Equestria Girls: A Christian Review & Parent Guide on the My Little Pony Film

In our Equestria Girls Christian review, we will explore the film from a Christian perspective. An Equestria Girls parent guide is also included.

Synopsis of My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

When Twilight Sparkle’s crown is stolen, she must travel to a new world to retrieve it from the evil Sunset Shimmer, one of Princess Celestia’s former students. As the Princess of Friendship, Twilight usually faces hardships with her best friends by her side — but this time, she is advised to travel alone. Twilight must recover the crown within three days or she will be trapped in this new world, and Equestria will lose one of its most important defenses.

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What Is Equestria Girls About? A Christian Review

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls is a spin-off of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, the 2010-2019 iteration of the beloved Hasbro toy line.

Instead of taking place in Equestria, the main setting of Friendship is Magic: Equestria Girls takes us to a new location—the series’ version of earth. It’s populated by the human doppelgängers of the Equestrian ponies. Nearly every pony in Equestria has an Earth form, and and while it’s obvious who many characters are, Twilight takes a moment to recognize her friends in their new forms. She also transforms into the humanlike version of herself, and it takes her a bit to adjust to walking on two legs and not being able to use magic.

Twilight discovers that her crown is the prize for whoever is crowned “Princess of the Fall Formal.” Although Sunset Shimmer always wins, Twilight is determined to become the school’s princess and get her crown back. To achieve this, she has to get the other students to vote for her.

The story isn’t very deep and presents a secular worldview, but there are still some positive messages about friendship and forgiveness within the film.

Friendship in Equestria Girls: The Human Versions of the Mane Six

In continuity with the main series, the story focuses on friendship.

The Earth forms of the Mane Six (the name for the six main ponies—Apple Jack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle) represent the same elements of harmony they do in Equestria. Twilight is herself since she traveled to another world, but the other five are residents of this new world and are actually hostile towards one another!

Rebuilding Broken Friendships

Forgiveness is a central theme in Equestria Girls. When Twilight meets the human versions of her friends, she discovers that although they were once a close group of five best friends. However, something shifted—they felt betrayed by each other and harbored grudges. Twilight spends time helping them reconnect, and they quickly forgive each other and realize that their issues were misunderstandings.

Sunset Shimmer’s Redemption

After the final battle, Sunset Shimmer repents of her mistakes, asks for forgiveness, and is forgiven by everyone.

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Teamwork and Unity in Equestria Girls

Rallying Around a Common Goal

Once the Mane Six reunite, they stop at nothing to help Twilight get her crown back. Although they initially don’t know why Twilight needs the crown, they are willing to help her and encourage the school to work together.

The “Cafeteria Song” and School Spirit

In one of the songs, known as the “Cafeteria Song,” the Mane Six tries to encourage school pride and gain support for Twilight’s candidacy for princess. The song says:

We can work together/Helping Twilight win the crown

Later, after Snips and Snails trash the gym where the dance is held, the students rally together to clean it up and redecorate so the dance isn’t postponed. It’s a beautiful moment of teamwork and helping one another for a common goal.

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Loyalty and Honesty: What Kids See in the Characters

Spike’s Loyalty

While Rainbow Dash represents the element of loyalty, Spike, Twilight’s baby dragon, also deserves recognition. Even though Princess Celestia told Twilight she had to retrieve her crown alone, Spike frantically follows Twilight through the portal to support her. Though he disobeyed the authority of the princess, Spike’s presence helps ground Twilight. Personally, I wish Princess Celestia had told Twilight she could bring Spike so that no one was disobeying authority. However, his presence ends up being essential to Twilight.

Dishonesty and Rule-Breaking: A Teaching Opportunity

Fluttershy is characterized by her kindness, which often shows up through her care and love for animals. At the school, animals are not allowed, but Fluttershy does it anyway, and advises Twilight to keep Spike hidden. Although Spike’s presence is essential—he’s the only ally who came with her from Equestria and often offers wisdom for Twilight—Twilight chooses to ignore school rules (albeit with good intentions) to keep him at school. Fluttershy and Twilight, as main characters, are often role models for fans and could unintentionally model dishonesty for younger viewers if not discussed in context. This presents a teaching opportunity about honesty and respect.

Flash Sentry and Standing for What’s Right

Then there’s Flash Sentry, Sunset Shimmer’s ex-boyfriend and Twilight’s crush. When Flash Sentry discovers that Twilight is being framed by Sunset’s minions, he steps in and proves her innocence. Despite the risk of social backlash, his willingness to do what’s right—even when it means opposing a powerful bully—is admirable.

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Bullying in Equestria Girls

Sunset Shimmer’s Reign of Fear

With the film mostly taking place at a school, bullying definitely occurs. The biggest bully is Sunset Shimmer, who rules with threats, bullying, manipulation, and intimidation. When she starts to bully Fluttershy, Twilight steps up and defends Fluttershy. Unfortunately, most students are too scared to stand up to Sunset Shimmer, and Principal Celestia appears to turn a blind eye—or is completely unaware of Sunset Shimmer’s cruelty.

Even worse, Sunset Shimmer ropes a couple of younger students into her schemes. She uses Snips and Snails, two characters who often become the henchmen of the villains in Friendship is Magic, to assist her in her bullying. She has them secretly take photos of Twilight to make her look bad, and even destroy the decorations in the gym before framing Twilight for the destruction. It’s a classic case of bullying.

