My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Forum

Three months after becoming addicted, I still find it hard to explain why Friendship is Magic kicks so much ass. Lucky for me, Wired went ahead and covered it, so now I can just point to it and go back to typing episode guides.
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/06/bronies-my-little-ponys/#comment-222651654

The first step is admitting you have a problem...

I watched the show a couple of times due to having friends who have little girls that love the show and I just don't get it.   I understand the appeal of Adventure Time and even Sponge Bob but I just don't get this.  This is Power Rangers all over again where I was the only kid in school who just didn't see what the fuss was all about.  

@not_a_bumblebee said:

I watched the show a couple of times due to having friends who have little girls that love the show and I just don't get it.   I understand the appeal of Adventure Time and even Sponge Bob but I just don't get this.  This is Power Rangers all over again where I was the only kid in school who just didn't see what the fuss was all about.  

Yeah, I'm with you on this.  After the meme broke I checked out a few episodes on the HUB to see what all the fuss was about and I don't get it.  There's nothing wrong with the show and it look quite nice in that Powerpuff Girls way.  The characters are a vast improvement over the 1980's version of the show, so watching each episode doesn't send you into sugar-shock.  I'm fully on board the Adventure Time and Regular Show popularity train and have been so for a long time.  I've promoted the goodness that is Phineas and Ferb around here and Giant Bomb frequently.  I get why those shows are heralded.  But, Friendship is Magic's following seems to be some sort of joke.  People claim to love it because they aren't supposed to love it.  That might be all well and good for now, but it doesn't lend itself as a measure of actual program quality.  But, as I said, there is nothing bad about the show for its intended audience.  It's a tad more kooky than HUB's other new cartoon targeted at young girls, Strawberry Shortcake which is good.  Shortcake is animated better though since it's all 3D CG. 

@PenguinDust said:

@not_a_bumblebee said:

I watched the show a couple of times due to having friends who have little girls that love the show and I just don't get it.   I understand the appeal of Adventure Time and even Sponge Bob but I just don't get this.  This is Power Rangers all over again where I was the only kid in school who just didn't see what the fuss was all about.  

Yeah, I'm with you on this.  After the meme broke I checked out a few episodes on the HUB to see what all the fuss was about and I don't get it.  There's nothing wrong with the show and it look quite nice in that Powerpuff Girls way.  The characters are a vast improvement over the 1980's version of the show, so watching each episode doesn't send you into sugar-shock.  I'm fully on board the Adventure Time and Regular Show popularity train and have been so for a long time.  I've promoted the goodness that is Phineas and Ferb around here and Giant Bomb frequently.  I get why those shows are heralded.  But, Friendship is Magic's following seems to be some sort of joke.  People claim to love it because they aren't supposed to love it.  That might be all well and good for now, but it doesn't lend itself as a measure of actual program quality.  But, as I said, there is nothing bad about the show for its intended audience.  It's a tad more kooky than HUB's other new cartoon targeted at young girls, Strawberry Shortcake which is good.  Shortcake is animated better though since it's all 3D CG. 

I'm waiting to see what will become of this whole fandom; I'm  sure that the whole brony thing has a shelf life and, by maybe season three, I forsee a declined interest. I just stand on the sidelines and watch. In fact, the very reason I got into the show was because I was trying to understand why people liked it.

Did bronies do something lately that was newsworthy?  I was laughing my ass off because the local, middle-of-nowhere talk radio show this morning was trying to figure out the brony phenomenon.  Unfortunately, it was on while I was driving to work, so I only caught a couple minutes of it.
 
It seems like a cool show, but I dunno if I'll take time to watch it anytime soon.

@Paulrus: PenguinDust seems to think that Strawberry Shortcake is the new My Little Ponies.  I can't comment on Strawberry because I haven't seen it.  Though I like the term Broberries over Bronies because it sounds like a failed berry hybrid by Knotts Berry Farms. 

@not_a_bumblebee: Ha! XD
 
But I think his point was that Strawberry Shortcake is as enjoyable as My Little Pony... not like I can argue that since I haven't given that show a shot, other than the 30-60 seconds I sit through while waiting for MLP to come on. But from what I've seen, it looks like your run-of-the-mill girl's show made to sell products. Actually, the Hub is pretty much a giant commercial for Hasbro toys, and I wouldn't doubt for a second that MLP was any different when on the table for launch shows. What I suppose separates MLP from the other shows on the network is that it was made to be tolerable: Lauren herself just wanted a show that can be enjoyed by children and parents asked to sit through it. She just got more than what she bargained for.

