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My Little Pony

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File:My Little Pony.jpg
Fizzy and Galaxy, two unicorns from the My Little Pony animated series

My Little Pony is a line of colourful toy ponies marketed primarily to young girls and produced by the toy manufacturer Hasbro.[1] These dolls can be identified by their colorful bodies and manes, and typically a unique symbol on one or both sides of their hindquarters.

Following the related My Pretty Pony toy, introduced in 1981, "My Little Pony" was launched in 1983. The line became immensely popular during the 80s, at one point even outselling Mattel's Barbie.[citation needed] The original toy line ran from 1983 to 1995 (1992 in the U.S.) and inspired animated specials, including an animated feature length movie and two animated television series. The brand was relaunched between 1997 and 2003 (1999 in the U.S.), and then fully relaunched globally in 2003. My Little Pony Celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 2008.

Generation One: Original My Little Pony

The original line of My Little Pony began with Earth Ponies: chubby-bodied colorful horses that have a group of symbols on their haunches representing their names. The Earth Ponies were later followed by Pegasi and Unicorns. Flutter Ponies were much smaller and thinner than Pegasus Ponies and had fragile, translucent wings that featured a "fluttering" action. Windy Wing and Summer Wing Ponies were even smaller in size compared to the Flutter Ponies, but were proportioned in a similar way, and had larger,butterfly-like wings. Finally, Mermaid Ponies loosely resembled the mythological hippocampus. There were also male ponies that had slightly larger bodies and feathered hooves like Clydesdale horses.

Many different sets of Little Ponies were produced, starting with the Rainbow Ponies (which all sported rainbow-colored manes and tails) in 1983. Other variations included the So-Soft Ponies (which were entirely covered in flocking), Twinkle-Eyed Ponies (with small jewels in place of the eyes), Twice As Fancy Ponies (with symbols covering most of the body), and Brush n' Grow Ponies (which had a longer-than-usual tail stored inside the body that could be drawn out through brushing).

The first generation of My Little Ponies ran in the U.S. for ten years, ending in 1992, but continuing internationally until 1995. The final year of sales in the U.S. was marketed as the celebration year of My Little Pony.

Mail-order ponies

All packaging (typically a blister pack) came with Horseshoe Points which could be used to obtain discounts on special ponies available in the U.S. only through mail order. Mail order ponies were generally reissues like Majesty, first available only with the Dream Castle Playset, or unique ponies such as the first boy pony, Lucky. Another example of exclusive mail-order ponies was the line of Birthflower ponies, one for each month of the year. All of them were white with pink hair and featured Carnation, Violet, Daffodil, Daisy, Lily of the Valley, Rose, Water Lily, Poppy, Morning Glory, Cosmos, Chrysanthemum and Holly. Special babies, such as the pearlized baby ponies and Twice As Fancy babies, were also available through mail order. Some collectors actively seek out mail-order ponies and a select few, such as Rapunzel, are highly valuable.

International ponies

European exclusives were produced by factories in France, Greece, Italy, and Spain. European ponies generally fetch a higher price than their respective counterparts made in Hong Kong or China (where the vast majority of ponies were produced). Some are fairly easy to find whereas some are much harder to find, such as Greek ponies.

Most ponies released in the U.S. could be found in Western Europe as well. The majority of U.S. domestic mail-order ponies never appeared overseas, though many countries had their own mail-order systems. Many of the excess ponies offered as mail orders in the U.S. were bagged and carded and sold overseas. Some of the ponies and playsets were given different names abroad (for example, the Big Brothers were known as Adventure Boys in the UK).

Some variations came from different countries and were variations on Ponies released in the US or UK, while others were unique to their country or region.

  • Petite Ponies

Petite Ponies are tiny pony figures that came in sets. Some have different traits such as brushable hair, shimmering bodies or glow-in-the-dark bodies. Under the base of each is an engraved hoof that allows the pony to function as a key to the Petite Playsets. Most of these smaller ponies had no official name and many had the same symbols. They were sold in the from 1989 to 1991. Only Earth Ponies and Pegasi were made.

  • Dream Beauties

Larger figures, made of hard plastic, were advertised as "grown up" ponies and called Dream Beauties. Unlike the main line, they looked more like horses, with a line of plastic "beads" along the bases of their manes. All of them were Earth Ponies except for the three Highflying Beauties who had large multicolored wings. They were sold from 1989 to 1990.

