My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 3
| My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic season 3 | |
|---|---|
| Season 3 | |
 DVD cover | |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Release | |
| Original network | The Hub |
| Original release | November 10, 2012 – February 16, 2013 |
| Season chronology | |
The third season of the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, developed by Lauren Faust, originally aired on The Hub in the United States. The series is based on Hasbro's My Little Pony line of toys and animated works and is often referred by collectors to be the fourth generation or "G4" of the My Little Pony franchise. Season 3 of the series premiered on November 10, 2012, on The Hub, an American pay television channel partly owned by Hasbro.
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: Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. Each represents a different face of friendship, and Twilight discovers herself to be a key part of the magical artifacts, the "Elements of Harmony". The ponies share adventures and help out other residents of Ponyville, while working out the troublesome moments in their own friendships.
Development
Concept
Season 3 features a broad arc which shows that Twilight has demonstrated positive leadership qualities beyond Celestia's expectations, leading Twilight to be crowned as a new Princess in Equestria and to become an "alicorn" (a pony with both a horn and a pair of wings).
Production
Season 3 is the first season of the show without input from Lauren Faust, the original creative director of the show who stepped down after the first season and provided creative consulting in the second; instead, production was overseen by Jayson Thiessen, while Meghan McCarthy was the lead writer for the series, who both shared the role of executive producer from Season 4 onwards.
A sneak peek of two future songs in Season 3, "The Failure Song" and "The Ballad of the Crystal Empire" (both from the first episode), was unveiled at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con.[1] Part of a continuing plot in this season is a journey that Twilight Sparkle undertakes that ultimately leads to her to be named a Princess in the season finale, which includes becoming an alicorn. Meghan McCarthy said that the intent was to show that they were building a "unique mythology around being a princess", and to show girls that while they cannot be princesses themselves, they can live to the ideals of one by "shar[ing] the gifts that they have been given with others".[2] As of Season 3, the song titles make their appearance in the closing credits, along with the name of the composer Daniel Ingram and the name of the lyricist.
Cast
Main
- Tara Strong as Twilight Sparkle (speaking voice)
- Rebecca Shoichet as Twilight Sparkle (singing voice)
- Tabitha St. Germain as Rarity
- Kazumi Evans as Rarity (singing voice)
- Ashleigh Ball as Applejack and Rainbow Dash
- Andrea Libman as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie (speaking voice)
- Shannon Chan-Kent as Pinkie Pie (singing voice); Libman occasionally
- Cathy Weseluck as Spike
Recurring
- Nicole Oliver as Princess Celestia
- Tabitha St. Germain as Princess Luna
- Britt McKillip as Princess Cadance
- Andrew Francis as Shining Armor
- The Cutie Mark Crusaders
- Michelle Creber as Apple Bloom
- Madeleine Peters as Scootaloo
- Claire Corlett as Sweetie Belle (speaking voice)
- Michelle Creber as Sweetie Belle (singing voice)
Minor
- Kelly Metzger as Spitfire
- Brynna Drummond as Babs Seed
- Chantal Strand as Diamond Tiara
- Shannon Chan-Kent as Silver Spoon
- Tabitha St. Germain as Granny Smith
- Peter New as Big McIntosh
- Brenda Crichlow as Zecora
- Lee Tockar as Snips
- Richard Ian Cox as Snails
Guest stars
- Jim Miller as King Sombra
- Kathleen Barr as Trixie
- Britt Irvin as Lightning Dust
- John de Lancie as Discord
- Veena Sood as Ms. Harshwhinny
- Patricia Drake as Ms. Peachbottom
Episodes
The third season began on November 10, 2012 (with the two-part premiere "The Crystal Empire"), and ended on February 16, 2013 (with the episode "Magical Mystery Cure"). Unlike the first two seasons, season three consists of 13 episodes.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | 1 | "The Crystal Empire" (Part 1) | James Wootton | Meghan McCarthy | November 10, 2012 | 301 | 0.58[3] |
| 54 | 2 | "The Crystal Empire" (Part 2) | James Wootton | Meghan McCarthy | November 10, 2012 | 302 | 0.58[3] |
| 55 | 3 | "Too Many Pinkie Pies" | James Wootton | Dave Polsky | November 17, 2012 | 303 | N/A |
| 56 | 4 | "One Bad Apple" | James Wootton | Cindy Morrow | November 24, 2012 | 304 | N/A |
