I finally got around to sharing my opinion of this show. I enjoy it, that’s for sure. I’ve seen every episode at least twice, and I can’t really complain about this popular series that appeals to me and so many more. I enjoyed the character depth, as well as the various layers created by different combinations, such as Applajack and Rainbow Dash arguing a lot, and the others being especially gentle with matter regarding Flutteryshy. If I hadn’t seen its predecessors, however I would like this a lot more. Honestly, (and ironically) My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was not nearly as “magical” to me as My Little Pony and My Little Pony Tales. I am going to look at this show not on its own but in contrast to those that came before it.
I grew up with those two. They were some of my favorite shows back in the day. They had this realistic feel to them that let me really connect with the characters more. The characters had personalities relatable to real people. FiM created some goofy characters that while may be relatable to some people and were certainly entertaining, didn’t really grip me. Take Lancer from MLPT for example. He is a quiet boy who works hard on his life even though he has a lot given to him by his rich family, gives in to peer pressure often, pursues romance, and generally is known for doing the right thing, as, during The Great Lemonade War (or something like that) when he’s talked into helping Ace and Teddy rival the girls’ stand, the girls say to him something along the lines of, “We would have expected something like that from them, but you?” Then we have someone like Pinky Pie. “Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!” /Slam “I was just going to tell you to watch out for that tree!” “I don’t think you should hit the books. I think you should read them.” “Ooh, my tail is twitching, so something is going to fall!” Those things make her a very interesting and likable character, and she brings a lot to her friends’ lives and show as a whole, but I get much more deeply involved in a show where characters are more like Lancer- down to earth but still unique.
The other shows had lessons to learn too, but they were more subtle and “in story,” not thrown at us at the end. That just made those more magical to me, more relatable to. I liked, “Wow, I can’t believe I thought my friends were making fun of me. I’m so sorry you guys for running off like that. Next time, I’ll ask before assuming things,” better than, “Princess Celestia, the lesson I learned this time was that stealing is wrong and we must work for what we want.” Again, FiM was awesome, entertaining, educational, and well-written, but it just didn’t have the dazzle in my heart as the earlier, simpler shows of the franchise. In fact, FiM even alluded to MLPT. Any old-time MLP fans see that? There was an episode of MLPT where Lucky won two tickets to a concert, but her friends found out and wanted to come. So she agreed to take each one (while only with one friend at the time) and when they all came to go and she didn’t have enough for them all, there was trouble, arguing all around. She eventually just let the tickets be won again, though only in her circle of friends to decide which two could go. In the end, she won again, but when the two of them got there, they realized that they couldn’t just leave their friends out so sold the tickets and bought pizza for them all. FiM had TS not agree to ANY of them, think that no one should go, then she got tickets for them all. It was a sort of backwards allusion, but the premise purely existed in both. So even the new show itself felt a sort of admiration for the older days and borrowed from it.
The older shows worked out the emotions more smoothly. They gradually built up to fear, sadness, anger, happiness, and so forth. FiM is very sporadic, like feeling a peaceful satisfaction when they escape the monster at the marsh, then bursting into laughter when TS gets enraged at that not being the doozie, then feeling happy when it meant she accepted it, then laughing when TS wore that umbrella hat, then being in awe when PP’s prediction was about the princess herself. It just sort of jerks us around whereas the other two sort of gradually weaved us into the new situations.
MLPT had males that really helped bring out the story through things like dating which made it even more confusing why FiM ignored male roles for anything important. It worked before, so why leave it behind? When I saw the FiM version of Spike, honestly, I was like, “Oh no, Spike, what have they done to you?” The original Spike, I feel, captured a more gripping personality. They were both baby dragons so had this sort of immaturity, but Spike’s was more realistic and he really seemed to make better use of himself. Spike from FiM cleaned and was an overall assistant while Spike from MLPT just seemed to have more of a grasp on the world as a whole, really defining him in a broader sense. When that child ran off during the movie, he knew he couldn’t stop her so left a note and followed her. He showed this sort of childish tag-along nature, portraying his youth, while being genuinely concerned about her safety and making sure she didn’t get into much trouble while she left to find herself, showing his ability to be very logical and sympathetic. The FiM version, while kind of like that too, just seemed more spoiled, oblivious, and self-centered, while showing favoritism that negatively affected his actions. While Spike from MLPT did a lot of helping out, it just seemed like the FiM version was more needy and did things that would have bothered others more often were not for his youth. I understand the whole “being very young means you’re more out of touch with life,” but I think the original Spike had more of a balance that made him shine.
I feel that the newest show has more realistic expressions, but the older ones have the actual feelings behind them more down pat. When a character from MLPT felt rejected, she ran off crying. When a character in the new one felt that, she made come cool faces, but started acting like she was suffering from vastly increased dopamine levels. It’s like the new show is trying very hard to be entertaining. That’s great! I love entertainment with a passion. Who doesn’t? However, the older two didn’t put so much emphasis on a “putting on a show,” so as a result, they were naturally more entertaining. The first two seemed to me like a man sitting on a sidewalk quietly playing a guitar while the new was like a magic-act guy shouting, “Hey, everyone, look at me!” I really enjoyed FiM. It did a great job holding my interest and had good stories. I just wish it had gripped me without having to try so hard. For those who didn’t grow up with MLP, let me show you the contrast between the first two and the new one. I see them as more gentle while the other is almost pleading for attention:
Examples of the first series:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP_rIAkb_v8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqpV_JP4UVo(Notice the old Spike in the second video?)
The second series, My Little Pony Tales:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOZLoWu4BHMThe newest, Friendship is Magic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xtle0njT8MI think all three are great shows, all worthy of much praise. It’s just that to me, the latest falls short in terms of being heartwarming and flowing gracefully. Maybe the third was attempting to be less of those, but even if so, I just couldn’t relax as much with or get as enthralled with FiM as the first two. I think if the latest had took a less hyper approach and really tried to show people examples of themselves in a realistic manner, it would have left more memories outside of humor. Some people do prefer a simpler approach, and FiM just had so many twists all over that I feel that it went overkill. A picture with two colors can be prettier than a picture with five. It’s like they crammed every bit of entertainment they could think of into making this show likable, and they certainly did make it enjoyable at that. I only wish they had looked more closely at how well the simpler ones did it and not tried to quadruple the new elements to make it better. It’s almost like taking a boyfriend/girlfriend on a walk through a park, loving it, then suggesting the very day, “Hey, let’s scale the largest mountain in town!” I just feel that, ironically, they would have done more if they’d tried a little less.
Anyhow, after my long drabble, I thought I’d end this with some fun. There is a MLP making program I found online that lets you make your own pony, cutie mark and all. For those who can’t draw (like me) but would like to try your hand at creating a character, here is where you can. Please note, however, that the options are somewhat limited. To show you some examples and my tastes in creating characters, I made three to show you:
Alright, here is the link to the site for any who’d have fun with this. Thank you all for your time.
http://www.dolldivine.com/pony-maker.php