  • My Little Kitty/Puppy/Bunny

Cat, dog and rabbit sets were sold under the Hasbro MLP logo in 1990-1991. Each Li'l Litters set comprised a mom, two babies, and a plastic comb. All the moms were flocked and all the babies were mini plastic figures. Kitty moms had cottony tails. Puppy moms had either silky or cottony ears. Bunny moms had cottony tails and silky forelocks. There were also Nursery Family sets featuring the puppy and kitty characters.

Merchandise

Apart from the ponies themselves, merchandise included children's bedding and room decorations, plush toys, puzzles, books, the "Paradise Estate" playset and the "Baby Bonnet School of Dance" playset. There were also more unusual items, such as a pomander and toy sewing machines. Two animated television series were aired during this generation. In 1985 the My Little Pony 7 Picture Disk was released. It was recorded at AIR Studios in County Durham with singer Tony Markey.

Generation Two: Friendship Gardens

The second line of My Little Pony was introduced in 1997. They are colloquially referred to as "Generation Two" (G2) or "Friendship Garden Ponies". They were made in completely new redesigned poses, and compared to the original 1982 line they were smaller, slimmer, and longer-legged, with jewel eyes and turning heads. In the U.S. the line was not successful and was discontinued in 1999, although it continued overseas for a few years afterwards.

Most were Earth Ponies, but a few unicorns were made internationally. Although no official Pegasus Ponies were made, some adults had clip-on wings. In the early 2000s, several unicorns with clip-on wings were made, called "The Magic Unicorns". Only two baby pony poses were introduced. None of the baby ponies were ever sold in the U.S.

In Europe, the ponies lived in Ponyland, rather than Friendship Gardens, and were discontinued with the inception of the G3 line in 2003. Many ponies released in the last years of the line are quite rare. A number of playsets were introduced, including a mansion and a castle.

Some of the licensed merchandise released in Europe included beanbag plush, magazines, clothing, perfume, wrapping paper and colouring books. A PC game was also released that involved taking care of a pony and playing games along the way.

The third and current incarnation of the My Little Pony line began in 2003, and is generally referred to Generation 3 (G3). Hasbro released only Earth ponies from 2003-2005. They released Pegasus ponies in 2005, and Unicorn ponies in 2006. The ponies live in Ponyville which is centered around Celebration Castle. Many of the original ponies have since been re-released in different poses or outfits.

Most ponies in the line have shiny or pearly bodies and matte symbols on one side, now referred to as "Cutie Marks". G3 Ponies also have a magnet in one hoof that is used to activate playset items. These magnets are fairly strong and can damage computer equipment and TVs if prolonged contact is made. Current G3s do not have a hoof magnet.

Until late 2005, packaging came with Pony Points that were later used for exclusive mail orders. Unlike the G1 line, the Pony Points had to be sent in to order; a customer could not just pay a flat fee and add points to it to lower the price. Some of the ponies available with the Pony Points Program were Dazzle Surprise, Sunshimmer and Love Wishes. Other merchandise included posters or a Ponyville play mat for you to put your buildings on. The points program ended on 31 January 2006.

While the line was simultaneously released in the U.S. and Europe, there are a few Ponies unavailable in the U.S., such as Winter Snow and some Breezies (small, fairy-like ponies who first appeared in The Princess Promenade).

One of the most uncommon ponies released so far in the G3 line was actually released by mistake in 2004. A Pinkie Pie with the words "2003 Licensing Show" integrated into her symbol was used to promote My Little Pony at the 2003 Spring Licensing Show, and were intended to be released only at that show in a limited edition of 300. Due to a packaging error a few were packaged as regular ponies and sold in stores. Other limited edition ponies have been the Pony Project promotional ponies and Rosey Posey, who was given to attendees at a charity dinner held by Hasbro.

Recognizing the adult fans of its line, Hasbro has released special collector ponies that are noticeably different from the regular G3. These ponies are available usually through special channels such as the annual My Little Pony Convention and the San Diego Comic Con. The most recent SDCC pony is black and pink and has a ninja-superhero theme instead of a typical Cutie Mark.

Hasbro has continued the collector-themed ponies on a small scale through online retailers. These ponies are even more elaborately designed, such as a storm-themed pony that has lightning bolts on its body. There is also a blank white pony that is available to customizers.

Core 7

In 2008, the My Little Pony line narrowed its toys down to only 7 characters: Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and their Friends: Starsong has The Same Symbol as Silver Glow. Toola Roola Looks like Rarity with no horn. Sweetie Belle has The Same Symbol as Rarity.

