The guys over at Shout Factory sent over a review copy of the new Friendship Express DVD coming out on the 28th of February, so I am going to do just that!
We have all been waiting for a set of these for a while, and I am not completely sure if they plan on releasing more episodes, but for the most part the combination on this disc is pretty well thought out. The two pilot episodes are the first in line, with Over a Barrel, Hearths Warming Eve, and The Last Roundup finishing it off. It also includes a the pilot of Pound Puppies, though I'm sure most of you are here for the pony!
Have a brony version of the episode list:
- Nightmare Moon! Character Introductions!
- Controversy! Indians!
- Ponies are best actors
- OHGODIT'SDERPY
One thing that does appear to be missing are surround sound options. The actual DVD menu does not include a section for any type of settings. I guess that isn't too common in children's television, but it would have been a neat bonus!
So why have I labeled this as epic? What makes this disc worth ALL YOUR MONEY?
Remember a few months ago when we posted the mysterious song buried in the Twilight Sparkle plushie's voice box? Well I have good news for you all! The entire two minute long intro theme is included as a special feature, with subtitles! That stuffed animal was only a fraction of it. The puns are glorious. I screen-shared it with Cereal, Phoe, and PK earlier in the week over Skype, and all I heard was omigoshomigoshomigosh.
So all together, you get five solid episodes, the expanded intro theme, character bios (The ones that used to be on the Hubworld website), and a Fluttershy coloring page. Not bad considering its only 10 bucks on Amazon right now! That's like... two less trips to Burger King. Save your arteries and buy pony!
Hopefully they will invest in a box set in the future, but for now, this is definitely a solid purchase; if only to have some physical pony episodes as opposed to all the downloads we have floating around. I would have payed full price just for the intro personally! And as with all merchandise from the show, we have already seen our effect on that. If we want full Blu-Ray sets, we need to prove we are willing to shell out the money for it!
Shout Factory also released a trailer, find that after the break!
132 comments:
Awesome to the Max!
ReplyDeleteEeyup
ReplyDeleteWinningwinningwinningwinning
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the best things that Hasbro has made, no?
SOLD!
ReplyDeleteEpic.
ReplyDeleteHope they release this on Latin America.
ReplyDeleteNice!
ReplyDeleteNot so special special features. Oh well. PONIES!
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be funny if they had gotten someone with the manliest voice ever to do the narration?
No extra DVD content?
ReplyDeleteI'll stick to iTunes, kthx.
who's reading?
ReplyDeleteand those features sound awesome. Shame it's US region locked
Aw yeah!
ReplyDeleteOn a related note, that singing Twilight is horrifying. Huge unblinking eyes combined with a moving mouth that can mimic any character's voice.
ReplyDeleteI feel like it is going to devour my soul.
new song ? count me in !!!!
ReplyDeleteWait...You guys are the only ones that can hear the full song? DAMNIT!
ReplyDeleteI am exited! AND MORE!
ReplyDeleteMy money secretly I'm still closet brony but o my Celestia!
ReplyDeleteNice! Glad I preordered it.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, I saw the Pound Puppies pilot last night. It was kind of funny, and a clear homage to Hogan's Heroes. I wonder if the rest of the series is any good.
So you heard the extended theme and you only shared it with the other EQD Admins? Why.
ReplyDeleteWill this be sold in big box stores or only on Amazon?
ReplyDeleteWe no can have commentaries and making-of?
ReplyDeleteYou get a pass this time, Hasbro...
@MyBoyJ I dun care, i'm a ginger.
ReplyDeleteAs far as this goes this definitely is one of the best things that they have ever produced. Yay
Bought. This WILL be MINE. And I already have these on iTunes.
ReplyDeletePonies. Take ALL my money!
I haven't pre-ordered it...though that's gonna change shortly. I've got Amazon open on another tab.
ReplyDeleteThe ironic thing was I was thinking of the piece of the song from the Twilight plushie earlier.
ReplyDeleteI'm facing a difficult choice here...
ReplyDeleteThe DVD is region locked, so I wouldn't be able to play it normally (there's always ways, but require some effort). BUT all of my geekiness and bronyness is shouting to me to buy it.
It's painful when all your body cells are wanting something that some little anoying rational part of you know it's almost useless...
Leak the song, Seth. You know you want to.
ReplyDeleteLeak. The. Song.
