Call of the Cutie
Apple Bloom seeks her cutie mark before a party.
"Call of the Cutie" is the twelfth episode of the first season of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. It was written by Meghan McCarthy and originally aired on The Hub on January 7, 2011. The episode centers on Apple Bloom's anxiety over not having a cutie mark and her efforts to obtain one before Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera.
Quick Facts
- Series
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
- Writer
- Meghan McCarthy
- Director
- Jayson Thiessen; James Wootton
- Air date
- 7 January 2011
- Length
- 22 minutes
Facts from the source article.
Plot
In the Ponyville Schoolhouse, Cheerilee teaches about cutie marks, and Diamond Tiara embarrasses Apple Bloom for lacking one. Diamond Tiara invites Apple Bloom and Twist to her cute-ceañera while she and Silver Spoon tease them as "blank flanks." At Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack reassures Apple Bloom that every pony gets a cutie mark eventually and notes their family are late bloomers, leading Apple Bloom to think her talent must involve apples. Her aggressive sales tactics at the market fail, and she learns Twist has received her cutie mark for making sweets. Determined to get her mark before the party, Apple Bloom seeks help. Rainbow Dash coaches her in juggling, hang-gliding, karate, and roller derby, but none produce a cutie mark. At Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie suggests cupcake making; despite a song and multiple attempts, each batch burns. Apple Bloom begs Twilight Sparkle to use magic, but the conjured marks vanish, and Twilight explains magic cannot force a cutie mark. Apple Bloom decides to skip the party, only to find it is at Sugarcube Corner. She tries to leave but bumps into Applejack, who pushes her in front of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Apple Bloom covers herself with a tablecloth and claims she got her cutie mark but does not want to outshine the birthday pony. She stumbles, exposing her blank flank, and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon mock her publicly.
Reception
Sherilyn Connelly, author of Ponyville Confidential, gave the episode a "B" rating. In SF Weekly, she commented on the trio's mission to gain their cutie mark: "As crusades go, it's healthier than most." Jen A. Blue described "Call of the Cutie" as "very nearly as good" as McCarthy's first episode "Dragonshy," while noting the introduction of the Cutie Mark Crusaders represents both the show's target audience of young girls and the adult brony fanbase seeking identity. Blue wrote that the Crusaders function as "the audience" because they are "geeks among geeks" who are "picked on and disliked by their peers." She analyzed Apple Bloom's character as existing "in a tension between old and new, between the desire to grow up and establish her identity, and the desire to stay a child and retreat to the comfort of family," externalized through advisors Applejack and Rainbow Dash. According to Blue, Applejack represents taking time to discover one's cutie mark naturally, while Rainbow Dash pushes trying new things quickly, and Twilight Sparkle's suggestion to "revel in their potential" is "a reminder that we hold our destinies in our own hands." Blue connected the episode to the show's future direction, with the conflict between Applejack and Rainbow Dash representing the show's search for identity between traditional My Little Pony values and contemporary programming. Tara Rittler of TulsaKids praised the episode's moral lessons as relatable to both children and adults, offering guidance about being patient when uncertain about one's life direction.
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