FilmFreak94 21 April When most guys think My Little Pony they think overly cutesy ponies meant as a marketing tool for little girls to make their parents waste all their money on toys and such. I was no exception. I've never been a fan of any of the My Little Pony shows and I was content to never be one.
Even when I heard this show was gaining a huge fanbase I made it a point to never watch it. Then I finally did and the rest is history. Of all the shows to surprise me on how cleverly written and animated they are this one surprised me the most. For one thing this show doesn't just cater to the target audience meaning young girls it appeals to everyone.
Dads can watch the show with their daughters and be entertained and that goes for their brothers or just guys in general. One of the things that makes this show different from the other versions is that there's actual character development. Each of the cast supporting or main have defining traits and each learn new things as the show goes on. In terms of the main cast; Twilight Sparkle starts off as a workaholic bookworm who is socially awkward.
As time goes on she learns more about friendship and learns to rely on her friends. Applejack is extremely loyal to her friends but is a little too stubborn for her own good at times.
Rainbow Dash is even more headstrong than Applejack and is reluctant to show her true feelings if she's scared or nervous. But she is extremely kind to her friends and won't desert them anytime soon.
Pinkie Pie is definitely the most unique of the ponies. Her random, spunky attitude will often leave you scratching your head but her fun loving attitude will keep a smile on your face. Rarity may seem spoiled and vain at first, but she actually averts the stereotypical diva. She's generally kind and generous to everyone and isn't afraid to get her hooves dirty at least when it's critically important.
Fluttershy is the sweetest and shyest of them all. She is perfect with animals and is easily the most compassionate of the main cast. But that doesn't mean she's a total pushover, even when she's scared she'll put her hoof down to protect her friends.
On top of the characters the animation is pretty good. It looks simple on the surface but there's a lot of interesting camera angles and subtle uses in the art that surprise me every time.
Mostly the songs in the other MLP shows had me gouging my ears out, but the songs in this show aren't only clever they're catchy. No song seems too long or too annoying. The music and singing is one my favorite parts of the show. I haven't mentioned all the mythological creatures and pop culture references that will appeal to older audiences or some of the guest voice actors they have on the show like a certain guy from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
This show was obviously a labor of love from everyone on the cast and crew. I commend Lauren Faust for making a show that once had a reputation for only appealing to little girls appeal to everyone. I say give the show a chance, you might be surprised with what you find. Hasbro has captured lightning in a bottle with a cartoon revelation so pure and enchanting, it has captured the attention of even guys who wouldn't normally like My Little Pony.
The pilot episode became one of the biggest animation related events since the release of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Lauren Faust has taken her unique character design style and warm-hearted characterizations and breathed new life into My Little Pony.
The result is a new spin on the franchise that's super cute but not saccharine with just enough added snark and outrageous humor. But it should not be looked at as another My Little Pony cartoon. Instead, it should be looked at as a good show that just happens to have characters from the franchise.
But instead of being girly or cheesy, the show has winning humor and wonderful characters. The kingdom feels like it has real places with real neighborhoods.
The families have brothers and sisters and older ponies. Magic returns to the ponies and feels real instead of tacked on. There are not too many villains in this show but there are a couple monsters.
However the real conflict and drive of the show, and what makes it so interesting, is in seeing how different and varied the personalities of the characters are and how they often act like real friends, complete with disagreements.
This is the most educational version of My Little Pony yet. However, unlike preschool cartoons, the lessons don't feel forced or pandering. This is one of the most remarkable cartoons yet. Truly it is a great achievement. This show is awesome and i highly recommend it for all ages. See it if you haven't alreaady. Being a 65 year old male, with 20 years of writing film reviews for The Times and Time Out, I was somewhat apprehensive of watching this show.
However, after a number of my peers constantly suggested that I should watch it, I eventually gave in. What I saw was unbelievable. The first time I watched this show, for the first two seconds I saw a program that was mainly about Ponys. But then, by the fifth second, I saw the depth of the content. There was raw emotion.
There was strength. There was an examination of the human condition. The "Journey" And it is still amazing, after the 78th watching.