AppleSpice Big Mac should do the adverts for Bronies!
ReplyDeleteI think I may have to buy this now. I missed getting Derp-I mean the AJ episode on iTunes, so just to have that may make it worth my while. Here's to hoping the more we buy, the more likely a box set will come out.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how he does it but Seth makes everything sound awesome.
ReplyDeleteGood job sir!
That expanded intro sounds amazing! I want to hear the whole thing so bad... :/ I wonder if they'll release it on iTunes?
ReplyDeleteIn b4/after full theme song on YouTube ¯\(o_°)/¯
ReplyDeleteOnce again, big thanks to Brian Ward for shooting straight with us. We've got a good set here folks, let's pay back the faith with insane numbers.
ReplyDelete>Includes a 'Meet-the-Ponies' feature.
ReplyDelete"I'm the librarian pony
and 'zis... is my library.
It weighs 150 adult ponies and it has 200 different types of books containing at least 10.000 words each.
It costs 400.000 bits to maintain this library... for 12 weeks."
>Save your arteries and buy pony?
ReplyDeleteAnyone else find this ironic?
Full theme song? Yesyesyesyesyesyes!
ReplyDeleteAnd of course yay to episodes on a DVD.
Bam! Ordered!
ReplyDeleteHeck, I'm not getting much better than a physical disc, posted to the UK, for £10. As far as I'm concerned, totally worth it.
Would buy if they'd release it in region 2. I would actually pay money to legally get it, which would be only my second ever legal DVD purchase.
ReplyDeleteGuess they don't want my money, I'll look up the extended song on YouTube when the DVD comes out. I don't even feel bad pirating it this way (I've never felt bad about piracy yet arr).
I hope some stupid deal with the local TV channel airing MLP (Boomerang, a subsidiary of CN) isn't all that's getting in the way of Hasbro taking the UK market seriously. I've just about had enough of Boomerang, they should all old episodes and are probably responsible for the legal crap resulting in piracy being the only option. This perfectly shows how piracy is a service problem.
Ughhh I don't have the money to invest into it. But I would love to hear the song. Ill just have to wait for YT or official release.
ReplyDeleteAha! I knew there was a reason I preordered it!
ReplyDeleteI've had mine pre-ordered for awhile now, but I might have to order one for my sister as well. She'd probably like to have a physical copy.
ReplyDeleteIf I had the money, I would seriously buy it JUST to hear the extended intro.
ReplyDeleteHad this pre ordered since November.
ReplyDeleteI do hope to see it in brick stores too.
So far there is Celebration in Canterlot, Friendship Express...
Wasn't there another DVD that was supposed to feature Sonic Rainboom and Cutiemark Chronicles? I never found that DVD? Does it even exist? I just seem to recall talk of it here a while back, and then never again.
Also Nostalgia Schmaltz can't read articles, cuz it has the full extended theme song and a few little things. I KNOW it's not much, but hay, that's something, not none.
Well that's ten dollars out of my pocket but it was worth it.
ReplyDeleteYes! I was unsure about preordering before. But Derpy intact and getting the mysterious extended intro theme makes it easily worth 10 bucks!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait!
Really too bad no surround sound though. I mean, the show is broadcast is surround sound, but only in stereo on DVD? That seems kinda backwards. Oh well.
Does the DVD have subtitles or closed captions?
ReplyDeleteNot on the UK amazon :-( although I really should be saving my money.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention the one time I used Amazon someone got a hold of all of my credit card details. After I made sure my computer was secure -.-
I was on the fence about getting this. I mean it was only $10 and cheaper than buying each individual episode on itunes but I prefer digital media over physical. I was waiting to see if there was just more than the episodes themselves on there and low and behold there is :D
ReplyDeleteThis was just the little push I needed to purchase this. Thanks for the review ^-^
(and free shipping for signing up for an Amazon Prime trial never hurts as well ;D)
Awesome! Extended theme song? Word.
ReplyDeleteI just realized the DVD has all the episodes with trains. I'm slow...
ReplyDeleteWhoever presented that commercial sounds a bit too enthusiastic. Anyway, Amazon doesn't appear to support iDeal or Paypal, so I'll just wait until the song is leaked.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Dash appears to be a blankflank on the cover art.
Aliens aren't invading Sethisto, you're just being paranoid.
