My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010)

Creator(s): Lauren Faust/Hasbro, Inc.
Air Dates: October 10, 2010
Seasons: 6
Episodes: 119 (plus 24 more to come)
(no source since I know this stuff off the top of my head)

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is a part of the fourth generation of the My Little Pony franchise. With the success of the Transformers movies, Hasbro wanted to revamp some of their other properties. So, Lauren Faust was hired to develop the new My Little Pony cartoon.


Faust was a big fan of the original My Little Pony toys, but she didn't care much for the cartoon adaptions. As a kid, she would usually come up with her own stories about the characters and the world. She gave the characters backstories and had them go on adventures. Faust drew from those experiences as inspiration when she was developing the pitch bible for the show. She wanted to change the way girls' shows were perceived because many girls' tend to be very...saccharine. It was all tea parties and junk.

But, Friendship is Magic is different. Lauren set out to create a girls' show that was actually good.
She created a fun world full of magic, fantasy, and adventure. Here is the theme song:

The theme song starts out very soft and sweet, making you think it's going to be no different than previous generations of My Little Pony. But then Rainbow Dash  busts through and the music becomes more upbeat and catchy. I like it. 

Lauren Faust created six main female characters all with distinct, individual personalities. They colorful in appearance and personality. And if the title didn't give it away, the major theme of the show is friendship. In the beginning of the show, each of the main characters, or the Mane Six as the fandom calls them, gain an Element of Harmony, which represents an important aspect of Friendship. When these Elements are used together, they can defeat evil and discord (see what I did there?)

Characters

Twilight Sparkle and Spike

Twilight Sparkle (voiced by Tara Strong, who also did Bubbles from Powerpuff Girls. Singing voice is Rebecca Shoichet). is the leader of our group and the first pony we meet in the show. She's smart and studious, and saying she loves books would be an understatement. She's a purple Unicorn (now, Alicorn, but I'll get to that later) with exceptional magical ability. She spent a lot of time holed up in her library with her studies. Her only friend was Spike, her young dragon assistant who is a lot like her little brother. Twilight Sparkle represents the Element of Magic (aka Friendship).

She is Princess Celestia's personal student. When Twilight tries to warn the Princess about Nightmare Moon returning after being locked away in the moon for a thousand years, Celestia tells her to go to Ponyville to make some friends. Twilight reluctantly obliges, and one by one she meets the five ponies that will ultimately become her best friends.

Applejack

Applejack (voiced by Ashleigh Ball) is an apple farmer who runs an orchard with her family at Sweet Apple Acres. She's just an Earth Pony, meaning she's neither a Unicorn or a Pegasus, just a normal pony. When she meets Twilight, she immediately welcomes her with open arms and shakes hooves with her. She's a honest, dependable, and a hard-worker.

She has a big family all across Equestria, but she lives with her immediate family. She has her grandmother, Granny Smith, who can be a bit senile sometimes, Big Macintosh, AJ's older brother, a stallion of few words, and her younger sister, Apple Bloom. It is currently unknown where her parents are, but fans theorize that they're dead.

Applejack represents the Element of Honesty.

Pinkie Pie (voiced by Andrea Libman. Singing voice is Shannon Chan-Kent) is a pony that loves to make other ponies laugh and have fun. She's also an Earth Pony like Applejack, which is probably a good thing because who knows what chaos will happen if this pony had magic or wings. Anyway, she's the goofball and comic relief of the group. Her favorite past time is partying. She just loves to throw parties, no matter what the occasion.

She comes from a family of rock farmers, who're all various shades of gray, and she's only pink one. I guess that makes her the "pink" sheep of the family. *rimshot* ("stop it, Pinkie!" *giggling is heard*) Oh yeah, she also has a habit of defying the laws of physics and breaking the 4th wall. I sometimes refer to her as a long lost Looney Tune because that's pretty much what she is. She's always doing something silly or crazy that just can't be explained. She marches to the beat of her own drum. But, it's Pinkie, and she's great.

But, there's more to her than her silly side. She may seem like the happiest pony in Equestria, but even she gets sad or upset. She loves all of her friends, and does whatever she can to make them happy. Sometimes she spends so much time thinking of others, she forgets about herself. In the episode "Party of One," When her friends were planning her surprise party, and they were sneaking around to keep her from finding out their plans, she thought they were avoiding her. She became upset and, well...then this happened...

But, when she finds what was really going on, she cheers up and is happy again. I guess she's not used to other ponies throwing her a party.

