7145 replies to this topic

[Coob]

Thank you for the helpful replies. I told my friends I'd start watching it again thanks to your responses

 

Great to hear! But one last thing you should remember -- you do not have to like it. If you at any point feel like it is not the right show for you, there is nothing wrong in admitting that. Different people like different things. Some people like ponies, some don't. If you do, great! If you don't, you don't. No one is forcing you to like it.

[GoldTalos]

So, new member here thought I'd report to the local brony community.  Name of Talos, I've been a brony since the first episodes.   You probably won't see me around much but hey, I'll likely be lurking.  Figured it'd be friendly to say hi to you all considering that's kind of the whole point, no?

[Samhain]

So, new member here thought I'd report to the local brony community.  Name of Talos, I've been a brony since the first episodes.   You probably won't see me around much but hey, I'll likely be lurking.  Figured it'd be friendly to say hi to you all considering that's kind of the whole point, no?

Welcome to the forum.

[The Phoenix]

Welcome from me too. That being said, I've got an idea. Hows about we talk about any MLP merchandise we have that we're proud of? Maybe some that's for sale or of your own creation too.

[Andrewnuva199]

Equestria Girls is coming June 16 direct-to-DVD & with limited theater distribution. Thoughts?

Personally, I'm passively neutral, and have little interest at the moment in time.

[Valenti]

Watching it before judging it.

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

I'm not hugely optimistic about Equestria Girls... it's not like Twilight becoming a princess where it was the conclusion to a substantial amount of buildup, and to be honest it could be either good or bad. With that said, as with Twilight becoming a princess, I think a lot of people are jumping to conclusions a little bit too early. We've heard hardly anything about Equestria Girls that gives us reason to worry. It seems silly in some ways, perhaps, but not bad.

Now, it's abundantly clear to me that this is meant to launch a product line. The character designs have all the right ingredients for a line of fantasy fashion dolls similar to Monster High. And personally, I think this is a very bold and innovative move on Hasbro's part. Human or anthro versions of the characters are already popular with fanartists in the community, and have the potential to be just as popular with the preteen and teenage audience Hasbro is likely targeting. The characters' personalities are certainly diverse enough to launch this kind of product line around them, and indeed I think the costume designs we've seen really show how well Hasbro can take advantage of that (Ranging from Applejack's jean skirt and boots to Twilight's blouse and argyle socks to Rainbow's jean jacket and ridiculous high-top sneakers).

The main issue I have with the character designs is that unlike many anthro designs I've seen from fan artists, the characters all share a single heavily-stylized body type. But this, too, is a sure sign of product design considerations. Using the same body type means being able to have the clothes and accessories fully interchangeable between the characters, just as with the brushable pony toys. And additionally this allows girls to identify with the characters based on personality rather than based on physical traits. Similarly, the ponies have kept their skin/coat colors, which neatly avoids the race issue that can often be so controversial within the fandom while giving them another level of fantasy appeal.

I'm gonna watch the Equestria Girls special because I'm excited to see what happens with this, good or bad. It's definitely something very new for the My Little Pony brand and Hasbro has every incentive to make it work out. I'm not expecting it to have anywhere near the same mass appeal as the core Friendship is Magic TV show and brand, but as a spin-off it has the chance to make a positive impression, and I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt unless it turns out to be really and truly awful.

[Terton]

I'm still not sure what to think of Equestria Girls.

[Bundalings]

They're kind of magical.

[The Phoenix]

I'm not hugely optimistic about Equestria Girls... it's not like Twilight becoming a princess where it was the conclusion to a substantial amount of buildup, and to be honest it could be either good or bad. With that said, as with Twilight becoming a princess, I think a lot of people are jumping to conclusions a little bit too early. We've heard hardly anything about Equestria Girls that gives us reason to worry. It seems silly in some ways, perhaps, but not bad.

Now, it's abundantly clear to me that this is meant to launch a product line. The character designs have all the right ingredients for a line of fantasy fashion dolls similar to Monster High. And personally, I think this is a very bold and innovative move on Hasbro's part. Human or anthro versions of the characters are already popular with fanartists in the community, and have the potential to be just as popular with the preteen and teenage audience Hasbro is likely targeting. The characters' personalities are certainly diverse enough to launch this kind of product line around them, and indeed I think the costume designs we've seen really show how well Hasbro can take advantage of that (Ranging from Applejack's jean skirt and boots to Twilight's blouse and argyle socks to Rainbow's jean jacket and ridiculous high-top sneakers).