| 57 | 5 | "Magic Duel" | James Wootton | M.A. Larson | December 1, 2012 | 305 | N/A |
| 58 | 6 | "Sleepless in Ponyville" | James Wootton | Corey Powell | December 8, 2012 | 306 | N/A |
| 59 | 7 | "Wonderbolts Academy" | James Wootton | Merriwether Williams | December 15, 2012 | 307 | N/A |
| 60 | 8 | "Apple Family Reunion" | James Wootton | Cindy Morrow | December 22, 2012 | 309 | N/A |
| 61 | 9 | "Spike at Your Service" | James Wootton | Dave Polsky (story) Merriwether Williams (teleplay) | December 29, 2012 | 310 | N/A |
| 62 | 10 | "Keep Calm and Flutter On" | James Wootton | Teddy Antonio (story) Dave Polsky (teleplay) | January 19, 2013 | 311 | N/A |
| 63 | 11 | "Just for Sidekicks" | James Wootton | Corey Powell | January 26, 2013 | 308 | N/A |
| 64 | 12 | "Games Ponies Play" | James Wootton | Dave Polsky | February 9, 2013 | 312 | N/A |
| 65 | 13 | "Magical Mystery Cure" | James Wootton | M.A. Larson | February 16, 2013 | 313 | N/A |
Songs
| No. in series |
Episode | Song[a] | Lyrics by[4] | Sung by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | "The Crystal Empire" (Part 1) | "The Failure Song" | Meghan McCarthy | Twilight Sparkle and Spike |
| "The Ballad of the Crystal Empire" | Mane Six and Spike | |||
| 54 | "The Crystal Empire" (Part 2) | "The Success Song" | ||
| 56 | "One Bad Apple" | "Babs Seed"[b] | Cindy Morrow & Daniel Ingram | Cutie Mark Crusaders |
| 61 | "Apple Family Reunion" | "Raise This Barn" | Cindy Morrow | Applejack, Apple Bloom, and the rest of their family |
| 65 | "Magical Mystery Cure" | "Morning in Ponyville" | M.A. Larson | Twilight Sparkle |
| "What My Cutie Mark Is Telling Me" | M.A. Larson & Daniel Ingram | Mane Six sans Twilight Sparkle | ||
| "I've Got to Find a Way"[b] | Daniel Ingram | Twilight Sparkle | ||
| "A True, True Friend" | Mane Six and crowd | |||
| "Celestia's Ballad" | Princess Celestia | |||
| "Behold, Princess Twilight Sparkle" | Royal Unicorn Guards and Earth Pony Servants | |||
| "Life in Equestria" | M.A. Larson | Twilight Sparkle and chorus |
Song notes
- ^ Unless noted otherwise, all songs are composed by Daniel Ingram and orchestrated by Steffan Andrews.
- ^ a b Song not orchestrated by Steffan Andrews.
DVD release
Shout! Factory, who own the DVD publishing rights for the series within Region 1, released multiple DVDs. Adventures in the Crystal Empire,[5] Pinkie Pie Party,[6] Princess Twilight Sparkle,[7] and A Pony For Every Season[8] were released for Region 1 markets containing episodes from the third season, bundled with episodes from previous seasons. The complete season was released on February 4, 2014.[9]
| My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Season Three | |||||||||
| Set details[9] | Special features[9] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||||
| Release dates | |||||||||
| Region 1 | |||||||||
| February 4, 2014[9] | |||||||||
References
- ^ Valle, Raul (13 July 2012). "SDCC 2012 – My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 3 Teaser Songs". PixelatedGeek. San Diego. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- ^ Busis, Hillary (2013-01-29). "'My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic' exclusive: Twilight's becoming a princess!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
- ^ a b "Hub TV Network New Series "Littlest Pet Shop" Makes Best-Ever Premiere for Any Original Series on Network, "My Little Pony Friendship is Magic" Marks its Best-Ever Series Premiere" (Press release). The Hub. November 13, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
- ^ Snider, Brandon T. (2013). The Elements of Harmony: My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic – The Official Guidebook. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 9780316247542.
- ^ "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Adventures In The Crystal Empire". Shout! Factory. 2012-08-13. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
- ^ Liu, Ed (2013-01-28). "New Clips Released from "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic – Pinkie Pie Party" DVD". Toon Zone. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
- ^ "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Princess Twilight Sparkle". Shout! Factory. 2013-02-22. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
- ^ "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: A Pony For Every Season". Amazon.com. Amazon.com, Inc. 2013-08-13. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
- ^ a b c d Lambert, David (2013-11-15). "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic – Online Retailer Shows a Release Date for Season 3 on DVD". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