ReplyDeleteThe mailman's not spying on you Sethisto, you're just being paranoid.
There's no society of anthropomorphic frog people living in the sewer Sethisto, you're just being paranoid.
Owls can't read your thoughts Sethisto, you're just being paranoid.
Any chance of uploading the full intro song?
ReplyDeleteThe theme has been doubled!
ReplyDeleteY U NO release in UK?!
ReplyDelete>A Meet the Ponies Feature!
ReplyDeleteLike this?
For region 2 folks who still want to own this:
ReplyDeleteMost DVD players have simple region hacks available for them, which are pretty easy to find online. In fact, many DVD players sold in the UK are set to Region 0 by default, allowing them to play pretty much anything. I lived in the UK until a few months ago, and I never encountered a DVD player than wasn't pre-hacked or hackable with a simple code (well, excluding PS2s and the like).
I want this so bad. Super expensive shipping here I come!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"Save your arteries and buy pony!"
ReplyDeleteAren't those two contradicting statements? ;) Oh well, I'm going to look at more adorable pony pics in the drawfriend.
HNNNNNNNNNG-
@Amazoness! Guy PS3 is region free if I'm not wrong and you can always watch it in you PC if that's what you want =P
ReplyDeleteShame there isn't a PAL release or I'd order a copy myself.
ReplyDeleteToo much awesome all in one disc. How will it not make my DVD player explode?
ReplyDeleteDamn narrator is talking over part of the extended intro, just saying. Also to add to somepony's note earlier that all the episodes have trains:
ReplyDeleteI LIKE TRAINS!
*does a little dance for having something he sent to EqD be posted for the sixth time or something*
ReplyDeleteI'm TOTALLY getting this! Makes it even more worth it. Will it be in brick-and-mortar stores, too?
And also, Seth shouldn't leak the full theme song - make people buy the DVD and honor Hasbro's copyrights and stuff.
Damn narrator is talking over part of the extended intro, just saying. Also to add to somepony's note earlier that all the episodes have trains:
ReplyDeleteI LIKE TRAINS!
Will definitely get if it's in 1080p
ReplyDelete...It's in 1080p, right?
@ShakeNDake
ReplyDelete*zoom*
*splat*
and then we broke into song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHkKJfcBXcw
@Sgt Byrd
ReplyDeleteIANAL (or a Habro Employee), but I remember reading something from Hasbro about a month ago specifically stating that the international distribution rights were fubar'd because of broadcast rights, so likely it is because of Boomerang that it's not available in other forms (legally) in the UK.
Wait...what?? The full two-minute theme song?! I'd pay $10 just for that! AND The Last Roundup, too?!
ReplyDeleteHasbro/Shout Factory, if you ever read these comments, you can count another pre-order from this filly! And thanks for allowing EqD to review this early; it certainly changed my mind about buying this DVD.
And Seth, I know this is obvious, but please don't leak the song. At least wait until the 28th.
BAM ordered!
ReplyDeleteFor $2.75!
(I discovered some left-over gift card money! Win!)
BAM ordered!
ReplyDeleteFor $2.75!
(I discovered some left-over gift card money! Win!)
I am SO buying this. ^______________^
ReplyDelete@jodyjm13
ReplyDeleteI remember that too. Hasbro has agreements with global TV networks to air the episodes, but it would violate that agreement if they sold the episodes on DVD in regions where they haven't aired.
@Rafasde Take all my internets good sir.
ReplyDeleteI may potentially consider buying a universal DVD player. Could be worth it in the long run, given how cheap imports are for me now.
Then I can have ponies.
You can already hear the extended intro in the background of the commercial, it's just really quiet, I think.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone else noticed that this is also available for preorder on Best Buy's website as well?
ReplyDelete@Myself
ReplyDeleteIt sounds awesome.
Can we get the full theme song uploaded? I would love to hear it.
ReplyDeleteThat is just a terrible, terrible VO. Sounds like they just pulled some random lady in off the street and asked her to read a paper. Wouldn't have hurt if they had made it sound a little more exciting. I know it's marketed for kids, but if I don't know what the show was about I wouldn't be tempted to pick that up for my niece.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I've had this preordered since it appeared on Amazon and I cannot wait for it's release. The full theme is a huge bonus.
