Hot off the presses from Shout!Factory is the next in the Equestria Girls franchise. The full title. “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks”, was how you say, a bit long to put in the title of this review.

In case you aren’t in the know, “Equestria Girls” is a spin-off film series of the now HUGELY popular “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic”. In these films there exists and alternate dimension similar to that of MLP’s Canterlot. This is not a dimension of sight or sound, but of hands and feet! That’s right, Ponies are People too!

The first film had our lead character, Twilight Sparkle, traveling through to this alternate dimension to stop the plans of an evil doer. Rainbow Rocks pretty much starts out the same, but this time there are THREE bad guys!

The story, much like the first one, is what it is. A nice feel good story with valuable lessons for the young crowd. For the older crowd, such as myself, it’s more of an elaborate fan service. Seeing all of our favorite characters human counterparts put a huge smile on my face throughout the entire film. The “adult” references throughout were always met with an audible laugh.

The entire goal for our protagonists in “Rainbow Rocks” was to sing a song that would counter the evil magic from the films villains, The Dazzlings.

Hands down the best part of “Rainbow Rocks” was the amazing soundtrack. The entire plot revolves around a Battle of The Bands. The show’s composer, Daniel Ingram, freaking killed it. 10 all new original recordings from Daniel really stole the show (how many stage puns do you think I can get into this review?).

The Blu-Ray edition comes with both the Blu-Ray and DVD copy, as well as a code for the digital download version. The bonus features are a tad slim, but it is to be expected for a childrens release. The one feature I was extremely grateful for was the audio commentary. A gaggle of the films crew were present. Writers, producers, editors, animators. The entire crew was well represented. I really appreciated that it was obviously a group of people that loved their job, it wasn’t “dumbed down” for a younger audience. They pointed out small minute animation details that you wouldn’t normally have caught. It was a joy listening to it.

Final Thoughts

“Rainbow Rocks” was a must see for me this year. After the surprise that was the first Equestria Girls movie (it really superseded all my expectations), I knew that the sequel would have only improved on everything. Boy was I right.

The bonus features are lacking. Besides the audio commentary you get three sing alongs and the eight prequel shorts. The audio commentary and the fact that you get what amounts to three copies of the film more than makes up for it.

This is a must have for any MLP fan, young OR old.

You can get your hands on your own copy of “Rainbow Rocks” NEXT WEEK! It hits store shelves October 28th. There are some retailer specific bonuses too! If you get the DVD version at Target, Walmart or KMART you will get a Rainbow Rocks bracelet, Music CD or A Backstage Pass respectively.

SCORE: 4/5