A Hearth's Warming Tail
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"A Hearth's Warming Tail" is the eighth episode of the sixth season of the animated television series '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'', and the 125th episode of the series overall. It was directed by Denny Lu and Tim Stuby, written by Michael Vogel, and produced by Devon Cody. The episode first aired on May 14, 2016, on Discovery Family. In "A Hearth's Warming Tail", as Ponyville gets ready to celebrate Hearth's Warming (the series' lore equivalent to
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
) in
Twilight Sparkle Princess Twilight Sparkle, commonly known as Twilight Sparkle, is a fictional character who appears in the fourth incarnation (also referred to as the fourth generation or "G4") of Hasbro's My Little Pony toyline and media franchise, beginni ...
(
Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The New Batman Adventure ...
)'s castle, Starlight Glimmer (
Kelly Sheridan Kelly Sheridan is a Canadian voice actress best known for being the voice for Barbie in the ''Barbie'' film series from 2001 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2015. She had also voiced in numerous animations and English-language dubs of Japanese animati ...
) prefers not to be a part of the festivities. To convince her of the importance of Hearth's Warming, Twilight and
Spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...
(
Cathy Weseluck Cathy Weseluck is a Canadian actress and comedian who frequently works with Ocean Productions in Vancouver, British Columbia and is known for her roles as Near in ''Death Note'', Cybersix/Adrian Seidelman in ''Cybersix'', and Spike in '' My Lit ...
) tell her the tale of Snowfall Frost, a cold-hearted unicorn who despises Hearth's Warming and swears to erase it with her magic. The episode mainly consists of a depiction of the tale itself, with its characters being represented by the main characters of the show. It is adapted from
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
' classic 1843 Christmas novel '' A Christmas Carol'', with Snowfall Frost representing Ebenezer Scrooge and being visited by three spirits who wish to teach her the importance of the holiday. "A Hearth's Warming Tail" has been described as one of the series' few true "musical episodes", and features six songs composed by Daniel Ingram and orchestrated by Caleb Chan, with lyrics by Vogel and Ingram. The episode received acclaim from critics and fans; its pacing and songs were widely praised, in particular, "Luna's Future", which marks the first solo song for Princess Luna (from vocals by Aloma Steele).


Plot

The ponies of Ponyville prepare to celebrate Hearth's Warming together in
Twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this i ...
's castle. However, when Twilight and
Spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...
ask Starlight if she is ready to celebrate, she says she "might just skip it", as she considers it "a day dedicated to presents and candy". Twilight tries to explain that Hearth's Warming is mostly about spending time with friends and family, but Starlight is still not interested. To convince her, Twilight decides to read her favorite holiday story, ''A Hearth's Warming Tale''. The tale takes place during a Hearth's Warming many years ago and centers around a cold-hearted stingy unicorn mage named Snowfall Frost, who believes the holiday to be a waste of time and just an excuse to party when it could be used for more practical reasons and doesn't believe the holiday's origins when the three pony tribes joined in friendship to drive back the Windigos that were causing
winter storm A winter storm is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental climates, these storms are not necessa ...
s. After accidentally granting her assistant Snowdash, portrayed by Rainbow Dash, a holiday leave, Snowfall decides to use her magic to cast a spell to erase the holiday forever. A few minutes later and right before she can cast her spell, the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Past, portrayed by Applejack, appears in front of her. To change her mind about the holiday, the ghost travels with Snowfall to her own childhood. Snowfall witnesses her younger self enjoying the holiday before being told by her professor that the holiday's origin is a lie, and in order to become the powerful unicorn she wants to be, she has to spend Hearth's Warming studying instead of celebrating. Taking her professor's words to heart, Snowfall then disregards Hearth's Warming altogether and isolates herself from all the other ponies to focus only on her work. The adult Snowfall wakes up in her home back in her time, only to be visited by the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Presents, portrayed by Pinkie Pie, who teaches her the importance of presents is the pleasure to give to and receive from loved ones and she shows her the other ponies, including Snowdash and her friends Merry and Flutterholly, portrayed by Rarity and Fluttershy, respectively, enjoying their time together and making fun of Snowfall's seriousness. Snowfall suddenly finds herself in a deserted land covered in snow, where she encounters the Ghost of Hearth's Warming Yet to Come, portrayed by Princess Luna, who tells her that she will succeed in erasing the holiday, thus permitting the return of the Windigos and covering Equestria in a blanket of eternal
snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
. Horrified by the consequences her spell would have, Snowfall awakens once again in the present, realizing the future can still be avoided. She joins the other ponies in their celebration of Hearth's Warming, understanding the importance of the holiday. Finishing the story, Twilight encourages Starlight to join them in the celebration, which she does, and all of Ponyville celebrates Hearth's Warming together.