Pinkie Pie represents the Element of Laughter. And here's why:

Pinkie channels Bugs Bunny twice in the same episode.

Pinkie Spy Scene from Season 3 Premiere


Chicken Pie scenes from "Luna Eclipsed". Best parts are the beginning and end of the clip.
Twilight: Pinkie Pie you're a genius!
Pinkie; No I'm not, I'm a chicken! bekok!!

Fluttershy feeding her pet bunny, Angel.

Fluttershy  (also voiced by Andrea Libman) is the shy and quiet one. She loves animals, and her special talent is communicating them and taking care of them. She is a Pegasus, but she isn't a very good flyer, and she's also not fond of heights. She's afraid of a lot of things actually. But, when all bets are down, she'll overcome her fear if her friends are in danger. In the episode Dragonshy, we find out she's deathly afraid of dragons (except Spike). So, when the Mane Six are sent on a mission to stop a sleeping dragon from filling the air with his smoke from his snoring, Fluttershy doesn't want to go. But, she's coerced into going since none of them know of her fear. Later, the girls are unsuccessful in getting rid of the dragon, and he gets angry. When they're in danger, Fluttershy stands up to him in order to protect her friends. 

Fluttershy is the Element of Kindness.

The infamous "Yay" scene from Season 1.

Rarity (voiced by Tabitha St. Germaine. Singing voice is Kazumi Evans.) is quite the gem (pun intended). She is my second favorite of the group (my favorite is coming next). She is a Unicorn with a love for fashion and art. She is a fashion designer and businessmare who runs her own boutique in Ponyville. She dreams of rubbing shoulders with the elite and other big-named fashion designers. She may come off as snobby and selfish at first, but this pony has many "facets" to her personality. *rimshot* ("Pinkie!")

Her first focus episode, Suited for Success, she risks ruining her business just to make sure her friends were happy. We also learn how important her business is. She's both a businesspony and an artist. Designing beautiful things is her livelihood and her passion. She loves to create.

She's also very ladylike and cares deeply about her appearance. She detests dirt. But, she is willing to get her hooves dirty if she needs to. She's also a lot tougher than she looks. When they were about to be attacked by a Manticore, she was the first to react by kicking it in the face. Sure, she wasn't happy when her mane got messed up, but she still had the guts to jump right in like that.

Rarity represents the Element of Generosity.

Rainbow Dash (also voiced by Ashleigh Ball) is Best Pony a very colorful pony, both inside and out. She is a Pegasus with a love of flying and speed. She is my favorite pony, and probably my favorite character of all time. She's tomboyish, but she still has a feminine side.

Rainbow Dash at the gala and seeing the Wonderbolts.
She's trying so hard not to fangirl, right now.

Her biggest dream is to become a Wonderbolt, a team of aerobatic ponies that race and perform flying stunts. When she was just a filly, she caused a great phenomenon called a Sonic Rainboom, which is a sonic boom and rainbow combined.

Rainbow Dash as a filly doing her first Sonic Rainboom by accident.

It happened when she was racing these bullies in honor of her childhood friend, Fluttershy. She flew so fast that she broke the sound barrier and sent a ring of colors across the sky. Her future friends all saw it and got their Cutie Marks (the pictures on their flanks that represent their special talents). It became a myth and some ponies didn't believe she did it. She did it again proving that it was no myth.

Rainbow Dash does the Sonic Rainboom while trying to save Rarity. Rarity's temporary wings burn up when she gets too close to the sun (Icarus reference).

Rainbow Dash is brash, competitive, and can be a braggart. She isn't afraid to show off and get attention. But, deep down she is a really good friend, and would always have her friends' backs. She'd "never leave anypony hangin'." i mean, just in the video above, she ditched the competition so she could save Rarity and the Wonderbolts. She's probably had the most character development in the show. She's learned to reign in her ego and be a better friend.

Rainbow Dash is the Element of Loyalty.

Spike ordering another doughnut. "Another doughnut! Extra Sprinkles!

Spike the Dragon is Twilight Sparkle's loyal assistant. Twilight, as a filly, hatched him from an egg during her entrance exam to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. He's also her scribe. he writes things for Twilight, since he has claws. Even though he's a baby dragon, he's pretty smart. He tends to be Twilight's voice of reason when she needs to be reigned in. 


This cartoon is generally episodic, but it does have continuity between episodes. In the first few seasons, episodes would consist of a friendship problem that had to be solved. And later when the characters learn their lesson, they would write a friendship letter to Princess Celestia about what they've learned. The show has since dropped the friendship letter thing, but the episodes still usually have some moral to them. It's still a kids' show, after all.

