A Brony Tale: The Story of a True American Phenomenon, Hits This July
By Staff Reports
(New York)- Lots of little girls love the cute, cuddly and colorful equine creatures featured in the cartoon series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Apparently, so do a shocking number of adult males. Director Brent Hodge and Executive Producer Morgan Spurlock explore this bizarre yet compelling phenomenon in the acclaimed A BRONY TALE, which, comes to theaters July 8, 2014 and Video on Demand July 15, 2014.
Bronies, or “Bro Ponies,”are a subculture of adult men who are unlikely fans of My Little Pony. It is a craze that has taken the United States by storm -there are believed to be more than 3 million Bronies nationwide -but how does this fit with a culture that has told boys how to act since childhood: Legos, not Barbies! Toy soldiers, not fairies! Why are so many grown men embracing this series made for girls? Are these men just abnormal, or is there something more going on?
Brent Hodge (Winning America, What Happens Next?) asked all these questions while making A BRONY TALE over a two-year period, and he came up with some startling answers. Traveling across North America, Hodge locates and interviews Bronies in the unlikeliest of circumstances -bodybuilders, fundraisers, military men. He also follows Canadian actress Ashleigh Ball, the voice of several My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic cartoon characters, to the 2012 BronyCon event in New York City, where she meets and embraces these unique, adoring fans. The film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival (it sold out in seven minutes), delves deeply into this strange world and challenges some deeply felt preconceptions.
Raved Martin Campbell at Movies.com, “A BRONY TALE might be the best, or at least the most receptive doc on fandom since Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope.”
A BRONY TALE is the first title in the new “Morgan Spurlock Presents”line of documentaries to be released by Virgil Films in conjunction with Morgan Spurlock’s Warrior Poets and theatrical distributor Abramorama. Spurlock has been at the forefront of the genre since his 2004 Oscar-nominated debut, Super Size Me; his subsequent successes include Freakonomics and Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? Abramorama is an industry leader in the personalized, focused form of film marketing/distribution whose releases include Banksy’s Spirit Award-winner and Academy Award-nominee Exit Through the Gift Shop; and, Sacha Gervasi’s Spirit Award-winning music documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil.
A BRONY TALE also marks Virgil Films’ next big foray into documentaries, following such nonfiction successes as Don’t Ask Me Questions: The Unsung Life of Graham Parker and the Rumour, American Made Movie and Bridegroom.
About Virgil Films – Virgil Films & Entertainment was founded in 2003 by Joe Amodei to acquire, market and distribute DVD, TV and Digital product in the theatrical feature film, documentaries, special interest and sports categories. The company has built partnerships with OWN, Sundance Channel Home Entertainment, National Geographic Cinema Ventures, ESPN, MLB Productions, Morgan Spurlock’s Warrior Poets and other high-profile entertainment brands since their inception. Recent releases from Virgil Films & Entertainment include the documentary Miss Representation; Todd Solondz’s Dark Horse, the critically acclaimed documentary Bridegroom, the timeless Forks Over Knives, and the Oscar®nominated documentary Restrepo. They have also released the compelling Gun ill Road, The House I Live In, Paul Williams: Still Alive and others.Follow us on twitter: @virgilfilms | www.VirgilFilmsEnt.com.