It's gonna be SOOO AWESOME!! /)(^3^)(\
ReplyDelete@Jason "Njiska" Westhaver
ReplyDeleteAh, cut the VA some slack. It's a commercial that no one was going to watch.
@Eric
ReplyDeletereally sounds great ... I've always been wondering about that theme song since mostly every show has a longform of their intro song then cut to around 1 minute for TV purposes (i.e. pokemon theme etc.)
Announcer! SHHHH! I can't hear the extended song!
ReplyDeleteDo they have an European release? I must have this!
ReplyDeleteIf you watch all episodes on youtube and do not buy toy - please consider all the entertainment you get from this series as well as the characters (fan work). Please think about buying this product, it is only $10.
ReplyDeleteMmm, delicious extended song. lol
ReplyDeleteThe preorder has been aroumd for a while on barnes and noble... and I just happenes to get a gift card to there for christmas. Just waiting for it to be released now
ReplyDelete@MyBoyJ
ReplyDeleteThe annoying thing comes where the global TV networks have done absolutely no research on the show at all, such as the apparent case with Boomerang where they seem to think each season is 13 episodes long.
Interesting fact: This week is half-term week, when all of the little kids, i.e. the show's intended target audience, are at home. Guess what? No MLP this week.
I wouldn't be surprised if, at some point, when the first half of "S3" airs, they screw up the order of Hearth's Warming Eve, Family Appreciation Day, and Baby Cakes.
@Kinrah
ReplyDeleteYeah, it really stinks. Even though I'm in the US, I sympathize with all overseas Bronies.
I've had this on preorder for a while now, and this just makes me want my copy all the more.
ReplyDeleteI can understand supporting the show but i don't like buying dvd's with only a handfull of eps on them i would end up spending way to much to get the whole show.
ReplyDeleteSomething tells me that Australia is going to miss out again for the 1000th BUCKIN' TIME
ReplyDeleteI'm DEFINITELY buying when available! February 28... I'd mark my calender if I was actually using one.
ReplyDeleteanypony know if the 2min theme song is on youtube?
ReplyDeleteI need to get some extra dosh but i"d so buy it
ReplyDeletewell, I'm sold, I'm placing a preorder right now
ReplyDelete*Hums*
ReplyDeleteJust pre-ordered it! So excited... ^____^
Also, if the episodes in digital form were offered for sale on Amazon, I would SO buy them all. In a heartbeat. Just, you know, if any Hasbro/ Hub peoples who are in charge of that sort of thing are reading... :)
Already Pre-ordered it. Can't wait. ^^
ReplyDeletei AM excited, pinkie pie!!
ReplyDeleteThat sure is a corny, shmaltzy voiceover for the trailer's narration. Yikes... Still, hooray for ponies on DVD! That's the take-home message here. :)
ReplyDeleteDunno if anypony already mentioned it, but it sounds like the BG music of that dvd commercial is actually the extended theme song. Its definitely the theme song with at least one new verse. So I figure it's probably the extended theme song.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait.
ReplyDeleteMight even catch it on the day of release.
Still waiting for a full season DVD. That oughta make me happy /)^3^(\
ReplyDeleteWhere is Rd's cutie mark?
ReplyDelete@Trixie
ReplyDeleteYou're right. I hope they fix that.
I'll just wait for a good Samaritan to upload the full intro on YT, thank you.
ReplyDeleteCall me "shopping savvy".
Worth buying just for the talking Derpy episode!
ReplyDeleteI already pre-ordered it for the intact Last Roundup. Now the extended theme song too!? Totally worth it!
ReplyDeleteI might have to get this now... Bonus feature for roughly the same price as the Itunes series? Yes please :3
ReplyDeleteI wonder how long it'll take for retailers to stock up on these, im not too fond of Amazon.ca, and apparently Amazon.com doesn't ship to Canada... hmm, guess ill wait.
ReplyDeleteY U NO RELEASE IN UK
ReplyDeletePre-ordered based on your review and recommendation. I had been on the fence, since I have season's passes for iTunes, but decided to buy this both to support the Pony cause (hopefully Shout will see some good numbers here) and for the modest but interesting bonus features.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, having a hardcopy of "The Last Roundup" *just in case* seems like a good idea, although I did manage to download it from iTunes before they pulled it.
