HowdoesMyLittlePony:FriendshipisMagicentertain

suchabroadaudience?

ByGinnieHester-May9,2017

MostpeopleknowwhatMyLittlePonyis.Itsagirly,overly-happykidsshowfor
7-year-oldgirls,right?Thatswhatitlookslike.TheoriginalMyLittlePonyfranchise--
whichwasintroducedin1981--wascreatedforthemainpurposeofsellingtoystoa
young,femaleaudience.Thecharacterswerentgivenmuchdevelopmentasidefrom
minorpersonalityquirkstomakethecolorfulponiesseemsomewhatunique.Needless
tosay,therewasalotofpink.

Therewereaboutthree--orthreeandahalftobemorespecific--generationsofMy
LittlePonybeforethefranchisewasoverhauledandturnedintothemoremodernand
wellknowntelevisionseries:MyLittlePony:FriendshipisMagic.

Today,thetoylineisstillaimedatyounggirls.Theshowitself,however,hastakena
differentroute.WhileitisachildrensTVshow,MyLittlePony:FriendshipisMagicis
aimednotonlyatonespecificaudience,butratherawidespectrumofviewers.

Whatprobablystartedoutasadareamongagroupoffriendsturnedintooneofthe
mostwell-known(andunexpected)fandomsforaTVseries.Theshowsyoungfemale
audiencewasjoinedbyahugenumberofmaleviewers--knowntomanyasthe
bronies--whoweregenerallybetweentheagesof13-35.LaurenFaust,theoriginal
creatorofMyLittlePony:FriendshipisMagic,saidthatthebeliefthatboysshouldnt
beinterestedingirlthingsisthemainreasonthereshardlyanythingdecentforgirlsin
animation--oralmostanymedia,forthatmatter.Itsabackwards,sexist,outdated
attitude.Buthowdoesashowwithatitlecontainingthewordsmylittleponyand
friendshipismagicappealtoanolderagegroup?Theshowisfullofcountlesssongs,
cheesylines,andcolorful,overlyhappymagicalponieswhosavethedaythroughthe
poweroffriendship.Well,thatsnotentirelytrue.Whileyes,theseelementsare
present,thereareotherfactorsthatalsocontributetotheever-growingfandomand
overallinterestintheshowamongolderviewers.Therearesadscenes,emotional
songsandquotes,importantlifelessons,andcharactersthatareshowntohavetheir
ownpersonalconflicts--allofwhicharevitaltothepopularityoftheseries.

Overarchingstorylinesandlong-termplotlines

Onefactoristhat,unlikemanychildrenscartoons,MyLittlePony:FriendshipisMagic
hascharacterdevelopmentandoverarchingstorylinesthatspanacrossmany
episodes,orevenacrossmultipleseasonsortheentireseries.Theseasonpremieres
andfinalesarewhenfanstendtogetserious,andrightfullyso.Theepisodeswithin
eachseasonholdimportance,too,ofcourse,buttheseasonpremieresandfinalesare
whenthemostdrasticchangesandmajoreventstakeplace--likemostothertelevision
showswatchedtoday.

Somecharactershavelong-termgoalsthatstretchacrossmultipleepisodesor
seasons.RainbowDashslifelonggoalofbecomingaWonderboltisanexampleof
this,withmultipleepisodesrevolvingaroundhertrainingandlearningtobecomean
officialWonderbolt.

Therearealsoinstanceswhereanantagonistwillappearineitheraseasonpremiere
orfinale,makealastingimpressionontheaudience,andthenreturninanother
episodeor,ideally,alaterfinaleorpremiere.Usually,theantagonistwillmakean
appearanceintheirrespectivetwo-parter,disappearforaseasonormore,andthen
returnoutofthebluewithlittletonowarning.

Inthe5thseason,thecreatorstookacreativespinonthisconcepttomakethings
moreinteresting.Intheseason5premiere,TheCutieMap,Part1andTheCutieMap,
Part2,theManeSixareledtoaquietvillageontheedgeofEquestria.Thevillages
leader,StarlightGlimmer,hasenforcedasystemofequalitywhichsheseesastrue
friendship.StarlightGlimmerforcefullytakesthecutiemarks(theicononaponys
flankwhichrepresentstheiruniquetalent)oftheManeSixandreplacesthemwith
equalsigns.

(Starlight Glimmer [middle, back] in her utopian village of equality in The Cutie Map, Part 1)

Uponherdefeat,Starlightrunsoffintoacavesystemwithinanearbymountain,
presumedtoneverbeseenagain.However,thisisnotthecase.Inatleasttwo
non-finaleepisodes,shecanbeseenhidinginbushesorsittinginthesamerestaurant
asTwilightSparkle,thoughthesedetailsarewell-hiddenandeasytomiss.Shereturns
intheseason5finale,sittingcomfortablyinTwilightscastle.Starlightthenthreatens
thefateofEquestriabygoingbackintimetopreventTwilightfromevermeetingher
friends.