@Vichyssoise: Perhaps they read the story too. Or one the commentators walked in on their son and shared an awkward moment.

@Paulrus said:

@not_a_bumblebee: Ha! XD  But I think his point was that Strawberry Shortcake is as enjoyable as My Little Pony... not like I can argue that since I haven't given that show a shot, other than the 30-60 seconds I sit through while waiting for MLP to come on. But from what I've seen, it looks like your run-of-the-mill girl's show made to sell products. Actually, the Hub is pretty much a giant commercial for Hasbro toys, and I wouldn't doubt for a second that MLP was any different when on the table for launch shows. What I suppose separates MLP from the other shows on the network is that it was made to be tolerable: Lauren herself just wanted a show that can be enjoyed by children and parents asked to sit through it. She just got more than what she bargained for.

Yeah, I'm not saying that Strawberry Shortcake Berry Bitty Adventures is going to become the next MLP, just that it's a fine show for elementary school age girls.  It is very traditional with sickeningly sweet dialogue and courtesy-focused storylines.  Most episodes teach a lesson about being considerate to others, sharing or some other non-offensive message.  The animation is pretty, though.  It's not Disney's Tinkerbell direct-to-dvd quality, but it's better than the Penguins of Madagascar's CG.   
 
I'm not sure if you're aware of it, but the reason the HUB seems like a giant commercial for Hasbro toys is because they're part owner of the network. The channel used to be Discovery Kids and the Discovery group still retains the other half of the ownership.  That's why there are old and new episodes of Transformers, G.I. Joe along side the MLP and SS programs.  I'm happy to see Jem return to the line up although I sort of hope that one gets an reboot, too.  Then again I wonder if it would just be K-On with more make-up.  I am also curious to know what else might be resurrected.  Pokemon and Beyblade are still under license to Cartoon Network.  Looking over their list of toy properties, I guess we could see M.A.S.K. and one of the non-CN licensed Zoids air.  Hasbro also owns Dungeons and Dragons, so that 80's show could conceivably return or they could try something new with their Magic: The Gathering property.  
 
I applaud Lauren Faust's approach to her version of MLP.  I don't believe every children's animated show or movie needs to be riddled with pop culture references in order to be appealing to adults as well.  I'm sure her experience back on The Powerpuff Girls had a lot to do with it.  I was a huge PPG fan back in the day because of it's all-inclusive style.  That and Buttercup was a badass.  Incidentally, I read that Faust is married to PPG creator, Craig McCraken.  I'm not sure what he's doing anymore since he left the CN network.  Perhaps he's got something lined up at HUB, too or maybe, like his frequent collaborator, Genndy Tartakovsky, he's moved on to film.

I have to at least applaud Hasbro for making their cartoons not appear to be glorified advertisement for their toys.  Unlike what the Japanese do with shows like Pokemon, Yu Gi Oh, or that one about the balls that turn into monsters that is also a card game or some shit. 

@PenguinDust said:

Yeah, I'm not saying that Strawberry Shortcake Berry Bitty Adventures is going to become the next MLP, just that it's a fine show for elementary school age girls.  It is very traditional with sickeningly sweet dialogue and courtesy-focused storylines.  Most episodes teach a lesson about being considerate to others, sharing or some other non-offensive message.  The animation is pretty, though.  It's not Disney's Tinkerbell direct-to-dvd quality, but it's better than the Penguins of Madagascar's CG.   
 
I'm not sure if you're aware of it, but the reason the HUB seems like a giant commercial for Hasbro toys is because they're part owner of the network. The channel used to be Discovery Kids and the Discovery group still retains the other half of the ownership.  That's why there are old and new episodes of Transformers, G.I. Joe along side the MLP and SS programs.  I'm happy to see Jem return to the line up although I sort of hope that one gets an reboot, too.  Then again I wonder if it would just be K-On with more make-up.  I am also curious to know what else might be resurrected.  Pokemon and Beyblade are still under license to Cartoon Network.  Looking over their list of toy properties, I guess we could see M.A.S.K. and one of the non-CN licensed Zoids air.  Hasbro also owns Dungeons and Dragons, so that 80's show could conceivably return or they could try something new with their Magic: The Gathering property.  
 