Now you may think I am joking, but I am serious this is literally one of the best cartoons ever to grace television. Lauren manages to take a girl's toy and turn it into a show that not only girls can love, but boys as well.
The show takes place in the land of Equestria ruled by 2 rulers, Princess Celestia who controls day, and Princess Luna who rules over night.
The show centers around a young studious unicorn pony named Twilight Sparkle who is very gifted in magic and smart, but refuses to make friends. She is assisted by her roommate and assistant, Spike, a sarcastic baby dragon. Twilight is forced to leave Canterlot, and go to Ponyville to make friends. There she meets Pinkie Pie, a party maniac, Applejack, a tough cowgirl, Rainbow Dash, a fast pegasus with an attitude, but is kind hearted, Rarity, another unicorn who is skilled in making fashionable dresses, and Fluttershy, a pegasus who's more down to Earth and can communicate with animals.
Twilight at first rejects friendship, but overtime learns the value of it, and with her new friends they learn the magic of friendship. Now at first it sounds cheesy, but don't be deceived. The characters are well developed and in some episodes we learn about their back story, and how they came to be.
Everyone is likable and no one is annoying. The humor is also another highlight. Pinkie Pie does random things that are hilarious, and there are good jokes and gags galore in this show. The plots are rehashed, but they are actually pretty good, and each one has a good moral to them. The morals are good as well like accepting help from others, and so on. They aren't shoved into your face like most shows these days. The artwork is excellent with characters drawn beautifully, sets are great and original, and the colors are perfect.
The animations is also superb, and is smooth in this show. There are also several musical numbers in some episodes that while good have a tendency to drag. This show is just pure awesomeness. It has wonderful characters, good songs, great humor, and for a MLP show it can bring in boys as well. Friendship is Magic is more than just magical, it's one of the best shows ever made.
I recently watched from s1e1 and found the show varied in quality. What I love about the show: abstract, positive, colourful, fantasy adventure, 80s style end lessons, modern cross-gender cross-generation writing animation appeal. Dislikes: when the writing animation style disappears see seasons below , humour and characters become shallow, stories can get predictable.
The next 4 are tear jerkers. The rest become more comfortable with the formula and begin establishing more repeated characters. Whole season full of rainbows and joy for the viewer.
All episodes are tear jerkers a little and in places the canon is added to. Short season of 13 episodes compared to 26 each previously and occasional flaws in writing.
The bookend episodes are again the most important but this season delivers the most consistent pony experience so far. With its variable episode quality this isn't what has made people fans. I'd suggest that it's the abstract absurd in flash animation that appeals to our current generation popularised by family and adult cartoons, minus the vulgarity such that you might love this series proudly or quietly.
It's decent, it is not good, it's not bad ,it's a little cute, and slightly amusing. There is Twilight Sparkle the Brains,her assistant Spike the tiny dragon he is kinda an idiot, Pinkie Pie the comedian There is Rarity the stuck up fashion one, Apple Jack the tomboyish farmer, There is fluttershy the sweet and shy one, and Rainbow Dash the cool one who is the fastest.
The show is very predictable because it's moral driven. Remember kids sharing is caring the whole plot will reenforce that. Sorry Lauren and Faust but your husband is funnier. Honestly, it's not that different from the typical terrible toddler shows on Nick Jr. You could just sum up the character's "personalities" in one word: The shy but kind one, the hyper energetic comic relief, the smart bookworm who is perfect in every single way e.
Even when an episode focuses on them specifically, they don't show ANY personality, e. Lesson Zero focuses on the smart one Twilight, but all it really shows is that she has OCD issues, and sticks to a schedule. This is also my final issue with the characters; Any little bit of "personality" they have, is just another carbon copy cliche' from EVERY other children's shows that came before or after it.
I give Friendship is Magic some credit that at least the show staff seems to be TRYING to give a bigger audience appeal other than little girls, but it just falls into the same problems the past my little pony shows have: Saccharine songs, corny jokes, although occasionally funny , done -to-death characters, you name it.