Merchandise

A large amount of licensed My Little Pony merchandise has been released for the current generation. The characters can be found on items ranging from bedding and home decor to clothing and dishware and school supplies. Plush ponies have been given away as theme park prizes and used in crane machines. There is a 3 ft. plush pony line which was first available for sale in Australia (characters including Rainbow Dash, Minty, Sweetberry, and the special Kimono, which was used as a prize by Red Rooster Restaurants and Target, among others). McDonald's has also featured ponies in its Happy Meal promotions on more than one occasion, as have other fast food chains. Eight characters were used in the first U.S. McDonald's promotion, while other countries' chain restaurants had only four.

My Little Pony merchandise aimed at adults have also appeared, including T-shirts depicting G1 ponies with such slogans as "Livin' in the 80's" or "I Love Rainbows".

Hasbro sold the digital gaming rights various properties (including My Little Pony, Magic: The Gathering, Tonka, Playskool, and Transformers) to Infogrames for USD$100 million in 2000, buying back the rights for USD$65 million in June 2005.[2]

Animated features

Television and theatrical (1980s and 1990s)

The first My Little Pony cartoon was the prime time special Rescue at Midnight Castle in 1984. It was followed by a similar special, Escape from Catrina, in which Tammy Grimes voiced the titular character. In 1986, the ponies appeared in their first full-length feature film, My Little Pony: The Movie. Directed by Michael Joens, it starred the voices of Rhea Perlman, Madeline Kahn, Tony Randall, and Danny DeVito, among others. It had a mediocre box office performance, grossing almost $6 million in the United States,[3] and received mostly negative reviews.

It was followed by the more popular My Little Pony TV series. The series promoted a great many of the toys available in 1986-1987, featuring a large regular cast of Earth, Pegasus, and Unicorn Ponies with guest appearances by new lines such as Flutter Ponies and Princess Ponies. It also used the theme song also featured in TV advertisements for the brand (as did other series based on Hasbro properties).

The TV specials, the movie and the TV series were all set in the same continuity. They were set in Dream Valley, a land inhabited by witches, goblins and other magical creatures with whom the ponies, their human friend Megan, and their dragon friend Spike would often interact.

A later program, My Little Pony Tales, was set in a completely different continuity. This series anthropomorphised the Ponies - they lived in a human-like town where they went to school, ran businesses, went on vacation and exchanged currency for goods.

In 2004, the first season of the original My Little Pony television series was released on DVD. The four-DVD collection features the two prime-time television specials and 50 episodes from the original series. Some songs from the original airing of the two specials have been cut, leaving the specials as they appeared when syndicated as part of the cartoon series. The ten-episode miniseries "The End of Flutter Valley" was released on a single-disc DVD in 2005.

2006 brought the release of episodes from the second season, with two single-disc DVD releases: "Flight to Cloud Castle and Other Stories" and "Quest of the Princess Ponies and Other Stories", in addition to a DVD of "Two Great Pony Tales", with "The Magic Coins" and "The Glass Princess" available as 8 episodes.

Direct-to-video (2000s)

Movie Poster for My Little Pony: The Runaway Rainbow.

The Ponies would not appear in animation again until 2003, when a new series of direct-to-VHS/DVD movies began production. These are set in yet another continuity, and star the G3 ponies. So far these have included:

  1. "A Charming Birthday" (2003)- A direct-to-VHS release, it was not sold on its own, but instead was packaged with some of the early G3s.
  2. "Dancing in the Clouds" (2004)- This was a VHS packaged along the first Pegasus pony of the G3 line, Star Catcher.
  3. "Friends Are Never Far Away" (2005)- A DVD that was packaged with a new Pegasus named Hidden Treasure.
  4. My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas (October 25, 2005)- The first video sold by itself, was available in both VHS and DVD. It included "Dancing in the Clouds" as a bonus episode. Was re-released in October 2008 with a bonus Minty toy.
  5. My Little Pony: The Princess Promenade (February 7, 2006)- Featured the debut of a re-design of Spike the dragon, who originally featured in G1 (this makes Spike the only character in the franchise to appear in both the G1 and G3 cartoons). It also included Breezies — small, fairy-like ponies. It was available on VHS and DVD and included "A Charming Birthday" as a bonus episode.
  6. My Little Pony: The Runaway Rainbow (September 12, 2006)- Featured the new G3 unicorn, Rarity, as well as Spike and the Breezies. This was only released on DVD. It included "Friends Are Never Far Away" as a bonus episode.
  7. My Little Pony: A Very Pony Place (February 6, 2007)- 3 All-New Pony Tales which include: "Come Back, Lily Lightly", "Two For the Sky", and "Positively Pink".
  8. My Little Pony: Pinkie Pie's Special Day (2008)- Packaged in a set of the same name with Pinkie Pie in an outfit resembling the one worn in the episode.
  9. My Little Pony: Rainbow Dash 's Special Day (2009)- Packaged in a set of the same name with Rainbow Dash in an outfit resembling the one worn in the episode.
  10. My Little Pony: Meet The Ponies (2008)- This DVD has several short My Little Pony mini-episodes on it that were first available online. If you went to the official website you could watch streaming versions of these videos.
  11. My Little Pony: Twinkle Wish Adventure(2009)- Released by Shout! Factory in collaboration with Hasbro, Inc., this DVD includes a feature length movie, sing-a-longs and other bonus material.[4]