I applaud Lauren Faust's approach to her version of MLP.  I don't believe every children's animated show or movie needs to be riddled with pop culture references in order to be appealing to adults as well.  I'm sure her experience back on The Powerpuff Girls had a lot to do with it.  I was a huge PPG fan back in the day because of it's all-inclusive style.  That and Buttercup was a badass.  Incidentally, I read that Faust is married to PPG creator, Craig McCraken.  I'm not sure what he's doing anymore since he left the CN network.  Perhaps he's got something lined up at HUB, too or maybe, like his frequent collaborator, Genndy Tartakovsky, he's moved on to film.

That's another thing, MLP doesn't try to be overly-sweet with its stories and dialogue, which also helps. It remains kid-friendly and the plots are tried-and-true, but it doesn't have that mushy, forced, toothless sort of writing as like... say.... Carebears did. (I'm going on fragmented memories and a couple Nostalgia Critic reviews here) I don't know what the original ones did up to this point, but I'm sure they were about as shallow as a kiddie pool. I actually ran into a clip from the old '80s toon and from that alone I can tell that this new incarnation has more teeth, which I agree does come from Lauren's past work experience. Sometimes, I think it Friendship is Magic becomes a parody of the kiddie show fantasy world. You have this happy, little girl's fantasy world where buildings are shaped like baked good and carnival rides but the characters don't act like they belong there most of the time. I really can't explain it, but I can point to an episode where the fan-favorite-random-girl Pinkie Pie has a birthday party for her pet alligator in the beginning and, at the end, is given a surprise party for herself. The plot itself is predictable, but the things that happen inbetween are not; like when she goes crazy from abandonment and starts to hallucinate that a pile of rocks, among other objects, are talking to her in variations of her voice. Shit like that.
 
As for the Hub, I'm well aware of Hasbro's involvement, but I thought they owned the whole thing. But you're right, they're sitting on enough licenses so maybe we'll see some more '80s/'90s stuff coming soon. But I'll tell ya, they're all too aware of the bronies so at the moment I doubt that bringing back old shows is on the cards. One recent commercial is literally marketed to us, which makes me wonder what path the show will take now that they have 20-30 year olds watching and Lauren has now left the show. Hopefully, they don't try to pander too much, or force jokes that "we may like", and remember that MLP is just a well-written, safe-but-fun kid's show... and that if they just throw in Derpy Hooves now and again we'll be content.

@Paulrus:   I didn't know Lauren had left the show.  I must say that causes me some concern.  I remember when John Kricfalusi left The Ren & Stimpy Show and how it quickly declined.  Still, your insight has convinced me to give it another go.  The Regular Show had to grow on me, so this might take sometime, too.

@PenguinDust: She left once the season finale came on. Though she was still there for season 2's writing, as well as still being a "consulting producer", she's assured the fans that she alone was not what had made it great. But it still is a concern in the long run.

bronies 4 life. i was kinda sad to see no mention of the "too old for this shit" female fans in the article. there are plenty of women in the brony community, but it's obviously not as big a story to say "also lots of adult women watch this, which is also unusual" than just "OMG MEN WATCH PONIES LOL"

I just thought it was one of those ironic memes that'll phase out once people stop finding avatars of them funny.  
 
Remember, our ironic appreciation of Rebecca Black has made her a star. Think about it, we can do harm with memes.

@AHR said:

bronies 4 life. i was kinda sad to see no mention of the "too old for this shit" female fans in the article. there are plenty of women in the brony community, but it's obviously not as big a story to say "also lots of adult women watch this, which is also unusual" than just "OMG MEN WATCH PONIES LOL"

Adult women have been doing (probably nostalgia-fueled) repaints of My Little Ponies for a while now. The women who watch the show probably would have done it on their own without the meme out of nostalgia.  Pretty sure most girls go through a unicorn/pony phase.

@Vichyssoise: believe it or not, most adult women i know do not watch children's cartoons, even for nostalgia. i'm pretty much alone on that.

besides which, the new series is interesting in that it's visually and tonally completely different than the old series. the style feels a lot more like powerpuff girls than anything produced in the 80s or early 90s.

This is a very good read. I was thinking of trying Episode 1 out and see how it goes...

@AHR: Fair point.  Maybe I'm just generally in a nerd-centered environment, so women watching cartoons doesn't seem unusual.