As for iTunes, they are really falling down on the job. First they pull "The Last Roundup" for weeks without any official explanation (that I know of, anyway, nothing in the store), and now they are at least six days late releasing "Hearts and Hooves Day".
What's with these people? Do they have any concept of decent customer service, or even delivering goods bought and paid for? They are leaving a lot of room for improvement; here's hoping they bother to improve.
Barring some sort of turnaround from their recent disappointing trend, thumbs down for iTunes. I cannot recommend subscribing to a service that treats its customers so poorly.
I've had this preordered for a couple of months. Looking forward to finally getting it in my hooves. Of course I want full-season box sets too; that's why I'm buying this! If this doesn't sell, it'll be an uphill battle getting any more DVDs released.
ReplyDelete@ponyvangelist About the itunes thing, part of the problem there is that there was a messup on the release date of the Hearts and Hooves Day episode, so it was released too early, then they had to release it again after they got that whole mess squared away so that's what took so long, in this case it was not their fault. As for the other incident, that was probably due to customer complaints about the Derpy incident. Again, not their fault. Wait for further action before making final conclusions about them. That is all. Hugs and love to all ponies.
ReplyDeleteIT IS TEN DOLLARS. BAH GAHD.
ReplyDeleteEverybody who wants to support the show MUST buy this. Great to see the extras featured as well.
CHARGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!
I will buy it this time but the next one better be a dvd box set with lots of bonus features including interviews with the voice actors.
ReplyDeleteI will buy it this time but the next one better be a dvd box set with lots of bonus features including interviews with the voice actors.
ReplyDeleteI will buy it this time but the next one better be a dvd box set with lots of bonus features including interviews with the voice actors.
ReplyDeleteI will buy it this time but the next one better be a dvd box set with lots of bonus features including interviews with the voice actors.
ReplyDeleteI hope the DVD will be available in Scandinavia.
ReplyDeleteYea... I'd love to buy this, but I think my parrents would be a little shocked when the postman would bring a package with a My Little Pony CD to our house... :S
ReplyDeleteI posted this on an earlier thread, but reposting here for more awareness. Earlier in the week, Amazon was listing this DVD as fullscreen (4:3). I emailed Shout Factory and they confirmed that this was an error on Amazon's part; it's anamorphic widescreen. So no need to fear -- preorder away!
ReplyDelete>MFW today Amazon's page is saying it's both fullscreen and widescreen, somehow...
Another reason to get this DVD: It has the episode of Pound Puppies where Niblet says "Secret but fun!" on it!
ReplyDeleteHoly crap extended intro with extra lyrics???!?!
ReplyDeleteAlright, I give. Pre-ordering this now.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I just don't buy DVDs anymore. I wont shell out money for something I have on better quality from a TV rip.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, Hasbro, you're stupid. I support much (especially since I am a Pony collector long before Bronies), but not this.
Oh, hey, you can buy from Shout! themselves.
ReplyDelete*$27.50 shipping to Canada*
Uhhhh... ill pass.
So, you won't buy something if you can download it for better quality, regardless of the fact small companies simply cannot shell out top quality goods if they're not 100% sure it will sell since both the customer -and- the retailers can possibly turn them off and cause the whole ordeal to lose them money?
Hilarious, shallow-minded consumers and their sense of entitlement really makes me crack up every time. Ill keep trying to find a good deal for these, because talking with your wallet and supporting a larger DVD boxset is better than saying 'Durp, id rather whine we're not getting a DVD/Blu-Ray full-season set/download for free'
SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!!! :3 lol I'm gonna love this!
ReplyDeletePre-ordered this from Amazon yesterday. It was a hard decision as imo $10 is too much just for 5 episodes (yes, I know I've been spoilt by cheap DVD box sets), but in the end I decided to get the DVD, hoping that someday they'll release a full season set(s).
ReplyDeletePreorder done. It's only about 12 €. Let's see what the quality turns out to be like.
ReplyDeleteEstimated time of arrival for a cheap overseas order is a bit long (23. March - 12. April). Probably best to consider it an Authentic Derpy Delivery Experience.
Feels weird to mention this in a week-old thread; that is almost ancient in the net. I blame the previous poster.
I pre-ordered it from Chapters last week and got it today in the mail. It seems that episode 1's audio goes out of sink near the end.
ReplyDeleteFuck. With derpy altered now I REAAAAAALLY have to buy this =O
ReplyDelete