Friendship Is Magic

The series is based on Hasbro's My Little Pony line o toys an animatit warks an is eften referred bi collectors as the fowert generation ("G4") o the franchise. The series premiered on October 10, 2010, on The Hub cable channel. Hasbro selectit animator Lauren Faust as the creautive director an executive producer for the shaw. Faust socht tae challenge the established naitur o the exeestin My Little Pony line, creatin mair in-deepth chairacters an adventurous settins; she left the series in series 2, tae be replaced bi Meghan McCarthy as shawrunner.

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
Genre	Adventur Fantasie Comedy
Creautit bi	Lauren Faust
Based on	My Little Pony bi Bonnie Zacherle
Directit bi	Jayson Thiessen (series 1–2, 4–5) James Wootton (series 1–3) Jim Miller (series 4–5) Denny Lu (series 5–9) Tim Stuby (series 6–7) Mike Myhre (series 7–9)
Vyces o	Tara Strong Ashleigh Ball Andrea Libman Tabitha St. Germain Cathy Weseluck
Theme muisic componer	Daniel Ingram
Appenin theme	"Friendship Is Magic"
Endin theme	"Friendship Is Magic" (instrumental)
Componer(s)	William Anderson Daniel Ingram Caleb Chan Steffan Andrews
Kintra o oreegin	Unitit States Canadae
Oreeginal leid(s)	Inglis
No. o series	9
No. o episodes	222 (leet o episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Lauren Faust (series 1, The Return of Harmony) Beth Stevenson (series 1) Stephen Davis Kirsten Newlands Blair Peters (series 1–2) Chris Bartleman (series 1–3) Meghan McCarthy (series 3–5, 8) Jayson Thiessen (series 4–5) Sarah Wall (series 5–9) Asaph Fipke (series 6–7)
Producer(s)	Devon Cody (series 3–9) Sarah Wall (series 1–4)
Lenth	22 meenites
Production company(s)	Hasbro Studios DHX Media/Vancouver
Distributor	Hasbro
Release
Oreeginal network	Discovery Family
Pictur format	480i NTSC 1080i HDTV an 1080p (deegital distribution)
Audio format	5.1 Surround Sound Stereo Mono
Oreeginal release	10 October 2010 (2010-10-10) – 12 October 2019 (2019-10-12)
Chronology
Precedit bi	My Little Pony My Little Pony Tales
Freemit airtins
Wabsteid

The shaw follaes a studious anthropomorphic unicorn pownie named Twilight Sparkle as her mentor Princess Celestia guides her tae learn aboot freendship in the toun o Ponyville. Twilight becomes close freends wi five ither pownies: Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, an Pinkie Pie. Ilk o the pownies represent a different facet o freendship, an Twilight diskivers hersel tae be a key pairt o the magical airtefacts kent as the "Elements o Harmony". The pownies traivel on adventurs an help ithers aroond Equestria while wirkin oot problems that arise in thair awn freendships.

The series haes become a major commercial success, becomin the maist heichly ratit oreeginal production in the Hub Network's broadcast history an leadin tae new merchandisin opportunities for Hasbro, includin beuks, cleidin, collectible treddin cairds, an comics. Despite the target demografic o young girls, Friendship Is Magic haes gained a lairge follaein o aulder viewers, mainly young an middle-aged men, wha cry themsels "bronies". Portions o the shaw hae become pairt o the remix cultur, an hae formed the basis for a variety o internet memes.

As o Mairch 2018, the shaw is in its aicht series. A spin-aff featur film series, Equestria Girls, stairtit in 2013 an haes been shawn in leemitit theatrical screenins prior tae telly broadcast an hame media release. A featur-lenth film adaptation directly based on the TV series, teetled My Little Pony: The Movie, wis theatrically released on October 6, 2017 in the Unitit States.

