My Episode Review on "Dance Magic"

Greetings, my good friends.

This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.

And today, I'm gonna give you guys my 17th episode review by analyzing the first out of three thirty minute specials of Equestria Girls: "Dance Magic".

Here's the summary of it:

The Equestria Girls are working to raise money for Camp Everfree to help with reparations. So far, though, every attempt they've made hasn't earned them enough money. However, Rarity comes up with an idea that they should enter a music video competition and try to win the cash that the winner will be prized for.

But, the Crystal Prep Academy Shadowbolts are also after the prize, and unfortunately...they steal Rarity's music video idea.

Will the Equestria Girls come up with a new idea for a music video before it's too late? Or will they not even earn a penny to help Camp Everfree?

Now I won't lie, the only thing I couldn't help but question concerning the writing was how Gillian M. Berrow got the Shadowbolts to steal Rarity's idea. I often thought that perhaps if Rarity hadn't unwittingly spilled the beans on what her idea was to them, she and the others wouldn't be in such a tight spot. It was mainly to where I thought Berrow should've come up with another idea for how it would happen.

Other than that, though, I thought that Berrow's writing for this MLP installment was enjoyable. She did a great job at making sure everything was neatly worked and well-paced. Plus, there was nicely-done humor and emotion throughout the episode, and it had a great moral about how much better it is to work together more than compete.

The animation was entertaining too. Whether I had took note of it before is something I don't remember, but I will say that I was impressed with how the animators, under the direction of Ishi Rudell and Katrina Hadley, were able to push the boundaries at times. The most intriguing and accomplished of moments, to me, were when the Equestria Girls were brainstorming ideas for their new music video concept, and when they and the Shadowbolts were doing their 'Dance Magic' music video.

The voice acting, characters, and character development were awesome as well. The story's focus on Rarity was a particularly fun element, and Tabitha St. Germain definitely sounded like she was giving her all for this episode.

Finally, the music that was done by William Anderson was as entertaining as ever. His work on that of the song of the same name was what I believed to be the musical highlight of it all, especially to where it was instantly worthy of being uploaded to a music app.

In the end, "Dance Magic" is a little flawed, but it's also enjoyable and plays out perfectly like an accomplished episode of "Friendship is Magic".

So, I rate "Dance Magic" 4½ out of 5 stars.