My Little Pony

My Little Pony is a brand that I have referred to in previous posts but have not discussed in much detail. The My Little Pony phenomenon is huge. Almost every YouTube toy channel I have visited seems to feature these colorful ponies. There is an annual convention called BronyCon, where fans come together to celebrate these ponies. Not only do the attendees purchase huge amounts of My Little Pony themed merchandise at this gathering, many of them also dress as their favorite character. There is even a term for adult men who enjoy My Little Pony: Bronies.

If you frequent toy review channels on YouTube, it is hard to not know something about My Little Pony, even if you are not a fan. I am one of these people who fall into that category. I have watched many videos featuring these toys, out of curiosity and also wondering if someday it will just click on why this craze exists.

It still hasn’t happened yet. I no longer watch the videos, as readily available as they are.

Monster High is another brand that I knew was popular but did not “get”. However, after watching a few episodes of Monster High with my niece, I clued in a bit about the appeal. The characters, personalities, and relationships between these monsters in high school are what captivate viewers. The monster appearances and qualities of the characters add unique elements which create special twists to their storylines.    

I know bits and pieces about My Little Pony: There is Pinkie Pie, Scootaloo, Big Mac, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity. Cutie marks are symbols located on the pony flanks which indicate something about the pony personality. There are also ponies called Cutie Mark Crusaders.

As you can see, my knowledge is limited and scattered. I don’t know what the storyline is, having never seen one episode of this cartoon. I figure that maybe this would help me gain some understanding as it did with Monster High.

I decided I needed to delve a bit deeper into the world of My Little Pony. I heard that “Friendship is Magic” is the slogan for BronyCon so I started by watching some clips on YouTube which I found by googling “my little pony friendship is magic”:

·       May the Best Pet Win https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SLQ5XqcEU8
·       Hula Hoops https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfycnX9dZcg
·       Twilight sees how Celestia banished Luna https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy7jyw7WABw
·       Fluttershy`s Rainbow Reflection https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moDjmDzfNko
·       Bats Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8uFbzbtyJg
  

From watching the clips, I learned the ponies have child-like characteristics. They seem to be in the equivalent to elementary school-aged in humans. They are presented as very cute with high voices. Cutie marks represent talents that have to be searched for and discovered. The ponies are not born with them. The episodes contain a lot of teaching moments when it comes to morals and kindness and this makes it seem like it is geared towards younger children. I am not really into cartoons so each of the clips I chose to watch was under ten minutes long.

This is what I learned about the overall storyline and plot from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Little_Pony:_Friendship_Is_Magic#Equestria_Girls_film_series :

“The show follows a studious unicorn pony named Twilight Sparkle as her mentor Princess Celestia guides her to learn about friendship in the town of Ponyville. Twilight becomes close friends with five other ponies. Each represents a different face of friendship.”

The "Mane Six"
Picture courtesy of http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/303/e/e/my_little_pony___mane_six_by_caycowa-d5jghz1.png
 

This is what I learned from Wikipedia about the Equestria Girls, a related line of dolls I have seen reviewed on YouTube:

“A companion film, titled My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, premiered on the FamilyDay of the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 15, 2013 ... the film follows Twilight Sparkle on a mission through a magic mirror to recover her stolen crown. She ends up in a world populated by humans while being transformed into a teenage girl herself, and must overcome the difficulties of her new body and interacting with students of the nearby school as she looks for the culprit.”

After the above bit of research, I’ll say this: I still don’t get it. First of all, I am not really into cartoons. The only reason I ever watch one is because I am with my niece and she wants to watch it. Second of all, unlike Monster High, the storylines for My Little Pony seem geared towards very young children. If the love for the ponies is due to enjoyment of the cartoon, then I guess I will not be a part of that group. All the dolls that I have liked were not due to a cartoon or movie. They may have storylines associated with them, but I do not really follow any of them. My enjoyment is mainly based on the appearance and details of the dolls themselves.

In conclusion, although I have learned a bit more about My Little Pony, I still do not have insight about why there is such a big fan base. It still remains a mystery to me. Does it really matter though? To each his own.