Cast

*
Kelly Sheridan Kelly Sheridan is a Canadian voice actress best known for being the voice for Barbie in the ''Barbie'' film series from 2001 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2015. She had also voiced in numerous animations and English-language dubs of Japanese animati ...
as Starlight Glimmer/ Snowfall Frost, a stingy, cynical and arrogant pony, whose sheer miserly nature leads her to reject Heart's Warming and all things which engender happiness with a passion. *
Ashleigh Ball Ashleigh Adele Ball (born March 31, 1983) is a Canadian voice actress and musician, known for performing with the rock band Hey Ocean!, as well as voicing characters in several toyetic movies and television series, notably the ''Barbie'' film ...
as Applejack/ Ghost of Heart's Warming Past, the first spirit that haunts Frost in order to prompt her to repent. *
Andrea Libman Andrea Eva Libman (born July 19, 1984) is a Canadian actress whose most popular on-screen appearances are in ''Little Women'', '' Andre'', and a guest role on ''The X-Files''. She is also known for providing voice acting in various animated show ...
as Pinkie Pie/ Ghost of Heart's Warming Presents, the second spirit. She is depicted as a towering pony with pink hair, a candy
laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a s ...
, and a yellow ermine robe. **
Shannon Chan-Kent Shannon Chan-Kent (born September 23, 1988) is a Canadian voice and stage actress. She is known for her roles as Silver Spoon and Smolder and the singing voice of Pinkie Pie in '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'', Misa Amane in the English ...
, Pinkie Pie's singing voice. * Tabitha St. Germain as Princess Luna/ Ghost of Heart's Warming Yet to Come, the third and final spirit. She is depicted as a shadowy
Grim Reaper Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...
. ** Aloma Steele, Princess Luna's singing voice. *
Ashleigh Ball Ashleigh Adele Ball (born March 31, 1983) is a Canadian voice actress and musician, known for performing with the rock band Hey Ocean!, as well as voicing characters in several toyetic movies and television series, notably the ''Barbie'' film ...
as Rainbow Dash/ Snowdash, Frost's optimistic and kindly assistant. *
Andrea Libman Andrea Eva Libman (born July 19, 1984) is a Canadian actress whose most popular on-screen appearances are in ''Little Women'', '' Andre'', and a guest role on ''The X-Files''. She is also known for providing voice acting in various animated show ...
as Fluttershy/Flutterholly, one of Snowdash's friends at the party. * Tabitha St. Germain as Rarity/Merry, one of Snowdash's friends at the party. * William Samples as Professor Flintheart, Snowfall Frost's firm teacher from her childhood. *
Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The New Batman Adventure ...
as
Twilight Sparkle Princess Twilight Sparkle, commonly known as Twilight Sparkle, is a fictional character who appears in the fourth incarnation (also referred to as the fourth generation or "G4") of Hasbro's My Little Pony toyline and media franchise, beginni ...
, the Narrator. **
Rebecca Shoichet Rebecca Shoichet ( ; born February 16, 1975) is a Canadian voice actress and singer who has voiced in English dubs of Japanese anime and other shows for Ocean Productions in Vancouver. She took over Saffron Henderson's role of Sota Higurashi i ...
, Twilight Sparkle's singing voice. *
Cathy Weseluck Cathy Weseluck is a Canadian actress and comedian who frequently works with Ocean Productions in Vancouver, British Columbia and is known for her roles as Near in ''Death Note'', Cybersix/Adrian Seidelman in ''Cybersix'', and Spike in '' My Lit ...
as Spike.


Songs


Production and promotion

The opening song of the episode, "Hearth's Warming Eve Is Here Once Again", was first previewed at the 2016
New York Toy Fair New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
. According to writer Michael Vogel, in the original version of the script, the character of
Jacob Marley Jacob Marley is a fictional character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'', a former business partner of the miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who has been dead for seven years.Hawes, Donal''Who's Who in Dickens'' Routledge (1998), Goog ...
from ''A Christmas Carol'' was planned to appear, and would have been represented by
Discord Discord is a VoIP and instant messaging social platform. Users have the ability to communicate with voice calls, video calls, text messaging, media and files in private chats or as part of communities called "servers".The developer documenta ...
; this was cut to save time for rest of the plot. Also in the episode's original draft, Princess Luna's Spirit of Hearth's Warming Future did not have a song due to a lack of space in the episode's running time, but the "directors and creative team all realized she needed one". The animation sequences for the songs "Hearth's Warming Eve Is Here Once Again", "Say Goodbye to the Holiday", and "Luna's Future" were storyboarded by Sabrina Alberghetti.


Reception

The episode received acclaim. Daniel Avarez of ''Unleash the Fanboy'' highly praised the episode, giving it a perfect rating of 10 out of 10. He praised the "fantastic songs", the episode itself as "A solid Christmas tale", as it "takes the overused Christmas Carol plot but manages to be great anyway." He was also receptive of the use of songs to enhance the story rather than distract, as well as the story arc of Starlight's redemption. ''Don't Hate the Geek'' called the episode "amazing", describing Luna's appearance as the Spirit of Hearth's Warming Yet to Come and her song as show stealers. Daniel Ingram was nominated for a 2017 Leo Award for his work on this episode for "Best Musical Score in an Animation Program or Series".


Home media release

All songs in the episode (excluding "Hearth's Warming Eve is Here Once Again (Reprise)") were released as a part of the 2016 physical and digital re-release of the 2015 compilation album ''It's a Pony Kind of Christmas''.


See also

* Adaptations of ''A Christmas Carol''


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hearth's Warming Tail, A My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episodes 2016 American television episodes 2016 Canadian television episodes Musical television episodes Television shows based on A Christmas Carol American Christmas television episodes