 

Hasbro, Inc. haes produced several incarnations an lines o toys an enterteenment relatit tae the My Little Pony franchise, eften labeled bi collectors as "generations". The animatit series My Little Pony Tales which premiered in 1992 wis the toy line's maist recent telly series afore Friendship Is Magic, featurin the pownie designs o the first toy line. It wis follaed bi various direct-tae-video releases, which featurt later designs up tae the third incarnation o the franchise. Juist as Michael Bay's film haed helped tae boost the new Transformers toy line, Hasbro wanted tae retool the My Little Pony franchise an update it tae better suit the current demografic an taste o young girls. Accordin tae Margaret Loesch, CEO o Hub Network, revisitin properties that haed wirkit in the past wis an important programmin decision, influenced tae an extent bi the opinions o the netwark's programmin executives, a nummer o whom war ance fans o sic shaws. Senior Vice Preses Linda Steiner forby stated that thay "intended to have the show appeal to a larger demographic", wi the concept o "co-viewing" o parents wi thair childer bein a central theme o the Hub Netwark's programmin. Central themes that Hasbro socht for the shaw includit freendships an wirkin thegither, factors thay determined frae mercat resairch in hou girls played wi thair toys.

 

Animator an writer Lauren Faust approached Hasbro, seekin tae develop her girls' toys property "Galaxy Girls" intae an animatit series. Faust, wha haed previously wirkit on Cartoon Network's The Powerpuff Girls an Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, haed been pitchin oreeginal animation aimed at girls for years, but haed ayeweys been rejectit bi studios an networks acause cairtoons for girls war conseedert unsuccessfu. Whan she pitched tae Lisa Licht o Hasbro Studios, Licht shawed Faust ane o thair recent My Little Pony animatit warks, Princess Promenade, "completely on the fly". Licht conseedert that Faust's style wis well suitit tae that line, an speirt her tae conseeder "some ideas where to take a new version of the franchise".

Faust wis ineetially hired bi Hasbro tae creaut a pitch bible for the shaw, allouin her tae get additional help wi conceptualisation. Faust said she wis "extremely skeptical" aboot takkin the job at first acause she haed ayeweys foond shaws based on girls' toys tae be borin an unrelatable. My Little Pony wis ane o her favourite bairnheid toys, but she wis disappyntit that her eemagination at the time wis naething lik the animatit shows, in which the chairacters, accordin tae Faust, "just had endless tea parties, giggled over nothing and defeated villains by either sharing with them or crying". Wi the chance tae wirk on My Little Pony, she hoped tae prove that "cartoons for girls don't have to be a puddle of smooshy, cutesy-wootsy, goody-two-shoeness". Tae dae this, she incorporated intae the design o the chairacters an the shaw mony elements that contradicted idealized stereotypes o girls, sic as diverse personalities, the message that friends can be different an can get intae arguments but still be friends, an the idea that girls should nae be leemitit bi what ithers say thay can or canna dae. Elements o the chairacters' personalities an the shaw's settins war based on her awn bairnheid imagination o the ponies' adventurs, in pairt inspired bi the animatit shaws that her brithers wad watch while growin up, sic as Transformers an G.I. Joe; she considered that she wis makin Friendship Is Magic "for me as an aicht-year-old". Faust still aimed for the chairacters tae be "relatable" chairacters, usin stereotypical "icons o girliness" (sic as the waif or the bookworm) in order tae broaden the appeal o the chairacters for the young female audience.

Faust stated that as she providit Hasbro wi mair of her ideas for the shaw, she wis inspired bi thair positive response tae the non-traditional elements. Faust haed ineetially pitched the shaw tae include "adventure stories" in a seemilar proportion tae "relationship stories", but recognizing the younger target audience, as well as the difficulty o basin complex plots on the adventur elements, she trimmed back this content, focusin mair on exchanges atween the chairacters. The shaw still incorporates episodic creaturs intendit tae be frightenin tae childer, sic as dragons an hydras, but it places mair emphasis on the freendships amang the chairacters, displayed wi a comedic tone. Bi the time the shaw wis approved, Faust haed developed three full scripts for the series.

