Friendship Is Magic: Cutie Mark Quests

K-Gr 3—Adventure, fun, and even some angst are in store for Twilight Sparkle and her friends in this collection of episodes from the hit TV series. Though the long-lashed, big-eyed ponies ooze cuteness, this Flash animation-style reboot of the saccharine 1980s show boasts well-executed characters and plots and is infused with zany energy and clever humor, which has gained the program a strong adult following. Folding in gentle life lessons, the show stresses cooperation, respect, and other social values. The importance of perseverance and identity are at the heart of the peppy segment "Show Stoppers," which follows three younger characters who are attempting to obtain their cutie marks (colorful icons that magically appear on the ponies' flanks when they discover what makes them special) by taking part in a talent show. In "The Elements of Harmony," Twilight and company battle Discord, a formidable foe who pits the pals against one another, but ultimately they are reminded of the power of friendship. In a darker and slightly more complex departure, "Cutie Maps" underscores the perils of conformity, as the gang encounters a town whose inhabitants have given up their talents in the interest of equality (abandon cutie marks, all ye who enter) and where adherence to societal norms is enforced with Orwellian firmness. Perhaps oddly, a sing-along version of the musical number "In Our Town" (a ditty in which the aforementioned ponies extol the virtues of sameness) is included as a bonus.