My Little Pony Live

On 19 June 2006, Hasbro and VEE Corporation announced a live touring production of My Little Pony.[5]

My Little Pony Live is a 90 minute musical starring the main favorites of Ponyville: Pinkie Pie, Sew-n-So, Rarity the Unicorn, Sunny Daze, Minty, Thistle Whistle the pegasus, Wysteria, and Sweetberry. The story is about Pinkie Pie wanting to gather everyone together for the World's Biggest Tea Party. Many of the songs are based on previously-used songs from various My Little Pony DVDs. However, there are new songs, such as "Try a New Color on For Size" and "Disco Dash". One popular song used in the show is "Shake Your Cutie", based on "Shake Your Booty".

The "World's Biggest Tea Party" show closed at the end of April 2008. It is now available on DVD, but only in America.

Custom ponies

Another feature of the recent pony collecting scene is the making and selling of custom ponies. This is an art form in which common or poor condition ponies (called bait) are redesigned according to the vision of the artist. Customizers may paint new symbols on the pony, change their body color, paint their eyes, and re-thread their manes and tails with a different color of nylon hair.[6] Some customs can become very elaborate, using sculpted parts, specially made wings, rhinestones, and/or detailed painting all over the pony. Customs have found a sizable market on eBay alongside regular pony sales but it is typically not a profitable enterprise.[citation needed] Artists are often commissioned by collectors and non-collectors alike to make a unique pony.

Community

Since the mid-1990s, My Little Pony fans have used the Internet to connect with one another and build up their collections. Online communities quickly formed, several of which are still active today.

My Little Pony, being amongst the most popular toy lines of all time, is regularly referred to in various media. Perhaps most prominently, the ponies have had several "cameo" appearances in cartoons.

