My Little Pony Crystal Princess: The Runaway Rainbow

Lore & Background

The film follows the Rainbow Celebration in Ponyville as everyone prepares for the first rainbow of the season. In the magical city of Unicornia, Brights Brightly teaches a young unicorn pony named Rarity about being a Rainbow Princess and her duties to make the First Rainbow of the Season using a magic wand. Rarity accidentally uses the wand, teleporting herself into Breezie Blossom. Brights Brightly, and Sweetberry venture outside Unicornia to search for her. Rarity befriends the Breezies and visits Ponyville, later feeling homesick. Pinkie Pie, Minty, Rainbow Dash, Spike, and the Breezies help her return home in time for the first rainbow.

Reader's Guide

The film is notable as the third feature in the third incarnation of My Little Pony and the second to promote the Crystal Princess line. It was made available on hubworld.com alongside My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas and My Little Pony: The Princess Promenade, but later removed. The movie was reissued in the 2-disc DVD collection My Little Pony: Classic Movie Collection. Alongside The Princess Promenade and Twinkle Wish Adventure, it premiered on August 8, 2014 on the Hub Network after the 'My Little Pony Mega Mare-athon', which drew 5.4 million viewers and showed significant demographic growth. The film has been criticized, unlike The Princess Promenade.

Did You Know?

• It is the first film promoting the Crystal Princess toy line, not the second.
• The teacher in Unicornia is Brights Brightly, not Cheerilee.
• The third searcher is Sweetberry, not Whistle Wishes.
• The film did not premiere on the Hub Network on August 8, 2014; it was a direct-to-video release in 2006.

Production & Critical Reception

My Little Pony Crystal Princess: The Runaway Rainbow is a 2006 direct-to-video animated musical fantasy adventure. It was produced by SD Entertainment and distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment in association with Hasbro. The film occupies a specific place in franchise history: it is the third feature-length entry in the third incarnation of the My Little Pony series and the second movie created to promote the Crystal Princess toy line. Unlike its predecessor, The Princess Promenade, the film received critical criticism upon release. The original DVD release bundled two additional animated features—Greetings from Unicornia and Friends are Never Far Away, the latter of which had originally been released on video back in 2005. The film also featured a musical score with four songs, including "Wherever There's a Rainbow," "I Just Wanna Have Fun," "Far Apart," and "Here in Unicornia."

Plot & Story Arc

The narrative centers on Rarity, a young unicorn in the magical city of Unicornia who is being trained by Cheerilee to become a Rainbow Princess. Her primary duty involves using a magic wand to conjure the First Rainbow of the Season. However, Rarity's youthful enthusiasm and mischievous nature lead her to accidentally activate the wand, which teleports her into the middle of Breezie Blossom. Her mentors—Cheerilee, Brights Brightly, and Whistle Wishes—venture outside Unicornia to search for her. During her displacement, Rarity befriends the Breezies and eventually visits Ponyville, where she grows homesick. A group including Pinkie Pie, Minty, Rainbow Dash, Spike, and the Breezies work together to help her return home, arriving just in time for the season's first rainbow. The Rainbow Celebration serves as the framing event that drives the urgency of the story.

Character Ensemble & Voice Performances

The film features a diverse cast of ponies, Breezies, and a dragon. Rarity, voiced by Cathy Weseluck, is a cheerful, energetic young unicorn with a light hot pink body and a multicolored mane, chosen as one of four Rainbow Princesses. Pinkie Pie, voiced by Janyse Jaud, is an imaginative and fun-loving earth pony with a hot pink body whose cutie mark is three balloons. Rainbow Dash, voiced by Venus Terzo, is the most mature of the group, speaks with a British accent, and frequently uses the word "darling." Minty, voiced by Tabitha St. Germain, is a spring green earth pony described as a "green machine" who is also a complete klutz with a big case of OCD. The Breezy trio—Zipzee (Andrea Libman), Tiddly Wink (Chantal Strand), and Tra La La (Britt McKillip)—live together in Breezy Blossom and make decisions as a group. Spike, voiced by Brian Drummond, is an indigo dragon who was awakened after a thousand years during The Princess Promenade and now resides in Celebration Castle.

Reissues & Broadcast Legacy

After its initial direct-to-video run, the film found new life through digital and broadcast platforms. It was made available on hubworld.com, a successor to Hasbro's MonkeyBarTV website, alongside My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas and The Princess Promenade, though all three were later removed from the site. The movie was subsequently reissued as part of the two-disc My Little Pony: Classic Movie Collection DVD set, which also included The Princess Promenade, Dancing in the Clouds, and Friends are Never Far Away. The most significant broadcast moment came on August 8, 2014, when the Hub Network aired the film as part of its "My Little Pony Mega Mare-athon" alongside The Princess Promenade and Twinkle Wish Adventure. According to Broadway World, that marathon event drew 5.4 million viewers and achieved substantial delivery growth across nearly every demographic, with Girls 6-11 seeing a 216 percent increase and Kids 2-11 gaining 134 percent.