So I've just seen the first two episodes of "Friendship is Magic" (it is a two-part premier) but I have already noticed some things that make me very happy as an older Pony fan. VERY happy. This is how you revive an 80's cartoon and do it right. (Suck it, Transformers fans.)
So here's my humble "OMG, did you notice..." list. Pictures and screenshots are from the lovely My Little Pony Lexicon message board. Most of it will be references to the original My Little Pony toys and cartoons -- and this is a brilliant move on the producer's part; after all, the first generation of Pony collectors are old enough to watch this cartoon with their children. Awww...
* - Twilight Sparkle (yeesh, how's that for an unfortunate name?) may be named in honor of the brave little unicorn Twilight in the very first animated "My Little Pony" episode. There's also mention of a Moondancer and an antagonist who wishes for -if you will- a night that never ends.
* - We've got ourselves some male Ponies in this new version of Ponyland (now called Equestria). As a nice continuity nod, yes, they still have those hairy hooves.
* - It took decades, but winged unicorns are finally canon. Finally! We've only seen two so far, and it appears they are both Uber-tier characters, filling a role rather similar to that of the Princess Ponies in the G1 series. (And a whole lot of online personas just got a whole lot Mary-Sue-iier.)
* - Fun little visual shout-out to the old Sprinkles' Waterfall playset, when Rainbow Dash summons that little raincloud for Twilight.
* - Doesn't this new version of Rarity the unicorn look an awful lot like Majesty? And Pinkie Pie looks a bit like Cotton Candy (first Pony I ever owned, for the curious)! The opening credits have quick cameos from Sundance, Baby Lickety Split, Shady, Fizzy, Gusty, and Posy, and the later crowd scenes sport Bubbles, Minty, Melody -- or at least new characters who look a great deal like them.
* - And Applejack's back! I love how her personality was established as the cool older sister already; It's fitting given how she's the oldest character we've seen so far.
* - The new characters have personalities that remind me a great deal of the Ponies from the G1 series. Twilight is sort of like Magic Star and Paradise, Pinkie Pie is like Fizzie and Surprise (and apparently, in an early draft, she *was* Surprise), Fluttershy is like Sweet Stuff and Posy (and, likewise, was Posy in that earlier draft), and Rainbow Dash is the second coming of Firefly.
Somewhere out there, beneath the pale moonlight, there is a fellow Browncoat who saw that last bit in a Google search and is about to be horribly disappointed.
* - Speaking of Fluttershy. She is, basically, 😍 in the form of a pegasus. D'awwww...!
* - A very refreshing change that, I am happy to say, I'm not the only fan who is very happy about: the overall color scheme of Ponyland/Equestria is no longer pink but BLUE!!! Oh, thank Heaven! (And this is coming from someone who just filled a whole Sketchbook with pink critters.)
* - I love all the little touches in the layouts. The unicorn city has spiraling horn-shaped roofs, Ponyville is mostly thatched roofs that kid of look like manes, ect.
* - Manticores! River Dragons! MALE UNICORNS!!! BIRDS!!! Actual realistic bird-looking birds, not generic little yellow or blue tweety things!!! OMG, this series is going to be amazing!
* - I can't have been the only person who, upon the moment where the Ponies had to cross a raging river, immediately thought, "Ohhh sh*t, here come the Sea Ponies!!!"
* - Great visual shout-out to "Powerpuff Girls" /"Sailor Moon" at the climax. And the Rainbow of Light!!! ZOMG!!!
* - Spoilery stuff: As much as it would have been cool to have a reoccurring villain, I am so, so very happy that Nightmare/Luna got a Heel/Face Turn in the end. After all, the Moon is not evil. And since unicorns are associated with the moon...
Listen, I had zero expectations for this show. I happened to catch a preview on YouTube and fell right in love. This show has put the biggest smile on my face and I have to give mad props to Lauren Faust. (I also definitely have to revisit "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" some day soon.)
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Art of the Day! This is kind of old (from April), but relevant:
By the way, "Tintin"! Even though they aren't shoing what Tintin's face will look like! Which, to me, raises a gigantic red flag!
By the way, did I just see a Coke commercial of all things make a reference to "Primer"?