(Starlight Glimmer listening to Twilights speech in The Cutie Re-Mark, Part 1) (Starlight and Twilight seeing the future of Equestria in The Cutie Re-Mark, Part 2)

Afteralteringthefuturemultipletimes--eachoutcomefocusingbrieflyoneachofthe
mainantagonistsinallprevioustwo-parters--TwilightdragsStarlightwithherasthe
timelineresets,showingStarlightwhatthecourseofheractionsleadsto.Afterthis,
TwilightreasonswithStarlight,andthepowerfulunicornisreformedwithinafew
minutes,becomingaregularcharacterintheshowafterthatpoint.

Noteveryepisodetakesthepacifistroute

Ascuteandnon-violentastheshowmayseemtooutsiders,anyonewhohaswatched
theshowandpaidattentioncanseethattheactionwithintheserieshasbecomemuch
moreprevalent,withmoreandmorefightorbattlescenesbecomingincorporatedinto
theplotoftheshow.Asmentionedearlier,intheseason5finale,everyvillainreturns
indifferentrealities,oneofwhichresultinginawar.Intheseasonfourfinale,the
centralmaincharacter--TwilightSparkle--engagesinabattleagainstapowerful
(Lord)Tirek.ThebattleagainstTirekresultsinmanymagicalenergybeamsbeingfired,
explosionsanddamagetosurroundingterrain,andevencharactersbeingthrowninto
orthroughmountains.

(Twilight Sparkle [right] vs. Starlight Glimmer [left] in The Cutie Re-Mark Part 2)
(Twilight Sparkle [not shown] vs. Tirek [above] in Twilights Kingdom Part 2)

Abundantreferencesandallusions

Theshowmakesmanyreferencestoothershows(andtotherealworld).Oneofthe
morenotable(andwell-loved)ofthesereferencesisabackgroundcharacterwiththe
nameofDr.Hooves;aclearreferencetoDoctorWho--thecharacterevenhasan
accentandinterestintimetravel.Therearereferencestopopcultureandhistorical
eventsaswell.Inarecentepisode(CelestialAdvice),TwilightSparklereferencesthe
real-lifeeventCoachella,referringtoitspony-versionasClaw-achella.

Characterdevelopment

UnliketheoriginalMyLittlePonyseries,thecreatorsofMyLittlePony:Friendshipis
Magichavetakenthetimeanddetailtodevelopquiteafewofthecharacters.
Sometimesanentireepisodeisfocusedononecharacteroranaspectofacharacter.
Eachofthemaincharacters(referredtoastheManeSix)havemultipleepisodes
revolvingaroundanattributeorperspectiveoftheirpersonality.Eachmemberofthe
ManeSixhaveatleastoneepisodewheretheytaketheirdominantpersonalitytrait(or
insecurity)wayovertheedge.

Themostwell-knownoftheseisthe25thepisodeofthefirstseason,titledPartyof
One.Intheepisode,PinkiePie--whorepresentstheElementofLaughter--throwsa
birthdaypartyforherpetalligator(Gummy),butnoneofherfriendsshowup.Her
maneandtaildeflate(seriously,shehasacurlymanethatliterallyflattensoutwhen
sheisupsetorisactingdifferentfromherbubblyself),andshebeginstomake
imaginaryfriendsoutofrocksandflourbags.

(Pinkie Pie [left] talking to her party guests in the episode Party of One)

However,PinkiePieisunawarethatthereisareasonforherfriendsmakingexcusesto
notcometoGummys(2nd)birthdayparty.Inherexcitementtothrowasecondparty
forthetoothlessalligator,PinkiePieforgetsthatherownbirthdayhappenstobethe
sameday.ContrarytoPinkiePiesbeliefthatherfriendswereavoidingherbecause
theydidntlikeheranymore,itturnsoutthattheyweretryingtosetupasurprise
birthdaypartyforthepinkearth-pony.Uponlearningthis,PinkiePiesselfconfidence
isrestoredandherinsecuritiesvanish.

MyLittlePunny

Thisshowisboundtogetsomegigglesandgroansoutofitsmanyviewerssimplyfor
thepunandjokeusagewithintheseries.Justabouteverythinginthisshowcan
becomeapunorjoke.Commonlyusedwordsorphrases(Timeforthemaneevent!),
locationnames(Canterlot,Fillydelphia,Manehattan,SaddleArabia,Balitimare,etc.),
singlewordterms(anypony),andevencharacternames(suchasMane-iacand
Fili-second)areexamplesofthis.

Itactuallyhassomedecentsongs

Thefactthatthisshowhasmany,manysongsisindisputable.However,somesongs
standoutmorethanothers.Oftheninetysongscurrentlyavailablefromthemain
series(seasons1-7),aselectionofthemaregenerallywell-liked--bothbythefandom
andother,unaffiliatedviewers.TheYouTubevideoforthesongThisDayAriafrom
theseason2finalehasover38,500,000viewstodate.Ontheotherhand(orhoof),the
songWhatMyCutieMarkIsTellingMefromtheseason3finalehas105,195,019
viewsonYouTube.