Faust began tae wirk oot concept sketches, several o which appeared on her DeviantArt page, includin pownies frae the oreeginal series (Twilight, Applejack, Firefly, Surprise, Posey an Sparkler), which later providit the core for the main cast o the shaw. Hasbro approved the shaw wi Faust as Executive Producer an asked her tae complete the pitch bible. In order tae dae sae, Faust brocht in Martin Ansolabehere an Paul Rudish, wha haed wirkit on ither animatit shaws wi her. Faust credits Rudish for the inspiration o the pegasus pownies controllin the wather in Equestria, as weel as the chairacter o Nightmare Moon durin this period. Faust consulted Craig McCracken an aa, her husband an an animator an creautor o The Powerpuff Girls an Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Efter seein the ineetial version o the pitch bible, Hasbro requested mair chairacter designs frae Faust's team; subsequently, Faust brocht aboard Dave Dunnet an Lynne Naylor tae further refine the background an chairacter styles.

On completion o the pitch bible, Hasbro an Faust began lookin at studios for the animation. Studio B Productions (renamed tae DHX Media on September 8, 2010, efter its parent company, alang wi DHX's ither subsidiaries) haed previously wirkit on Macromedia Flash-based animations an on shaws that featurt a lairge nummer o ainimals, an Faust felt thay wad be a good selection. Studio B requested that Jayson Thiessen be the director, a choice Faust agreed wi. She, Thiessen, an James Wootton led the completion o a twa-minute short tae pitch the final product tae Hasbro, resultin in the company's sanctionin the full production. Faust estimates that frae bein initially asked tae develop the shaw until this pynt teuk roughly ane year so pinkie pie is the best.

The shaw is developit at Hasbro Studios in Los Angeles, whaur maist o the writin staff is locatit, an at DHX Media Vancouver in Vancouver, Breetish Columbie, for the animation wirk.

Faust's ineetial writin staff at Hasbro Studios includit several writers wha haed wirkit wi her on her previous shaws an war appruived bi Hasbro. Thir includit Amy Keating Rogers, Cindy Morrow, Meghan McCarthy, Chris Savino, Charlotte Fullerton, M.A. Larson, an Dave Polsky. The writin process begoud wi Faust an Renzetti comin up wi braid plots for ilk shaw. The twa wad then haud a wuiddreamin session wi ilk episode's writer, allouin the writer tae script oot scenes an dialogue. Faust an Renzetti then wirkit wi the writer tae finalise the scripts an assign some basic storybuird instructions. Hasbro wis involved ootthrou this process an laid doun some o the concepts tae be incorporatit intae the shaw. Ensaumples o Hasbro's influence include haein Celestia be a princess raither nor a queen, makkin ane o the pownies focused on fashion, an portrayin toy sets in relevant places within the story, sic as Rarity's boutique. In some cases, Hasbro requested that the shaw include a settin, but alloued Faust an her team tae create its visual style, an Hasbro then based the toy set on it; an example is the Ponyville schuil hoose. Faust forby haud tae write tae the E/I ("educational and informational") standards that Hasbro required o the shaw, makin the craftin o some o the situations she wad hae normally duin on ither animatit shaws mair difficult; for example, Faust cited haein ane chairacter cry another an "egghead" as "treading a very delicate line", an haein ane chairacter cheat in a competition as "worrisome to some". Each episode forby generally includes a moral or life lesson, but these war chosen tae "cross a broad spectrum of personal experiences", an not just tae suit children. Because intellectual property issues haed caused Hasbro tae lose some o the rights on the oreeginal pownie names, the shaw includes a mix of oreeginal chairacters frae the toy line an new chairacters developed for the shaw.

 

Completit scripts war sent tae Studio B for pre-production an animation uisin Macromedia Flash Professional 8. Thiessen's production team wis alloued tae select key personnel subject tae Hasbro's appruival an aa; ane o thae selectit wis airt director Ridd Sorensen. The Studio B team wad storybuird the providit scripts, incorporatin ony direction an whiles managin tae creaut scenes that the writers haed believed impossible tae shaw in animation. The animators wad then prepare the key chairacter poses, layoot, backgrund airt, an ither main elements, an send thir versions back tae the production team in Los Angeles for review bi Hasbro an suggestions frae the writers. The storybuird airtists an animators forby need tae fill in backgrund chairacters for itherwise scriptit scenes as tae populate the warld. Accordin tae writer Meghan McCarthy, mony o the smaw nods tae the fandom, pop cultur references, or ither easter eggs wad be addit at this pynt bi the studio. Ance the pre-production wark wis approved an completit, the episode wad then be animatit. Tho Studio B performed the ineetial animation wark, the feenal steps war passed tae Top Draw Animation in the Philippines, an animation studio that Studio B haed wirkit wi in the later pairt o series ane an ayont.

