My Little Pony: Rainbow Roadtrip is a 2019 Irish–American one-hour television special based on the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.
The special aired on Discovery Family on June 29, 2019.
Plot[]
Rainbow Dash receives an invitation to be the guest of honor at the Rainbow Festival in the town of Hope Hollow. She and her friends set out by balloon, enticed by the descriptions of the events to be held, but they accidentally collide with a giant rainbow billboard set up at the edge of the town after dark. Although the billboard and balloon are badly damaged, the Mane Six are unhurt by the crash. Venturing into town, they meet Petunia Petals, who puts them up for the night in the single, dilapidated room at the hotel she runs. They notice that Petunia is entirely gray, as is everything in the hotel.
The next morning, the Mane Six find Hope Hollow and its residents to be devoid of color. Sunny Skies, the mayor, introduces himself to the group and takes them on a tour of the town. However, the Festival events are either meager or nonexistent, and he eventually admits it has not been held for years due to the general atmosphere of apathy that has taken hold. Sunny's grandfather had set up the Festival as a way to celebrate the town, and he built a device called the Rainbow Generator to fill the sky with color as part of it. By the time Sunny became mayor, though, the community spirit had started to fade. He believed that upgrading and supercharging the Generator would renew that spirit; at the next Festival, though, it malfunctioned and all the color drained out of the town. He has since tried and failed to bring back the Festival on his own, and he sent the invitation as a last resort. The Mane Six agree to help him.
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie meet the Hoofingtons, talented bakers whose inability to tell ripe fruit from unripe due to the lost color has hampered the quality of their products. Their neighbor, Moody Root, is a skilled grower, but the two sides have kept to themselves for years. Once Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie encourage them to start talking, Moody warms up to the Hoofingtons and agrees to give them part of his crop in exchange for a share of the pies they bake. Applejack works with Torque Wrench, the local repair pony who believes no one appreciates her, to fix the broken billboard after seeing her success in mending the wrecked balloon. Rainbow Dash mentors Barley and Pickle Barrel, two pegasus foal siblings who try to emulate her moves but keep failing due to their inexperience with stunt flying. Rarity encounters Kerfuffle, an aspiring fashion designer whose lack of confidence keeps her from showing off her own creations, but has an eye for color unhindered even with the lost color, and the two begin to collaborate on designs for the Festival. Unseen by any of them, color begins to manifest in small spots all over town.
Twilight Sparkle, meanwhile, investigates ways to bring the color back to Hope Hollow. After both her spell and a Sonic Rainboom by Rainbow Dash yield no results, she begins researching in the town library. Petunia shows her the remains of the broken Generator, and Torque is able to repair it; however, it still fails to reverse the color loss even when boosted by Twilight's magic. After Applejack finds and shows her proof of the returning color, Twilight realizes that the Generator was not at fault. The town's fading hopeful spirit had caused the color to start disappearing even before the Generator broke down. By working to revive the Festival, she and her friends have been bringing back that hope.
The Festival begins anew, with the Hoofingtons selling pies, Kerfuffle selling fashion accessories, and Rainbow Dash leading Barley and Pickle in an airshow for entertainment. Petunia accepts Sunny's proposal of marriage in front of a cheering crowd. Color and community spirit return to Hope Hollow and its residents, and the Mane Six depart for Ponyville with the town's gratitude.
Cast[]
- Tara Strong as Twilight Sparkle
- Rebecca Shoichet as Twilight Sparkle (singing voice)
- Ashleigh Ball as Rainbow Dash and Applejack
- Andrea Libman as Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy
- Shannon Chan-Kent as Pinkie Pie (singing voice)
- Tabitha St. Germain as Rarity
- Kazumi Evans as Rarity (singing voice)
- Cathy Weseluck as Spike
- Ian Hanlin as Mayor Sunny Skies
- Kelly Metzger as Petunia Petals
- Rhona Rhees as Torque Wrench
- Terry Klassen as Moody Root
- Racquel Belmonte as Kerfuffle
- Michael Daingerfield as Mr. Hoofington
- Veena Sood as Mrs. Hoofington
- Sabrina Pitre as Barley Barrel
- David Kaye as Pickle Barrel
Release[]
Rainbow Roadtrip received a private screening at the Odeon Cinema theater on May 23, 2019 and premiered on June 29, 2019 on Discovery Family. It will also premiere on Netflix at a later date.