My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

[Fireand'chutes77]

It has recently come to my attention that rich, expressive Flash animation, well-written storylines, compelling characters, busloads of parental in-jokes, and off-the-wall sight gags can do the seemingly impossible.


It can make "My Little Pony" awesome.






....Yeah. I'm a Brony.


And if your first reaction is "Wait - Ponies? WTF?!", well, that was more or less the reaction of the show's creator, Lauren Faust, when she was first asked to come up with the newest incarnation of the series. But with beloved multi-demographic successes like "The Powerpuff Girls" and "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" under her belt, she soon took it on as an enticing challenge - make a show for young girls that Did Not Actually Suck.

If the collective jaw-drop of The Internet is any indication, she succeeded beyond her wildest dreams.


Watch the first episode, and let me know if your reaction is anything like mine was:

"What in the hell is thi - "

*10 episodes later*

"I CAN'T STOP WATCHING!"



http://youtu.be/fy1v3CfrOto?hd=1

[jeriddian]

Okay.........................

Actually, I did watch the first episode, and it is quite inventive, I must say.

However, I must take issue with your statement about shows for young girls that did not suck. I do recall there was indeed one that was made before this...............I believe they called it.........Kim Possible.

[Fireand'chutes77]

Actually, I did watch the first episode, and it is quite inventive, I must say.

Hehehehe. Time to watch more Pony!



:P

I do recall there was indeed one that was made before this...............I believe they called it.........Kim Possible.

True. But "KP" is almost 10 years old by this point (), and it's not on a visible rerun schedule. I have to wonder what KP's reception would be if the show was launched (or brought back! ) now, given the extraordinary acceleration of viral technology. After all, Wikipedia was a new-fangled thing in 2002, and YouTube didn't even come along until 2005.

[TransWarpDrive]

Actually, there's a "Brony" T-shirt out. A T-shirt dealer I know from Windycon had one that showed a modified Ford Mustang logo on a dark blue (or is it black?) background. Instead of the logo's chrome horse, there's a blue "My Little Pony" in its place, in the same galloping pose!
I had to look twice at the shirt to make sure I wasn't seeing things....

[jeriddian]

Actually, I did watch the first episode, and it is quite inventive, I must say.

Hehehehe. Time to watch more Pony!



:P

I do recall there was indeed one that was made before this...............I believe they called it.........Kim Possible.

True. But "KP" is almost 10 years old by this point (), and it's not on a visible rerun schedule. I have to wonder what KP's reception would be if the show was launched (or brought back! ) now, given the extraordinary acceleration of viral technology. After all, Wikipedia was a new-fangled thing in 2002, and YouTube didn't even come along until 2005.

Good point. Which is why I think if KP comes back, she has to first appear as a full length feature theatrical release. That's the only way she can stand up in popularity to all the other Disney Princesses. Only then might they find a way to get her back into a popular series again.

[Fireand'chutes77]

Actually, there's a "Brony" T-shirt out. A T-shirt dealer I know from Windycon had one that showed a modified Ford Mustang logo on a dark blue (or is it black?) background. Instead of the logo's chrome horse, there's a blue "My Little Pony" in its place, in the same galloping pose!
I had to look twice at the shirt to make sure I wasn't seeing things....

Kinda like this one? (Did a quick Google Image search.)

[TransWarpDrive]

Actually, there's a "Brony" T-shirt out. A T-shirt dealer I know from Windycon had one that showed a modified Ford Mustang logo on a dark blue (or is it black?) background. Instead of the logo's chrome horse, there's a blue "My Little Pony" in its place, in the same galloping pose!
I had to look twice at the shirt to make sure I wasn't seeing things....

Kinda like this one? (Did a quick Google Image search.)

Yes, only it has a blue "My Little Pony" character galloping in place of the chrome horsie, and it has the word "Brony" as its caption, instead of "Mustang."

[hallofjustice]

Post Deleted

[Fireand'chutes77]

Came across this interesting video about the Pony phenomenon: http://flashhost.heanet.ie/dotconf/SabrinaDent.html

Short summary: This presentation is subtitled “The evolving relationship between brands and consumers” and whips through candy bars, Harry Potter, and Jedis before diving into the unexpected online fan base the new My Little Pony franchise found on 4Chan.

I think everyone, from the fans on up, are kinda flummoxed by just how *outrageously* popular this show is. I visit KnowYourMeme.com (a well-lit, properly-ventilated clearinghouse for internet culture) a couple times a week to look up various oddities that pops up on Facebook; down the right-hand side there's a section labeled "Today's Top Image Galleries." With one or two days of exception, every time (every time) I have been on the site, MLP is on top, leading the pack by 2 times or more the views of the runner-up. Equestria Daily, one of the main MLP fansites, was mentioned in the video to have garnered 9 million page-hits three months after its founding. (As of this writing it's got 143 million.) The audience had been laughing along and joking ("Hehe, MLP, lol"), but that number quieted them down fast.

[TransWarpDrive]

'Chutes, are you aware of this DVD? It contains 5 episodes from MLP:FiM, as well as a few bonus features. I bought my copy at Target for $9.99 about a week or two ago.
MLP:FiM - The Friendship Express DVD

Just thought you'd like to know.

EDIT: Read the first review on the page I linked you to. It's well-written and eloquent in its explanations of why MLP:FiM has such a large adult following.