rifts and reference to works made by LAUREN!
This is a selective gem. If you can ignore the bad meme's then you can definately stash this in your horde. If you can't then pass it onto your friend, daughter, or whatever and give it to them as a necklace, cause the gem still might have value to others. It is far from trash though, and while still not as good as the average fan work, it was ambitious and never felt like a coppout, which is good. Just maybe next time they'll want to read the book on screenwriting and pacing
Oh wait, this explains everything...he read the thing upside down. Oh it's a silly mistake we all make sometimes. Maybe he should cut out on the hot Funyuns and Double Rainicorn viewing XD.