The vyce castin an production is haundelt bi Voicebox Productions, wi Terry Klassen as the series' vyce director. Faust, Thiessen, an ithers pairteecipatit in selectin vyce actors, an Hasbro gae feenal appruival. The vyce wirk is performed prior tae the animation, wi the animators in the ruim tae help provide direction; accordin tae Libman, this allous hersel an the ither actors tae play the chairacter withoot certaint leemitations. Libman notit that for recordin her lines as the hyperactive Pinkie Pie, "A learned that A can gae as ower the tap as I want an thay [the animators] rarely pull me back."

The series' backgrund muisic is componed bi William Kevin Anderson, an Daniel Ingram compomes the sangs, that are anly includit if thay wad mak sense in the episode's script. Afore the shaw wis appruived, Hasbro an Faust haed planned for episodes tae be 11 meenits lang, tae that Faust conformed in her first full-lenth script, "The Ticket Master", that wis pairt o the pitch bible. Houiver, Faust preferred mair tradeetional 22-meenit episodes, an Hasbro eventually greed tae this.

Efter the airin o the first series' finale, Faust annoonced that she haed left the shaw, an wad be creditit in the futur as Consultin Producer. Her involvement in the seicont series conseests mainly o story conception an scripts, an the involvement ceased efter the seicont series. Despite leavin, she still haes heich haips for the staff members, statin that "the gaps A hae left are bein filled bi the same amazin airtists, writers, an directors that brocht ye Series 1. A'm certaint the shaw will be as enterteenin as iver". In an interview wi New York Magazine, Faust statit her raisons for leavin war a combination o a hectic production schedules an a lack o creative control she haed wi the series. Accordin tae her husband McCracken, Faust's departur wis due tae the fact that as a toy company-driven shaw, "thare war things she wantit tae dae wi that series that she juist wisna able tae dae", an that thare is "still some frustration wi" nae bein able tae bring some o her ideas tae screen.

Muisic

Friendship Is Magic taks place in the laund o Equestria, populatit bi varieties o pownies includin variants o Pegasus an unicorn, alang wi ither sentient an non-sentient craiturs. The central chairacter is Twilight Sparkle, a unicorn meir sent bi her mentor Princess Celestia, ruler o Equestria, tae the toun o Ponyville tae study the magic o freendship. In the shaw's appenin episode "Friendship Is Magic", Twilight resents this assignment, as she is mair concerned aboot the foretauld appearance o Nightmare Moon, the ill sister o Celestia. Whan Nightmare Moon daes appear, vowin iverlastin nicht an causin Celestia tae disappear, Twilight sets aff wi five ither pownies – Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, an Rarity – tae obteen the Elements o Hermony an defeat Nightmare Moon. Afore Twilight can activate the Elements, Nightmare Moon appears an shatters them. In a flash o inspiration, Twilight realizes that ilk o her new friends represents ane o the Elements o Hermony (Honesty, Lealty, Lauchter, Generosity, an Kyndness), an that she hersel is the feenal piece, Magic. The magical pouer o the ponies' freendship reverts Nightmare Moon tae a repentant Princess Luna. Celestia reappears, reunites wi her sister Princess Luna, an decrees that Twilight shall stay in Ponyville tae conteena studyin the magic o freendship, muckle tae the happiness o Twilight an her new friends.

Later episodes follae Twilight an her friends dealin wi various problems aroond Ponyville, includin interpersonal problems atween friends an faimily, as weel as mair adventurous stories involvin craiturs lik draigons an hydras, an haein tae save Equestria frae villainous chairacters. At the end o ilk episode, Twilight sends a report back tae Celestia explainin what she learned aboot freendship frae thir adventurs. This pairt o the formula is abandoned in "Lesson Zero", the seicont-series episode in that Twilight is convinced tae be less rigid in her perceived duties; efter this, aw the principals contreibute reports, awtho the formality is disregairdit whan appropriate. In the fowert series, wi the request for reports na langer applicable, the sax resolve tae keep a collective personal jurnal in that thay record thair thochts aboot life for posterity.