Asidefromthemusicitself,theanimationforthesongsisnothingtosneezeateither.
Whilesomesongsweregivenmoreeffortandthoughtthanothers,therearemoments
wheretheanimationexceedsnormalexpectations.Belowaretwoscreenshotsfrom
theepisodeTheManeAttraction,fromwhichsuchmomentsofhighquality
animationareever-present.

(Guest character Coloratura singing The Magic Inside [left image] and The Spectacle [right image] in the episode The Mane Attraction)

Whenaserieshas90songsinthemaintelevisionseriesalone,andanother35from
moviesandstand-alonebonusclips,itsboundtohavesomehalf-heartedand
pointlessmusicalnumbers.Onthecontrary,asstatedearlier,thismeansthatthereare
alsoanumberofsongswithwell-donevocals,cleverandemotivelyrics,and
well-conveyedexpressionsofinternal(orexternal)conflictsthatviewersmayrelateto.

IntheepisodeCrusadersoftheLostMark,ahigh-societyschool-ponynamed
DiamondTiara--acharacterwhomtheentirefanbasestronglydislikedprevioustothis
episode--endsupgettingareformation(somethingwhichisnottobeunexpected,as
theshowhasahabitofreformingmanyofitsantagonists).Afterlosingtheelectionfor
schoolpresident,losingherbestfriend,andhavingherdictatorialmotheryellather,
thesaddenedfillywaitsafewmomentsbeforebeginninganemotionalmusical
number(ThePonyIWanttoBe).Shestartsoffwith:

IfI'madiamond
ThenwhydoIfeelsorough?
I'masstrongasastone
Eventhat'snotenough

- FriendshipisMagicWiki(firstfewlinesofThePonyIWanttoBe)
-
Whilesomeviewersmightseethesewordsasjustsonglyrics,othersmightsympathize
withDiamondTiaraandrelatetoherstrugglesoftryingtopleasethosearoundher
andliveuptotheirexpectations,butbarelybeingabletodosowithoutcrackingunder
thepressure.

Therearemanyothersongslikethisone,butthisoneinparticularstuckouttome.This
wasthesecondtimeintheentireseriesthatIhadheardthischaractersing.Withso
manyhappysongsintheshow,thesadorangrysongsoftenmakemoreofanimpact
onfans.Needlesstosay,IhadtoacceptthatInowappreciatedandrespected
DiamondTiaraasacharactermuchmorethanIhadbefore--somethingwhichIthought
Iwouldneverhavetodo.

Importantlifelessons

Whethertheselessonsarefriendship-basedornot,theseriesmakessomeexcellent
pointswhenitcomestolifeandfriendshiplessons.Therearelessonsregardingawide
varietyoftopics.Onesuchexampleisshownthroughanexchangebetween
main-characterRainbowDashandScootaloo--aschool-agepegasuswhoisunableto
flyandidolizesRainbowDash:

Scootaloo:ButflyingiswhatPegasusponiesaresupposedtodo!Youflewwhenyoucarriedtheflaginthegames!
RainbowDash:Butthatwasme!You'reyou!Anditjustdoesn'tmatterifyoucanflyornot.Yourroutinewasamazing
becauseitrepresentedexactlywhatmakesPonyvillespecial.
[...]
Scootaloo:ButRainbowDash...whatif...whatifmywingsnevergrow?WhatifIneverfly?
RainbowDash:Listen,Scootaloo.Maybeyou'llflysomeday,ormaybeyouwon't.You'reallkindsofawesomeanyway.

FriendshipisMagicWiki(excerptfromtheepisodeFlighttotheFinish)

Throughoutthefirstseason,eachepisodeendedwithanarrationfromoneofthemain
characters--usuallyTwilightSparkle--describingwhatimportantlessontheyhad
learnedbytheendofthatparticularepisode.

Forexample,intheepisodeADogandPonyShow,Rarity(fashionistaofthemain
characters)iskidnappedandforcedtofindgemstonesforagroupofbipedalcanines
withahungerforgems(knownformallyasDiamondDogs).However,whenarescue
attemptismade,theotherponiesfindtheDiamondDogsatRaritysmercy,having
driventhemtotheedgewithwhiningandcryingafteroneofthemreferredtoherasa
mule.Aftertheeventstakeplace,TwilighttellsRaritythatshecantwaittoreportthe
friendshiplessonshelearned:Justbecausesomeponyisladylikedoesn'tmakeher
weak.Infact,byusingherwits,aseeminglydefenselessponycanbetheonewho
outsmartsandoutshinesthemall.

Finally,askid-friendlyandhappyasMyLittlePony:FriendshipisMagiccanbe,italso
featuresthemesandelementsthatappealtoanolder,morematureaudience.Withits
cuteandcolorfulimage,theseriesisoftengreatlyunderestimated.Butconsiderthe
factthattheshowhasbeenrunningsince2010,nottomentionthefactthatithas
received21variousawards(vocalperformances,animation,music,etc.).Justbecause
somethinglookslikeitwontbeenjoyable,doesntmeanthatitwillbe.Interestedin
theshow?ThenextepisodewillairthisSaturday(May13)at11:30AMonDiscovery
Family.