Everything this show has done, from the stories to the characters, have been done before, done LATER, and done better. The conflicts are very predictable and pointless. The humor either appeals to the demographic, or unfunny adult jokes that aren't needed, although there are a few funny jokes in there. I am a fan of all ponies but my favorites Rainbow Dash and Pinky Pie I don't know were all the fame and hype started but i have been following it for some time.
I remember watching reruns of the old my little ponies and my little pony tales on Disney I don't know anything about the remake. There are six main ponies Twilight Sparkle the sensible one and leader who holds the group together Fluttershy the soft shy one Pinky Pie the chatty Scatterbrain who is quiet popular Rainbow Dash the anti-hero rebel who flies around fast and sometimes causes trouble Rarity fashion obsessed one and applejack the southern pony that kicks hard.
The Creator Lauren Faust Has gotten almost as popular with fanboys as the series. I grew up with the original "My Little Pony" in the 80's and I still love the show. I was still a kid when I watched "Tales", but wasn't really much of a fan of it.
It actually was torn to shreds by critics, but grew popular anyway. MLP grew popular through word of mouth, which is much more effective in the information age. That's how I found out about the show. I think it was both a mixture of luck and quality. As for why, I don't remember. I would guess it was to poke fun at it for some reason initially, but I could be wrong, and if I am, please correct me. However, I think it was because of the quality of the show that its popularity went to the next step.
Think about how you found out about the show, or how others found out about it. Chances are, you found out about it from an online source, right? I know there are exceptions to that rule.
Some found it from other real-life friends and such. No, I don't visit 4chan, but I know the memes originated there, and that's what I kept seeing elsewhere. Every so often I'd see pony images show up from time to time and at first I didn't think much of it. As their frequency increased, so did my curiosity. Then I got lucky. I lurked a forum I used to frequent at just the right time it seems. A thread entitled "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" showed up and I checked it out and I saw the exact same ponies I've been seeing for the past few weeks.
Long story short, I saw words like "brony" and questions like "are you a brony now? I went in with the assumption I wouldn't like it, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually pretty decent. This is when the transition from luck to quality occurs, I think. When you watch your first episode and think, "Wow! That was actually good!
It feels weird, but I want to watch more! After all, if it was just luck, I don't think we would be here right now on a pony forum talking about it. At least not in a positive light. We can even disagree amongst ourselves about how good certain episodes are. It's what brought us here in the first place, did it not? As for why, it can vary from person to person, as well. For me, the very first impression was its animation style.
It's simplistic in appearance I'm not an animator, so I can't get technical , but it's visually appealing. A modern take on the 80's classic, if you will. The plots of many of the episodes don't really feel dumbed-down like they do from my experience in some childrens' cartoons.
Many of which keep you interested. The characters are interesting, as well. They have unique personality traits to call their own. Fushia [ sic ].
This horrible combination. To deal with the issue of color-coding Faust obviously did not reject bright tones. Her answer was a diversified color palette: while Twilight Sparkle is purple, and Pinkie Pie is as her name suggests a rather frank shade of pink, the other four main characters have slightly more gender-neutral colors such as white, yellow, orange, and light blue.
Nowhere is this more visible than with the character of Rarity, the sophisticated fashionista. The other characters embark on a rescue mission, but what begins as a generic damsel-in-distress plot takes an unexpected turn when Rarity turns out to be quite able to fend for herself: her determination to resist through all the means at her disposal from dignified complaint to lachrymose whining eventually leads to her release from the comically exhausted dogs.
Crucially, Generation 4 did not involve human protagonists in the way the s series had: viewers are invited to identify not with a little girl playing with fantastic creatures, but with the creatures themselves. As Venetia Laura Delano Robertson suggests:.
In summary, as anthropomorphic animals, the ponies provide both escapism from, and a reflection of, the humanity of the viewer. Robertson The fact that two of the main characters Applejack and Rarity have younger sisters who attend what resembles primary school also supports this reading. Despite her status as a student of magic, Twilight Sparkle is not so much an equine high-schooler as the equivalent of a post-grad, who conducts autonomous research in specialized libraries under the sporadic supervision of her mentor.
In other words, the agelessness afforded by anthropomorphic animals enables the characters to combine the agency and material independence of a grown woman with the need for emotional nurturing that is distinctive of childhood and adolescence.
