If someone told me that I would find this old Hasbro toy property appealing in any form, I would have said that they were insane. Yet seeing this fandom, I finally got past the first episode's cutsie prologue to discover this incredible series. That's what happens when a series is created by an genius like Lauren Faust who cared enough to make something was once a coldly created and sexist piece of merchandizing tripe into a engaging surprise of television animation.
How did she do it? By injecting an infectious sense of humour that playfully sets you up for the usual cutsie drival like in the old 1980s animated versions, and then gloriously subverts it with the kind of intelligent gags that are not afraid to cast a jaundiced eye to the cliches. That quality is then combined with unexpectedly complex characters who will appeal to you deeply as they reveal the enthralling complexity of their personalities.
No one more exemplifies this than the Pinkie Pie character. In lesser hands, she would be simply an annoying hyperactive ditz with the squeaky voice, but the writers understand the same humour as Gracie Allen did of a character who is not stupid, but is an intelligent freespirit who sees the world in her own completely unique way and is unafraid to joyously express it. For as much as she takes getting used to in the beginning, she will enthrall you as one of a brilliant facet of this animated mosiac.
Yet, the focus heroine, Twilight Sparkle, is the perfect anchor for this series. A quiet bookish intellectual, she is the exact same appeal of Hiccup in How to Train Your Dragon who rises to any occasion and crisis when called upon. Yet the writers are unafraid to avoid this genre crippling sense of delicateness and joyfully put her through the gauntlet of outrageous slapstick character driven comedy in the finest tradition of Looney Tunes. Meanwhile, her companion, Spike the Dragon, is the perfect straight man for this odd series as the only recurring male character, viewing the antics around him with his own childish perspective that molds the whole show into a stunner.
With this writing, there is that beautiful flash animation that creates the brightly coloured fantasy world of MLP that is magical, but never overpowering in its intensity. Meanwhile the music is deftly inspired with a dose of knowing confidence, especially when the songs get gleefully subverted for gutbusting laughs that know no age maximum.While the series doesn't always succeed in maintaining the crossover appeal, even the occasional exclusive kidvid shtick displayed have a special warmth to see adult viewers through until the series' sophistication returns.
In short, this series is a family show in the best sense, much like Sesame Street in its glory years where all walks of life can enjoy this magic. The Hub network certainly seems to understand as their marketing is even playing to the adult audience, eager to build their audience share with the power of the peripheral demographic.
This is the sampling:
And this is the real thing. Get through the prologue and you'll see where this series will take you:
While Faust's departure from the series as a producer is a worrisome development, I'm hoping that the sheer audacity of this new fandom and the network's delight in profiting from this new pop culture cache will be enough to keep it going for some time to come.
And that is why I am a Brony.
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