The main issue I have with the character designs is that unlike many anthro designs I've seen from fan artists, the characters all share a single heavily-stylized body type. But this, too, is a sure sign of product design considerations. Using the same body type means being able to have the clothes and accessories fully interchangeable between the characters, just as with the brushable pony toys. And additionally this allows girls to identify with the characters based on personality rather than based on physical traits. Similarly, the ponies have kept their skin/coat colors, which neatly avoids the race issue that can often be so controversial within the fandom while giving them another level of fantasy appeal.

I'm gonna watch the Equestria Girls special because I'm excited to see what happens with this, good or bad. It's definitely something very new for the My Little Pony brand and Hasbro has every incentive to make it work out. I'm not expecting it to have anywhere near the same mass appeal as the core Friendship is Magic TV show and brand, but as a spin-off it has the chance to make a positive impression, and I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt unless it turns out to be really and truly awful.

 

I can see the reason for them keeping their colors, but it's still a little weird to me.

[Valenti]

They're kind of magical.

Boots on hooves.

[Applejack]

Equestria Girls trailer has been released. Looks terrible.

 

 

And poor Spike. ;_;

[Valenti]

I am excited for Equestria Girls.

[Bundalings]

It looks corny and terrible. I'll probably like it. I like the style, at least.

[///dotcom///]

EG looks really average and the design is pretty bad, especially regarding Spike. I'm not too excited for it, which is a shame, I was pretty optimistic about it.

 

Kind of think they could have done something with the show proper theatrically rather than launch off the spin-off that way, but eh.

[Alyska]

The trailer seemed to imply that it was just Twilight that went through the portal, and the other characters are just alternate versions of themselves born in another universe- though, I might be misreading that.

 

Also, a male character holding hands with Twilight... possible love interest? Not sure what to think of that. I know Lauren Faust was opposed to romantic subplots, but I suppose they're to be expected in a high school setting...

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

I was a bit hesitant about Equestria Girls, but after seeing the trailer I'm very excited. It helps that the visual style is largely compatible with the FiM art style and in fact reminiscent of many of Lauren Faust's non-pony character sketches. And overall, I find it quite odd how many people seem to think this is something Lauren Faust would wholeheartedly disapprove of when the character designs have so much in common with the Galaxy Girls, the very property Lauren Faust was pitching to Hasbro when she was offered the opportunity to develop the next generation of My Little Pony!

As far as storytelling is concerned, I think this should have no problem. It definitely seems just as good as some of the human pony fan comics I've read, and with Meghan McCarthy at the helm I'm confident it will stay true to FiM's winning creative formula. And based on the clips and our knowledge of some of the other FiM staff's involvement, not to mention the higher budget it likely has as a movie rather than a TV episode, I expect some truly stellar animation and music.

Will it see the same lasting success as FiM? That depends on toy sales and the writers' ability to keep telling stories of consistently good quality. I see no reason to be skeptical about either of these factors at this stage of the game. Perhaps when the tie-in toys are revealed (who knows; they may show those at Comic-Con or something), they might be truly awful, but they could also turn out to be high-quality, show-accurate designs. Certainly Hasbro's toy designers aren't as out-of-touch as some people seem to think-- often, when a toy isn't show-accurate, it's for perfectly understandable reasons, and with a brand-new product line aimed at an older and more discerning audience I think they have more incentive than ever to match the character designs to the best of their ability.

So who here plans to buy some LEGO Friends figs and customize them into Equestria Girls characters?

[Alyska]

I certainly like the current character designs a lot better than the early concept art, which was a fairly blatant Monster High ripoff. As you said before, the uniform body shapes are a bit of a letdown, but I suppose that's to be expected with a toy-based franchise. And I actually thought Dog-Spike was rather cute.

 

One thing I'm wondering is if/how the storyline could become an ongoing thing, since that sort of seems to be the plan for it. So, Twilight Sparkle goes to a human universe and spends most of the movie there... what happens after that? Does she go home? Does she stay? One of the two MLP universes will lose its Twilight Sparkle... or is there a way around it?

 

Maybe they just keep the portal open, so anyone can come and go as they please... 

[Master Inika]

Equestria Girls look pretty awesome to me.

I assume EG will FiM will both play concurrently with their respective Twilight, and we just assume that Twilight eventually returns.