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Is There Magic in Equestria Girls? A Christian Parent’s Guide

Like many princess-themed kids’ shows, Equestria Girls includes magical elements. If you’re familiar with My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, the level and style of magic in Equestria Girls is very similar.

Twilight’s Element of Harmony is magic (the Elements of Harmony are six magical artifacts representing friendship traits: kindness, loyalty, laughter, honesty, generosity, and magic). Twilight frequently studies and uses magic throughout the main series.

When Sunset Shimmer steals the crown, Twilight learns of a magical mirror portal that connects Equestria with Earth. It opens for only three days, then closes for thirty moons.

Upon her arrival on Earth, she discovers that she does not have her horn (what she uses for magic). She must learn how to use technology (like computers and copiers) and navigate the world without the use of magic.

Does magic still appear? Absolutely.

Note: In both My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and Equestria Girls, magic tends to appear visually through glowing artifacts, beams of light, or transformations, and it’s often tied to relational experiences or good deeds—especially the theme of friendship. While spells are mentioned in the My Little Pony franchise, and Twilight studies magic extensively, magic is often framed as an inner power awakened by unity and kindness, and it often serves as a defense for Equestria. In the first Equestria Girls film, the focus is less on spells and more on magical artifacts (like the crown) and emotional or relational connections.

Sunset Shimmer uses Twilight’s crown to unleash magical power in the human world, which she then uses to turn the students into mindless servants.

Twilight and her friends, however, discover that although Sunset Shimmer may have the physical crown, that doesn’t keep them from using the magic of friendship to defeat her. The girls have a transformation sequence, during which Twilight explains the different aspects of friendship (honesty, loyalty, laughter, kindness, generosity, and magic). Then, they defeat Sunset Shimmer. This scene is depicted in the film’s climax, which can be seen in this clip:

The magic is colorful, stylized, and fantasy-based. For families who avoid magic entirely, it’s probably best to skip this film—and the whole Friendship is Magic line. But if you’re comfortable with Disney-level or Barbie-level magic, the magic in this film may be acceptable for your family.

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Evaluating the Message of “Be Yourself: What the Bible Says About Being Yourself vs. Following Christ

Although friendship is a key focus of the series (and by proxy, Equestria Girls), the messaging still leans into unbiblical ideas.

For example, in the “Cafeteria Song,” Twilight sings this:

I’m gonna be myself/No matter what I do/And if we’re different yeah/I want you to be true to you

It’s true that God made us. But that doesn’t mean “being ourselves” is always a good idea. We honor our Creator when we grow to become more like Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to change us from the inside out. But when we focus only on “being ourselves”—embracing our sin as if it’s a good thing—that becomes dangerous. Any time we elevate our feelings and perspectives above God’s truth, we need to pause and ask The Lord to renew our minds and help us refocus on Him and His Truth.

The song also says: “And if we’re different, yeah / I want you to be true to you,” which implies that even if we have different perspectives, you should follow your own personal truth. There is only one source of truth—God—and our reliance on personal “truths” often leads us astray. Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV) says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” If we cannot trust our hearts to tell us the truth, then how is it a good idea to be true to what we think is true? It’s not. God alone is the source of truth, and that is what we must follow.

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FAQs for My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

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Conclusion: Is Equestria Girls Safe for Christian Children?

Discernment, Teaching Moments, and Family Decisions

Within secular children’s media, the messaging is just as important as the outward content. Equestria Girls isn’t something I grew up watching. Therefore, I cannot speak to its impact on me as an impressionable child. However, I want to emphasize the importance of discussing potentially problematic content with your children and using it as a teaching moment.

A Reminder to Watch with a Faith Lens

Do we recommend this film? Maybe, with discernment, if your family chooses to allow magic in kids’ shows. However, with all forms of media, especially secular children’s media, we need to be on guard and teach our children to watch with a faith lens on, so that when problematic content comes up, they know how to Biblically respond.

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A Christian Parent’s Guide to My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

Sex and Nudity

• Twilight and Flash Sentry bump into each other often and Twilight usually blushes.
• Some characters wear skirts that are a bit short.
• A couple holds hands.
• Twilight accidentally walks into the men’s restroom.
• Twilight touches Flash Sentry’s chest and they enter the dance arm in arm.
• Twilight hugs Flash Sentry.
• Spike wants Rarity to scratch him behind the ears (he’s a dog, but the running gag throughout My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is his obsession with Rarity. Spike has a major crush on her).
• Characters go to a dance.

Language

Words and phrases include:

• Oh gosh
• Real meanie
• You fools
• Gee
• Sunset Shimmer calls Spike a mutt

Frightening and Intense Scenes/Violence and Gore

• The transformation scene (when Sunset Shimmer turns into a monster) and the climax may be a bit scary for some children.
• Throughout the film, Sunset Shimmer is a bully and is rather abusive, manipulative, and mean.
• Sunset Shimmer turns the students into brainless servants (it’s almost like they’re zombies without actually being zombies).

Spiritual

• Magic appears throughout; it resembles fantasy magic similar to most princess shows.
• Twillight’s element of harmony is magic (hence the name Friendship is Magic).
• Every 30 moons the magic mirror portal opens, and it closes after 3 days.
• Pinkie Pie thinks Twilight is psychic.

Photo credit: Screenshot of Equestria Girls logo under fair use for review and commentary/education/criticism. All rights belong to respective owners.