  • Radio talk-show host Laura Ingraham refers to former Senator John Edwards as "Silky Pony" and plays the My Little Pony theme music when discussing stories about Edwards.
  • In 2005, when US President George W. Bush nominated Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court of the United States, political cartoonist Steve Sack drew a cartoon depicting Bush brushing a pony toy with false eyelashes under the title "My Little Crony", since it was recently after the dismissal of Michael D. Brown for failing to handle the Hurricane Katrina crisis.
  • Robot Chicken did a skit called Apocalypse Ponies which featured Pestilence Pony, War Pony, Famine Pony, and Death Pony.
  • Another Robot Chicken short involved the mythical winged horse Pegasus having his wings severed and turned into a My Little Pony-esque creature by a demented little girl (voiced by Cree Summer), who whipped him into accepting his fate, and his new name - "Sunny Muffins." This was a parody of a scene from the TV miniseries Roots, in which the African man Kunta Kinte is flogged into accepting his new name, "Toby".
  • The Backyard Sports series has a parody called "My Precious Pony". In the series, Maria Luna says that she collects My Precious Pony dolls.
  • Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, released an April Fool's joke revealing that the newest d20 RPG setting would be an adaptation of the My Little Pony setting to a role-playing game.[7]
  • Something Positive referenced My Little Pony in a similar way on May 28, 2008.[8]
  • For April Fool's Day in 2006, the front page on Slashdot.org (a popular news site) was redesigned in the fashion of My Little Ponies.[9]
  • A parody/homage of the ponies has made multiple appearances in the Cartoon Network animated series Dexter's Laboratory, as the Pony Puff Princess and the Pony Puff ponies, idolized by Dee Dee and her friends. Except for the unicorn horn, they bear remarkable resemblance to the ponies of My Little Pony.
  • On Clarissa Explains It All, Clarissa in an episode rents a series called "My Little Unicorn".
  • In the Transformers film, Ironhide crashes into a pool of a house. A little girl walks out of her house, thinking that it was the Tooth Fairy. She was carrying a My Little Pony stuffed animal just before Ironhide emerges from the water. The plush toy she is holding is of the character Pinkie Pie, in the Generation Three line. This is an allusion to Hasbro, because My Little Pony was created by Hasbro, and the Transformers franchise is licensed by Hasbro.
  • In "Mars, Bars" is episode 14 of season 3 of the television show Veronica Mars. In the jail cell scene, Veronica has a drawn-on tattoo of a My Little Pony with the words Thug Life written over it.
  • In the Walt Disney Pictures Movie Meet the Robinsons, My Little Pony is referenced two times. In a few scenes, the Bowler Hat Guy has a unicorn binder. In another scene, The Bowler Hat Guy is drinking from a cup with a pegaus top on it that looks like it has the My Little Pony Pegasus named Firefly. She has a pink body and blue mane and tail with lightning bolts on her rump.
  • On G4's show Action Blast! during intervals is a segment called The Cobra Commander Show where G.I Joes arch-enemy Cobra Commander discusses his view on the world. One episode reveals that he likes to play with My little Pony dolls and watch the My Little Pony cartoon series.
  • Cartoon Network's The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy had a parody of My Little Pony in "Ecto Cooler / Schlubs" as My Troubled Pony. The series was canceled before the ending was made, so Grim hunts Schlubs for gold bars to make an ending. The credits show Grim watching television, with the ending of My Troubled Pony on, drawn crudely with crayons, by Billy.
  • A Perry Bible Fellowship comic strip by Nicholas Gurewitch, titled "Gamblin Man", features a My Little Pony look-alike named fancy-dancy magic-prancy running in a real-world horse race, but flying away in mid-race.[10]
  • In Boy Meets World, Cory's Little sister holds a Glow 'n Show pony in one of the earlier episodes
  • A parody of "My Little Pony", known as "My Little Pwny" has appeared on many gaming forums, including Bungie.
  • A My Little Pony cartoon made a prominent appearance on a popular YouTube video disguised as pornography. The animated episode appears as punishment to the viewer, who is shamed by an unknown man in the video for trying to watch a scene of pornography on Youtube.
  • On The OC the character of Summer Roberts has a plastic pony named Princess Sparkle who appears to be a My Little Pony.
  • Jonathan I. Schwartz, the CEO of Sun has been given the nickname MLP by Daniel Lyons.
  • On Nickelodeon's original movie Spectacular!, a scene shows the character Nikko Alexander passing his ex-band mates while in a "flashy" cowboy outfit. Nikko's ex-girlfriend says in response to his outfit, "I always wondered who wrangled My Little Ponys!"
  • At the Black Hat Briefings each year since 2007 a number of My Little Pony dolls are awarded to companies, projects and individuals for security related achievements and failures, in a ceremony know as The Pwnie Awards. Past winners have included Twitter, Wordpress, McAfee, Dan Kaminsky, Debian and OpenBSD.

References

  1. ^ Official Hasbro My Little Pony site
  2. ^ "HASBRO REACQUIRES DIGITAL GAMING RIGHTS FROM INFOGRAMES FOR $65 MILLION", Hasbro press release, 9 June 2005.
  3. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mylittlepony.htm
  4. ^ http://www.shoutfactorystore.com/prod.aspx?pfid=5257054
  5. ^ "My Little Pony Live". March 12, 2007.
  6. ^ Custom Pony .com - Doll Hair - OOAK Customs Restoration & Tutorials
  7. ^ "Here Come the Ponies". Wizard.com. April 1, 2006.
  8. ^ "Something*Positive". r*k*milholland. May 28, 2008.
  9. ^ "Slashdot's Ponies". April 1, 2006.
  10. ^ http://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF222-Gamblin_Man.jpg

Further reading

  • Summer Hayes (May 1, 2008) The My Little Pony G1 Collector's Inventory: an unofficial full color illustrated collector's price guide to the first generation of MLP including all US ponies, playsets and accessories released before 1997 with a foreword by Dream Valley's Kim Shriner. Priced Nostalgia Press. ISBN 9780978606312
  • Summer Hayes (2007) The My Little Pony G3 Collector's Inventory: an unofficial full color illustrated guide to the third generation of MLP including all ponies, playsets and accessories from 2003 to the present. Priced Nostalgia Press. ISBN 9780978606350
  • Hillary DePiano (2005) The My Little Pony Collector's Inventory: A Complete Checklist of All US Ponies, Playsets and Accessories from 1981 to 1992. Priced Nostalgia Press. ISBN 1411621654
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