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

I certainly like the current character designs a lot better than the early concept art, which was a fairly blatant Monster High ripoff. As you said before, the uniform body shapes are a bit of a letdown, but I suppose that's to be expected with a toy-based franchise. And I actually thought Dog-Spike was rather cute.

Yeah, I'm still a bit curious about the art that shows the characters with more fantasy elements like wings and horse ears, because it keeps appearing in press releases and I highly doubt it's just concept art. My guess is that it will play a role in the climax of Equestria Girls, and that the franchise as a whole may take a "magical girl" bent where the characters can transform from their normal-ish multicolored "human forms" into these "magic forms".

From a storytelling perspective, I think this would be a great creative decision. But I'm also a bit nervous about this because what I think is most likely about this character art, given its more complex shading, is that it will be the promotional art for the toys connected with the franchise. And that means toys may not appear of the girls in their regular "human forms". I'm not sure how I feel about this since I think the "human forms" are simply far more adorable.

One thing I'm wondering is if/how the storyline could become an ongoing thing, since that sort of seems to be the plan for it. So, Twilight Sparkle goes to a human universe and spends most of the movie there... what happens after that? Does she go home? Does she stay? One of the two MLP universes will lose its Twilight Sparkle... or is there a way around it?
 
Maybe they just keep the portal open, so anyone can come and go as they please...

One thing my twin brother speculated is that perhaps, since this is a parallel universe, there is a parallel version of Twilight who will be restored to the universe in the resolution of the movie so "FiM Twilight" can go home. This way the two series could continue simultaneously without any kind of continuity snarl. Or, as you suggest, perhaps the portal will just be kept open. But I think the former would be a lot simpler than trying to explain what incentive Twilight has to keep traveling back and forth between worlds.

[Applejack]

Anyone know if the EqG versions of the ponies are gonna have the same names? Also, what's everyone's thoughts about Faust "crud"posting a lot about MLP on Twitter lately?

Edited by Applejack, May 16 2013 - 11:47 PM.

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

Anyone know if the EqG versions of the ponies are gonna have the same names? Also, what's everyone's thoughts about Faust "crud"posting a lot about MLP on Twitter lately?

Not sure what you're specifically referring to with your latter question (the last I saw her post about MLP was early this month where she was answering questions in exchange for $25 donations as part of a wildlife center fundraiser. But as far as your former question is concerned, I'm quite confident the character names will stay the same. That just makes the most sense from a marketing and merchandising perspective: it helps tie the characters to the familiar FiM characters who have been popular with consumers, and does not require running new names through legal for trademark purposes.

[Applejack]

She was saying something about how they only did EqG for the money, and implied that it wasn't about money before. Faust seems a bit bitter, Anyway, I'll see if I can find a screen shot of it.

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

She was saying something about how they only did EqG for the money, and implied that it wasn't about money before. Faust seems a bit bitter, Anyway, I'll see if I can find a screen shot of it.

Hmmm. Did you see the tweet itself or just a screenshot? Not that I'm firm in my belief that Lauren Faust would approve of everything Hasbro has done with the franchise, but it seems like the same kind of stuff a lot of people fabricated back during the whole Alicorn Twilight ordeal which makes me a bit suspicious. If you saw the tweet itself then I'm perfectly willing to take your word for it.

I'm not finding anything related to this supposed tweet with Google, so if you did see the tweet itself and can find a screenshot then please share it. But overall I find people are all too willing to try and put words in Lauren Faust's mouth as an attempt to legitimize complaints about things they dislike about the series.

EDIT: If you're talking about the tweet that said "Even "American Girls" was once radically positive for girls before it was homogenized for money", that was not about Equestria Girls at all. It was linking to an article about American Girl dolls from April and was posted in response to an ongoing discussion she was having about Merida from Disney's Brave being "prettified" for their Disney Princess merchandise. Totally different controversy. As far as I know Lauren hasn't said a thing about Equestria Girls, which makes sense since if she has seen it then she's probably been asked to keep quiet about it and if she hasn't seen it then there's no reason she'd jump to conclusions about something that's not especially different than ideas she's pitched in the past.

Edited by Aanchir: Rachira of Time, May 17 2013 - 04:46 PM.

[Master Inika]

I'm willing to give Equestria Girls a chance. It really doesn't look that bad, and a brony who definitively declares to dislike something before he's indulged in it even a little is no brony to me - It's what separates us from the haters we complain so much about.

[Valenti]

Seeing as Wacken Open Air is completely sold out, I may be able to attend GalaCon in Germany this Summer.