Anither focus o the shaw is the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a trio o muckle younger meirs conseestin o Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, an Scootaloo, that are obsessed wi findin thair "cutie marks", an iconic seembol that magically appear on a pownie's flank ance thay hae diskivert thair special talent in life. The shaw regularly featurs episodes centred on the Crusaders, that hae yet tae receive thair cutie merks an are teased bi ither young pownies as "blank flanks". In response, thay desperately hurry tae try tae diskiver thair talents an receive thair awn cutie merks, eften daein sae in comical fashions.

Awtho the episodes are designed tae staund alone, the series featurs conteenuity an oweraw story arcs, wi several key elements o the series chyngin; ane sic chynge is the evolution o Twilight hersel, that spends the first three series learnin aboot friendship an is subsequently grantit weengs bi Celestia tae become an alicorn an a princess in the series 3 finale "Magical Mystery Cure". In the series 4 finale "Twilight's Kingdom", she diskivers that she is the Princess o Friendship an stairts leevin in a magic castle efter the destruction o her leebrar hame frae previous series. Ither crucial events impactin the series are the Cutie Mark Crusaders feenally obteenin thair cutie merks in the series 5 episode "Crusaders of the Lost Mark"; the same series' introduction o Starlight Glimmer, a villainous chairacter that redeems hersel an becomes Twilight's pupil in the series finale "The Cutie Re-Mark"; an Rainbow Dash fulfillin her lifelang dream o jynin the elite Wonderbolts flicht team in the series 6 episode "Newbie Dash".

Ilk series teepically haes a theme an owerall story arc: a theme ootthrou the first series, for ensaumple, is pownies' preparation for the "Grand Galloping Gala" that occurs in the feenal episode o that series. In series 4, the Mane Sax maun find sax keys tae a mysterious box revealed efter thay relinquish the Elements o Hermony tae thair oreeginal soorce, the Tree o Hermony, tae save Equestria; in the series finale, it is revealed that thay haed awreidy obteened the keys, in the form o gifts thay received in the series frae fowk thay helpit.

 

The shaw revolves aroond the adventurs an daily life o the unicorn pownie Twilight Sparkle (vyced bi Tara Strong), her baby draigon assistant Spike (Cathy Weseluck), an her friends in Ponyville, colloquially referred tae as the "Mane Sax":

• Rainbow Dash (Ashleigh Ball), a tomboyish pegasus pownie that helps control the wather, an aspires tae be a pairt o Equestria's famous fleein team, the Wonderbolts;
• Rarity (Tabitha St. Germain), a glamorous unicorn wi a flair for fashion design;
• Fluttershy (Andrea Libman), a shy an timid pegasus pownie that is fond o naitur an taks care o ainimals;
• Pinkie Pie (Libman), a hyperactive pownie that luves thrawin pairties;
• Applejack (Ball), a haurd-wirkin pownie that wirks on her faimily's aiple ferm.

Ither main chairacters are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, conseestin o Applejack's younger sister Apple Bloom (Michelle Creber), Rarity's younger sister Sweetie Belle (Claire Corlett), an Scootaloo (Madeleine Peters). The twa alicorns rulin ower Equestria, Twilight's mentor Princess Celestia (Nicole Oliver), an the younger Princess Luna (St. Germain), appear regularly an aa; anither alicorn, Princess Cadance (Britt McKillip), is introduced in the series twa finale "A Canterlot Wedding" an owersees the northren Crystal Empire alangside her husband Shining Armor (Andrew Francis), a unicorn that is Twilight's aulder brither. The series five premiere "The Cutie Map" introduces Starlight Glimmer (Kelly Sheridan), an antagonist that subsequently becomes Twilight's pupil in the series finale, "The Cutie Re-Mark".