Bronies

Group of fans cosplaying at a convention.

But, despite it being a kids' show, it has gained quite the adult following. Yes, I'm talking about Bronies. When people think of Bronies, they think of male fans of My Little Pony, usually met with ridicule because how dare men like a cute cartoon with colorful ponies. But, Bronies can be any fan, male or female, who considers themselves to be big fans of this wonderful cartoon. I'm female, and I consider myself a Brony. There's also the term Pegasister that generally refers to female fans, but I prefer Brony because it feels more inclusive. I don't think we need a separate name just for us.

Anyway, the fans are generally great. They're always doing charities for causes and helping other fans. They aren't all creeps like the media tends to portray them sometimes. The fandom has a website called EquestriaDaily.com, which is the fandom's main news source. It's a blog run by fans, for fans. It posts show related news, fan art, fanfiction, music videos, and anything else related to MLP.

I've made somethings myself. As a shameless plug, I will leave here a video I made. If you're familiar with Game of Thrones, you'll recognize the theme song.

Game of Thrones theme song with clips from My Little Pony. I love the way it turned out. I'm quite proud of myself. This is about 2 years old, but it's still awesome! It's got over 1000 views and 14 likes. Yay. 

I have more on my channel if you want to check them out. Right now, my most watched video is compilation of all of Rainbow Dash's singing parts (before Season 5) at over 14,000 views. 

And speaking of Game of Thrones, Hasbro actually has a promo for Season 6 that completely references the Game of Thrones opening. Here it is, if you're curious (say hi to Pinkie!):

I believe that's pretty much everything. I don't think I'm forgetting...what's that? Oh yes, the songs! How could I forget!?

Songs

The songs are a big part of this show. Every few episodes tend to feature a song sung by one or some of the characters. Some are short little jingles, while others are big musical-esque songs, like something out of a Disney movies. A lot of the songs are very catchy and can get stuck in your head. And they're actually good. Many of the Mane Six have separate voice actors for their singing voices, except for Fluttershy, who is voiced by Andrea Libman, and Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who're both voiced by Ashleigh Ball. Ashleigh Ball also happens to be a professional singer with her own band called Hey Ocean! (You should check them out, they're really good!) So, the voices are really good.

The lyrics are generally written by whoever's writing the episode, but the music is composed by Daniel Ingram. Here are a few examples of songs in the show:

"At the Gala" from the Season 1 Finale. 

It's based off of Into the Woods. It's a great song that features each of the Mane Six. Of course, Rainbow Dash has the best part. 

"This Day Aria" from Season 2 Finale. This song was inspired by Disney's The Little Mermaid, particularly "Vanessa's Song" It's the song Ursula sings to herself in the mirror when she's in disguise and alone. I love this song, especially the climax. Princess Cadence is replaced by a Changling Queen. 

"Evil Enchantress" both Pinkie Pie's and "FlutterGuy's" version (dat voice). This is an example of a short, silly song. Fluttershy's part still cracks me up. She looks like she wants to strangle Pinkie, right now.

Conclusion

The show has become very popular with both kids and adults since it's premiere. It is currently in it's sixth season. It's also got a spin-off movie series called Equestria Girls, where there's an alternate world where our Pony friends are human. The second movie, Rainbow Rocks, is the best, with the third movie being second best. The first one is okay, compared to the other two.

There's also a feature-length movie coming out next year in 2017. So far, there hasn't been any information regarding the plot or anything like that. All I know is that there will be a live orchestra for the music and score, and it will have a couple of celebrity voice actors. That alone has me excited.

I really recommend this show to anyone who loves cartoons. It's got fantasy, humor, action, adventure, and lots of other stuff. There's plenty of world-building, character development, mythical creatures, and other things that make this show great. Again, it's currently airing on Discovery Family at 11:30 am Eastern, and during season premieres and finales, it airs at 11 am due to those episodes being two-parters.

Woo, that's a lot. This post took a lot longer than my others ones. I couldn't help but watch all the videos I posted here. I'm gonna stop here, or I never will. I just love this show that much, I could go on a long time. It's just an overall fun and awesome cartoon. Definitely my favorite show of all time.

So, if you haven't already, and you're interested, ho check it out right now! The episodes can be found on Netflix. They're also on Dailymotion if you don't have Netflix and want to check them out for free. Here's the first episode(s) (it's a two-parter):

MLP: Friendship is Magic- Season 1 Episode 1 and 2 by Renee19601960birchfield