Voice acting is a strange business. You spend years falling in love with a character’s specific cadence, only for a big-budget film to come along and swap the voice out for a Hollywood A-lister. It happens. A lot. When fans started digging into the my little pony movie cast, they found two very different worlds: the 2017 theatrical spectacle and the 2021 Netflix soft-reboot. Both took massive risks with their casting choices.
Honestly, the shift from the "Mane Six" TV cast to the celebrity-heavy lineup of the 2017 film was a point of massive contention in the fandom. You had Tara Strong and Ashleigh Ball—absolute legends in the booth—suddenly sharing the marquee with Emily Blunt and Liev Schreiber. It felt like a collision of two different universes.
The 2017 Shift: When Hollywood Met Equestria
The 2017 My Little Pony: The Movie was a gamble. Lionsgate and Hasbro wanted to prove that Twilight Sparkle could hold her own against Disney-level productions. To do that, they didn't just rely on the existing TV talent; they brought in heavy hitters to play the new characters.
Emily Blunt took on the role of Tempest Shadow. She wasn't just some generic villain. Blunt brought a rasp and a legitimate sense of trauma to a character who had literally lost her magic. It’s rare to see a "kids' movie" antagonist with that much weight. Then you had Liev Schreiber as the Storm King. He’s usually doing serious dramas or Ray Donovan, so hearing him play a manic, lightning-obsessed satyr-creature was... unexpected. But it worked.
Breaking Down the Supporting Stars
Then there was Sia. Yes, the "Chandelier" singer. She played Songbird Serenade. It was basically a pony version of herself, complete with the giant wig covering her eyes. Her song "Rainbow" became the emotional anchor of the film's marketing, even if her actual screen time was relatively brief.
Tayé Diggs voiced Capper, the feline con artist with a heart of gold. Diggs has a very specific "smooth" quality to his voice that fit the urban environment of Klugetown perfectly. You also had Zoe Saldana as Captain Celaeno, leading a crew of pirate parrots. It’s funny looking back now—Saldana was essentially juggling Guardians of the Galaxy, Avatar, and a talking pony movie all within the same few years.
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- Uzo Aduba voiced Queen Novo.
- Kristin Chenoweth brought her Broadway energy to Princess Skystar.
- Michael Peña played Grubber, the bumbling sidekick.
The interesting part? The "Mane Six"—Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity—were still voiced by their original TV actors: Tara Strong, Ashleigh Ball, Andrea Libman, and Tabitha St. Germain. This created a weird, fascinating mix of "working" voice actors and "celebrity" voices that doesn't always happen in these big jumps to the silver screen.
The New Generation: A Total Overhaul in 2021
If the 2017 movie was an extension of a decade of lore, the 2021 film My Little Pony: A New Generation was a hard reset. This is where the my little pony movie cast gets really interesting for modern viewers. Gone were the elements of Harmony. In their place was a world of segregated ponies and a whole new set of voices.
Vanessa Hudgens stepped into the lead role as Sunny Starscout. Sunny is an Earth pony who still believes in friendship, which sounds cliché, but Hudgens gives her a genuine, dorky optimism that doesn't feel forced. Alongside her was James Marsden as Hitch Trailblazer. Marsden is great at playing the "earnest guy who is slightly overwhelmed," and Hitch—the sheriff pony—is exactly that.
Why the Cast Changed Everything
The 2021 movie didn't use the TV voice actors at all for the leads. This was a "clean slate" strategy. Kimiko Glenn (from Orange Is the New Black) voiced Izzy Moonbow, the energetic Unicorn. If you’ve seen her work in Centaurworld, you know she’s basically the queen of high-energy, slightly chaotic characters.
Sofia Carson and Liza Koshy rounded out the group as Pipp and Zipp Storm. These characters were designed to reflect modern influencer culture and sibling dynamics. Pipp is the pop star; Zipp is the rebellious athlete. The casting here was clearly targeted at a Gen Z and Gen Alpha audience who grew up watching Koshy on YouTube or Carson on Disney Channel.
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The Tension Between "Voices" and "Celebrities"
There’s a long-standing debate in the industry about this. Why hire a movie star when a professional voice actor can do ten different accents? In the case of the my little pony movie cast, the answer is usually "marketability." But surprisingly, both MLP movies managed to avoid the "soulless celebrity" trap.
Take Ken Jeong as Sprout in the 2021 film. He’s known for being over-the-top, and he definitely brings that "angry little man" energy to a pony who accidentally becomes a dictator. It’s funny, sure, but it also provides a surprisingly sharp critique of how fear-mongering works.
A Note on Directorial Choice
Jayson Thiessen directed the 2017 film, and he was deeply protective of the original cast. He insisted that the Mane Six stay the same. Contrast that with the 2021 directors, Robert Cullen and José Ucha, who were tasked with building a new 3D world from scratch. They needed voices that could "sell" a new era.
Technical Nuance in Voice Performance
People often overlook the physical toll of these roles. When Tara Strong records Twilight Sparkle, she’s doing it in a way that preserves her vocal cords for a 26-episode season. When Emily Blunt did Tempest Shadow, she could "shred" her voice a bit more because it was a one-time performance. This allows for a grittier, more cinematic texture that you don't always get on Saturday morning television.
The recording sessions for A New Generation also happened during various stages of global lockdowns. This meant many actors were recording in home studios. If you listen closely to the audio mix, the engineers did a phenomenal job making everyone sound like they were in the same room, even though Vanessa Hudgens and James Marsden were miles apart.
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Realities of the "Mane" Cast Legacy
It’s worth noting that even when the movies end, the voices often shift again for the spin-off series. For example, in the Make Your Mark series that followed the 2021 movie, many of the celebrity voices were replaced by professional voice actors like Jenna Warren (Sunny) and JJ Gerber (Hitch).
This "Cast Churn" is a reality of the business. Fans often feel a sense of betrayal when their favorite voice changes, but it’s usually a matter of budget and availability. A movie star like Marsden is rarely going to sign on for a three-season animated show on Netflix.
Actionable Steps for Exploring the MLP Cast
If you're looking to dive deeper into how these voices were chosen or want to see the faces behind the ponies, here is what you should do:
- Watch the "Behind the Scenes" featurettes for the 2017 movie. Specifically, look for the clips of Liev Schreiber in the booth. Seeing a man known for playing tough guys getting genuinely excited about playing a cartoon villain is a masterclass in voice acting range.
- Compare the singing voices. Check out "Open Up Your Eyes" (Emily Blunt) versus "Fit Right In" (Kimiko Glenn). You can hear the difference between a theatrical, character-driven song and a modern pop-adjacent track.
- Follow the "Vibe Shift." If you're a fan of the original voices, look up the documentary Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony. It features extensive interviews with the original cast (Tara Strong, John de Lancie) and explains why that specific group of people became such a cultural phenomenon.
- Check out the "Make Your Mark" cast. If you liked the 2021 movie characters, watch the Netflix series to see how the "permanent" voice actors take over the roles. They often bring a different, more sustainable energy to the characters that allows for longer story arcs.
The world of Equestria is vast, and the voices are the bridge that makes us care about colorful horses. Whether it's a Hollywood star or a veteran booth actor, the my little pony movie cast remains one of the most diverse and talented groups ever assembled for an animated franchise.