Mony friends, faimily members, an ither residents o Ponyville appear frequently, includin Applejack's aulder brither Big McIntosh (Peter New) an grandmither Granny Smith (St. Germain); the Crusaders' teacher Cheerilee (Oliver) an nemeses Diamond Tiara (Chantal Strand) an Silver Spoon (Shannon Chan-Kent); the toun's mayor, Mayor Mare (Weseluck); an the muscular pegasus Bulk Biceps (Michael Dobson). Notable seicontar chairacters ootside o Ponyville include the sel-proclaimed "great an pouerfu" traivelin magician Trixie (Kathleen Barr); the eccentric zebra Zecora (Brenda Crichlow), that leeves in the nearbi Everfree Forest an dabbles in yerbal medicine; the Wonderbolts Spitfire (Kelly Metzger) an Soarin (Matt Hill); an Pinkie Pie's aulder sister Maud (Ingrid Nilson), that rarely expresses emotion an is obsessed wi rocks. The Mane Sax forby face several antagonists; ane o them, the chimera-lik trickster Discord (John de Lancie), is introduced in series 2 an subsequently becomes a recurrin chairacter o the shaw.

The shaw featurs an extensive cast o ower 200 minor backgrund chairacters. Several o thir backgrund pownies becam fan favorites, leadin tae them haein thair roles expandit; the shaw's ane-hundert episode "Slice of Life" focuses awmaist entirely on some the maist popular o them.

In tot, 182 episodes hae been produced an broadcast.

Series owerview

Leet o My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episodes

Friendship Is Magic is associatit wi the 2010 relaunch o My Little Pony toy line, haein feegurines an playsets based on it. A section o the Hasbro wabsteid gies information aboot Friendship Is Magic for childer an thair paurents, includin chairacter backgrunds, videos, an interactive gemmes an media. Due in pairt tae the oaulder fans, Hasbro haes come tae see My Little Pony as a "lifestyle" buist, wi ower 200 licenses in 15 categories o products, includin cleidin, hooseware, an deegital media. The buist grossed ower 650 million USD in retail sales in 2013, an ane billion USD annually in retail sales in 2014 an 2015.

My Little Pony: The Movie, a theatrical animatit film adaptation o the telly series, wis released on October 6, 2017 in the Unitit States, distributit bi Lionsgate. The film is directit bi series supervisin director Jayson Thiessen an written bi shawrunner Meghan McCarthy, an is financed bi Hasbro Studios' film subdiveesion, Allspark Pictures.

Creetical reception

The series haes received positive reviews frae creetics. Todd VanDerWerff o The A.V. Club favourably notit its "sheer an utter joyfulness" an lack o cynicism, unlik mony ither shaws that gained a cult follaein o paurents an adults. He complimentit the chairacters' stylised appearance, the stories' relative complexity for childer's telly, an the solit jokes that mak the shaw enjoyable for parents as weel as childer. He gae the series a B+. The shaw haes been creetically praised for its humour an moral ootleuk bi Brian Truitt o USA Today. Genevieve Koski o The A.V. Club later commentit that Friendship Is Magic is an ensaumple o a shaw that, while conseedert "girly", haes been able tae tap intae the nerd cultur tae allou it tae gain wider acceptance nor ither comparable forms.

Fandom

Despite Hasbro's target demografic o young girls an thair paurents, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic haes become a cultural an Internet phenomenon, wi mony male fans atween 13 an 35. The response frae the Internet haes been traced tae cairtoon an animation fans on the Internet buird 4chan, respondin tae a negative essay regairdin the shaw an current trends in animation. As a result o the discussion on 4chan, interest in the shaw spreid ootthrou ither pairts o the Internet, creautin a lairge fanbase an a multitude o creautive warks, fan steids, an conventions. The fanbase haes adoptit the name "brony" (a portmanteau of "bro" an "pony") tae descrive themsels. The aulder fanbase haed come as a surprise tae Hasbro an staff members involved wi the shaw. Thay hae appreciatit an embraced the fandom, addin nods tae the fans within the shaw an the toys, while, early on, allouin the creautive elements o the fandom tae flourish withoot legal interference.