A Brony Tale
A Brony Tale
| 08 July 2014 (USA)
A Brony Tale Trailers

Vancouver-based voice artist Ashleigh Ball has been the voice of numerous characters in classic cartoons such as Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Cinderella and more. When Ashleigh was hired to voice Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash for Hasbro's fourth series to use the My Little Pony name - My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic - she had no idea she would become an Internet phenomenon and major celebrity to a worldwide fan-base of grownups. Bronies are united by their belief in the show's philosophy. This documentary gives an inside view of the Pony fan-world, and an intimate look at the courage it takes to just be yourself...even when that means liking a little girls' cartoon.

Reviews
Skunkyrate Gripping story with well-crafted characters
BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See
Dotbankey A lot of fun.
Fulke Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
david Kyle This is a great documentary that fully explores the Brony phenomena in a hilarious way. Brent Hodge really knew what he was doing when he directed this film and being able to see the community through the eyes of unknown individuals and watching Ashleigh Ball explore this community was great to watch. I really hope they make another one with some of the rest of the cast of My Little Pony and visit some of the more prominent names in the brony community. I can easily see how it's won the best documentary award at various prominent film festivals. The scientific studies in the film were very well done and really showed how large the fandom is. They really were able to show how the fandom is really a collection of many different kinds of people who are in all walks of life. The music in the film was very well composed and very well done. The composition was amazing and flowed with the film like it was an organic part of the movie. I would highly recommend this film to anyone who would like to see how great these subcultures are before judging them.
alex239-545-53158 Despite not being a Brony myself, I found this documentary to be extremely uplifting. In keeping with the good vibes of the fandom, it tries to accentuate the positives without mentioning the more sinister connotations that detractors have associated with supporters of the show. And while that means this isn't a balanced cultural analysis, it does make for ninety minutes of feel good entertainment that made me smile, if only for the reason that the show brings together people who might otherwise feel lonely and marginalized. Don't underestimate the importance of that.As a documentary it was very well made. The will she/won't she go to the conference storyline with Ashleigh Ball was a bit contrived but gave the film some forward motion and structure. The cinematography was surprisingly good and they captured a lot of interesting, varied footage from around the country on what must have been a fairly meager budget. The way they weaved in news clips, interviews with creators and fans, scenery shots, the analysis of the psychologists...it gave the film variety and it never felt stagnant or boring. The scenes with the ex-military brony added a sense of deepness and soul and were definitely the emotional centerpiece, especially the interview in the car on the way to the convention which was actually quite inspiring and didn't feel forced or scripted.The art direction was cool and stayed true to the show, with bright block colors adding to the positivity. All in all it was a very natural, enjoyable documentary and at the very least will serve as a fitting historical reference point for this bizarre yet strangely inspirational fandom.
LeBRONY James The film doesn't try to ride on the shock factor of 18-30 year olds liking My Little Pony and it doesn't push these bronies away as if they are a zoo exhibit to be looked and laughed at. You see these bronies and you see people who just happen to like a cartoon that is well made.From the opening credits to the end credits the film is upbeat and it doesn't let up. We meet voice artist Ashleigh Ball, voice of Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who is just as shocked as the audience is to find out that there are dudes that like her show about intrepid, magical cartoon ponies. Ashleigh is invited to BronyCon, a yearly convention for bronies, and decides to go. Along the way we meet bronies from different walks of life, while occasionally coming back to Ashleigh. Ashleigh is just fun to watch. We meet her band, Hey Ocean, who just knows how to make great music... there music is great. The directing from Brent Hodge is fantastic, the soundtrack is amazing and the conclusion is satisfying. Definitely recommend checking this one out.
Dark Doomer Facts to know: I love this cartoon, I love the art community and fanworks around it, being a part of it is really and always a great experience. but then there's bigmouthes with an ego the size of the moon who want to make the fandom a part of their lives, and take everything about it seriously.That's not the state of mind of MLPFIM's philosophy to begin with, and from what I watched, it's like the brony doc : awkward teenagers dancing and bragging about their "redefining masculinity" bullshit.This is so awkward, one must have courage to still look at a little pony after watching this.I'm sorry Ashleigh.