MLP: FiM deals with friendship, not love, and although it includes several heterosexual couples such as Mr. Thus, MLP: FiM uses animal characters to select the aspects show developers want to explore, outside the boundaries of what would seem believable or consistent if the characters were humans.
The series acts as a safe space for girls and an antidote to stereotypical depictions of female characters who are, on the whole, less numerous, less developed, and less interesting than the males. While they are obviously older than the age group initially targeted by the show, Bronies are not always adults; nor are they necessarily male, with a sizeable 20 percent minority of women.
However, their use of double address is not based on the opposition between children and grown-ups, but on the rift between those who simply consume MLP: FiM narratives by watching the show or reading the comics, and those who actively engage in online activities around it; between mere enthusiasts and actual fans—as defined not only by their degree of personal enthusiasm, but by their involvement in the creative and social dimension of fandom Jenkins In MLP: FiM , the story usually addresses the offline audience mostly but not only composed of female children while making jokes for fans who watch and discuss the show online primarily but not exclusively male adults.
The first recorded example of the inclusion of fan discourse into the series occurred when showrunners Jason Thiessen and Lauren Faust, who frequently visited Internet forums and image boards dedicated to the show, decided to make Derpy a recurring character of the series.
She became a recurring object of interest among fans, which led to her inclusion in subsequent episodes. This debate ties in with conflicting views on the Brony phenomenon in general, and its relation to gender politics in particular: indeed, there has been much debate surrounding Bronies and what they tell us about gender constructs. While some argue that MLP: FiM has helped redefine, or at least question, hegemonic models of masculinity Robertson; Hautakangas , others see Bronies as a group of adult males wielding their own privileged cultural position Kirkland; Saintcheshire quoted in Jones And while issues of gender representation are crucially important to our understanding of the series, I suggest that they can also obfuscate the impact of media practices.
The apparently clear-cut division between male Bronies and female children has less to do with who watches than how they watch. The Brony phenomenon appeared and thrived because of the Internet: people heard about MLP: FiM through websites and message boards; they watched the show and read the comics through streaming platforms, then proceeded to discuss it online.
Of course, some of these Internet spaces are empirically known to be mostly male e. In this respect, I argue that what unites the MLP: FiM fandom is less the gender or age of its participants, than the homogeneity of their mediatic engagement with the franchise. Steinberg attributes this change to the development of information media:. Steinberg Indeed, the Internet era has given new visibility to fan practices, many of which involve a playful approach to culture: fan art and fiction, toy collections and other forms of craft have thrived along with the online spaces and tools that helped fans produce and share their creations.
Activities traditionally associated with child audiences are invested with a different value once they are shared through online communities. For example, MLP: FiM fans seem to have a strong interest in toys: more than 50 percent of self-identified Bronies purchased Hasbro toys at some point in the year Coder Brony Moreover, besides the MLP: FiM fandom, there is a substantial in fact predominantly female community of My Little Pony enthusiasts who focus on collecting and customizing toys from older generations of the franchise.
To understand this, we must consider the graphic style of the series. Since the series is animated with Flash, a broadly available technology, fans have produced a wealth of pony-related material, and all this fan-generated activity is at the core of what made MLP: FiM successful online. Indeed, as a socially awkward, clearly obsessive character, Twilight makes a convincing figurehead of nerd culture, and as such resonates with online fan communities at large: for example, she is consistently cited as being the character Bronies most identify with Coder Brony Ad — content continues below.
Every fandom claims that theirs is the greatest. The modern version is very different with a different look, different characters and a different audience. However, there is still something magical about watching My Little Pony again, even the new and improved version. Rainbow Dash gets her very own spot on the list. We think she is just an awesome badass lady.
She is the only pony to pull off the Sonic Rainboom and we just know she is going to get into the Wonderbolts the best flying team in all of Equestria. There is just something so…cool about her.
Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! We said it. My Little Pony is feminist. In fact, it probably has some of the best representations of female characters on television. These ponies are complicated, they break stereotypes and never rely on men to come in and save the day.
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